Team Category: Presenter

Chi Nguyen was most recently the Executive Director at Equal Voice, Canada’s only multipartisan organization dedicated to electing women to all levels of government (currently on leave). A past candidate in a provincial election, she holds an MSc in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and has worked for more than twenty years as a community builder with organizations like United Way Toronto and White Ribbon Canada. She is a past recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons’ Case and a YWCA Young Woman of Distinction and a recent recipient of the King’s Coronation Medal. She loves her most important job as mom to Sam and Ellis.

Emilie Nicolas is a columnist with Le Devoir and The Montreal Gazette, the host of theDétourspodcast onCanadaland, and a regular analyst and commentator for CBC and Radio-Canada. Emilie has been published in several journals,magazinesand newspapers, both in French and English. Most recently, she won the Quebec’s cultural magazine (SODEP) 2020 Excellence Award for Best Essay, for a piece in the Liberté magazine.

Emilie has contributed to various organizations in Canada and internationally. She currently sits on the board of Informed Opinions, a non-profit organization working towards more gender equality in Canadian media. She was formerly a member of the board of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, a crown corporation dedicated to the elimination of racism.

An active bridge-builder, Emilie is a co-founder of Québecinclusif(2013), a movement that united citizens against racism and social exclusion. She alsoinitiateda coalition campaigning for equality and against systemic racism in Quebec (2016).

Emilie is the recipient of a Harry Jerome Award for leadership along with a Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case.She completed the Action Canada Fellowship (2015) as well as the Jeanne Sauvé Public Leadership Fellowship (2019).

Nhung Nguyen(she/her)is a proudVietnamese-Canadian. She came to Canada in the 80s as a part of the wave of Vietnamese boat people who migrated to Canada.Nhung’s family started their lives in Canada in St. Thomas Ontario and later moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. It is there that she became aware of socio-economic divides and became interested in community services and support. She currentlyresidesin Ottawa, Ontario and isthe Director of Workforce,Equityand Inclusion Programs at the Canada Border Services Agency. She is passionate about this important work and brings 20+ years of work and community experienceto the table.

A passionate transgender and LGBTQ2+ advocate, Amelia Marie Newbert is the Co-Founder and Director of Education and Awareness for the Skipping Stone Foundation, a not-for-profit dedicated to supporting and empowering trans and gender diverse youth and their families in the province of Alberta. She actively speaks and educates extensively across the province and country on matters around trans inclusivity, human rights and community building and is a faculty member of the World Professional Associate for Transgender Health.

Previously, Amelia has served as the president of the Trans Equality Society of Alberta, Director of Community Development with Calgary Pride and chairperson of Fierte Canada Pride’s national Stand4Trans initiative among others and was awarded the inaugural Grand Heart Award for outstanding and distinguished contribution to advancing LGBTQ2+ rights in Calgary.

To be updated.

Sarah Mushtaq is the Director for Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism at Windsor Regional Hospital. She is a community builder who works to bridge the gaps between Windsor’s various communities. In 2018, Sarah was a recipient of the Leadership Windsor/Essex’s 40 Leaders Under 40 Award. Recognized for her civic contributions to the Windsor-Essex region, Sarah continues her work by advocating for a better public consultation process, equitable public policy and meaningful representation. She is a print, radio and TV media commentator as well as a monthly columnist in the Windsor Star where she covers topics related race, gender and the millennial experience in Canada. Sarah holds a Master in Business Administration along with a Bachelors in Arts & Science from the University of Windsor.

Betty Mutwiri, B Ed, MA, PCC is the Director of HR Strategy Development at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Her portfolio includes leadership development, diversity and inclusion, change management, total rewards and indigenous representative workforce.

Betty holds a Master of Arts Degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University and is currently pursuing a PhD in Educational Administration at the University of Saskatchewan. She is a certified Executive Coach and Cultural Intelligence (CQ) debriefer.

Shannon Monk is the founder and CEO of Sakatay Global, (www.sakatay.ca) and creator of the Indigenous Circle Approach to Cultural Confidence™. She has been a leader and innovator in Indigenous Education for almost 35 years. In addition to her current cultural training work, Shannon has also led a number of high-profile national projects to inspire cultural confidence and build relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and organizations. Most recently, this has included:

Shannon’s academic accreditation includes a Graduate Degree in Public Administration with a focus on Indigenous Policy and Governance from Queen’s University, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies, and a Bachelor of Education. Shannon is of Mi’kmaq (Prince Edward Island) and Celtic (Nova Scotia) descent, and a member of St. Theresa Point First Nation, an Oji-Cree isolated fly-in community in northern Manitoba.

In 2017, after fifteen years as a geologist and senior leadership professional in the Energy Industry, Kiersten embarked on the most significant challenge of her life: gender transition. Gender transition was life-changing in many ways. Kiersten’s publicly authentic and vulnerable approach to her transition allowed her to see how authenticity in the workplace could build connections andsynergywith her colleagues. Additionally, as Kiersten moved from a dominant to a non-dominant group whilemaintaininga corporate leadership role, she discovered many insights about improving equity, diversity, and inclusion in professional spaces. As she continued her corporate career, Kiersten found new motivation to engage in a more meaningful life through volunteering in the community and educating herself with a Bachelor of Psychology.

Eventually, these experiences ignited a personal passion, leading Kiersten to step out of her energy industry role, continue with a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, and launch TerraFirmaTransition Consulting. Kiersten is now passionate about using the unique intersection of her education, twenty years of corporate and leadership experience, and lived experience as a transgender professional to help empower organizations to create authentic,equitable, accessible, and inclusive workplaces where everyone can succeed. In addition, Kiersten dedicates time each week to providing inclusive and client-centred counselling support for youth, adults, couples, and families.

Kiersten is passionate about giving back to her community and serves as an executive board member for the Airdrie Pride Society and as a board director with Distress Centre Calgary. Kiersten’s commitment to advocacy has been celebrated by her community, as she was honoured as Airdrie’s 2020 Amazing Women in Advocacy and nominated for a 2020 Star of Alberta Award by the Mayor of Airdrie.

Darren Mondor is an Information Technology professional with over 20 years of experience across private, not-for-profit, and government sectors. He is currently the IT Project Management Office Lead at The City of Calgary, where his team provides oversight and support services for the $80-100 million in technology projects actively underway in the business unit at any point in time. He has been a volunteer with Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council (CRIEC) since 2012, and joined the Board of Directors in early 2014.

Darren holds an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of School, a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation from Project Management Institute, as well as numerous business and technical certifications.