Diversity Awards 2018: Nomination CLOSED.

Keynote Speakers 2018 Diversity Awards:

Roberto Alas:

Roberto is a Strategic Advisor in International Business Relations for Canadian Companies pursuing opportunities in Global Markets, meanly Latin America. His Corporate clients are mature buisness individuals (50 years old and up) in Industries like: Commercial Glass, Real Estate, Medical Tourism, Hospitality, Technology, etc. They travel often with Roberto investing in unique business opportunities in Latin American Markets. Also, Roberto is currently Mentor to 5 Young Professionals, among them individuals with MBA’s, Entrepreneurs, Start Ups (25 to 40 years old). He is passionate, intense and is always on the go, creating opportunities where no one else cannot, manifesting great results with VIP business connections in more than 25 Countires Worldwide! For further info please visit his website: www.robertoalas.ca

Shari Gilchrist Aspinall:

Shari Gilchrist Aspinall is the owner of Red Deer based production company Magnolia Enterprise (Alberta) and is blazing a trail to raise awareness about the problem of human trafficking worldwide. The first feature film she produced: “She has a Name” has become internationally acclaimed and demonstrates the compassionate partnerships promoting social justice that prosper in our Central Alberta heartland.

Host 2018 Diversity Awards:

Keri-Lynn Gibbs:

Keri-Lynn Gibbs, our Diversity ESL Columnist, joined our team in 2014 and has a passion for inter-cultural understanding, community endeavors and linguistics.

She is an adult educator and humanitarian active in volunteerism and human rights causes. Keri-Lynn is a native-born Albertan who grew up in Central Alberta and is excited to be see Diversity launch in the region.

Hailing from Red Deer, her childhood was filled with long summer days at Westerner Days, picnics at Kin Canyon and rides on “The Witches Hat” – where she landed none the worse for wear and more than believed she could fly. Afternoons traversing the many lovely bike trails down by Kerry Wood Nature Centre and paddling boating at Bower Ponds with friends are some of her favourite memories.

Nominees for the 2018 Diversity Awards:

(From L-R): Jan, Zainab, and Sadia at the 3rd Annual Mother’s Day Tea Party & Luncheon at Radisson Hotel in Red Deer

Bernadette Iahtail (Friends of Diversity):

Bernadette Iahtailis a registered Social Worker, Co-founder and Executive Director of Creating Hope Society. Bernadette is a producer, co-writer, an advocate. Her key passion is to create awareness of Aboriginal history, specifically to inform Canadians of the ongoing ripple effects of Residential Schools and the 60s and 70s child welfare scoop. She has a long distinguished record of achievement and has demonstrated to being an exceptional leader, talented, savvy and dedicated to building relationships within the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community.

As a professional her values are “equality, diversity and inclusion”. In her personal life her values are “respect, trust, honesty, fairness and she stand up for what is right. Spiritually she has a great understanding that every being wants to be heard, loved and open in finding solutions. Bernadette is a registered Social Worker, an advocate, researcher, writer, film producer, wife, mother and grandmother. Her greatest achievement is co-Founding of Creating Hope Society; which is dedicated to educating and bringing awareness of Aboriginal history to Canadians.

Bernadette is a recipient of the; Esquao – Angel Among Us; Canadian Association of Social Work Award; Wicihitowin Circle of Shared Responsibility and Stewardship “Walk of Honor”; John Humphrey Centre Gerald L. Gall Award For Peace and Human Rights; and her personal story documentary in the Canadian Human Rights Museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Former President of the Edmonton Intercultural Centre, Board of Director at Boyle Street Chartered School and was a member for the Aboriginal Advisory Committee of the Alberta Child, Family Research Centre. She is an active member of the Edmonton Coalition for Human Rights and the Aboriginal coalitions of Edmonton and Stony Plain Aboriginal Leadership Team.

Miranda Hlady (Peace and Friendship Awards):

Miranda Hlady was formerly Canada’s youngest lawyer. She is a young mother and the founder of a five lawyer law firm practicing human rights, prison rights and criminal law.

Miranda Hlady on a pro bono basis has been researching the practice of police carding aka street checks in Lethbridge, Alberta and presenting about her findings to the public and the media. There was no accessible information about carding in Lethbridge before Miranda began her research. She had to fundraise and self-fund the thousands of dollars that the FOIP request cost. She filed a complaint against the Lethbridge Police Service when it became apparent that the practice of carding unfairly targeted Black and Indigenous People, she took action.

Since starting her project she has expanded her research and activism to other cities including Taber, Medicine Hat, Lacombe and Camrose. She has filed 6 FOIP requests with police services across Alberta. She is currently working with activists in Calgary and Edmonton to do a report on all the known Alberta data and to release it to the public in the near future. Her work made carding an issue in the 2017 municipal elections in Alberta and triggered the Province of Alberta to begin province wide consultations on carding. Miranda is a strong advocate for racialized communities, particularly Black and Indigenous communities, that have been historically targeted by the police. Her work has brought significant public awareness and political scrutiny to the practice of carding. Miranda has been called upon to give interviews on the subject of carding to national, provincial and local media as well as to present to special interest groups.

Through her work Miranda has found significant support from the Blackfoot and Metis Communities in Lethbridge who had felt unfairly targeted by the local police for years but had been unable to “prove” that anything was occurring. Miranda’s work and research gave a voice to the concerns of many Indigenous people in the Lethbridge Area.

Miranda also helps to run a drop in pro bono legal clinic in Lethbridge run in partnership with Native Counselling, assisted in organizing the 2017 Sisters in Spirit Vigil for Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women, helped plan an Inclusion rally in March 2017 to counter an Anti-Muslim Rally, volunteers at Lethbridge Legal Guidance and has completed more pro bono court appointed counsel applications (Rowbotham Applications) than any other lawyer in Alberta South of Calgary. She is a former recipient of a YWCA Young Woman of Promise Award and won a Vounteer Lethbridge Volunteer Excellence Award.

At 28 years old Miranda is an example of what our young legal community is capable of doing to help racialized communities in need.

NorQuest College Edmonton (Organizational Diversity):

NorQuest College, from our people, to the way we teach, to our culture; inclusion and diversity are a priority at NorQuest College. Our doors are open to all, including those who are underrepresented such as Indigenous Peoples, new Canadians, adult learners, and persons with disabilities.

With 64 per cent of our students born outside of Canada and 103 languages spoken on campus, we offer a taste of the world. If you walk into NorQuest this week, you’ll see our annual Inclusion Fusion event in action with individuals participating in a collective art project, a community dialogue on Islam, a listening campaign exhibit featuring student participants from Black History month, and more.

And no matter where we are, we continue pushing these values. For example, our new campus addition, the Singhmar Centre for Learning, features many new spaces including a much larger Indigenous student centre with a ceremonial room and support staff including an Indigenous student liaison, Indigenous educational counsellor, Indigenous community engagement consultant, and resident Elder. And on the employee end, about two dozen staff and faculty participate in a Butterfly Moon Project every term where they are given an Indigenous perspective on Canadian and Edmonton history. In two years 60 per cent of NorQuest employees have taken some form of Indigenous awareness training. Our commitment to Indigenous Peoples continues with the recently launched NorQuest Indigenization Strategy.

Also in the Singhmar Centre for Learning is the 1000 Women Child Care Centre. Operated by the Intercultural Child and Family Centre, this facility is a brilliant example of our diverse and inclusive approach to learning. The centre provides culturally responsive child care services to NorQuest College students, employees, and the wider community. It embodies intercultural awareness with multi-ethnic staff who cater to the diverse backgrounds of the children they serve.

NorQuest College is a place where everyone is welcome, and where safety and respect are a priority. We recently updated our Respectful Workplace and Learning Environment Policywhich applies to all individuals on the college premises. Our accompanying procedureoutlines the process to file a complaint. Both are accessible on our public website, www.norquest.ca. Additionally, through our LearningResource Network, we offer employees a Workplace of Respect workshop where individuals learn more about respectful behaviours and those that do not reflect our values.

