Donna Cardoza
2016 Honourees
Donna initiate the Nubian Book Club, an intergenerational community initiative that encourages minority youth, their families and community leaders to engage in a rich dialogue about literature to support the advancement of the participating youth. The Nubian Book Club was also able to support the Hohle Intermediate School in South Africa to fill its library with hundreds of books through donations, and has subsequently renamed its library after the Nubian Book Club, in honour of this ongoing support.
Dr. Jarvis says she was lucky to have found a career that combined her two passions: working with children and medicine. Born in Jamaica, she became a Doctor in 1969, graduating from the University of the West Indies, (U.W.I.) Kingston, Jamaica. She lived on the campus, and refers to her relationship with U.W.I. as a family affair and very close to her heart. After her internship at the U.W.I. Hospital, she worked for two years as a Casualty Officer at Holberton Hospital, Antigua, and had a part-time family practice. Dr. Jarvis migrated with her husband to Canada in 1972 and completed paediatric training in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto. Certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1976 she joined the Department of Paediatrics and The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) and remained until retirement in 2010.
At a Toronto Gala in 2014, where she was being honoured, she recalled one of the highlights of her career was, when she had the opportunity to work on the late Dr. Mustard’s team. He was the first cardiac surgeon in the world to save children with complex congenital heart disease. Until Dr. Mustard perfected his surgical techniques, most of these babies died. It was a game-changer – just marvellous. She also noted that another career highlight was being part of the development of “Emergency Medical Services”. She went on to say that “When I came to Canada, they didn’t have paramedics; the service started in 1984, and I was very lucky to have been invited to teach some of the first groups of paramedics. That was a whole adventure and certainly, I never thought working in paediatrics, I’d have a chance to be part of that.”
Dr. Jarvis held a succession of academic appointments at the University of Toronto, in addition to hospital appointments. Leadership positions included Associate Dean, Health Professions Student Affairs, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Director of Sick Kids Emergency. The recipient of a host of teaching awards, her trainees now work as leaders in clinical, education and administrative positions around the world. She served as an examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, invited lecturer to countless education events across Canada and member of the National Task Force that led to the accreditation of Paediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) by the Royal College. A leading proponent of Paediatric Life Support education, she trained providers and instructors through the Michener Institute Program 1984-2015.
Dorothy Abike Wills, B.Sc., M.S.W., M.A., PhD., LL.D., DHL (Honoris Causa), C.M., retired in June 2000, as the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Technologies at Vanier College, Quebec. She was born in Dominica, West Indies. She was left orphaned at an early age and with the bequest from her parents, she migrated to Canada at seventeen and enrolled at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. There, she completed the Bachelor of Science Degree in 1956, and was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal for the highest academic performance that year. This was the beginning of a truly remarkable career of one of Dominica’s renowned daughters, who earned the distinction as “one of Canada’s leading educators and community leaders”. As an outstanding student, Dorothy continued her education at McGill University while working full time, and sometimes holding down two jobs, and raising her children. She earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work, and a Masters in History from Howard University. She however, found her passion in teaching and education and went on to do a Master’s Degree in Education at Concordia University and later earned her PhD in Philosophy of Education from Pacific Western University in California. She has since dedicated her life to being an Educator in the areas of Business Education, Social Work and Andragogy (the method by which adults learn) and encouraging the integration of visible minorities into Canadian society. She taught at the High School (CEGEP) and University levels.
As Strategic Development Director of the non-profit, Collective Community Services, located in Verdun, Montreal, Dr. Williams works to develop innovative programs and partnerships to improve the lives of English-speaking residents. She has worked as an historian, author, educator, researcher, content developer, and consultant.
Dr. Williams specializes in Black Canadian history and has authored three books and contributed to other scholarly and academic publications. Her first book was Blacks in Montreal, 1638-1986: An Urban Demography, was written at the behest of the Quebec Human Rights Commission in 1989, during their study of racism in Montreal’s housing market. Her second work, published in 1997, The Road to Now: A History of Blacks in Montreal, remains the only chronological study of Blacks on the island of Montreal. Her most recent book in 1998, Les Noirs à Montreal, Essai de demographic urbaine, was a translation of Blacks in Montreal.
