The Journey: Black Leadership Navigating Institutional Spaces

About

Guests

• 

  Guest of Honour

  Hon. Dr. Jean Augustine

  Hon. Dr. Jean Augustine P.C., C.M., O.Ont., C.B.E. is the first African-Canadian woman to be elected to the House of Commons. She was elected in the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in 1993 and sat in Parliament until 2006. During this time, she served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Minister of State and Deputy Speaker.

  Website
• Moderator

  Jodie Glean

  Executive Director Equity, Diversity & Inclusion People Strategy, Equity & Culture
• Emcee

  Lydia Gill Blackett

  Assistant Director, University Student Recruitment – Equity & Outreach Office of Student Recruitment University Admissions & Outreach
• Performer

  Michelle Bookal

  U of T Alumni, 2018 Registered Nurse

  Born and raised in Toronto, Canada Michelle grew up singing in church on praise teams and choirs. Her parents hail from the beautiful island of Jamaica and have instilled a love for music in her from a young age. Her love for Gospel music is evident but she also has a deep appreciation for contemporary, jazz, blues and other popular genres! In addition to singing at various shows including the Toronto Black Diamond Ball, weddings and corporate events throughout Canada she has most notably been featured on CP24 (Countrywide news) as well as singing in a PEPSI ad. Michelle has used her talents to assist her way through nursing school and is now a Registered Nurse in Washington, DC. She aspires to continue to develop herself as a singer/songwriter, but most importantly as a future OBGYN finding creative ways to combine her love for music with her passion for medicine.

• Aina-Nia Ayo’dele

  Spiritual Leadership Coach / Ancient Wisdom Teacher Aina-Nia Journey Learning Inc.

  Aina-Nia Ayo’dele: “A transformative leader and change maker.”

  She is CEO & Principal of Aina-Nia Learning Journey Inc. and is unapologetically on a mission to influence institutions and individuals to create bold and meaningful change through a decolonized approach to leadership, as a means to equity, inclusion, reparation, and reconciliation and most importantly, SELF love.

  Aina-Nia is a leadership coach, author and ancient wisdom teacher and Spiritual Liberation Activist. She believes and knows firsthand that a decolonized and indigenized methodology brings measurable impacts – social, political, and economic.

  In 2018, Aina-Nia established North America’s first government sanctioned strategy and permanent office to address anti-Black racism and was the lead consultant on the creation of the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism. She led in the development of the COVID Equity Plan on Community Engagement & Mobilization for Vaccine Equity, including the establishment of the Black Scientists’ Taskforce for Vaccine Equity, Toronto Youth Vaccination Advisory, and the Accessibility Taskforce. City of Toronto acknowledgement of Aina-Nia’s ground-breaking contributions (2018-2022): “Through you a city is transformed.”

  She founded and leads the life transformational Sacred Leaders Training™ process, which has been transforming individuals, families, and communities for 14 years.

  Since her retirement from public service at the City of Toronto Aina-Nia has continued her public works by returning to her love of leadership development. She has been supporting leaders to play their role in advancing social justice as they live the highest version of their vision. Her clients and students span across sectors and regions.

  Aina-Nia is known for masterfully integrating her spiritual and corporate expertise throughout all her offerings to create generational impacts. She is multifaceted – a Yoruba priest initiated in various other ancient wisdom traditions as well as an Ontario licensed clergy in Metaphysical & New Thought Ancient Wisdom.

  She is a well sought-after public speaker who has presented to academic, corporate, Faith and civil society audiences across North America, Caribbean, and West Africa. Aina-Nia is known for inspiring action through her masterful delivery, transforming you almost immediately. Aina-Nia is often called on to consult on issues of institutional culture change, gender and racial equity, and African Indigenous practices. She has also been featured in various documentaries and learning podcasts on these issues. She sat on the Parliament of World Religions 2018 historic working group for the development of Indigenous Peoples Program and led the Women’s Water Ceremony at its global gathering in Toronto. She was a featured PoWR 2023 luminary at the Parliament of World in Chicago, USA.

  For her trailblazing work and the sterling contributions, Aina-Nia was honoured with a Lifetime Advocacy Award in February 2022. In 2018, she was named one of the 100 Most Accomplished Black Canadian Women prior to which she was nominated as 100 Women to Watch in 2017. The Ontario government recognized her for contributions to the community and in 2008, she was nominated as one of Toronto’s Most Inspiring Women. Aina-Nia was also recognized as one of Jamaica’s 58 Best, honouring the country’s 58th Independence. She was recently featured at the Toronto Archives as an Influential Black Leader who has overcome obstacles to make valuable contributions to society and the world.

  Her book SELF: An Inner Journey to Re-Membering Your Power was released in 2021 and is on its third print. Aina-Nia’s work is featured in the film Remembering Her Power. The film premiered at the 2018 Parliament of World Religions in Toronto and has been a featured documentary on Global Africa Television Network as well as the LA’s PTA film festival 2020.

• 

  Welcome

  Prof. Meric Gertler

  President

  Professor Meric Gertler is one of the world’s foremost urban theorists and policy practitioners. He is widely known as an expert on innovation, creativity and culture as drivers of the economic dynamism of city-regions. On November 1, 2013, Professor Gertler began his term as the 16th President of the University of Toronto.

  Previously, President Gertler served as the Dean of the University’s largest and most diverse academic division, the Faculty of Arts & Science, a position he had held since December 1, 2008. As Dean, his priority was to provide students with a top quality academic experience in which they benefit directly from U of T’s strength and diversity in research and teaching. Professor Gertler is internationally renowned as a distinguished scholar. His research focuses on the geography of innovative activity and the economies of city-regions.

  He has served as an advisor to local, regional and national governments in Canada, the United States and Europe, as well as to international agencies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (Paris) and the European Union. He was the founding co-director of the Program on Globalization and Regional Innovation Systems (PROGRIS) at the Munk School of Global Affairs, served as director of the Department of Geography’s Program in Planning, and holds the Goldring Chair in Canadian Studies.

  Professor Gertler’s more than 80 journal articles and book chapters have had significant impact in his field and have led him to be one of Canada’s most highly cited geographers. He has held visiting appointments at Oxford University, University College London, UCLA, and the University of Oslo. He won the 2007 Award for Scholarly Distinction from the Canadian Association of Geographers. In May 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctor of philosophy from Lund University, Sweden for his exceptional contributions to the fields of economic geography and regional development. In the same year, he was made an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK).