Keynote Speaker - Dr. Tonya D. Callaghan, Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education, UCalgary

Presented by The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

In her 2016 TED Talk, The Urgency of Intersectionality, Kimberlé Crenshaw, the African American law professor who coined the term “intersectionality,” observed: "We all know that when there's no name for a problem, you can't see a problem, and when you can't see a problem you pretty much can't solve it.” The problem Crenshaw is talking about here is multiple forms of discrimination based on layers of difference. 

In advance of Dr. Crenshaw’s visit to UCalgary on March 18 and 19 this year, it is important to define what it means to take an intersectional approach when supporting the learning needs of students enrolled in contentious courses that actively address equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) issues. 

The Werklund School of Education’s undergraduate course, Diversity in Learning, has been held up as an EDI exemplar. I will draw from my experience leading this course to discuss ways we can move towards inclusive and equitable teaching practices. I will conclude by overtly addressing the toll such work can take on those of us who actively teach EDI topics and what allies can do to support us.

Following EDI Awards Ceremony

Ms. Annemarie Summers  (she/her)

Annemarie Summers is a 4th Year Mechanical Engineering student attending the Schulich School of Engineering.  

Among the 2024 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award, Annemarie has been recognized as a 2019 Diversity Champion Scholar, Alberta LEAD Award Recipient (Leader in Equity Award of Distinction), Alberta STEM Scholar, 2022 Canadian Engineering Memorial Fund Ambassador and 2023 Engineers Canada Gold Medal Recipient for her leadership in Engineering.  

Throughout her degree, Annemarie has been involved in countless leadership initiatives, including being 1 of 4 select students to lead the 2023 Woman in Engineering Day Design Challenge, gaining traction of over 21.6 thousand views on social media discussing Mental health for the Mechanical Engineering Student Society, and starting her own STEM-based tutoring company amidst the pandemic gaining over 50 students in her first year.  

She has also extended her leadership across borders, volunteering at the Chole Orphanage in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss engineering and STEM with the students. She has been a founding member of the Schulich Change Leader Network, a group of over 300 students committed to advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Calgary and within the future of engineering.  

Ms. Diana Changirwa (she/her)

Diana is a fourth-year MD-MSc student in the Leaders in Medicine program and Immunology Graduate Program within the Department of Critical Care Medicine and the Calvin, Phoebe and Joan Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. 

She is the co-founder and member of the Snyder Institute EDI Committee, co-lead for the Policy and Engagement subcommittee and the trainee-lead for the Snyder Institute on the Cumming School of Medicine EDI Leads network.  

Dr. Brenda McDermott (she/her) 

Brenda McDermott completed her PhD in Communication Studies in 2015. As a lifelong learner, she returned to school to complete a Master of Education in 2021.  She is passionate about improving the student experience, having worked in student service roles at Carleton University, York University, and the University of Calgary. These roles involved working in student learning support, specifically writing development. 

She works with Student Accessibility Services and collaborates with faculty members to ensure that course designs, particularly assessments, are accessible to all learners. 

Dr. Bukola Salami (she/her) 

Professor Bukola Salami currently holds the rank of Full Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine,  University of Calgary. Professor Salami’s research program focuses on policies and practices shaping migrant health and Black people’s health. She has been involved in over 90 funded studies, totalling over $230 million. 

She founded and leads the African Child and Youth Migration Network, a network of 42 scholars from four continents. She led the establishment of the Institute for Intersectional Studies at the University of Alberta. In 2020, she founded the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program. Her work on Black youth mental health informed the creation of the first mental health clinic for Black Canadians in Western Canada. 

She has presented her work to policymakers (including twice to the Prime Minister of Canada and once to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health). Her work has contributed to policy change, including that related to Black people’s well-being. 

She is an Editor of the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research and Associate Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). She is an advisory board member of the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health and Scientific Advisory Committee on Global Health to the Government of Canada. 

Dr. Carolyn Emery (she/her) 

Carolyn Emery, PT PhD, is a physiotherapist and injury epidemiologist. A Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary; she holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Concussion and is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and Royal Society of Canada. 

Carolyn Chairs the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (Canadian International Olympic Committee Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health). She is a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, O’Brien Institute for Public Health, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. 

The focus of Carolyn’s research program is injury and concussion prevention in youth sports, with a focus also on rehabilitation and youth-adapted physical activity and parasport, aimed to reduce the public health burden of injuries and their long-term consequences. Carolyn aims to keep kids participating in the sports they love. 

Dr. Sharon Hou (she/her)

Dr. Sharon Hou (she/her) is a registered psychologist and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary. Dr. Hou’s educational background is in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology with a MA and PhD from the University of Guelph, and a BA in Psychology and French from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Hou completed her predoctoral residency at Alberta Children’s Hospital. 

Dr. Hou’s research and clinical interests are in advancing diversity and health equity in children’s health and well-being and those of their families. Insights gained from Dr. Hou’s research are intended to identify equitable and inclusive ways to support the healthcare and psychosocial needs of underrepresented and underserved populations of children and families. 

Dr. Hou’s postdoctoral work is focused on developing a national, culturally responsive mHealth intervention for young adults impacted by cancer to enhance their aftercare experience, incorporating a critical sociocultural perspective. She also has a longstanding commitment to teaching, academic service, and community engagement using anti-racist, culturally responsive, and decolonized best practices. Much of Dr. Hou’s work is shaped by her immigration experience and exposure to cultural diversity over her life. 

Ms. Rochelle Lamoureux (she/her) 

Rochelle is a proud staff member of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, where she tries to incorporate EDI and community building into the heart of everything she does. She is also a part-time Graduate student with the Werklund School of Education, focusing on social justice and anti-oppressive education. 

At the centre of everything she does is her desire to make the world a little bit better for her two beautiful children, her incredible spouse, and her cherished family and community. Their love is her source of inspiration and energy, especially when it’s hard and messy (which, thanks to her ADHD and enthusiasm for saying yes to projects, it most often is).  

Vivienne Jones (they/them)

Vivienne has lived in eight countries and has worked in as many fields. They have been a lab assistant, an editor and author, an award-winning cartoonist, and a freelance musician. They have worked in law, copyright, business and science. However, it wasn’t until Vivienne worked as a teaching assistant in Japan that they discovered their calling. 

For the last two decades, Vivienne has been a language instructor, using their experience with cultural displacement and neurodivergence to help create safe and inclusive spaces for learning.  Vivienne immigrated to Canada in 2003, completed an M.Ed. in TESL at the University of Alberta, and then moved to Calgary. They joined Continuing Education in 2009, where they have worked as a classroom instructor, curriculum developer, and practicum sponsor teacher in the English Language Program. 

Vivienne has also worked as a teacher trainer in the TSL program for over five years. They see their students as equal participants in the pedagogical journey, and they consciously strive to improve and expand their own knowledge and practice. 

Ms. Breanna Fang (she/her), Ms. Jessica Morency (she/her) and Ms. Fatima Saleem (she/her) 

The Support to Entry Program (STEP) is a medical student-led initiative that aims to foster diversity and inclusion in medicine by reducing some barriers to applying to medical school.   STEP offers free MCAT preparation courses, application support panels, practice multiple mini interviews (MMI), and mentorship programs. It has helped over 145 students from a myriad of equity-deserving groups, including people of colour, students living with disabilities, refugees, LGBTQ+ students, Indigenous students, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.     

STEP has made a significant impact by helping hundreds of students from equity-deserving groups overcome barriers to medical education. July 2023 marked a huge milestone for STEP when multiple former participants joined the Cumming School of Medicine as medical students in the class of 2026.   

STEP wouldn’t be here without the support of Mairi Babey from the Precision Equity and Social Justice Office and Tharsini Sivananthajothy who have dedicated countless hours to establishing STEP as an organization as well as the executive team and all our volunteers who have made the events possible. 

2023 EDI Award winners

• Student Award: Mr. Tanmoy Newaz, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial biology student in the Faculty of Science
• Faculty Award: Dr. Patrina Duhaney, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Work
• Team Award: Psychology Trans Affirming Care Team
  • Dr. Brae Anne McArthur
  • Ms. Michaela Paton
  • Ms. Caroline Luszawski