With a strong afro-centric focused perspective, Dr. Williams’ Ph.D. thesis, “Sankofa: Recovering Montreal’s Heterogeneous Black Print Serials,” explored the range of Black print culture in Montreal. In addition, she has penned popular articles in magazines and newspapers about black culture in Canada. In addition, Dr. Williams has contributed to various refereed anthology volumes, such as D. Brundage, M. Lahey, eds. Acting on Words: An Integrated Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook and in two volumes of the University of Toronto Press, History of the Book in Canada/Histoire du livre et de l’imprimerie au Canada. Moreover, Dr. Williams has published in professional journals in her doctoral field of Library and Information Studies, such as Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science.
Dr. Kimberley Tavares, an educator for more than 15 years, is currently a Vice-Principal in the York Region District School Board (YRDSB). In February 2013, Kimberley was appointed an Equity Consultant, supporting African and Caribbean youth in the York Region District School Board. While in the position she worked with schools, and families to ease the often difficult navigation that can be schooling in Canada, while supporting schools in the development of equitable curricular practices. Prior to this appointment, she served as Head of the Department of English, at the York Region District School Board and was seconded to the Faculty of Education at York University for nearly three years. She attended York University, where she received the degrees: B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., and PhD in Education. She is the Co-Chair of the Alliance of Educators for Black Students, an organization of educators that focus on the academic and success of Black students. Her recent research focused on what education can learn from the experience and expertise of those most likely and willing to support the educational aspirations of marginalized learners – the Canadian Black Women teachers.
Kimberley is known for the passion she brings to the classroom, her encouragement of individual students and for her creative teaching techniques. Tavares, mother of three, said that her motivation to understand why a disproportionate number of Black male youth disengage from the school system, began with the birth of her son. It was then that she really began thinking and questioning what was happening to Black youth, specifically boys in our Society, especially when she projected her thoughts to twenty years “down the road” and it generated a huge fear in her. These thoughts provided “meat” for her ground-breaking research for her PhD in Education. It was her assumption, in following along with media and popular notions, that young Black men needed Black male role models in schools. She, however, discovered that the theory was misguided, as the Black males she interviewed, credited the Black women in their lives for their success, consequently allowing her to realize that care, more than gender (or even race) can determine a child’s success. In 2013, she received the Cornerstone Leadership in Action Award. This Award is given each year to recognize graduating teachers who demonstrate exceptional potential and values-based teaching, such as, honesty, integrity, creativity, courage and humility amongst other related values.
Education is one of the key bridges to equity. This belief guides Nancy’s work in the areas of anti-violence, anti-discrimination, literacy, human resources, and human rights. Her contributions to social justice demonstrate that education is of enormous importance in the task of dismantling inequity. From Nancy’s perspective, inequity takes the form of attitudinal, institutional, economic, and cultural barriers that diminish every person’s quality of life, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, and any other social locations.
At the Jane-Finch Literacy Centre, Ms. Simms taught first language literacy to Caribbean and Latin American women; moreover, she taught and developed courses in the assaulted women and children’s program at George Brown College. During her time at the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services, she was the manager for sexual assault centres across the province of Ontario. As a human resources manager at Dynamex Canada, Nancy played a pivotal role in developing and introducing policies that made the corporation markedly better at complying with human rights and anti-discrimination legislation.
Enid Lee, M.A., is a front-line educator, writer, speaker and community builder. She consults internationally on anti-racist and equitable education. She began her career as a classroom teacher several decades ago and has taught in the Caribbean, Canada and the U.S.A.
Her service to students of African Ancestry in Canada dates back to the mid-seventies when she taught in the Black Studies program in Flemington Elementary School in Toronto’s West End. She went on to serve as the first Supervisor of Race/Ethnic Relations at the former North York Board of Education.
As a member of the validation team for the provincial Policy on Race and Ethnocultural Equity, Enid traveled across the province of Ontario, engaging in evaluation sessions on the policy with community members and Boards of Education. She was also a Commissioner on the Task Force on Access to the Professions and Trades in Ontario. In 2008, the Nova Scotia Department of Education and the Council on African Canadian Education (CACE) commissioned her consulting firm, Enidlee Consultants Inc., of which she is Director, to conduct a review of programs for enhancing educational opportunities and achievement for African Nova Scotian Learners.