Our work, however, is not restricted to within the college doors. Through our Centre for Intercultural Education, we deliver workshops to help organizations reduce intercultural barriers. The centrecontinues to be recognized as a leader in applied research, resource development, and customized workplace training in the space of intercultural education. Over the last year, leadership training has been completed by industry leaders from ATB, City of Edmonton, and Enbridge.

And our work is being recognized, too. In 2017, NorQuest College received the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction Diversity Leadership Award. Also in 2017, NorQuest was recognized as one of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures, winning in the Broader Public Sector Organization category. We were additionally thrilled to be a finalist for the 2018 Alberta Business Awards of Distinctionunder the Indigenous Relations – Best Practices Award of Distinction category.

Sturgeon County (Organizational Diversity):

Sturgeon County is a rural municipality that is part of the Greater Edmonton Region. They employ 225 people and pride themselves on their inclusive culture. Sturgeon openly embraces a diverse employee base including people of all races and many different ethnic origins, members of the LGBT community, people with disabilities, First Nations people and women in all jobs from Grader Operator to Senior Manager.

Sturgeon County as an employer, is a trail blazer in many areas. Before the new employment laws in Jan. 2018 for example, they already offered employees Family Responsibility leave to care for sick family members, including both children and elderly family members. They employ active retirees until such time as they are no longer able to perform their jobs.

In addition, generous sick and disability benefits and an inclusive modified work program support the employees. Professionals who are newcomers to Canada are given volunteer opportunities to gain Canadian specific experience to allow them to compete for jobs in their fields. In one case, Sturgeon employees actually picked up the volunteer to bring them to work because they did not have access to a vehicle.

Sturgeon County has also embraced the inclusion of Service Dogs for employees who suffer from PTSD and has found this to be extremely rewarding both from the organizational perspective and that of the employees who are better able to function in their jobs because of the support they are provided. The Service Dogs allow the employees to come to work on a regular basis and help the employee to be able to cope with the challenges of working and living with PTSD. When their struggles are too much to cope, the County provides ample time off and a modified work program.

Edmonton Police Service – Recruit Mentoring Academy (Organizational Diversity):

The Recruit Selection Unit is mandated to strive to hire based on the demographics of Edmonton. Our historical recruitment process required applicants to self-identify, develop background skills independently and self-assess readiness and suitability. For over thirty years RSU has not changed our approach in the method we recruit. As a result, we have not been able to hire and match the drastically shifting demographics within our community.

While many hired officers have been influenced or mentored by family members who know about a career in policing, most individuals in underrepresented communities do not have the same network to guide and mentor them in a similar fashion. Past EPS approaches to recruit and mentor from underrepresented communities have been expensive, labor intensive and limited in success. The EPS needed to find a better way to recruit from underrepresented groups and establish a process to develop applicants who have strong potential.

To help achieve this objective we piloted the “RSU Mentoring Academy”. The main objective of the Academy has been to identify promising applicants from underrepresented communities and expose them to sessionsrelated to the application process. Another objective has been to introduce the EPS culture to promising applicants in a controlled environment prior to Recruit Training Unit. We plan to actively shape the caliber and quality of the pool of applicants from underrepresented communities and expand the current recruiting practices.

With this new tool we plan to close the gap between the EPS and the underrepresentedcommunities we serve using the cost-effective Academy as a method of achieving our mandate.The Mentoring Academy is a 12 week program which operates once a week for three hours, exposing the applicants to a variety of sessions related to the application process, as well as what a career with the EPS would look like.

By increasing our underrepresented applicant we are hoping to increase our commitment to a more diverse membership within the Edmonton police Service and strengthen our community relations. This is the future of how the Edmonton Police Service will recruit and support applicants from under represented communities. Below is link to a CBC article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-police-mentorship-academy-1.4175177

Darlene MacDonald (Friends of Diversity):

Darlene MacDonald has been with the Learning Council Association for 20 plus years. The Learning Council is proud to assist Newcomer Learners with their learning and integration journey through a variety of programs that Council offers from English Language Learning, to Digital\Computer training, to Family Literacy learning opportunities depending on where the Learner’s goals lie. Darlene found the Learning Council Association to be a stepping stone from a full time position of 10 years with Lakeland College to a part-time position with the Learning Council to raise a family.

Darlene loves to see Newcomer learners’ lives and their family’s lives transform, making her position with the Learning Council worthwhile. Darlene sees these transformations often, in a variety of programs. Along her journey Darlene has been honored with “the woman of Wisdom Award” as well as another provincial award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Adult Learning in Alberta. Darlene has stated that she is a bit like Wayne Gretzky & must credit her amazing team and a caring community.

She quotes ” it’s easy to work in such a rich & fulfilling environment. I love my job!” On a personal note, Darlene is happily married to Glenn MacDonald for 33 years with 2 wonderful boys Duncan & Stetson. She says that she is fortunate to be able to raise her family on the family farm of 100 years of a generational family farm. Darlene and her husband enjoyed volunteering in their community throughout the years & traveling throughout Canada with the boy’s sports activities; from which they have met many families who are still close friends today. Darlene and Glenn enjoy gardening & landscaping which helps to keep them young.

Gurmit Sarpal (Friends of Diversity):

Gurmit Sarpal has made the world around her a better place to live. She is revered within her community on how anyone can live an exemplary life. In 1976 Gurmit immigrated to Canada from India She is 68 years old married and has 2 children and 4 grand children. Aside from the cultural shock she experienced upon arrival, she was also battling severe depression. To combat this black cloud, Gurmit took it upon herself to change her life by becoming involved in the community. From teaching traditional Indian music to children, to writing health and spirituality articles for South Asian newspapers and radio shows, she completely transformed her outlook and influenced those around her.

It wasn’t long before she was approached with an offer of her own mental and physical health program on South Asian radio and television. In 2006, Gurmit founded the Royal woman Cultural Association, which has empowered hundreds of immigrant women to come forward to end tolerance for domestic abuse and violence. She has helped increase their self-esteem and nurture their artistic talents by alleviating their loneliness and isolation.

Gurmit also volunteers her time with Alberta Health Services as a community health advocate since 2007. Before immigrating to Canada, she completed her Nursing degree and uses her background to facilitate Workshop such as “Better Choice, Better Health” organized by Alberta health services. She has been raising charitable donations for Alberta children hospital. She was also featured in a book called “Proud Women, a collection of stories” written by the Calgary Immigrant Woman’s Association (CIWA) in 2009. She has been recognized by many important government officials and received awards including the Immigrant’s of Distinction Award (IDA), in 2015 for her almost 40 years of volunteer community services. United way recognizes the Royal Woman Association to pioneer the annual Anti-Domestic event in the N.E Calgary. DV events are held by RWCA with help from North Mcknight community services (NMCS).

Recently, a CBC News journalist wrote a special report in the Calgary Herald, on Gurmit titled, “Helping Woman Develop Better Mental Health”. Gurmit has dedicated her life to enabling those in need. As a natural role model in the communities she touches, she is a person to remind us to reach out to others in need.

MLA Chris Nielsen (Friends of Diversity):

MLA Chris Nielsen has been an Edmonton resident since 1982, and worked in Edmonton for 26 years prior to his election in Edmonton-Decore.

He currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts the Select Special Ethics and Accountability Committee, as well as the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.

MLA Nielsen served for many years as shop steward, as a member of the health and safety committee at his workplace and as a board member of the Children’s Heart Society. He lives in Edmonton-Decore with his family.

MLA Nielsen is very proud to be the MLA for Edmonton-Decore, which is one of the most culturally diverse ridings in Edmonton. He has had the honor and privilege of attending numerous cultural events within the past years, and will continue to do so throughout the summer and the rest of the year. Because of the diversity in his riding, he has coordinated numerous events that have helped to celebrate and highlight this diversity.

