OUR TEAM

Beth Hudson, traditionally from Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8, was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Growing up, Beth was frequently the only Indigenous person in the room and felt isolated and alone in most areas of her life. Always an active kid, she found community and connection through sport and recreation, and pursued this passion through university and grad school, eventually finding a home in the Northwest Territories. She loves to help build capacity and opportunity for Indigenous youth by creating innovative strategies for overcoming the systemic and societal barriers that impact Indigenous communities. Beth continues to inspire change in the communities she works with. She has helped develop content for national programs and training for Aboriginal sport and has networked with national sport bodies in an effort to inspire change and use sport and recreation as a tool to help Indigenous youth overcome barriers.

Marco Pasqua is an award-winning Entrepreneur, Accessibility Consultant and Inspirational Speaker. After graduating from the Art Institute of Vancouver, he spent 5 years in the video game industry.

During the recession of 2010, he lost his job, which turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise. Marco decided it was time to use his voice to make a positive impact on the world, so he built his

own brand as a professional speaker and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, he has remained focused on social impact, keeping a philanthropic approach to the work that he does. Some of his most

memorable talks include TEDxStanleyPark, The United Way as an impact speaker and The Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Throughout his life, Marco has also been involved with a number of organizations as a spokesperson, helping to spread advocacy for persons with disabilities across Canada.

As an Accessibility and Inclusion Consultant, he has worked with some of BC's biggest change-driven business leaders who are champions for more accessible, inclusive workplaces. It's through these experiences that he is helping to pave the way for all Canadians to have universal access to the programs, services and places that they live, work and play.

Ryan comes to INclusion INcorporated holding a Master’s of Kinesiology, specializing in Health Promotion, and a Graduate Certificate in Sport and Recreation Management. Before working in sport Ryan’s research focused on working with members of marginalized communities.  Passionate about lifelong learning, Ryan is currently mulling the idea of beginning a PhD that would combine their interests of Safe Sport, coaching practices, and sport culture. 

Ryan was born and raised in rural Manitoba. As a transmasculine, non-binary person they struggled to find belonging in their hometown but found solace in sport. That belonging in a sport environment has led them to a career in advocating for Safe Sporting environments for all athletes. This passion has led them to work in athlete services with Queen’s University Athletics Department, before joining Canada Artistic Swimming as the Safe Sport Manager. Ryan believes that Safe Sport and the principles of diversity, inclusion and equity are interconnected and work together to create positive experiences for athletes. 

Ryan is excited to continue to dive deep into their own learning journey with the INclusion INcorporated team and explore how small daily changes can create more inclusive and psychologically safe environments. 

Richard 'Bear' Peter (born September 10, 1972) is a Canadian First Nations wheelchair basketball player. Peter was born in Duncan, British Columbia, and currently resides in Vancouver. When Richard was four years old, he was injured in a bus accident, leaving him in a wheelchair ever since. He began playing wheelchair basketball at the age of 15 when he was inspired by a team that came to his school and introduced him to wheelchair sports. Since then, Peter has competed in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games, winning the Gold medal for wheelchair basketball for three of those years.

Sarah Gallsworthy is on a journey to share the power of movement, health and quality programming. Growing up in British Colombia she learned early about the value of active, healthy living. As part of the LGBTQI2S community, Sarah also understands that barriers to programs and spaces can limit potential. She is an advocate for awareness and inclusion to help others find a sense of belonging and acceptance. Sarah left the healthcare sector with a passion for teaching others. She is currently a professor in both the Fitness Health Promotion and Recreation Programs at Seneca College, in Ontario, a learning facilitator for the Coaching Association of Ontario, a Physical Literacy master learning facilitator with Sport for Life, and a master trainer with High Five. As a sport and recreation consultant, Sarah has been a part of many Provincial, Territorial and National initiatives that support physical literacy, child development and quality engagement. When not working, you can likely find Sarah keeping active at her local park in her most important role of mom to young daughter Ayla, whilst tossing a frisbee ( that will never be returned) to Great Dane, Hamilton. 