Esther Enyolu is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre (WMRCC) of Durham Region. In her work as Executive Director, she is highly committed to ensuring that women and children receive effective and efficient services, as well as maintaining a work environment that is free of any form of oppression.
Ettie has made a smooth transition from being a model to opening her own Fashion Agency, which is in its 25th year of operation, representing high fashion ladies wear from Canada, Europe and the United States to upscale department stores, specialty stores and boutiques. In 1990, she founded the Applause Institute, a non-profit community organization, empowering the black youth of her community. With the help of a dedicated team of volunteers, the first Cotillion Ball was held on October 16, 1996, an annual event that highlights months of training in social graces, dining etiquette, ballroom dancing, and many other disciplines.
Ettie Rutherford, a Jamaican immigrant, is a retired elementary school Principal, and the author of her first book “Women Are Worthy: Why Perch like a Chick When You Can Soar like an Eagle?”
Ettie’s memoir, focuses on her teen-age pregnancy, years of spousal abuse, and being abandoned in Calgary with four young children. In spite of a life filled with such challenges, Ettie graduated from the University of Calgary with a B.Ed., Dip.Ed. and M.Ed. degrees. Through the Congress of Black Women of Canada, Ettie has served as National Vice-President, working with Congress chapters from British Colombia to Nova Scotia. She also served as Provincial Representative for Alberta and Ontario, during which time, she started the York Region and the Oshawa-Whitby chapters.
Ettie’s goal is to continue using her consulting businesses, Women Are Worthy, and ER – Education-Services to enable women to realize their worth and attain success in the workplace and as parents. In order to give women meaningful service she has recently developed three programs: “R-I-S-E-U-P”, “Women Balancing Home and Work” and “Parenting With a Vision”.
Ms. Johnson was born in Marigot, Dominica and in 1967, migrated to Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. She eventually moved to Thompson, Manitoba, due to experiences of racism while seeking employment and a place to live.
While living in Thompson, Eunadie became involved in a number of initiatives; many of which she was instrumental in conceptualizing, developing and implementing. She was the founding member of the first Afro-Caribbean Association of the North, as well as the Manitoba Chapter of the Congress of Black Women. She founded the Manitoba Immigrant Women’s Association which later became the Association of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women.
Eunadie also established the first women’s shelter in Northern Manitoba. She was the Northern Representative for the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres and later became the Western Regional Representative. While still confronting racism, Eunadie continued to advocate for women’s rights. She was selected by the Mulroney Government to be part of the nation’s Constitutional Talks. She was later appointed to the Federal Committee to address practices affecting the hiring of visible minorities in the Public Service.
Evangeline Cain-Grant has been engaged in community service throughout her life. She was born in North Preston, Nova Scotia, one of Canada’s oldest and largest Black communities with a history that dates back to the 16th century. She became the First Black woman to open a sole law office in Canada, First Black woman member of the Nova Scotia Barrister Society Council; as well as North Preston’s First graduate from Dalhousie Law School and admission as a Lawyer to the Nova Scotia Barrister Society and the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
She gained public prominence as President and co-founder of the Parent-Student Association of Preston, an organization viewed by many, as one the most powerful and peaceful movements for educational reform that this country has ever seen. It was organized as a direct response to the nationally covered 1989 Cole Harbour High School Racial Riot, that resulted in the introduction of Nova Scotia’s First-Time Race Relation legislations and programs including but not limited to the Department of Education African Canadian Services Division, Council on African Canadian Education, Afrocentric Institute, Student Support Workers, Ethnic Curriculum and numerous other race- related initiatives within the province’s school system.
Evelyn is a highly experienced, innovative and results-oriented professional with more than 20 years helping public sector and social profit organizations translate their vision into action, through team building, problem solving, driving strategic change, efficient and effective leadership for sustainable growth and development. She is currently the CEO of EMpower Strategy Group, a boutique consulting Company, founded 2011, with the primary goal of providing the expertise that transforms organization and individuals. She designs and delivers powerful leadership development in areas of Stakeholder Engagement, Capacity Building, Community Leadership and Communications.