“A Taste of Decore” was created to showcase businesses, organizations, schools and performers from Edmonton-Decore and North Edmonton. On April 28^th, the 2^ndAnnual event was held and it was attended by approximately 700 people. Activities included a Turban Tying Demonstration, as well as numerous performances from organizations such as the Sri Lanka Canada Friendship Association of Edmonton and the Verkhovyna School of Ukrainian Dance.

On March 21^st, MLA Nielsen also helped to organize a student conference at Balwin School for the International Day For The Elimination of Racism. It was a wonderful day of celebrating cultural diversity as there were guest speakers from a multitude of backgrounds.

MLA Nielsen also was a supporter of the Sikh Helmet Exemption Law, and has fought for and continues to advocate for the rights of taxi drivers in the city and province. He will continue to fight for the end of discrimination and racism and will fight for equality for all Albertans.

Mrs. Eva Zahoui (Friends of Diversity):

Mrs. Zahoui’s family immigrated from Lebanon and settled in Lac La Biche where she and her six siblings were born and raised. Mrs. Zahoui’s family shared the same struggles as the local community such as a lack of running water. Mrs. Zahoui now resides in Northwest Edmonton and for the last eighteen years, along with her husband, Ali, has owned and operated the Foodmaster Convenience store located at 11332 132ave. Eva greets almost every customer by name and if she doesn’t know your name, she will make sure she does before you leave the store. All customers are treated like family, without judgement of race, religion, or status. Eva is an integral member of her community. Many of the youth in the area have grown up on her donairs and she even initiated a lunch program at Rosslyn Jr High, when the school closed their cafeteria.

With the arrival of the Syrian refugees, Mrs. Zahoui was able to actively befriend several newcomer families through not only shared religion, Eva is a proud Muslim, but also language as Eva speaks Arabic, in addition to English and a small bit of Ukrainian and Cree. This skillset allows her to quickly build a rapport with everyone. She will often provide food and fellowship to newcomers as well as the opportunity to practice their English.

Eva and Ali have partnered with the Edmonton Police Service to provide space and to host our monthly Coffee with Cop program. This is an opportunity for police officers to engage with all members of the community at a grass roots level. This provides an informal space for open dialogue between police and the community with the hope of building sustainable and positive relationships. Eva often acts as a translator to ensure that everyone has the chance to be heard. Also, she will often lend an ear when citizens have a burden they need to unload and she will always celebrate their successes in life with them. Eva is an incredibly kind and caring person, who works hard to eliminate stereotypes and brings people together to celebrate diversity and community.

Harriet Tinka (Friends of Diversity):

Harriet Tinka is one of the talented, driven, and multiple professions known in the community development. She is known as a “Powerhouse Role Model” who encourages self-acceptance and visualization. Harriet represents herself as a Chartered Professional Accountant, life coach, co-author “When Women Talk” and Public speaker by her profession. Besides, she also exemplifies herself as an ultramarathon runner, Canadian Football officiator, and philanthropist.

She has broken through barriers and found ultimate success and fulfillment in inspiring teens and women reach their full potential. She is the founder and CEO of the consulting company Empowered Me, an organization that offers innovative, empowering, and life changing professional workshops. Harriet has received numerous awards including YWCA Woman of Distinction, Global Woman of Vision, Afro- Canadian Community Woman of the Year, Rotary Integrity Award and Daughter’s Day Award.

She also volunteers for over eight organizations. With such height and extreme knowledge, Harriet’s memoir can be very helpful to thousands of people who want to achieve something in their lives, further, Harriet’s words have motivated a number of people to live up their dreams. She runs the toughest races and puts herself through some of the hardest training for no other reason than to see what she’s made of. She does not keep track of the miles she has run. Her goal is to always achieve her personal best and push herself well past her comfort zone. She describes her life as coming from tragic to magic.

Jan Underwood (Friends of Diversity):

Jan has made an amazing impact on the community in Central Alberta as the Public Awareness Coordinator – Community Educator with Central Alberta Refugee Effort for fifteen years. Jan has proven herself to be a leader in delivering intercultural training, providing support and information in regards to immigration, settlement, human rights, social justice issues, and community development. She is a strong and passionate advocate, ally and champion of inclusion and integration for all diversity.

As the Public Awareness Coordinator – Community Educator at C.A.R.E., she delivers hundreds of workshops and presentations per year throughout Central Alberta in colleges, universities, workplaces, organizations and conferences. These presentations are making a difference in the lives of students and adults and focus on cross cultural awareness, knowledge, communication, sensitivity, human rights, anti-racism, and multiculturalism.

In more recent years, she has completed much research on cultural competency in organizations, management of culturally diverse workforces, and intercultural strategies and tools for business which she shares with the groups she is connected with. She is an active member of the Red Deer community and regularly volunteers in different capacities – producing and directing plays for local theatre groups, on various committees e.g. Education for Somalia, and is passionate about community development in particular regarding the attraction, retention and integration of new immigrants to Central Alberta.

Jan has worked with the Welcoming and Inclusive Communities initiatives in Red Deer, Innisfail, Lacombe and Olds as a committee member, consultant and trainer sharing her expertise to assist these communities in working with newcomers. She has organized many multicultural events and activities, creating many local partnerships and collaborations with other organizations and agencies and developed new initiatives for March 21^st, Human Rights Day, International Women’s Day and World Refugee Day. She brings a confidence to the newcomer volunteers that she has worked with over the years at C.A.R.E and they are very appreciative of the assistance and support she has provided in their transition and settlement in Canada. She has a positive, pro-active attitude and is always willing to go beyond the role of her position to assist communities and clients to become welcoming and inclusive of all diversity.

She was a facilitator with AMSSA’s Safe Harbour: Respect for All Initiative and delivered many workshops in Central Alberta. She is also a trained Facilitator of A.R.T. (Anti- Racism Response Training).

Because of her expertise, she has delivered Presentations and Workshops at numerous conferences such as the Canadian Race Relations Foundation Conference in Toronto (recipient of an Award for the development of the Public Awareness Program) Alberta Social Forum, the Saskatchewan Settlement Conference on “Best Practices”, the Parkland Regional Libraries Conference, Metropolis Pre- Conference Workshops, Immigrants in Our Own neighbourhoods – Building Communities – Together ( AAISA Conference), Rural Cultural Diversity Symposium on Welcoming Communities, in Strathmore to name a few. She was a recipient of the Red Deer Community Foundation Women of Excellence Award for Human Services and also the Red Deer Mayors Award in 2013.

As part of Alberta Culture Days in 2015 Jan produced “Journeys of Hope “–developing four plays telling the stories of local refugees using a variety of multi -media, including film, dance, poetry, songs, music, story- telling, which integrated over 100 refugees, immigrants, members of the public, and the arts community, and resulted in a live performance to an audience of 300 and five films by CACHE Productions, which are available on YouTube, have had local public showings and were recently shown at the National Small Centre Conference, 2018, held in Red Deer. She was a recipient of the Red Deer Community Foundation Women of Excellence Award for Human Services and also the Red Deer Mayors Award in 2013.

Jan is indeed an inspirational and dedicated person who has focused her personal and work life on making a positive collective impact

Valentine Skeels (Friends of Diversity):

Valentine Skeels is originally from French Polynesia where she worked for the Tourism Board, in promoting the islands of Tahiti abroad, before moving to Canada in 2002. Mrs. Skeels lives in Red Deer with her husband and 4 children. She began to get involved in the community of Red Deer by volunteering for Central Alberta Immigrant Women Association (CAIWA).

As a Travel advisor, Valentine is passionate about travel. She has a special interest for the different cultures and traditions of the world, which helps her involvement in the various non-profit cultural and social communities in Alberta. She also likes to share her Polynesian culture. The Francophonie occupies an important place in Ms. Skeels’ life of especially in a minority environment. She is proud to be Francophone and be able to share it with her community.

Valentine Skeels is the Chair of the ACFA regional de Red Deer as well as the School Board Chair for the Francophone School Ecole La Prairie. Since January 2017, Ms. Skeels sits on the Local Immigration Partnership Council (RDLIP) Advisory Board and represents the interests of francophone immigrants. Since April 2017, Mrs Skeels is also part of the 2019 Canada Winter Games official languages Committee.

