We are proud to announce for the 2025 DEI summit we have partnered with the Ontario Principals Council. This event will provide solution based programming for organizations to Recruit, Retain and Promote from marginalized employee groups. For additional information contact Chris D'Souza. Registration will open February 15th, 2025.
The event will take place on May 22nd - May 23rd 2025, and will be located at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Toronto Airport West 5444 Dixie Road, Mississauga, ON, L4W 2L2
In her role as the Human Rights and Equity Advisor for the Waterloo Region District School Board, Deepa Ahluwalia helps to support the establishment of a human rights culture by helping the senior team to identify and address systematic barriers and gaps, and to also support the resolution of Code-based complaints. Deepa oversees the Human Rights Branch, whose mandate also includes providing professional learning and training as it relates to anti-oppression and human rights, and to assist in the resolution of complaints by providing coaching and conducting investigations.
"Shekoli. Nicole Robinson ní yukyáts. Onʌyota’a:ká: niwakuhutsyó:tʌ̲. Cambridge nú: teknakéhl̲e̲’. Hello, my name is Nicole Robinson. Oneida is my nation. Cambridge is where I live." Nicole identifies as having mixed Haudenosaunee and European ancestry. She moved to the Waterloo Region in 2006 to pursue graduate studies and has worked at the Waterloo Region District School Board as the Equity and Inclusion Officer – Indigenous Focus since 2008. In this role, her passion for raising Indigenous awareness in classrooms and challenging the colonial construct of education systems is what drives her work.
Sherwyn has been committed to working towards equity in education for over 30 years. His past work in the field has included numerous public speaking engagements, workshops, writing curriculum for the Ontario Ministry of Education, and co-authoring a book. Sherwyn’s work as an educator has taken him to 3 provinces where he’s worked in both private and public education. He has been an elementary and secondary school administrator for 15 years and currently works in the Upper Grand District School Board as Principal of Equity and Inclusion where he continues his work growing student achievement through his passion for equity, and excellence in instructional practice. When he is at home, Sherwyn is the father of 2 teens and a greyhound, the slowest fastest dog on Earth. He also enjoys astrophotography — taking pictures of the stars, playing blues harmonica and working on community initiatives.
Nathalie Sirois leads the Global Centre for Pluralism’s efforts to support educators and system leaders in making pluralism a lived experience in their specific contexts with a view to building inclusive societies resilient to fear and hate. She spent over 20 years in K-12 public education in a variety of roles, including community worker, teacher, instructional coach, consultant, in various system leader roles and as an advisor and coach to senior leaders. As one of the first Senior Advisors for Equity, Human Rights and Pluralism in a French-language school board in Canada, she contended daily with the systemic effects of the double minoritization of francophone students and staff from historically marginalized communities. Her journey has also brought her to offer training and to publish various resources on trauma-informed practice for educators and on educational leadership. Nathalie will be running a workshop during the summit; "Recrutement, Rétention: Reconnaissance, Appartenance"
** Hotel Accomodations are included in registration fee **