Prior to her position with the EMpower Strategy Group, she held numerous leadership positions in government and business. She has been a strong business woman, served as Program Director at Status of Women, Canada, worked for diversity as the Executive Director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, Founding Director of Peel Newcomer Strategy Group and founded the Rev. John C. Holland Awards to recognize Black Achievement in Hamilton. In recognition of her accomplishments, Evelyn has been the recipient of many Awards, which include, the 10 Year Volunteer Award (for Black History Committee), Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Ontario, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award, Government of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Award, Government of Canada, Community Service Certificate, Social Planning Certificate, Portrait of Success Award, Hamilton Spectator and the Woman of the Year Public Affairs Award, City of Hamilton. She was also inducted into Hamilton’s prestigious Gallery of Distinction.
Floydeen has worked in the non-profit sector for over 25 years. She is one of the founding members of ACCHO (The African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario). She played a key role in advancing the work of the Malvern Community Coalition by successfully securing funding for the Coalition to develop and formalize its structure. She is a founding member and past President of the Board of Directors for TAIBU Community Health Centre in Scarborough. Floydeen is a recipient of the prestigious Joe Leonard Award through the Association of Ontario Health Centres for outstanding contributions to community health. She is also a recipient of the City of Toronto’s Public Health Champion and shares a scholarship in her name with her brother Farley that is presented annually to a student at Leaside High School for exemplifying a sense of community, world empathy, and leadership in raising awareness in the areas of quality and diversity.
Frances-Anne Solomon is a Trinidadian-Canadian-British filmmaker, writer, producer, distributor, lecturer and cultural entrepreneur. Born in England of Trinidadian parents, she began her professional life at the BBC in England, where she built a successful career as a Producer first with BBC Radio Drama, then with BBC Television Drama as Executive Producer. She also produced and directed independent films through her company Leda Serene Films.
She studied at Bristol University in England and received a degree in Radio, Film & Television Arts before migrating to Canada in 1999. She continued to write, direct, and produce films, television programs, theatre plays, and new media projects. She is also the recipient of a B.A degree in Theatre Arts and English Literature. In 2001, she founded CaribbeanTales, a charitable organization producing, exhibiting and distributing educational multi-media projects based on Caribbean-heritage stories.
She founded The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, in 2006 that now includes annual events in Toronto and Barbados, and the Toronto-based CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival.
In 2010, she founded CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution Inc., the first film distribution company in the English-speaking Caribbean dedicated to the marketing and sales of Caribbean-themed films. The CaribbeanTales Incubator Program, now in its 7th year, develops and co-produces original content for the international market. She then launched CaribbeanTales-TV, a subscription video-on-demand platform, in 2013. CTWD now has a catalogue of over 300 films and television programs available for sale to the international market.
Frances-Anne is also a multi-award winning director whose works include feature films and series for BBC Films, The British Film Institute, and Channel 4 Television in England, and for Bravo! Showcase Television, APTN and the CBC in Canada. Her most recent feature film HERO launching in 2017, shot in Trinidad, the U.K. and Ghana is inspired by the long life and extraordinary career of Trinidadian war hero, diplomat and Judge Ulric Cross. She lives between Barbados, Trinidad and Toronto and cares about Animal Welfare, Arts and Culture, Civil Rights and Social Action.
Gemma Raeburn-Baynes, a graduate of McGill University and Community Activist was born in Grenada, West Indies and migrated to Montreal, Canada where it did not take long for her to integrate into her new environment. Just weeks after migrating as a teenager, she started the first youth choir at the St. Francis Church where her mother played the organ.
Gemma Raeburn-Baynes is a retired Senior Auditor with the Bank of Montreal (BMO), where she has worked since 1973. In addition to her banking career, she has also been active in business, community development and charitable initiatives. Gemma is very active in Montreal’s Black Community as an avid Fundraiser for various non-profit and charitable organizations. She helped start the Montreal’s Caribbean Carnival and founded the Play Mas Cultural Association that raises funds for Sickle Cell Anaemia,; the now defunct Miss Black Quebec Pageant and Montreal Ebony Models,; the city’s first Black modeling agency that generated nearly 1.5 million in a 27-year span through fashion shows that was designed to instill pride and self-confidence in young Black women and was involved in the Montreal Caribbean Fashion Week which took place in Spring 2015. She has received several awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, recognizing her as a strong advocate for the promotion of culture through the performing arts and anti-racist education, the Grenada-Toronto Association Consul General Award and the Sheila & Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award.