In November 2017, Mrs. Skeels had the great honor of being one of the recipients of the Senate 150^thMedal of the hands of the Honourable Senator Claudette Tardif.

Selected Guest to Attend the 2018 Diversity Awards:

Councillor Dianne Wyntjes of Red Deer:

Dianne Wyntjes has lived in Red Deer since 1975 and have seen our City grow, change and continue to evolve. Raised and growing up on a farm in central Alberta in the Diamond Valley district west of Red Deer, she recognizes and value both urban and rural issues in our region and the importance of municipal relationships in the central Alberta region. And also the importances of the City of Red Deer as a hub of activity – through the economic, environmental, cultural and affordable lens.

She sees the importance of effective municipal leadership within City governance and in the central Alberta region. I recognize the decisions a Councillor makes not only impacts the Council four year term, but often impacts the City’s long term future and footprints we make. She has interests in advancing Literacy issues, is a supporter of the Central Alberta United Way campaign cabinet and is a member of the Sunrise Rotary Club.

Family and community is important to her. She has been married to Allan for 25+ years and we look to continuing to appreciate and enjoy Red Deer as our community in the years ahead. Red Deer is our home.

MLA Kim Schreiner of Red Deer-North:

Kim Schreiner was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Red Deer-North, on May 5, 2015. She currently serves as deputy chair of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and as a member of the Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services and the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future. She previously served on the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship.

Prior to her serving with the Legislative Assembly, she worked as a health care aide, beginning in 2007. Over the course of her career she has worked with Valley Park Manor, Covenant Care and Extendicare. She was also the steward and occupational health and safety representative for the local Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. As well, she has done work with resident advisory and family councils.

Born in Abitibi, Quebec, she has called Red Deer home for over 30 years. Mrs. Schreiner received her health care aide certification from NorQuest College. She also studied hairdressing at NAIT between 1981 and 1982. A mother of two, she is also an active school volunteer and a member of parent council.

Mayor Jim Wood of Red Deer County:

Mayor Jim Wood is on the board and a member of numerous committee, such as; Municipal Planning Commission (MPC), Audit Committee – Chair, Emergency Management Committee – Chair
Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP), Director, CAAMDC. He is also a member Bowden, Innisfail and Penhold Intermunicipal Development Plan Committees, on the board of Red Deer River Watershed Alliance (RDRWA), South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission and Sylvan Lake Regional Wastewater and Water Commissions – Alternate.

Mayor Alanna Hnatiw of Sturgeon County:

Mayor Alanna Hnatiw was elected Mayor of Sturgeon County Council in the 2017 Election on Monday, October 16, 2017.

Mayor Hnatiw has been a Sturgeon County resident, as well as an active participant and volunteer in the community for 16 years. She shares her life with husband Rob and two children in Division 5. Ms. Hnatiw comes from four generations of farmers, but has spent most of her adult life as a small business owner in the oil and gas service industry. Her focus is on leadership that will have an open door to its residents and an open mind while looking for innovative solutions to current challenges.

Ms. Hnatiw is committed to playing an active role in strengthening regional relationships and developing a prosperous future for Sturgeon County. Her goal is to support diversification in industry and agriculture and support small business. There are many opportunities in Sturgeon County to chart a course for responsible, sustainable development.

Mayor Hnatiw serves as ex-officio for all Committees of Council and is the Chair of all Regular Council Meetings, unless absent. When not attending to the business of the County, Ms. Hnatiw enjoys time horseback riding, golfing, downhill skiing and teaching Yoga.

Councillor Ken Johnston of Red Deer:

Councillor Ken Johnston was first elected into office in 2013 and was reelected in 2017. His council appointmets include; Community Housing Advisory Board, Emergency Management Committee, Governance & Policy Committee, Urban Aboriginal Voices, Waskasoo Environmental Education Society, and Red Deer Chamber of Commerce just to name a few. Councillor Johnston is a father of two and the oldest of six siblings. His background is as a Personal Financial Planner and retired after a 40year career with Soctiabank. He is a member and past President of Red Deer Rotary Club and a board member of Westerner Exposition. Councillor Johnston served on the board of the Parkland Youth Homes and also a board member of the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce. He was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in November 2012.

MLA Ronald Orr of Lacombe – Ponoka:

Ronald Orr was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lacombe-Ponoka on May 5, 2015. He currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee on Private Bills.

Mr. Orr has previously served as a member of the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future, the Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services and the Standing Committee on Families and Communities.

Mr. Orr has a master’s degree in theology and is an ordained minister. He also holds a journeyman carpenter’s ticket and a registered housing professional certificate and has previously owned a general contracting business.

His community involvement includes board positions with a number of charitable organizations, including the Gull Lake Centre and Calgary’s Mustard Seed Society. He also served as a public information officer for the municipal emergency management team for the village of Clive, Alberta.

Mr. Orr was born in Calgary and has lived in Lacombe-Ponoka for 13 years. He and his wife, Donna Marie, have three children.

Councillor Buck Buchanan of Red Deer:

Councillor Buck Buchanan was born in Neepawa, MB, was first elected into office in 2007 and was reelected in 2017. His professional background is a distinguished 29 years with the RCMP – posted in Inuvik, Hay River, Toronto, Ft. Liard, Yellowknife, Vancouver, Burnaby, Innisfail & Red Deer. Councillor Buchanan council appointments include; Central Alberta Economic Partnership, Central Alberta Regional Trail Systems, Downtown Business Association of Red Deer, Emergency Management Committee, Governance and Policy Committee, and Municipal Planning Commission. He is on the board of Crimestoppers, Parkland Youth Home, a member of the Calgary Police Service Pipe Band bagpiper, Sunrise Rotary Club – Community Projects Portfolio and a School Mentor for the Youth & Volunteer. Councilor Buchanan is a family man with a wife and three daughters.

Jim Gurnett:

Seeing diversity as a social strength, and working in support of intercultural and human rights, have been priorities for Jim Gurnett.

While a school principal, he was a member of the executive of the ATA’s Multicultural Education Council for several years, including a term as president, and also on the executive of Alberta Association for Multicultural Education.

For almost a decade, as executive director of Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, he sought to bring people from diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious contexts together to get to know each other and learn from each other. The programs and services of EMCN put a priority on ensuring full participation for everyone, without special status for dominant culture members. He served on the executive (and as president) of Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) over the same period and was a founder and president of Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Council. In more recent years he has done extensive training for staff of immigrant-serving agencies in such areas as intercultural communications.

He has been a director with Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace and more recently helped develop the diversity outreach strategy for the NDP caucus at the Alberta Legislature.

Clients of his consulting business have included John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, ASSIST Community Services, Action for Healthy Communities, Brooks & County Immigration Services, and Grande Prairie Centre for Newcomers, working to enhance community services leading to respect for diversity as a positive value.

He feels gender equity is essential to a healthy diverse community and guided the Daughters Day event for its first three years and worked with groups of marginalized women in writing a book on community action to support this. He serves on the advisory board for Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation and is an active member of Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action.

Kareen Lambert:

Kareen has been with Literacy and Learning as a Support Coordinator since 2107. She has was with Volunteer Central under different capacities from Board Secretary to Administrative Assistance from the year 2103 to 2017 – Volunteer Central is an incredible non-profit capacity builder, and I was thrilled to be able to add my skills to the pool of talent present on its Board, in order to help advocate for the incredibly vibrant non-profit sector of Central Alberta .

Owner of Keenly Social; a website, social media content management and marketing consulting firm.

Nomination jump from 5 Albertan municipalities in 2017 to 10 this year.

Diversity Award is part of Diversity Magazine Launch in Red Deer.

Deadline: Nominations CLOSED

Organizational Diversity: An Alberta organization that has made a significant improvement in diversity and inclusion with support documents, references, programs, hiring, policy, or implementation.

