Team Category: Presenter

Christina Bellevue is a Senior Marketing Manager at the National Arts Centre (NAC), where she oversees marketing for the NAC Orchestra, Popular Music and Variety shows, and the Arts Alive educational programs. Her professional background includes pivotal roles in sales and marketing at Procter & Gamble and L’Oréal, and she developed her expertise in multicultural advertising and marketing through her studies in Montreal and work experience in New York. Before joining the NAC, Christina worked at Ethnicity Matters, an award-winning multicultural advertising and marketing agency where she led campaigns for major clients including CBC/Radio-Canada, Rogers Communications, Kruger Products, and Reitmans. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Christina is the author of “A Black Traveler’s Guide to Japanese Beauty” and the founder of “Stay Pretty in Any Country”, a groundbreaking publishing project dedicated to promoting global Black beauty through bespoke travel guides for Black travelers worldwide.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Advisor

Lilian Asiimwe is a seasoned leader in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) with extensive experience driving organizational change across public and private sectors. As the IDEA Advisor atBrampton Library, she leads the institution’s strategic vision for equity and inclusion, overseeing key initiatives such as Employee Resource Groups and the IDEA Council. With a background in human rights and international law, Lilian has held pivotal roles within the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, spearheading high-impact programs that foster inclusive workplaces. She holds amaster’s degree in international law and humanrights and is passionate about advancing sustainable, equity-driven growth.

Suchita Bali(she/her),became theManager of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism at Health Sciences North (HSN) in June 2023. She is passionate about advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism andcontributesbothlivedand professional experiences to this role.

Suchitaholds an MBA and abachelor’s in computer science and commercefrom Laurentian University. Withdetermination,she establishedHSN’sfirstDEIAcommittee tosupportsystemic initiatives, including cultural safety,diversity training and education, andrelatedpolicies.

Her careerat HSNbeganas a Web and Social Media Specialist in 2017.She managedtheintranet portal,the website, and social media channels. In 2022, She begana new role as a Project Manager for Electronic Medical Record at the Digital Health Project Management Office.

Marichu Antonio is a pioneering leader, innovator and risk taker with over 47 years of experience working passionately in community development. She is a strong advocate of social justice, human rights and equity for all citizens.

Marichu is Executive Director of Action Dignity (previously Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary or ECCC), a community-based organization that promotes full civic participation and integration of ethnocultural communities. As Executive Director for nearly eleven years, Marichu’s leadership has transformed ActionDignity into a strong platform organization that serves to amplify the collective voice of over 80 culturally diverse groups and organizations. These empowered communities play a key role in transitioning public institutions and in advocating for public policies that are responsive to racialized communities.

Since moving to Canada 24 years ago in 1996, Marichu is a trailblazer for many initiatives and provided leadership to important community endeavours. She has also contributed to various publications, among which are Better Together, Charity and Non-Charity Partnership Manual and Toolkit for Community Hubs, published by Enough for All Strategy.

Marichu is a proud recipient of the 2012 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and Avenue Magazine’s A-List of Volunteers in 2009 in recognition of her contributions towards strengthening communities.

Marichu enjoys being an active citizen of Canada with her spouse Cesar Cala, who are now grandparents to three beautiful and bubbly children.

With a decade of experience spanning education, consulting, and non-profit sectors, he’s committed to advancing social change. Originally from Mexico, Óscar moved to Canada in 2018 to settle permanently after completing his master’s degree in marketing management. He’s a trilingual professional with an international background and experience. Leveraging leadership, collaboration, and innovative strategies, he drives measurable enhancements in organizational DEI initiatives.

CEO – Diversity Council Australia

Lisa (she/her) has been the CEO of DCA since 2014. Under her leadership, DCA delivers innovative diversity practice resources for Australian businesses and supports DCA memberorganisationsto improve their inclusion capability.

Publisher and Founder

Teddy is an adopted member of the Tlingit Nation from Carcross/Tagish First Nations and comes from a multicultural background. Teddy has extensive experience in offering cultural presentations,travelingand speaking in over 25 countries.

Ishma Alexander-Huet is Initiative Canada’s VP, Client Advice & Management, Head of Learning & Culture. Her 19 years of media planning experience across multiple continents has made her an expert in consumer culture and motivations which has been recognized through awards for work on RBC and Wendy’s. She holds a Creative Advertising Diploma from Centennial College and the CCDI/Centennial Certificate in Leadership and Inclusion.

Ishma’s love of her craft, passion for DEI and life experience as a Black female with autism and autism mom has lead to her current volunteer leadership positions in and out of the office including co-chair of the CMA Media Council, co-lead of The Work stream on Mediabrands DEI Committee, DEI Advisory Board member for Brunico, Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Code Black Communicator Network and steering committee member with People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing (POCAM).

Ishma’s free time is spent with her husband and three kids, whether they’re enjoying everything Marvel superhero related, creating resin art, or playing steelpan.

Andrea Dillingham-Lacoursiere is a life long resident of Alberta, growing up in Red Deer and having lived in both Calgary and Edmonton. She is a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, an artist, and an advocate.

In her professional work, she is driven to make positive changes through direct action. The choices along her career path led Andrea to the non-profit and public sectors where she has been fortunate to immerse herself in learning from the best resources we have, the people, organizations and communities we live, work and ultimately take stewardship of. Valuing the stories and experiences that have led us all to where we are at, right now, and dreams of where we can go when we work together. It is in the sharing of these stories, our experiences, our histories that we begin to understand the bravery of the storytellers, their capacity to shape lives and the learning that happens, almost by accident.

Andrea’s formal education in fine arts and performance helped shape her understandings and bridge gaps when language was a barrier. Music is one of the universal languages that is taught and theorized through mathematics, another language that defies boundaries. At the heart of culture and understanding is our capacity to influence as we become more aware of how our world is changing and why. As practitioners and citizens, our beliefs, needs and lived experiences certainly shape how we navigate our world, but they hold incredible power to help us adapt to external challenges and internal integrations in our ever changing environments.