IBPOC CONSULTANTS DIRECTORY
Dinu Philip Alex
alex@nextevolutionventures.ca | nextevolutionventures.ca
Alex is a Disruptive Strategist with Next Evolution Ventures, and integrates innovative, out-of-the box and critical thinking with an Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) lens when working with companies and communities in transforming workplace culture to create a sense of belonging for the people. He is motivated by breaking the system for good through efficient and effective organizational development and advancement while aligning with its ROI. Alex is also the Principal Leadership Strategist with Step Up Leadership Excellence (SULE) and is intentional about building and developing leaders from underrepresented demographics. He has a background of implementing change at a root level and aims to build effective, inclusive, diverse work environments through strong diverse leadership.
Nesreen Ali
Nesreen is a recognized leader in the areas of anti-racism, and gender based inclusion. Her experience spans the public, non-profit and private sectors where she has led ground-breaking policy work to advance the wellbeing of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and women. Her experience is bolstered by her Masters of Public Administration and Associate Certificate of Conflict Coaching. A skilled analyst, facilitator and advisor, Nesreen marries the practical with the aspirational making it easy for her clients to find a way forward on their inclusion journeys. Her specialities are: public policy research, design and analysis, government relations, systems change, anti-racism, 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion, gender based violence, and equity, diversity and inclusion strategy.
Jordan Baylon
Jordan Baylon (they/she/he) is a second generation PilipinX artist, critic and community worker imagining justice and abundance for equity-deserving peoples within the spaces of all our relations: personal, communal and societal. As an artist, Jordan’s explores queer and racialized identities as liminal spaces: both and neither; between, across and through; both inside and outside; and both literal and imagined. Jordan’s community practice leverages a decade of experience in the non-profit arts and culture sectors, where they developed their critical lens around equity, anti-racism and systems change. After many years navigating institutions, Jordan now devotes their interest and attention to working at grassroots alongside equity-deserving individuals and communities. Recent work:
+ The City of Calgary – Indigenous and Anti-Racist Equity Analysis of Calgary Granting Programs (with Thulasy Lettner, Tapisa Kilabuk, Kinya Baker, Erin MacFarlane).
+ Calgary Arts Development – EDIA Audit (with JD Derbyshire & Steve Williams).
+ The Calgary Foundation – Racial Equity Audit (with Thulasy Lettner, Kinya Baker, Evans Yellow Old Woman, Erin MacFarlane).
Michelle J. Buckle
Michelle runs counselling and consulting practices in Alberta and Ontario. As an educator and counsellor, Michelle uses the arts – embodied ways of knowing – to engage and encourage students and clients to creatively and critically enter into new ways of learning and inquiry.
She is a doctoral student in Secondary Education at the University of Alberta, interested in arts-based research in dramatherapy and the experience of historical trauma in homicide survivors. With over 27 years of experience in the Dramatherapy field, as a Psychologist, she specializes in using the arts, play, drama and somatic therapy to work with children, teens, adults, families, groups and within institutions.
Interests: psychology, mental health, arts-based research, intergenerational trauma, performance inquiry, drama/theatre education, urban education, dramatherapy, multiculturalism, youth studies, experiential education, indigenous methodologies, and decolonized processes.
Jacquelyn Cardinal
jacquelyn@naheyawin.ca | naheyawin.ca
Jacquelyn Cardinal is a sakāwithiniwak (or Woodland Cree) entrepreneur and Indigenous technologist from the Sucker Creek Cree First Nation in northern Alberta. In her role as Managing Director at Naheyawin, an education technology company based in amiskwacîwâskahikan (or Edmonton, Alberta), Jacquelyn works to integrate and mobilize diverse knowledge systems to realize the promise of our Treaties. She has received an Esquao Award for Achievement in Business and a SHEInnovates Award from the UN Women’s Global Innovation Coalition for Change for her ongoing entrepreneurial pursuits.
Naheyawin offers practical, Indigenous-based solutions for improving diversity and inclusion in businesses, organizations and institutions through live and self-paced education.