Please send a 20 lines summary with photos and other support information to claire@diversitymag.ca

Friends of Diversity: An Albertan that has made significant strives in fostering diversity and inclusion in any sector in Alberta.

Please send a 20 lines summary with photos and other support information to claire@diversitymag.ca

The Peace and Friendship Awards, (Individual or Organization): Canada is a nation that has been built upon the foundation of Peace and Friendship treaties between Indigenous Nations and the Crown of Canada. These living treaties bind our country from sea to sea to sea and have contributed to the very nature of the Canadian identity. The spirit of these treaties is to ensure that Indigenous nations and newcomers endeavour to live peacefully, build and maintain good relations, mutually benefit from the land and her bounty, respect each other, share and learn from each other’s gifts, and to prosper. It¹s all about relationships.

Criteria: This annual award is given by the Indigenous community to a non-Indigenous person and an organization. It recognizes outstanding community work, volunteerism, relationship development, shared programming, and consistent efforts of support to build and maintain good relations with the Indigenous community.

Please send a 20 lines summary with photos and other support information to claire@diversitymag.ca

Support Diversity Awards 2018 by becoming a sponsor

Level 1 Sponsorship – $500

Organization or individual will get their name or logo on all promo material for the show, sponsorship acknowledges at the beginning and end of the show.

Level 2 Sponsorship – $1,000 per month

Organization or individual will get their name or logo on all promo material for the show, sponsorship acknowledge at the beginning and end of the show, as well as a brief profile of the organization on the Diversity Magazine Print and all other Diversity platforms, as well as, bring greetings to the award participants on the day of the award.

Please click here to go to Calgary Launch and Diversity Award 2017.

New Category

Award Title: The Peace and Friendship Awards. (One Individual and one Organization) Background: Canada is a nation that has been built upon the foundation of Peace and Friendship treaties between Indigenous Nations and the Crown of Canada. These living treaties bind our country from sea to sea to sea and have contributed to the very nature of the Canadian identity. The spirit of these treaties is to ensure that Indigenous nations and newcomers endeavour to live peacefully, build and maintain good relations, mutually benefit from the land and her bounty, respect each other, share and learn from each other’s gifts, and to prosper. It¹s all about relationships.

Nominees:

Organizations

Nominee: UNISPHERE GLOBAL CENTRE

Nominated by: City of Medicine Hat Social Development and Seniors Services Department – Ashley Howes

Unisphere is a group we have in Medicine Hat that promotes, highlights, and celebrates diversity in all of its many wonderful forms. They work constantly to create awareness about what is going on in Medicine Hat and the world at large often educating people in whatever way that they can.

The group celebrates inclusivity, learning, and providing opportunities for people in Alberta to have a positive impact. They currently publish a bi-monthly newsletter, sponsor or co-sponsor events that promote diversity, host presentations on development issues, keep an up to date resource centre on materials dealing with international development and social justice. Most recently they have partnered with the City of Medicine Hat and the Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism fund to bring a three-day celebration of diversity and inclusion to Medicine Hat on March 20^th – 22^nd. The work they do makes Medicine Hat an overall better community to live in and promotes inclusivity exponentially.

Nominee: The City of Grand Prairie

Nominated by: Rick Demaray

In 2016, the City of Grande Prairie initiated a formal procedure for all Indigenous Community Groups to hold their ceremonial smudging procedures within City facilities, where they often host meetings and offer cultural programs. A “smudging ceremony” precedes an Indigenous meeting. The process involved getting together with all of the various shareholders of this particular Indigenous procedure, including City employees and members of the community who may be impacted by the ceremonial smoke from this procedure. The Grande Prairie Aboriginal Circle of Services was asked to be a partner in this procedure’s development to ensure cultural protocol was followed and provide cultural expertise at each step of the process. An Elder in the local Cree Community, Elder Darlene Cardinal, was instrumental in providing the City of Grande Prairie with leadership and guidance for Indigenous groups to hold the Smudging ceremonies within City of Grande Prairie’s facilities.

We are proud to boast, the City of Grande Prairie is the first Municipality in Western Canada to work with Indigenous groups in developing the smudging procedure. Elder Cardinal shared this good news initiative with the Provincial Deputy Minister of Indigenous Relations informing his office of the process taken to develop this culturally significant procedure. The Smudging procedure was also shared at the December 2016 GM of the Alberta Municipal Health & Safety Association (AMHSA), where it was also well received. We encourage other Municipalities to adopt the procedure if they had similar requirements in their Municipality.

Nominee: Jamaican Canadian Association Alberta

Nominated by: Donnovan Simon

The name Jamaica and it’s brand is world renown, however, the fact that Jamaicans who moved to Calgary formed an association in 1982 which continues to be a recognized community association in 2017 is worthy of recognition. Even more is the consistent contribution that the organization has made in the cultural landscape in Calgary.

The association has been a primary contributor in events that showcase diversity such as Carifest, Reggaefest, Caribbean Heritage Sports Day, Globalfest and Canada Day celebrations. Additionally, through our cultural expo, Taste of Jamaica, for near 25 years Calgary has been treated with a showcase of Jamaican culture through music, arts, dance and food. In many other ways, through visits to schools on their Culture Days, to seniors homes on their Diversity Days and through partnership what many different agencies e.g. the Centre for Newcomers, the JCAA has ensured it has remained relevant and a positive contributor to the social fabric of Calgary. I think the organization would be more than deserving of this award for the contribution it has and continues to make to the diversity of Calgary which we all are proud of.

While individual Jamaicans have selflessly contributed to various volunteer organizations, the JCAA has also mobilized its members to do the same. The Mustard Seed, Samaritans Purse and many others have benefited from the JCAA’s commitment to giving back to the community. We are proud to be a positive contributor in Calgary and even prouder that Jamaica is known for its rich culture that we can share with others in our beloved city.

Nominee: Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation

Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation recognizes and supports multicultural awareness and understanding among Canadians. We value education and work to educate Canadians on the various cultures, religions, languages, and diversity of people that make up society in our country. We work to mitigate racism and bring citizens together like the pieces of a mosaic. We are a not-for-profit millennial organization run by committed voluntary human rights supporters. Our organization runs an annual anti-racism festival. The organization created an award winning documentary on Forced Marriages. The organization also created a documentary called YYC Colours – a documentary about racism in Calgary. The documentary has been screened over 100 times across Canada to start a dialogue about racism. The organization also created the #ICameAsARefugee poster campaign that dispels myths about refugees which was seen across Alberta. We have also hosted several vigils in solidarity with various Canadian communities, as well as several events. An important role that the organization has is to create and deliver presentations about racism and multicultural inclusion in Canada. We have done hundreds of presentations for schools and have created content for them to use in their classroom when addressing racism and multiculturalism. This is all voluntary work. Through various media platforms such as film, radio, photographer, animation and more, Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation is helping to improve race relations in Canada. The organization won “Leader in Diversity” award from the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers – Western Chapter in 2016.

Nominee: St. Patrick’s Anglican Church

St. Patrick’s Anglican Church feels that God is calling us to serve as a centre to support newcomers to Canada. Out of this vision, we entered into a relationship with the Welcome Centre for Immigrants (WCI) and the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN) to offer free English and computer literacy classes for senior newcomers. Our first participants were from India, Pakistan, and Africa. They identified language development and becoming more culturally aware of learning priorities. Working alongside EMCN, our parish hired an instructor and community connector who organised presentations and field trips designed to help the group realize its goals. We covered topics such as Canadian history, aboriginal history, the Olympics, camping, recycling and waste management. They prepared for a visit to the doctor and visited Fort Edmonton Park. The seniors enrolled in the computer literacy class also learned to set-up an email account, save and download files, and navigate the internet using search engines. As the course progressed, there was much laughter and community-building, as language and cultural barriers were broken down. Before this program, many of the seniors in our group felt isolated in their new surroundings. The greatest benefit to them has been reduced apprehension about going out into the community. For church members at St. Patrick’s, it is a great joy to see our prayers for the unemployed and newcomers to Canada being put into action.