Despite disabilities, Gemma remains active. She is involved in the Taste of the Caribbean Festival that she started over 15 years ago. The Festival showcases the Caribbean’s rich culture, craft and tasty culinary delights. Through her work, Gemma has established herself as what is known in academia as a social entrepreneur, both as a leader pursuing significant community endeavours and as a group facilitator managing networks to achieve large-scale societal objectives.
I have had a successful banking career in Jamaica and Canada. This was followed by a thirty-year career in Canadian real estate sales for which I received many awards for Outstanding Achievements, Leadership and Service. Concurrent with my business careers, I founded a folk singing group in Canada called The Heritage Singers and have been its Music Director since inception almost forty years ago. This group has represented Canada many times at folk festivals hosted by various countries – Taiwan, Germany, The Netherlands, Venezuela and Mexico. The Heritage Singers also participated in the Jamaican Maroon cultural celebrations and performed in Harlem, New York. In Canada, the group has performed in Quebec, Ottawa, Saskatchewan and at various events in the Greater Toronto Area.
Gwyneth Matthew-Chapman, who hails from St. Lucia, grew up in New Village, Castries and attended the Anglican Primary School, before migrating to Canada in 1976, measures her success not by personal self-aggrandizement, or net worth, but by how much she can give to make the lives of those around her, those in her community, in her homeland and in Canada, better. She is a Television Broadcaster, Producer, Motivational Speaker, and a long-time Community Advocate and organizer, President of the Canadian Black Caucus and Inspiring You Media Productions and Special Advisor, Youth Engagement & Development to the Office of the Mayor.
Gwyneth is a visionary, a strong advocate for youth and, a community leader who is, respected for her ability to get things done, to get the attention and support of those in power. Her dynamic and spirited individuality is exemplified through her work with young people in numerous communities and youth organizations in Ontario. Her belief in representing underprivileged people, underpins her compassionate promotion of the numerous issues prevalent in those communities, and the individuals for whom there has been little representation.
When meeting Itah Sadu, the first thing you will see is her smile, the first thing you will notice is her warmth. As a dynamic entrepreneur and community builder, she utilizes creativity, leadership and teamwork to build infrastructure and legacy in communities. Her objective is simple and to the point: To work with organizations that engage in programs for youth with the focus on education, pathways and community economic development.
A woman of many talents, Sadu, has been a community developer, entrepreneur and educator in Toronto for decades. Her youth entrepreneurship program designs have been adapted as models for job placement opportunities, skill development and leaders-in-training programming. One such program was the Fresh Elements/Fresh Arts initiative designed for youth to develop technical and production skills in the cultural industries.
Featured on the African Canadian History 2011 Poster, Sadu has contributed to the legacy of African Canadians with the naming of Toronto sites in honour of their contributions. She is a bestselling children’s author, whose books are translated into foreign languages, adopted by schools for curriculum and adapted to film. A contributor to the development of the Canadian publishing sector, Itah is also founding member of the MY People Literary Awards and founding member of the Black Book Affair.
She is the co-owner of A Different Booklist, one of the few independent bookstores left in Toronto with a focus on finding literary gems that reflect Toronto, the African Canadian and Caribbean Canadian diversity. Her love for storytelling has taken her to schools around the world where she has developed stories that have a special appeal for children.
My most heartfelt and humbling accomplishment was my desire and ability in my OFL Human Rights Director’s position and as President of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Ontario Chapter and “bucket list wish” desire to mentor and ‘femtor’ many young people of colour to become champions of diversity and human rights in the labour movement, their workplaces and their communities.So proud of all them.