Judy came to Canada from Taiwan in 2004 to seek better approaches to understand their athletic investment in sports. After completing a Masters in Social-Managerial Aspects of Sport at UBC and a Ph.D. in feminist sport studies at U of A, Dr. Liao has made their mark on furthering conversations about socio-cultural aspects of sport and intersections of gender in sport and physical activity at Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta at Camrose, Alberta. As a queer Asian immigrant speaking about gender, race, and sexuality, Judy encountered a lot of hostile push backs from students from the very beginning of my tenure at Augustana. Judy is an active participant in cultivating more equitable, diverse, and accessible communities that they are associated with. They have served on committees at the department, university, and professional societies to find solutions to empower and create meaningful engagements with marginalized communities in and through sport and physical activity. 

Katie Miyazaki has a Master of Public Health degree, but her real knowledge comes in the sporting realm. She has been involved in a variety of sports as an athlete, coach, and administrator on all levels and in varying capacities. Joining the Wheelchair Basketball world in 2013 really opened her eyes to Diversity and Inclusion and sparked an interest in learning more and finding ways to make a difference.  It was through sport that Katie found her voice to speak out and advocate for what she feels is needed and necessary.
Katie loves to learn and continues to reflect on her own intersectionality and how it influences her personal experiences. She also loves to hear other people’s stories and to create opportunities for people to find their passion and to gain a sense of belonging. She believes sport is an excellent vehicle for building skills like confidence and belonging but knows that there is still so much work that needs to be done in order to ensure sport is accessible and welcoming to all.

 With significant public sector and senior executive experience, Shafana is an engaging community builder and facilitator, a strategic thinker and executive leader on supporting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the workplace. She has had a diverse career path with a focus on corporate finance, innovative client-centric services, transformation in programs, public policy, board governance and EDI.

Shafana Mitha has her Masters in Business Administration with a greater focus on Strategic Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. She is also one of a few individuals in Alberta with a professional designation as a Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional. 

Her consulting company Akollage Consulting Incorporated focuses on developing EDI strategies and policies, respectful workplace policies and training, stakeholder engagement, Employment Equity Policy development, and customized learning and development such as cultural competencies, and anti-racism/anti-oppression. She led the development of the first ever diversity and inclusion program, policy, and strategic action plan with the Government of Alberta for over 28,000 employees across the province and later in her career was the Executive Director for Status of Women, Multiculturalism and Inclusion.

Shafana currently resides in Treaty 6 territory – Amiskwacîwâskahikan or known to many as Edmonton, Shafana is a trusted leader where she passionately volunteers in different capacities within her community.

Fannie found her true passion for adaptive and parasports at the end of 2010 and has never looked back. Fannie is the Manager, Para Development with Athletics Canada, an experience Mission Staff with the Canadian Paralympic Committee and a member of CPC’s Performance and Games Operations committee. She also sits on the Girls and Women Advisory Board for ViaSport Fannie recently completed her Certification as a Certified Canadian Diversity and Inclusion Professional (CCIP) with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI). Her passion lies in a continuous learning journey in developing awareness and tools to understand the systematic barriers in sport better as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She believes that creating spaces where individuals feel safe and seen and belong will lead to a more inclusive and diverse society and that this work starts with athletes with a disability, LGTBQI2S athletes and BIPOC athletes and coaches.

Fannie a trouvé sa passion pour les sports adaptés et paralympiques en 2010. Elle est présentement la gestionnaire du développement du para-athlétisme avec Athlétisme Canada. Elle a fait partie de quatre équipes de mission avec le Comité paralympique canadien (CPC) et est membre du comité CPC Performance paralympique et jeux. Elle fait aussi partie du Conseil consultatif filles et femmes avec

ViaSport. Fannie a recamment completé sa Certification de spécialiste en inclusion agréée du Centre canadien pour la diversité et l’inclusion. Elle croit en le pouvoir créer des cultures où chaque personne appartient et se passionne a une education continuelle au sujet de la diversité et de l’inclusion. Elle veut aider a créer des espaces ou chaque individue se sent secure et la bienvenue.