Call To Action Connect with agencies that support immigrants. What aspect of their work fits the skills, talents and goals of your faith community? There are many opportunities to help. Consider sponsoring a refugee; or supporting a group already involved in the sponsorship process.

Nominee: The Genesis Centre

Nominated by: Brad Anderson

Opening in 2012 the Genesis Centre has rapidly transformed from a period of infancy and discover to becoming the heart of the most culturally diverse quadrant of the City of Calgary. Not only is it a gathering point for sports and recreation but also for special events, cultural galas and social occasions. 1.5 million visitors passed through the doors in 2015 alone and nearly half of those visits were to celebrate culture and community. The mandate of a facility is to Inspire Community Wellness. Being a not-for-profit, charitable organization, their work every day revolves around making northeast Calgary a better place to work, live and play. Outlined below are but a few highlights of how the Genesis Centre is making a difference in lives of residents, groups, and cultural organizations.

The Genesis Centre’s importance to northeast Calgary and its diverse population cannot be overlooked and underappreciated. It brings together groups of various backgrounds in hopes of building community through dialogue, experiences, and social gatherings. In this profile, we’d like to finish with a quote from a new mother who had immigrated from the middle east.

“The Genesis Centre has been an integral part of our family’s lifestyle. I first visited the Genesis Centre in the fall of 2012 when I began work as a preschool program facilitator in 1000 voices. I lived in the south at the time, and while the commute was very long, I was in love with the concept and culture at the Genesis Centre. I shared my excitement with my husband and we agreed that this was the kind of place we wanted to raise a family. When I became pregnant the next year, we moved to the north of McKnight area. While pregnant, I started attending prenatal fitness classes at the Saddletowne YMCA. After having my daughter, I continued with post-natal classes at the YMCA and attended baby- parent drop-ins through the 1000 voices. As my baby grew, we frequented the library, participating in parent goose and other early literacy programs. We also started going swimming as a family, which was a big deal for us since I wear hijab. it was really encouraging to have a venue where that wasn’t a barrier. The excellent family washroom facilities made it practical for us to take our infant swimming because my husband and I could support each other (it can be quite tricky doing it solo with a young child). As she became a toddler, we frequented toddler time and started attending classes in 1000 voices to further our French. We look forward to exploring the other opportunities the Genesis Centre has to offer. There’s just something about the warm and welcoming environment – it truly allows me to feel like I belong to something bigger. The staff and patrons are friendly (we make a new friend each time we visit) and I love how it is so multipurpose! It’s amazing when you have visited the same facility to do everything from work, work out, play, pray, learn and vote! It has definitely been a highlight of my time in Calgary.”

Friends of Diversity:

Roy Pogorzelski

Roy Pogorzelski is Metis from Northern Saskatchewan and his family comes from the communities of Green Lake and Meadow Lake. Roy convocated from the University of Regina with a BA in Indigenous Studies and a BHJ in Human Justice. In 2009, Roy convocated cum laude from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven in Belgium with a MSC in Cultures and Development Studies. Roy has worked on Indigenous Rights & Human Rights at the academic, governmental and non-profit levels. Roy’s international work includes: an internship in 2006 with the University of Vienna with the Legal Anthropology Department on International Indigenous rights; facilitated a Human Rights contract in Geneva Switzerland, volunteered in Belgium with Melpunt Discrimination, facilitated a contract in Vilhelmina Sweden on Indigenous rights and represented UNESCO Canada and the City of Lethbridge at the International Coalition of Cities Against Racism & Discrimination (ICCAR) in Nairobi Kenya. Previously, Roy worked as the Aboriginal Diversity Support Coordinator with the Aboriginal Council of Lethbridge from 2009-2011 and currently works as the Inclusion Consultant for the City of Lethbridge. Roy has ran the Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism & Discrimination (CMARD) local initiative for the past 4 years and has collaborated nationally on an equity and diversity guide, has worked provincially with a number of municipalities, worked on creating an inclusion policy for the City for Lethbridge and has created innovative approaches to community engagement around inclusion under CMARD. Roy has also provided a number of presentations, workshops sits and chairs numerous committees and lectures at the University of Lethbridge. Roy was awarded the 2016 Human Rights Champion by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights and was named a Top 40 under 40 by Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce.

Aime Hutton

Aime Hutton is deserving of the award for Friends of Diversity for the Calgary Diversity Awards 2017. She is accepting of all people she meets. Aime is not shy from learning about other people traditions, cultures, or religion. She welcomes all into her circle. There was a time when Aime worked for an aboriginal organization in Calgary. She was the only white woman who worked there. A few of the others who worked at the organization were very surprised that Aime worked there. The comment was made to Aime one day from a co-worker that “You are the first white woman I know who wants to learn about our way of life and our culture. And I thank you for that.”

Being a Friend of Diversity and being accepting of all people were taught to Aime at a young age in her growing up years. She was surrounded by people of all cultures. As well as a young girl Aime Hutton enjoyed learning about different countries and their traditions and ways of life especially around the Christmas holiday time. Aime was amazed at all the different ways different people celebrated Christmas (or other holiday celebration). She continues to this day to learn about different cultures and traditions around the world. Which makes her a perfect award winner for Friends of Diversity.

MLA David Shepherd

David Shepherd is a first-generation Canadian and life-long resident of Edmonton. His mother arrived from the Netherlands in 1948 and his father from Trinidad in 1967.

Prior to being elected as member for Edmonton-Centre, he held positions in municipal, provincial and the federal public service, most recently serving with the City of Edmonton Transit department as a communications officer.

MLA Shepherd’s first love was music and he spent many years as a professional musician and studio engineer. He holds diplomas in music performance and a studio recording from MacEwan University and a BA in professional communications from Royal Rhodes University.

In addition to his work as MLA for Edmonton-Centre, he chairs the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices and is a member of the Standing Committee on Families and Communities. He is also supporting Minister Phillips in the implementation of the Climate Leadership Plan.

It may be no surprise to you that David Shepherd is a champion of Edmonton’s arts scene but you may not know that he is also an avid cyclist, a passionate advocate for active transportation, a proponent for housing that is both inclusive and affordable, and continues to engage with the North Edge Business Association, Downtown Business Association, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Vibrancy Task Force.

Through all of his work, David has developed a reputation as a powerful communicator, a thoughtful analyst of public policy, with a keen sense of humour – skills he is putting to good use in his role as the MLA for Edmonton-Centre. Please welcome Mr. David Shepherd!

Dr. Cheryl Currie

Dr. Cheryl Currie is an Associate Professor of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge. She holds a Translational Research Chair in Aboriginal Health from Alberta Innovates.

A social epidemiologist by training, Dr. Currie examines how social experiences like racial discrimination get under the skin to influence stress biology, health, and health behaviour. She also works with communities to develop interventions that address health and social inequities.

Jim Gurnett

Seeing diversity as a social strength, and working in support of intercultural and human rights, have been priorities for Jim Gurnett.

He has been a director with Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace and more recently helped develop the diversity outreach strategy for the NDP caucus at the Alberta Legislature.

Jill Maria Robinson

Jill Maria Robinson is a cheerful and helpful woman in Calgary AB, who tries to support everyone around her with her entertainment work. She is a publicist, model, actress, and magazine publisher herself. She helped create a magazine that highlights Alberta Talent and puts them up. She is an actress on the show Go Fish by Zulie Alnahas on Amazon Prime worldwide.

Jill is a friend to many and a friend to Diversity, trying to send them good people to help grow their Calgary base. She met Diversity Mag owner Frankline at the Obsidian Awards where she had been nominated. Jill is in her late 20’s and has been a part of 20 shows as background, an actor, makeup support and a publicist, sometimes all at once in indie productions. She has been on Shaw TV since 2014. Jill is creating her own shows to support local talent and trying to get Diversity to have their own show as well!