Jennifer Clarke is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Ryerson University and is a respected social work educator and activist. Jennifer has taught courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in social work education. Now the Associate Director of Field Education, a position she has held for the past three years, Jennifer is envisioning innovative ways for students to engage in social work field education that enhance their creativity and opportunities for transformative social work practice. Besides her teaching and research responsibilities, she has been a member of numerous committees across Ryerson and in the social work profession. For three years, she served as the Chair of the Standing Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Issues for the Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE). She also served as Chair of the Equity Issues and the Professional Affairs Committees for the Ryerson Faculty Association. She was Co-Chair of the Anti-Racism Coalition and currently serves on the Social Justice Committee, Anti-racism Caucus, Akua Benjamin Legacy Project, Teaching and Learning Committee and Ryerson Black Faculty and Staff Community Network.
Seneca College has been Jennifer Singh’s second home for nearly four decades. The former international student and alumnus’ comfort level on the Seneca campus, was enhanced when she was appointed the inaugural Dean of the newly created Faculty of International Studies. This is yet another milestone achievement for Jennifer, who was the first international student from Guyana to enroll at Seneca shortly after migrating to Canada in 1969. There were only three people of colour at the time. She says she has come full circle at Seneca, a school that continues to be a leader in providing high quality education to many international students who want to study in Canada.
In 1971, Jennifer graduated from a Library & Information Technician program and spent three years with Toronto Public Library before returning to Seneca as, Coordinator, Circulation Department, Learning Resources Centre,; Professor in the Faculty of Business,; Chair of the School of International Business & Centre of Human Resources and Dean of the Faculty of Business (Arts & Commerce) and Dean, Seneca International. During her tenure, she worked assiduously to ensure that programs within her portfolio were accredited by professional associations so that graduating students had an opportunity to pursue professional designations. She also developed the Certificate of Recognition program that acknowledges faculty and staff who reported to her for their contributions and outstanding work. Throughout her career in an institution of higher learning, she has mentored young women and in particular, young women of colour. She was a part of the group that was instrumental in forming a ‘women’s movement’ at Seneca to advance the role of women. She was also the lone woman on the presenting group that made a pitch to the President of Seneca on establishing an association that focused on Black students and staff. In 2006, she was the Recipient of a Seneca College Distinguished Alumni Award.
Jenny Gumbs is an executive with over 20 years’ experience in the Foreign Service and Consular Corps. A community leader, she has a proven ability in optimizing a strong network of business and community contacts in order to achieve desired results in areas that include economic development and sustainability. She was first appointed to public service in Grenada in 1980. She served as Executive Officer at the Consulate General of Grenada in Toronto before her appointment as Honorary Consul in 2000. In March 2007, she was appointed Honorary Consul General for Grenada to Canada and demitted that office in February 2014.
Butterfield is a prolific artist, with her works appearing across North America. She has created over 8,000 works of art and participated in hundreds of solo and group exhibits. Joan’s works can be found in homes, civic buildings, boardrooms, galleries and public spaces around the world.
Judge Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré was appointed to the Criminal and Penal Division as well as the Youth Division of the Court of Quebec in April 1999. Since retirement in 2012, she continues to sit as a supplementary judge.
Ms Westmoreland-Traoré was admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 1967 and The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1997; she specialized in immigration and citizenship law, human rights, family law and non-profit organization law. She was a professor in the Department of Legal Sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal from 1976 to 1991 and from 1996 to 1999, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Windsor and was appointed a Judge of the Court of Quebec for the District of Montreal in 1999. From 1982 to 1985, she was a member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. She is well known for her role in establishing the Conseil des communautés culturelles et de l’immigration du Québec, over which she presided from 1985 to 1990. She was Ontario’s first Employment Equity Commissioner, from 1991 to 1995.
Juanita has a long history of community involvement in human rights and equality issues, both nationally and internationally. She was a board member of the Canadian Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges from 2003 to 2009 and a co-chair of the Equality and Diversity Committee of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges from 2004 to 2010. Before moving to Toronto, she was an active member of the Congress of Black Women of Canada, Montreal Regional Chapter; many projects addressed issues relevant to immigration, education and health issues. One of the major undertakings was the coordination of an annual day of solidarity with South African women on August 9th, which mobilized both English and French women’s groups; another was the campaign to have discriminatory material removed from a student reader in public schools. She was one of the original members of the former Court Challenges Program established by government to fund cases developed by equity seeking groups, invoking the new equality provisions in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms