Racial Equity: From Intention To Action Part III
Guest experts will speak on issues such as anti-Black racism, anti-Arab racism, xenophobia, intersectionality, and anti-Indigenous racism.
Webinar 1: Applying an Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression Framework in a Nonprofit Organization
October 31, 2024
Speakers:
- Asha Edwin. Community Engagement, Wellness and Change Management Professional and founder, Ashare.
Asha is an intersectional and interdisciplinary researcher, anti-racism and equity consultant and facilitator, and yoga and wellness practitioner. Asha works with various community partners and organizations, exploring topics related to wellness and wellbeing, movement and sport, culture, education, community engagement and development and workplace change. Asha is a research assistant with the IDEAS Research Lab, and her current research focuses on Black women’s wellness in Toronto.
- Deborah Robertson. Executive Director, North Bay & District Multicultural Centre and Timmins & District Multicultural Centre
Deborah has worked in the immigrant-serving sector since immigrating from London, England, almost two decades ago. After lived experience as a client, volunteer and settlement services Program Coordinator, Deborah currently serves as the Executive Director of the North Bay & District Multicultural Centre and its sister office, the Timmins & District Multicultural Centre. Deborah co-chairs the Local Immigration Partnership in both North Bay and Timmins.
- Shaneeza Nazseer Ally. Executive Director, For Youth Initiative
As the Executive Director of For Youth Initiative, Shaneeza oversees the vision, strategy, and direction of the organization. Previously, Shaneeza served FYI in roles focused on fundraising, community engagement, and mentorship of young community leaders. She has a deep appreciation of the York South-Weston and Oakwood-Vaughan communities and the needs of their youth. Shaneeza is a known advocate for the creation of opportunities that allow young people to realize their potential, and more importantly, those that provide the mentorship and resources to combat the disproportionate inequity that Black, racialized, and newcomer youth face.
Shaneeza holds a B.A. from the Ivey Business School at Western University. She is a Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs and a graduate of Harvard University’s program in Strategic Frameworks for Nonprofit Organizations. Shaneeza proudly resides with her family in Toronto.
Series Moderator:
Samya Hasan has been working with the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians since 2015 and has been the Executive Director since 2017. Through her role at CASSA, Samya sits on various advisory bodies, including the Coalition Against Anti-Asian Racism Canada, Ontario Provincial Police Hate Crime Advisory, Peel Provincial Police Hate Crime Advisory, Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change Steering Committee, Toronto Non-Profit Network Steering Committee, and various academic and research advisory groups.
Samya received recognition from the Toronto Metropolitan University in 2020 for her work on civic engagement as their “Democracy Superhero”. Samya was also selected as CivicAction’s “DiverCity Fellow” for 2020-2021.
Prior to her employment at CASSA, Samya worked at the Affordable Housing Office at the City of Toronto as a Research Associate and Policy Consultant. During her time at the Affordable Housing Office, she worked on various housing-related portfolios supporting low-income and marginalized communities including Toronto Community Housing, and Affordable Homeownership. As a Toronto Urban Fellow for the City of Toronto, Samya worked at the Municipal Licensing and Standards division, conducting by-law reviews of business industries in Toronto.
Samya attained her Master of Public Policy degree and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Toronto. She is currently enrolled in a second Masters program in Islamic Studies.