Manwar Khan

Manwar Khan is an Alberta based community advocate against bullying and violence. The shocking 2012 video of Edmonton LRT passenger John Hollar being beaten to death on the LRT train reveals that Manwar Khan both protected elderly passengers and mobilise others to help. Disturbed by the passivity of some LRT riders, he started a province-wide grassroots campaign â€œDo not be a Bystander.

He is leading this movement in Alberta to create awareness against bullying and to encourage people not to be bystanders when they see such type of incidents taking place. His anti-bullying campaign, Do Not Be A Bystander, has hosted 15 rallies in major cities across the Alberta, garnering support from mayors of both Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge. The Edmonton Journal named Manwar as the top newsmaker for 2013.

Recently Manwar Khan has been named among the Top 40 most influential young leaders in Edmonton. His efforts were noticed by Canada’s Governor General, David Johnston, who invited Khan to Ottawa in July of 2014 to receive the Caring Canadian award. Khan says he was honoured to be recognized and is more motivated than ever to continue spreading his message to others that we all have a role to play in eradicating bullying, hate and violence.

Jayde F Crazy

Nominated by : Queen Lual

Jayde is a promoter and supporter, he is well known for few of his hit song, like fake friends, mupenzi, bleed for it to name a few. I have witnessed this individual grow into amazing, intelligent, uplifting, talented, great singer and person he is, he worked to hard to be where he is today with his music, he deserves to be nominated and rewarded for his hard work.

Music change his life in so many ways, here are few of his amazing songs Mupenzi, Fake Friends, I ain’t with the talking and I know.
It’s has been a privilege to know this brilliant and dedicated individual.

2016 Diversity Award

After two years of telling countless stories of Diversity and Inclusion in Alberta, we are pleased to start recognizing and celebrating individuals and organizations that have made the most impact in fostering diversity and inclusion in Alberta.

This first ever Diversity Award appreciated individuals and organizations that have made an impact in diversity and inclusion in Alberta.

Each nominating organization wrote a letter (at most 400 words) to make a case how their organization has foster diversity in Alberta and beyond.

These letters were supported by two testimonials from clients or individuals or organizations that can testify to the impact that the organization has made.

The individual categories were nominated by Albertans.

To nominate, ask questions, get involved, please contact at michelle@diversitymag.ca or 780.289.5134 (cell), 780.709.0965 (Office)

Deadline for submission is May 10, 2017.

Thank you for your submissions!

Diversity Award Categories:

Diversity in Education

M.E. LaZerte School

University of Alberta Community Service-Learning (CSL)

Diversity in Ability

Goodwill Industries of Alberta

Diversity in Arts

The Carrot Cafe

Cultural Diversity in Non Profits

Edmonton Heritage Festival Association

Cultural Diversity in Corporations

Cultural Diversity in Public Sectors

The City of Red Deer

Diversity in Newcomer Settlement and Integration

CCI-LEX – Cultural Connections Institute – The Learning Exchange

Youths for Diversity

Belen Samuel

Diversity Award Winners 2016

Diversity 2016 Individual Award Categories

Friends of Diversity

Debra Kasowski

Appreciated for her work in telling diverse stories, organizing and donating gifts to kids from low income schools, support to charities in Edmonton and sharing of the rich Ukrainian culture

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Samarendra Maiti

Honored for his work in giving multicultural artists from across the world a stage in Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Harriet Tinka

Appreciated for her work in supporting charities such as United Way and sharing of the rich and beautiful Ugandan culture with Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Henry Fung

Awarded for his role in sharing the rich and beautiful Chinese culture with Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Ruben Contreras

Awarded for his role in promoting the beautiful Latin culture in Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Christine Zacharko

Appreciated for her role in sharing love and kindness to the needy through her work in Haiti

Diversity Award 2016

Youth for Diversity

Belen Samuel

Awarded for her work in empowering African youth at Africa Centre and connecting them to the Edmonton Police Service to improve relationship

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Dr. Rodel Sicat

Appreciated for his work in connecting Filipino youths back to their community and support in sharing the rich Filipino culture with Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016 Organizations

Diversity in Education

M.E. LaZerte School

M.E. LaZerte School is located in Northeast Edmonton. Our school has 1,900 students and over 130 staff members.

Over the past eight years, M.E. LaZerte School has put forth a concerted effort to be inclusive of our very diverse community. Through the various school-wide initiatives, clubs, and activities, we continue to build a school that is welcoming, caring, and safe for all students and staff.

As a UNESCO Associated School with the International Baccalaureate Programme and the Mandarin Bilingual Program, our school aims to foster global citizenship, promote peace, address world concerns, and eliminate discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation and/or disability. We also have many students with special needs integrated into our regular classes.

We have recently received our most recent high school completion rate which is now over 82% from around 69% in 2008. Our efforts to embrace and celebrate our diversity while supporting the individual needs of our students are important factors in our improvement in the high school completion rate. We are now above the provincial average for high school completion in 3 years.

Through professional development with staff, our school takes the time to educate our community of teachers and learners. Various staff and community members provide information and workshops at staff meetings to address the barriers for various groups of students. Just in the past 10 months, our staff have received training in the following topics: Supporting students who have endured trauma, Aboriginal Liaison & Circle of Courage Program – First Nation, Métis, Inuit presentation, Sexual Minorities presentation, Newcomers & English Language Learner presentation, Racism Awareness presentation.

With over 700 students engaged in leadership, our students are continuously engaged in working together on initiatives for which they are passionate. In 2010, our student body consisted of over 83 cultural backgrounds and over 73 languages spoken. We have held a tradition since 1997 to celebrate our cultural diversity with an annual Taste of LaZerte celebrate. This week-long celebration culminates with a pot-luck lunch for 1,000 people and 2 hours of cultural performances all choreographed by our students. Our school has participated in Orange Shirt Days to remember the impact of residential schools and Pink Shirt Days to address the impact of homophobic language and bullying. This year, our school addressed racial tensions by having students work alongside the Centre for Race & Culture to host round table discussions, survey our students, and provide a group of students an “Anti-Racism Youth Training Day”.

Student voice and engagement continue to be keys in shaping our school culture. Not only to staff and school administration place high importance of being a welcoming and safe school, but so do our students.

Diversity Award 2016

Diversity in Education

University of Alberta Community Service-Learning (CSL)

Since 2004 CSL has been fostering diversity through building relationships with Edmonton community organizations and creating experiential learning opportunities across faculties for students at the University of Alberta. CSL links academic coursework with community-based experiences. Through hands-on learning as CSL students are able to explore relationships between theory and practice and learn more about the root causes of social issues and contribute to social change in their community.

The CSL program works with a diverse community of local non-profit organizations, from small grassroots to large longstanding contributors to community. Our students have the opportunity to learn about food security, homelessness, poverty, seniors, women and children, aboriginal governance, arts and culture, immigration, environment, and more, all from passionate practitioners and leaders doing this important work in our community. Through these experiences, students are able to develop communication and leadership skills and become social innovators and community minded individuals who want to make change.

CSL works across the University of Alberta campus and is integrated into a broad range of courses in areas such as Business, Engineering, Fine Arts, Medicine and Dentistry, Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, Native Studies, Physical Education and Recreation, Political Science, Rural Economy, Science, Sociology, Women’s and Gender Studies, and many others.

The Community Service-Learning program is proud to promote and foster diversity in the classroom and in the community.

Diversity Award 2016

Diversity in Ability

Goodwill Industries of Alberta

Goodwill Industries of Alberta has been effecting positive change in Alberta for nearly 70 years. It is Goodwill’s mission to connect Albertans with disabilities to meaningful employment and, in doing so, help employers and the Alberta community to recognize a person’s ability regardless of their disability.

Goodwill is the vehicle through which almost 600,000 Albertans each year are able to promote inclusivity and diversity in their community by donating to Goodwill. Through Goodwill, these donors make it possible for hundreds of Albertans with disabilities to access onsite job counseling and career development services to support their search for meaningful employment.

The first step to promoting inclusive hiring is to become an inclusive employer and Goodwill is proud to be one of Alberta’s largest employers of persons with disabilities with over 25% of staff disclosing that they have a disability. It is our mission to connect Albertans with disabilities to meaningful employment and Goodwill accomplishes this by providing jobs and job training to individuals with disabilities.