Shreela Chakrabartty
shreelac@gmail.com | dolceveda.com
Shreela Chakrabartty helps bring diversity and inclusion intrinsically through storytelling and content creation with her lifelong experience as a movie director, storyteller and a community consultant. Shreela is an Edmonton born Canadian to 60s wave immigrant parents. Her lifelong heritage practice and community building pursuits make her a great global collaborator in project driven work. Through her creative company, Dolce Veda, she has been collaborating and consulting on filmmaking for different communities and festivals (Thousand Faces Festival and Play the Fool Festival) to create livestream content, direct films and build a much needed platform for South Asian artists in Edmonton. She is also the director half of Shreela & Kash films, collaborating with Kash Gauni on his international film projects.
Soni Dasmohapatra
sonidas@me.com | sonidasmohapatra.com
Soni is a passionate consultant, educator and arts practitioner who uses yoga and somatics as pathways of self discovery, healing and artistic creation. Soni has built her career for over twenty years in the sectors of government, higher learning, non-profit, public education and philanthropy, across Canada and Internationally. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Victoria and a certificate in gender studies and human rights from Oxford University, UK.
Soni, has been involved in the Alberta arts, cultural and heritage sector since she was a child. She is a trained classical Indian Kathak dancer and yoga teacher. Currently she is a sessional instructor at MacEwan University, Arts and Cultural Management Department. She has been a cultural administrator in the areas of Canadian Heritage and Arts in Alberta and Ontario. Check out her UNESCO article on Arts Education in a Post National State. Services offered:
+ Gender Based Analysis Plus engagement plans and organizational audits.
+ Facilitation of wellness, EDI and anti-racism workshops.
+ Curriculum development in subject areas of social policy, arts and cultural management.
+ Strategic planning and training in non-profit organizational development and governance.
+ Career and leadership development and coaching.
Shalyn Ferdinand (she/her)
Shalyn (Shay) Ferdinand is a multifaceted EDI & Communications Consultant with over a decade of experience.
Shay has a background in corporate communications, media, and non-profits; including the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), the Belfry Theatre (Victoria), and is currently the Director of Programs & Engagement at Gender Equity in Media Society (GEMS Vancouver).
On top of her diverse skillset in professional, cultural, and creative consultation, Shay’s also an experienced facilitator, instructor, and performer. She weaves an entertaining, educational, and actionable approach to anti-oppressive intersectional work.
Shay is currently looking to collaborate on and off set.
Kathleen M. Johnson
kmjcoachingconsulting@gmail.com | kmjcoachingconsulting.com
Kathleen is a Diversity & Inclusion Specialist. With her firm KMJ Coaching and Consulting she advises organizations on becoming fully inclusive environments and has mediated discrimination disputes. On the coaching side, Kathleen guides entrepreneurs, executives, and professional artists along their professional path. She also has experience coaching leadership to role model DEI initiatives and is a subcontractor with Ontario based firm CareerJoy.
In 2021, Kathleen ran in the Federal election with the greatest ever showing for her party in her riding of Calgary Heritage. She served as Secretary of the Race Equity Caucus of Alberta’s NDP and was asked by Leader of the Official Opposition Rachel Notley to provide a framework for Diversity training in the party. MLA’s have asked her to provide speaking points on their remarks in the Alberta Legislature concerning issues affecting marginalized communities.
Kathleen has spoken to major corporations such as Bank of America on topics like Blackness in Canada, and boutique firms such as Fidusure Financial. She has appeared on major media outlets such as Global News and podcasts as a guest. In 2023 she will be releasing a book based on how to begin having conversations in your organization about DEI.
Thulasy Lettner
Thulasy has worked in the private, public, and non-profit sectors for over 15 years and brings strengths in strategic clarity, facilitation, and adaptive capacities to her work. Currently, she works as an independent consultant on issues related to anti-racism, organizational praxis, and systems change. Services include:
+ Facilitating racial affinity spaces where an organization’s Indigenous, Black, and racialized staff, volunteers, community members, etc. can talk about their experiences in a “safe enough” way.
+ Coaching for executive leaders in the nonprofit, charitable, and public sectors as they take on and move through anti-racism work.
+ Supporting organizations to address racism at a structural level and engage in an on-going process of reflection and learning.
+ Challenging systems while also imagining and practicing new ones.
