On July 20 and 21, 2021, the Office of Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights (OAREHRS) hosted two half-day sessions with the established Anti-Racism Strategy Review Task Force (see list of members below). The task force, representative of priority departments across the college, engaged in a preliminary review of the 2020 Anti-Racism Strategy to provide feedback and input for revision. Their feedback was an important first step in hearing from the George Brown community, and we are looking forward to future opportunities for broader engagement.
During the two sessions we tackled many topics that explored and examined our current Anti-Racism Strategy. Several themes began to emerge through our lively and thoughtful discussions. The following is a summary of some the themes that emerged:
- Ensuring anti-racism work is among the college’s top priorities
- Establishing accountability measures to ensure anti-racism initiatives are developed and implemented
- Aligning the Anti-Racism Strategy with the George Brown College Vision 2030
- Ensuring the Anti-Racism Strategy is rooted in core values that students, faculty and staff can foster in their (our) daily lives
- An actionable anti-racism framework as part of the Anti-Racism Strategy
- Investing required resources into the Anti-Racism Strategy’s implementation and sustainability activities
- Identifying leadership’s role in promoting anti-racism values and activities across the college.
Anti-Racism Strategy Review Consultative Process
This feedback provides the OAREHRS and the Ant-Racism and Equity Advisory (AREA) committee with valuable information as we work together to create a shared vision and strategy for anti-racism at George Brown. But we are not finished listening, we still want to hear from more of you.
Over the next few weeks and months, we will continue to engage and provide opportunities to hear from our community. We would like to build on the momentum from the committee and task force as we recognized that the success of this process rests in our shared commitment and ongoing engagement in creating a strategy that we all can own, action and share in the success of its impact.
Anti-Racism Strategy Review Task Force Membership
Co-Chairs
Jennifer Grant, Director, Anti-Racism, Equity & Human Rights Services
Nadia Richards, Manager, Anti-Racism Integration
Facilitator
Michel Shah, Student Services Initiatives Coordinator
Members
Kizzy Bedeau, Director, Community Partnerships Office
Stoyan Bogdanov, Manager, Investigations and Security Operations
Ravinder Brar, Manager, UDL Integration Lead
Lori Budge, Counsellor/Coordinator, Centre for Preparatory & Liberal Studies
Alison Burns, Manager, Divisional Integration and Strategic Initiatives
Ramit Divakaran, Manager, Talent Attraction and Acquisition
Peta-Gaye Ebanks, Counsellor, Academic Services & Learning Resource, AREA Committee Member
Melissa Gallo, Director, Student Engagement and Career Success
Pirom Houth, Manager, Career Planning and Development
Troy Kolar, Manager, Learning and Employee Development
Susan Toews, Dean, Centre for Preparatory & Liberal Studies
Juanita Wattam-Simeon, Director, Academic Quality
Andrew Zalvin, Director, Strategic Enrolment (no longer with the college)
