Lisa Ogbole

Lisa Skeete, was born in Toronto, but spent some of her preschool years in Barbados. Growing up in a family of educators and activists, Lisa had a steady stream of exemplary role models and mentors. Her formative and teenage years were spent traveling between the Caribbean and America where family members, mostly matriarchal in nature, encouraged Lisa to embrace her creative self and her passion for defending others. Lisa was amused with all things arts and culture, the literary world, as well as social activism. While attending Fine Arts, and minoring in African Studies at York University, Lisa was an executive member of the Caribbean Students Association, the Pan African Students Collective, and Unity Force Organized Movement.  These organisations brought social justice, debate and dialogue, and the arts to the campus and community.

Caribbean folklore and music were a muse for Lisa. While studying, Lisa was fortunate to sign on as a contributing writer for Upfront Magazine, a music publication out of Montreal, for “urban” and Caribbean music. While writing on the Rap and Calypso/Soca genre, Lisa met Ron Nelson while covering a Music Conference. That meeting blossomed into a long standing friendship and business relationship with “Friday Night Reggaemania” on CKLN 88.1 FM. Known as “Lisa West”, she spent Friday nights interviewing artists in the Roots and Culture/Dancehail genre, coupled with topical debate on issues in the Caribbean community in Toronto and abroad. During that time Lisa founded West Productions, a publicity and events management entity, and worked with several Reggae Dancehall artists both in Canada and Jamaica. Still a reggae and soca enthusiast, Lisa remains entrenched in the industry.

1. Giving back to the community in any way I can.2. Marrying my soulmate Barry and raising a wonderful family.3. Establishing my own company, Lolleta’s Creations, which has been a successful business for over 25 years.

1. Raising three wonderful daughters who are making a positive contributions in Canada and South Africa.
2. Being able to realize my childhood dream of sharing my musical gift with audiences beyond my humble beginnings in Soweto, South Africa.
3. Taking care of my mother until she passed.

Dr Lynn Jones – A native of Truro, Nova Scotia, is one of  ten children in a family of community leaders. She has been a life-long civil and human rights activist, an educator, community and labour organizer, and a truly inspiring speaker.

Lynn’s activism started in school days. Her parents, Willena and Elmer Jones whose life-long dedication to social justice inspired all their children. She agitated against the Vietnam War, as well as, the pernicious racial discrimination she and other African-Nova Scotian students experienced on a daily basis.  Truro’s residential areas and public spaces were segregated.  Even the washrooms were segregated in the  elementary schools, a factor that changed during Lynn’s childhood, largely because of her “strong and mighty” mother’s active protest.

She was a student in Dalhousie University’s landmark Transition Year program that continues to provide access to higher education and engagement in leadership initiatives for Native and African-Canadian youth. Lynn’s areas of concern have been environmental racism. This is sparked by her awareness that dumps and toxic waste sites are disproportionately located next to African-Canadian and First Nations communities, close to the homes of the economically disadvantaged, socially excluded and the powerless. In 1995, as Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLA), she pushed for a chapter on this crucial topic in the first – and only – National anti-racism report of unions and their communities in Canada which she co-chaired.  Lynn’s ongoing dedication to this cause provides inspiration for the successful community-based ENRICH project—Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequalities & Community Health —as well, Time to Clear the Air: Art on Environmental Racism, a remarkable project by young artists in the African-Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq communities.

There is no surprise that Madeline is still in the Health Services field.  One could say she is a Health Services Professional Extraordinaire because of all the areas she has covered and the number of years she has spent in the field. She left Jamaica at age 16 for the United Kingdom and eventually pursued studies in Nursing, where she became a Registered Nurse. After five years as a State Registered Nurse and Midwife in England and Scotland, the healthcare practitioner packed her bags in 1965 and headed to Canada. She said, “Meeting people from all parts of the world in the five years in Europe piqued my interest and I decided I wanted to travel and see the world. One of my pals moved to Toronto and invited me to come here first and spend some time with her”.  While vacationing in the city, she met someone, fell in love and got married a few months later.  After being in the Nursing field for a while, she decided to expand her education by studying Teaching Techniques and then followed that by acquiring a Degree in Sociology from York University.  She still had a thirst for broadening her knowledge, so she pursued a Management Certificate in Business and also another in Dispute Resolution.

Malinda S. Smith is a Professor of Political Science and the Provost Fellow (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy) at the University of Alberta.  She was born in Nassau, The Bahamas. Currently, Dr. Smith is principal investigator on a 2018 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship research, “A Seat at the Table: Engendering Black Canadian Pasts and Futures,” which focuses on unearthing and telling the stories of Black hidden figures in Canadian politics, law and higher education. She is co-editor (with Awad Ibrahim, Tamari Kitossa and Handel Wright) of the forthcoming volume, Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy. Dr. Smith also serves on Statistics Canada’s Working Group on Black communities in Canada, and the Statistics Canada expert group on Immigration and Ethno-cultural Statistics.

Dr. Smith completed her early education in Nassau, where she graduated from Queen’s College High School. She began her postsecondary studies at the University of Idaho and completed a B.A. (magna cum laude) in political science and sociology at Western Michigan University, while on a full-ride field hockey scholarship. Subsequently she was awarded a Graduate Fellowship and completed two Master’s degrees at WMU, one in Political Science and one in Development Administration.  Dr. Smith obtained her PhD in Political Science at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Currently Dr. Smith teaches international and comparative politics, critical race studies, and gender and politics at the University of Alberta. Before moving to the University of Alberta. Dr. Smith taught at Athabasca University, where she served as the academic coordinator for the BA in Political Economy and the Bachelor of Professional Arts (BPA) in Governance, Law and Management. Dr. Smith is one of four Black female professors currently in political science in Canada, and the only Black female full professor in the discipline.

Marci Ien is Co-Host of CANADA AM – CTV News’ National Morning Program. Already a familiar face in the mornings, Ien was CANADA AM’s News Anchor from 2003–2011.

A graduate of Ryerson University, Ien was appointed distinguished visiting professor at Ryerson University’s Radio & Television Arts (RTA) Program. Selected among 22 notable alumni in January 2015, she guest lectures and participates in workshops, and presentations with students and faculty, offering insight on the latest developments in television.

 In 2014, Ryerson University Radio and Television Arts (RTA) bestowed upon Ien the distinction of having an award co-named in her honour by the RTA School of Media. The Marci Ien and Dwight Drummond Award, celebrate students from under-represented and marginalized communities who show great potential in any three of RTA’s programs. In 2013, Ien was inducted into the RTA Wall of Fame for her significant contributions to the field of media.

Her career in television spans over three decades. The journey has taken her across Canada, from Halifax, where she joined CTV News Atlantic Bureau in 1967 as a reporter for two years. She covered reaction to the death of Princess Diana and the tragic crash of Swiss Air jetliner off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia to Vancouver, where she was the News Anchor for CTV’s OLYMPIC MORNING at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. She has interviewed newsmakers, including Desmond Tutu on the future of South Africa, Deepak Chopra on finding one’s true authentic self and Jamie Foxx on his rags to riches story and achieving balance in Hollywood. She has covered six Federal elections and anchored, when the news of the devastating earthquake in Japan broke and the terror attacks in London in 2005.

She currently sits on the York University Senate….the body responsible for the academic governance of the University and has been a Senator since 2012, where she represents the Schulich School of Business. Although Dr. Annisette has successfully climbed the ladder of academic administration at Schulich, she has done so while continuing to maintain a productive scholarly life and is highly recognized internationally.

My greatest accomplishment is being able to impact the lives of others in a positive and meaningful way. I rose from poverty to educate myself and obtained a law degree, which allowed me the opportunity to engage in the community and to impact the lives of many. My extensive community involvement paved the way for my ascension into the political realm as a Liberal elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, a position in which I was able not only to impact the lives of my constituents, but also Ontario’s approximately 13 million people as the Minister of Health Promotion and Sports. This subsequently led to my re-election as MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood, making history as the first African-Canadian woman to be re-elected to the Ontario Legislature, blazing a trail for others to follow as a history maker, and continuing my journey in life to touch as many people’s lives as I can in a positive and uplifting way.

Maricia Silvera-Batson was born in the well-known island of wood and water, Jamaica. She accompanied her mother to Canada in 1976 and has been a proud Torontonian ever since.

Coming from a family rich with nurses it comes as no surprise that Maricia has chosen a career that specializes in caring and advocacy. She is a Registered Nurse, graduating from both Centennial College and Ryerson University, with a specialty in Perianaesthesia and Critical Care at an acute care hospital. Always reflective and resourceful, Maricia is on a constant learning journey and has taken opportunities to explore beyond the bedside of nursing to effect change in healthcare personnel and patient safety

Marie France Fleurantin is the 2nd vice-president of Unifor Local 62. She was born in Montreal of Haitian. She studied at Collège Montmorency in Laval in human science with a social profile. She has a 24 year old daughter.

She currently works at Bombardier Aerospace, Center of Excellence in Pointe-Claire for 10 years. When she started working at Bombardier, it was an honour to work for such a large company and also it was her first experience as a union member.  Her employment at Bombardier, her employer, was nevertheless a surprise since it was a job mainly made up of men.

Her involvement in the union began when she realized that women did not really have their place in the local union and that this was even less the case for members of color who are a small minority. She got involved in order to learn more about this union subject and to support it.

1. Launching the first Canada-wide black-led mental health support program. 2. Being a contributor and the national spokesperson for the MHCC new resource Shining A Light On Mental Health In Black Communities. 3. Getting acknowledged by the Haitian embassy for our efforts.