Fannie se joint a l’équippe Inclusion Incorporated comme collabratrice et modératrice pour nos épisodes « Favoriser l’appartenance ».

Aly is currently the Vice President of People, Equity, and Culture at a  tech start-up; he is also an Adjunct  College Professor and a University Instructor. Aly has earned his designation as a Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP) and  teaches a variety of courses in leadership, communication, diversity,  and career development.

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As  a Consultant and Leadership Coach, Aly helps leaders champion Justice,  Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion  (JEDI) initiatives within their respective organizations and also  facilitates training on JEDI for Executives and frontline staff. Aly  facilitates a wide variety of corporate training including; Managing  Mental Health in the Workplace, Implicit Bias in Professional  Decision Making, and Inclusive Leadership.

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Aly  has over 15 years of experience as a police officer, including various  leadership roles in which he led  organization-wide Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives.  Aly was selected to be a member of the EDI Committee of the Ontario  Association of Chiefs of Police and appointed to the Toronto Police  Services Board's Anti-Racism Advisory Panel. In addition  to being a regular conference speaker, Aly teaches courses and  facilitates training related to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

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Aly  earned a master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration and  undergraduate degrees in both Kinesiology  and Adult Education. Aly is a Harvard-trained negotiator and has  successfully completed certificate programs in Change Management,  Inclusive Leadership, Police Leadership, and Teaching Effectiveness. He  is a lifelong learner and is currently enrolled in the  Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching program at Royal Roads  University.

 Mallory Hilkewich (she/her) loves to develop and facilitate learning experiences, write educational materials – curriculum, reports – you name it, and to work collaboratively to develop strategies that will positively change the structure and practices of an organization or program. She is passionate about grounding her work in equity, inclusion and trauma-informed practice, and has worked in the non-profit sector her whole career. Mallory is always curious, and thrives in spaces of co-creation and learning with others. She has completed a Master of Social Work, studying social justice and community development approaches to creating social and organizational change, as well as a Certificate in Adult Learning & Development.

Brianna Cuzzolino (she/her) is a settler born on Treaty 13 territory. After a post-graduate diploma in Education, she took a special interest in designing experiential learning experiences that deepen learnings for diverse audiences. She has extensive experience collaborating with others to build capacity and work towards their personal and professional goals. Brianna has spent many years working alongside First Nations and Inuit communities across Turtle Island to support the development and implementation of community-led programs that are responsive to individual community needs. 

She brings her lived experience as a queer woman to her work and is passionate about creating inclusive and accountable spaces where people can explore hard conversations and grow together.

 Vanessa Oraekwe is a community development practitioner and consultant who’s been working in building capacity within organizations and communities with a primary focus on anti-racism for the last five years. Her work has been centered on confronting systemic racism through training, policy review, consultation and curricula development. In community her role has led her to develop strong community networks through avenues of community empowerment such as social practise art making, community education and grassroots organizing. She is currently pursuing her research in Black radical thought and working towards further developing her art practise.

Kirsten is dedicated to creating spaces of flourishing through vulnerability and reflexivity within sport and recreation in order to create affirming and meaningful environments to move in. Kirsten comes to this work as a passionately reflexive practitioner and researcher within inclusive/para-sport and recreation. Her professional background involves working with many local and provincial organizations to develop sport, recreation, and leisure experiences for those across various intersections. After completing a Bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education, majoring in physical literacy, she furthered her education and is currently completing her Master of Kinesiology degree at the University of Alberta. There she completed an autoethnographic study surrounding her experiences as a non-disabled adapted physical activity practitioner and the role she played in perpetuating ableist harm. Kirsten's research highlights the importance of confronting and disrupting ableist understandings and practices in order to mitigate micro and macroaggressions and create spaces to thrive in. Kirsten is excited to join INclusion INcorporated in finding ways to critically examine the many intersectional roles we hold within EDI work and the ways we can contribute to meaningful collaboration and create increasingly affirming experiences.

Evelyn Amponsah is a community organizer, researcher, and scholar who utilizes translational research to shift the ways in which institutions impact Black and racialized  communities.  She has been an integral part of the struggle for Black Studies at York and also works on decolonizing the academy, both in Ghana and in Toronto, while also advocating for more representation of Black people in the academy.  Evelyn has and continues to work with non-profit, municipal and grassroots organizations to inbed anti-racism praxis through policy, training and strategy. Most recently, she was the Director of the Centre for Advancing the Interests of Black People at Toronto Community Housing, where she lead the charge for change in social housing for Black tenants and Staff. As a PhD Candidate in York University’s Social and Political Thought program, her research interests were largely on melancholia and race and critiques of the “post” racial, urban issues related to housing, Black studies, diaspora studies, and Social and Political critiques of whiteness. Her work is motivated by Robin D.G Kelly's phrase "love, study, struggle". 

Tim O'Loan, an indigenous person from northern Canada (NWT) and a proud veteran having served 10 years  (1983-1993) in the military before starting his undergraduate degree in Political Science and his professional career. From 1998-2006,  Tim was a Land Claims and Self Government Negotiator for the Government  of the NWT. He then moved to Ottawa for his MA in Canadian Studies at  Carleton. Tim was asked to join the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) in 2010 as the Advisor  to the TRC Chair, Senator Murray Sinclair. While Tim was with the TRC  and since, he made a number of presentations on Reconciliation to a  range of institutions and number of stakeholders. Tim continues to share this unique perspective to all levels of government,  educational institutions and the private sector across Canada. 

Radhika  is a newcomer to Canada from India.  She holds a Masters degree in  Human Development, a science of how  individuals develop emotionally, cognitively and psychosocially  throughout their lifespan.  Completing her degree in Human Development reaffirmed her passion for  supporting people through offering creative and  sustainable solutions  that promote positive development as well as drive the importance of diversity, inclusion and social justice. Radhika  has brought this to life through working in Human Resources with the  goal to maximize the potential of any organization's most important  asset- it's people. She is  passionate about working in areas like Organizational Behavior,  Workplace Culture and Employee  Engagement.

Lisa is a settler living in ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ(Amiskwacîwâskahikan) on Treaty 6 territory, the territory of the  Papaschase and the homeland of the Métis Nation. Currently a  Postdoctoral Associate in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and  Recreation at the University of Alberta, Lisa’s research exposes what is inherently  problematic, difficult, and dangerous in the inclusion discourses,  practices, and policies used to govern Canada’s recreation and sport  systems. Prior to returning to academics, Lisa worked as a Director in the Government  of Alberta’s Recreation and Physical Activity Division and a Manager at  the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association. Lisa is also the  Co-Director of In Situ Change Strategies – a participatory consulting firm that provides strategic learning, research, and  evaluation services to inform meaningful action.

Andrea  is a settler on the lands of the Quw'utsun people of Vancouver Island,  goes by the pronouns she/her, comes from a background in human resources and joins INclusion INcorporated as a Project  Coordinator.
 

Passionate about sports, Andrea is a multiple Ironman finisher, triathlon coach and former ski coach. 

Understanding  the importance of belonging, and using compassion and her passion for  people, Andrea is focusing her work on diversity, equity, and inclusion  and looks forward to supporting projects through these lenses. Certified in both 'Foundations' and ‘Antiracism'  through the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, Andrea recently  received her certification in 'Aboriginal World Views and Education'  through the University of Toronto. 

Zoe  Robinson has worked in the not-for-profit industry for nearly 30 years,  serving in a variety of management positions, including 6 years as a  CEO, and currently works as the Director, Corporate Services for the College of Physiotherapists of  Ontario.

Zoe  is a Chartered Professional Accountant with a Certified Management  Accountant legacy designation, a graduate of Queen’s University  (Bachelor of Arts – Music History), and attended the Bachelor of Physical and Health Education program at the  University of Toronto. She is trained to use design thinking as a model  to solve problems, to develop programs and strategies, and is focusing  her training on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Zoe  specializes in working with boards of directors and executives to  improve board performance, board and CEO relationships, strategy  development, and financial management and is a member of the Governance Professionals of Canada and the  Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

She  currently serves on the Board of Directors for The 519, a City of  Toronto community centre that supports the 2SLGBTQ+ community in  downtown Toronto, and is the Vice-Chair with Parachute Canada.

Zoe came out in November 2018 as a transgender woman and is living now as her genuine self on a full-time basis.

Douglas Arienti (he/him) immigrated to Turtle Island from Brazil in 2014. He is a trained teacher with Masters in Cultural History and post-secondary education in Sport Business Management and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Management. 

Douglas is deeply interested in the intersection between youth development, sport coaching, and education through the Sport For Development lens. Focusing on integrating outcomes into sport programming, he has experience designing training engagements for adults and sport programming for youth and children.

Camille Bérubé (she/her) holds a B.A. with a specialization in Organizational Communications with a minor in Gender and Disability studies from the University of Ottawa. She is a disability & 2SLGBTQ+ rights advocate and a three-time Paralympian in swimming. 

She is now retired from the sport but continues to use her platforms to enhance the voices of athletes in Canada. Camille is an active Board member of AthletesCAN, the association of Canada’s national team athletes which aims to create a more athlete-centred sport system. 

Camille has worked for the Canadian Paralympic Committee as part of the communications and brand department as well as in strategic initiatives with corporate services. She has excellent public speaking and facilitator skills in both French and English.

She currently works as a an Advisor for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility at Ingenium- Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation in Ottawa. 

Camille is a hard worker but enjoys quiet weekends outside with her loved ones. She also makes all her own natural cosmetics and cleaning products from scratch in her home. She hopes to have her own business one day. 

Rach McBride (they/them) has been racing full-time as a professional triathlete since 2011. They are a five-time Ironman 70.3 Champion and have numerous podium and course record results across several distances in the sport. Known as the “Purple Tiger,” they are one of the strongest cyclists on the world circuit, logging ten Ironman 70.3 fastest bike splits so far. Rach also races at the elite level in major gravel cycling events throughout North America, including Unbound 200 and Leadville 100.

Deemed "the most interesting [person] in triathlon" by TRS Radio, Rach is the first professional triathlete to be out as gender non-binary. They live, train, and spend their free time working in sexual health education and advocacy in the beautiful, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples – Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ílwətaʔɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, as well as the Stz’uminus and Stó:lō First Nations (Vancouver, Canada).

Rach has been an advocate for gender inclusion and thinking beyond the binary, and will support INclusion INcorporated's work in supporting clients to explore how to create more gender inclusive opportunities. 

K’Mesha Maloney is an Afro-Indigenous community builder who uses her background in Indigenous Visual Culture and Psychology to create initiatives focused on equity, accessibility, diversity and inclusion. 

As a survivor of human trafficking Mesha uses her lived experience to provide community outreach and advocacy for Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+ communities and people without housing for over a decade. 

She is a strategist, collaborating with various non-profit, municipal, grassroot organizations and companies internationally. 

Mesha currently sits on the Toronto Police Service: Anti-Racism Advisory Panel, Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Panel and Officer Training and Curriculum Development Panel. 

She also sits as a Director on an Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Board and has developed the Confronting anti-Black racism framework within this Board.

Mesha has worked extensively in the Public Health sector leading the implementation of the fully functional health clinics within warming centres in Northern Ontario, helping to remove barriers to health care services for Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous people.

She recognizes that in order to create positive change and dismantling systemic barriers being a leader requires being an effective and compassionate listener first.