Previously, Thulasy led an Anti-Racist Organizational Change (AROC) process to strengthen CommunityWise Resource Centre’s capacity to address organizational racism and create greater racial equity and inclusion in Calgary’s nonprofit sector. This work was recognized with a Canadian Race Relations Foundation Award of Excellence in the Community category in 2018.
Lucy Lu
thirdspaceplayback@gmail.com | thirdspaceplayback.com
Lucy is the Director of Third Space Playback Theatre Edmonton, which uses participatory, improvisational theatre to engage in dialogue and community connection on socio-political issues to promote community dialogue, social change, and social justice. Their collective comprises a team of individuals from diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds who are passionate about using critically engaged participatory theatre to explore the themes of intersecting identities. The company also offers consulting services for organizations and community groups in the areas of anti-racism, arts-based community engagement and dialogue, team building and reflective practice.
Alondra Majid
am.smartsolutions.inc@gmail.com | LinkedIn
Alondra Majid is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategist and Practitioner. She is Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) Trainer and a Certified Project Manager Professional. With over 10 years of experience in project management, public policy development, research, and legislation review, Alondra has advised municipal and provincial governments in Canada, and Latin American Governments on gender equity. Her work has included training development and facilitation, conducting needs assessment, evaluation frameworks, and recommendations to integrate a gender mainstreaming strategy.
Alondra is driven by her desire to help others and by doing it efficiently. Applying her expertise and knowledge to diversity and inclusion work provides her with the opportunity to make processes, services, and programs efficient. In doing so, she influences people to be open to diversity and generates awareness about the importance of thinking about different perspectives, in a way that is relevant to their scope of work. Recent work:
+ Building capacity for the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Colombia to integrate their Gender Equality strategy across the sector.
+ Collaborated with the Confederacy of Treaty Six Nations by developing a series of templates and guiding tools resources to simplify the administration and management of emergency preparedness activities for the use of community members and Disaster Emergency Managers.
Poushali Mitra
Poushali Mitra is a certified Inclusion Professional, with over 7 years of diversity & inclusion portfolio experience in the public and private sector. Her unique experiences gained while working for the Government of Alberta, Edmonton Arts Council, non-profits and the private sector can help partners navigate change using Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in a strategic manner.
While working in these sectors, Poushali contributed to the development and implementation of key strategic policy priorities and helped leaders navigate change.
She has extensive experience in D&I subject matter expertise, reviewing programs & HR policies with an inclusion lens, using gender based analyses in board recruitments, legislation & compliance (Canada), stakeholder outreach and strategic planning. She believes in calling people-in.
Poushali has strong project management skills with attention to detail, which will ensure clients are delivered results on time.
Shivani Saini
info@atelierculturati.com | atelierculturati.com
Shivani is an award-winning producer, consultant, strategist and skillful communicator with over 30 years of professional film, television, media and arts experience. She is a dedicated advocate for equity within the public sphere, and holds a BAA in Radio and Television Arts from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson).
Her company Atelier Culturati, EMPOWERS INCLUSION in arts + culture through strategic consulting, communications and impact producing. Shivani specializes in strategy, social innovation and new systems creation. With a passion and mandate to create and support works that positively transform the human condition.
Atelier Culturati offers Strategic Visioning and Planning Services to help cultural sector organizations across Canada become more equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible – authentically. Shivani specializes in creating actionable Strategic Plans Infused with EDI, that her clients can practically and confidently execute.
Recent clients include: the Racial Equity Screen Office (RESO), Documentary Organization of Canada, Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA), Reelworld Screen Institute, Alberta Media Arts Alliance (AMAAS), Creatives Empowered and Azimuth Theatre.
Leena Sharma Seth
leena@mendingthechasm.ca | mendingthechasm.ca
Leena is a settler who is cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, and a child of Hindu, Punjabi (India), and Brahmin immigrants. As the Founder of Mending the Chasm, a boutique consultancy focusing on advancing equity, inclusion justice, and belonging, Leena brings a set of lived and intersectional experiences to her work as a facilitator, strategist, conflict transformation expert, inclusion advisor, and inclusive process designer. Leena’s practice is grounded in the belief that equity work is sacred and that healing, wholeness, and embodiment are critical to creating a just and inclusive present and future. Leena has worked with communities and clients to build inclusive, equitable, accessible, and anti-racist cultures. With over twenty years of experience in various leadership roles, both in Canada and in Asia, Leena has worked in non-profit, consulting, education, philanthropy, and supplier diversity spaces. Leena has a Masters in Conflict Analysis & Management from Royal Roads, achieved her Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP) designation with the Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion, has received her Pride at Work certification, completed the 4 Seasons of Reconciliation program via First Nations University, and completed an Embodied Social Justice Certificate with Transformative Programs (led by Rev. Angel Kyodo) in 2022. Leena is a trained community mediator and past Board Member for Community Conflict Resolution Services of Halton.
Sable Sweetgrass
Sable Sweetgrass is a member of the Kainai Nation, born and raised in Calgary / Mohkinstsis. Sable is a consultant, storyteller and playwright. Sable has been an active member in the Calgary Indigenous community working for organizations such as the Calgary Friendship Centre, Making Treaty 7, Calgary Public Library, The Glenbow Museum and is a founding member of the Urban Society of Aboriginal Youth (USAY). She is a graduate of the English / Creative Writing program at the University of Calgary and received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 2006 Sable won 1st place in the Canadian Aboriginal Arts – Story Writing Contest. She has written and performed on stage for Making Treaty 7 and created a short film titled IPOWAHSIN AT HOME. Sable’s play, Awowakii, is currently being developed for the stage at Theatre Calgary. Sable works for the arts community in Calgary / Mohkinstsis and Treaty 7 as the Director of Indigenous Engagement & Reconciliation with Calgary Arts Development.
Kike Thompson
Kike Ojo-Thompson is an award-winning equity thought leader. She is renowned for her work and expertise as an anti-racism and anti-Black racism educator, speaker, and organizational change facilitator. For more than 20 years, Ojo-Thompson and her equity consultancy, KOJO Institute, have led organizations in both the private and public sector towards more equitable outcomes. Prior to leading KOJO Institute full time, Ojo-Thompson’s notable roles included project lead of Canada’s first-of-its-kind initiative to address anti-Black racism in child welfare and senior facilitator for Ontario’s carding review. As a go-to voice in the conversation on equity and anti-Black racism, Ojo-Thompson has shared her expertise with audiences of platforms and organizations like Macleans, The Globe & Mail, and Oxford University. She has been recognized for her commitment to equity with awards like the Women Executive Network Inclusion Vanguard (100) and 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women (2018).
Michelle Todd
Michelle works on equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as incorporating gender-based analysis and intersectionality into policy, and co-facilitating workshops around the impacts of historical legislation and systemic oppression creating intergenerational trauma on our indigenous communities.
An Edmonton native, Michelle has been active in the arts community for over 25 years as an actor, writer, choreographer, director, facilitator, and producer.
Michelle was honored to receive Theatre Alberta’s Michelle Dias Community Award in 2020. In 2022, Michelle was featured in an article for the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. She was recognized for the 50th Anniversary MacEwan’s Community Builders Map in 2022. Her latest play Hoodies was written for Concrete Theatre’s Anti-Racism and Change project for Theatre for Young Audiences.
Sherilyn Trompetter
sherilyn@mtconsultinggroup.ca | mtconsultinggroup.ca
Sherilyn (she/her/hers) is a compassionate and authentic professional who has worked in various themes of diversity, equity and inclusion for over two decades. As a bi-racial daughter of immigrants, Sherilyn brings a trauma-informed approach to consulting organizations and coaching individuals and groups. A masterful facilitator, Sherilyn is able to elicit powerful insights and initiate transformative experiences. Sherilyn has expertise in:
+ Project management
+ Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrator
+ Trauma-Informed Certified Coach
+ Stakeholder relations and engagement
+ Inclusive leadership
+ Not-for-profit board development
+ Training, facilitation and “sticky learning”
+ Organizational development
+ Executive leadership
Sherilyn has an extensive governance background. She co-founded ACT Alberta: the Action Coalition on human Trafficking, the leading research-based and outcome-focused human trafficking organization in Alberta. She has a passion for multiculturalism, social justice and community service and has over 15 years of board experience. Sherilyn’s project management and industry expertise extends to complex and hierarchical unionized environments such as the University of Alberta, the Government of Alberta, various law enforcement agencies including the RCMP, and the Canadian Red Cross. She has successfully managed projects upwards of $10 million specializing in the development and training of people and systems improvement.
Shawn Tse
tse.shawn@gmail.com | falloutmedia.ca
Shawn Tse 謝兆龍 is a father living in ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (amiskwacîwâskahikan/ Edmonton) working in the arts and cultural sector for 8 years. His work centres around community engagement, social justice and storytelling from underrepresented voices which includes being:
+ Community growth consultant for the CanAsian National Digital Platform – which aims to increase visibility and community connection for Canadian Asian artists online.
+ Actor and coordinator for Third Space Playback Theatre collaborating on the Innovative Social Pedagogy project- co-creating interventions and strategies to better magnify the voices of communities that have been undermined due to systemic discrimination.
+ Member of aiya 哎呀 (artist collective) who dream new futures for Chinatown.
Pam Tzeng
Pam Tzeng 曾小桐 (she/her) is a second-generation Taiwanese-Canadian choreographer, interdisciplinary performance maker, movement educator and arts worker based in Mohkínstsis Treaty 7 Territory. Pam takes pleasure in extremes to craft honest, visceral and animated performances about the politics of the body with objects and costumes. Led by her embodied curiosities, she graciously traverses charged thematic territories to reveal and empower unseen truths.
Pam is a commitment to offering the breadth of her experiences, creativity and intelligences to the work of anti-racism, anti-oppression and conflict transformation in the arts and cultural sector. As 2022-23 Artist in Residence with Dancemakers (Toronto), she is focused on researching conflict transformation from an artistic and embodied lens. Currently, Pam is also an advisor with the Canadian Dance Assembly, faculty and practices of care weaver for the Rozsa Foundations REAL Executive Leadership Program, a member of the Cultural Instigators – a collective of artist activists visioning an anti-racist future for Calgary and part of Calgary Arts Development’s EDIA working group. Photo by Mike Tan.
Haran Vijanathan
Haran Vijayanathan is an Educator & Trainer in the HIV and 2SLGBTQ movement over the last 19 years. He prides himself on raising awareness and creating understanding through education and dialogue to ensure we have a more inclusive and supportive society and was honored with the title of Grand Marshal in 2018 of the Toronto Pride Parade. Haran is the founder of My House: Rainbow Resources of York Region, the first LGBTQ Resource Centre in York Region and was the Executive Director at the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention. He continues to be engaged with the Independent Review of Mission Persons in Toronto. Since moving back to his hometown of Winnipeg he worked as the Program Manager at the Wiisocotatiwin Assertive Community Treatment Program at Mount Carmel Clinic and will be joining the Canadian Museum of Human Rights currently as the Director, Equity and Growth.
Charlotte Wray
Writing can be hard, writing content that is inclusive for all audiences can be harder. As a Content Strategist, Charlotte makes creating content for your digital space easy. Her main focus is on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) related topics, though she has capacity to help with other topics too. Her professional experiences range from student services to Human Resources and she has experience working in both the private and public sector.
Personally, she was born and raised in Hong Kong and am half Chinese. As someone who is deeply immersed in both Chinese and Canadian cultures, she has a personal interest in cross cultural communications. When meeting new clients or creating content, she takes time to consider the impact of her communication to make sure she meet everyone’s needs. Charlotte can help you:
+ Create short and digestible content on complicated topics.
+ Write blog content regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion topics.
+ Review existing content to ensure tone and voice is friendly for broad audiences.
Elaine Yip
Elaine Yip, 葉曉菱 is an independent researcher and digital content consultant interested in projects that are focused on diverse heritage and cultural knowledge. Her passion is on digital development of educational tools and applications. Her past engagements include sport and recreation as well as culture and heritage contexts. She has past experience with successful SSHRC grants as well as a range of digital projects with audio-visual elements, web applications, and data visualization. Services offered:
+ Research support for environmental scan and literature review, content/database research.
+ Assessment for data presentation tools and workflow planning services that can be scaled for grant application and quotes.
+ Cantonese Chinese and Mandarin Chinese tasks (audio-recording / voice-over, text-based, and translation work).
Please contact for past project samples.
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