Goodwill fosters diversity in Alberta by maintaining an inclusive hiring process and connecting participants of our Power of Work program to various organizations within the community. Employment Coordinators assist program participants in finding a placement that is a good fit. By providing this support, the program helps program participants find meaningful employment that promotes diversity and inclusivity both in the community and in the many organizations hiring people with disabilities through our program. Employment Coordinators in Goodwill’s Power of Work program work with program participants to discover the field they would like to work in, and to create an employment plan with the goal of finding employment that the program participant finds meaningful. Once a program participant is successful in finding meaningful employment, Employment Coaches work side-by-side with the participant and the employer to set the tone towards increased diversity and inclusiveness in the employer’s organization.

Goodwill’s successes in creating an inclusive and diverse working environment can be seen through the shining examples of Elaine and Sonja. Elaine has been a Goodwill team member for 40 years. She says that since she first started working at Goodwill, a lot has changed but she still loves her job. Elaine was born with cerebral palsy and she says she appreciates her co-workers at Goodwill because they are very accommodating and understanding of her disability. In fact she says, “My co-workers are my favorite thing about working with Goodwill. They respect me and support me and who I am.”

Sonja is an employee at our Commercial Services division. She has been working with Goodwill for 5 years. Sonja says that “Goodwill for me is not only a job but also my family.” Before coming to work at Goodwill, Sonja was working hard at building her self-confidence and life skills. She grew up feeling left out and not liking herself due to her past experiences; however, now she is confident, independent and happy due to the many opportunities for growth she has been able to achieve at Goodwill. Sonja says she feels empowered in her job at Goodwill, she has grown in many ways and we are lucky to have her as part of our team.

Goodwill is extremely proud of Elaine and Sonja along with the many other team members who have experienced successes because of their employment at Goodwill and the supportive working environment.

Diversity Award

Diversity in Arts

The Carrot Cafe

In 2005, the Morin family was considering moving out of the home they loved in the Alberta (118^th) Avenue District in Edmonton. This area had been deteriorating physically, economically, and socially for years, and had become known as “the hood” in Edmonton. They began discussing their ambivalence about staying in the area with friends and colleagues, and discovered a good contingent of residents who were devoted to helping this area shed its negative reputation and achieve its potential as a healthy, vibrant, and desirable place to live. It also happened that the Alberta Ave District was fortunate to have a high contingent of artists living in the area. Thus they decided to make this community into one they wanted to live in, rather than abandon it. So, in 2007, Arts on the Ave Edmonton Society (AOTA) was born.

AOTA created The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse (The Carrot) as its hub and focused on harnessing local talent and creativity and providing space for the arts – and the community – to flourish.

The Carrot is an artistic catalyst within this often neglected community, providing both established and emerging Edmonton artists with a space to meet, work, collaborate, present, sell, inspire, and be inspired. Further, it brings individuals to the arts who might not otherwise experience being in the audience of a poetry slam, taking a workshop on painting or jewelry making, or take in a live band on a Friday night.

Radically multidisciplinary, AOTA is committed to supporting Edmonton area artists of every stripe, in any genre and indeed, we have provided for musicians, writers, actors, performance artists, visual artists and dancers, a creative refuge in the vibrant 118^th Ave community. Our organization’s goals are simple; to support Alberta Avenue community members by giving them a place to work, create, connect, produce and perform. The Carrot provides a nexus for the creative community in Edmonton, where individuals are not patrons but partners. Adding to its uniqueness is the fact that, with the exception of a Manager and part-time Assistant Manager, the Carrot is staffed by volunteers; in addition to our board’s volunteer contributions, each week it requires 36 volunteer shifts of four hours each to keep the Carrot operational.

The Carrot is an extraordinary gathering place that allows openness and full self-expression. It reflects the community that it is grounded in. The Carrot is a creative space that welcomes and embraces the human spirit of ALL our community members. Many baristas and patrons have found deep understanding and even healing through the relationships that have been formed and nurtured at the Carrot. Thank you so much for considering this venue that we are so proud of for this award.

Diversity Award 2016

Cultural Diversity in Non Profits

Edmonton Heritage Festival Association

The Servus Heritage Festival is the primary event by the non-profit

Edmonton Heritage Festival Association. The Association’s mission is to promote public awareness, understanding and appreciation for cultural diversity. As well, the mission of the Association is to provide education events, programs and projects on a year-round basis.

The Servus Heritage Festival is a celebration of Canada’s multicultural spirit in an atmosphere of tolerance. In spite of events that may be taking place on the international stage, for three days in the idyllic setting of Edmonton’s River Valley, local cultural associations share with visitors, and with each other, arts, crafts, food, entertainment and traditions that make their people unique.

The Edmonton Heritage Festival is specifically designed to be a family-friendly, alcohol-free event, in which each pavilion (representing a unique country or group of countries) is able to independently offer a sampling of their unique foods, entertainment, arts and crafts, and customs.

There is no cost to attend the Festival, but people are asked to bring non-perishable food items when they attend. The 2015 Servus Heritage Festival generated 81,705 kg of food and $125,000 for the Edmonton food bank.

Another focus for the Festival is fundraising for local not for profit and charitable Cultural group. The 2015 Servus Heritage Festival generated over $2.5 Million dollars that was split between Sixty Three local not for profit cultural groups.

The 2016 festival will have Sixty Three Arts, Culture and Food Pavilions, Three Arts and Culture Pavilions and has partnered with the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for newcomers so as to include up to four more countries that may not otherwise have been able to attend. All to maximize the number of nations represented at the festival.

Diversity Award 2016

Diversity in Public Sectors

The City of Red Deer

The City of Red Deer’s Strategic Direction has identified diversity as a priority. As part of its commitment to the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination The City hired a full-time Human Resource Specialist – Diversity and Inclusion on May 19, 2015.

The City of Red Deer is currently working on three areas of focus: increasing employee awareness, conducting an assessment, and endeavouring to be a welcoming and inclusive community. Our Diversity and Inclusion Vision for The City of Red Deer is a vibrant, healthy and diverse organization that supports a welcoming and inclusive community where everyone feels safe and can fully participate in community life. Areas of Focus Increase Employee Awareness of Diversity and Inclusion:

We have developed a Diversity and Inclusion Framework for the organization. Part of the Framework includes employee training on diversity and inclusion. The Introduction of Diversity and Inclusion module, mandatory for all full time, permanent employees.
On May 12 and 13, 2016, The City of Red Deer hosted the Fostering Diverse Communities Conference with over 130 participants from 9 municipalities. A report on the Conference will be available soon.
Last Fall an internal Diversity Team was established to build capacity within the organization. 17 diversity champions representing each of our Divisions meet monthly to discuss current topics and trends, and share information with the rest of the organization. Assess City’s Policies, Procedures & Practices related to Diversity and Inclusion
The Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, along with members of The City’s Diversity Team, will be assessing the City’s policies, practices and procedures. We will be using the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s Municipal Evaluation Tool and the Ten Common Commitments of The Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination as measurements. Be a Welcoming and Inclusive Community
The Red Deer Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Network was launched April 21, 2016. It is comprised of over 40 community members representing all aspects of diversity and other stakeholders. The Network meets monthly and will develop an action plan once a needs assessment has been conducted in the community.
See: http://www.reddeer.ca/about-red-deer/welcoming-and-inclusive-community/

Diversity Awards 2016

Diversity in Newcomer Settlement and Integration

CCI-LEX – Cultural Connections Institute – The Learning Exchange

CCI-LEX

Since the early 1990s, CCI-LEX has provided English language training to thousands of newcomers to Edmonton from more than 100 different countries of origin. For CCI-LEX, diversity means that we exhibit respect for and appreciation of differences in ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, education and religion.

We excel at creating a friendly, welcoming, safe environment for adults to learn and practice English with people from all walks of life. It is a place for building friendships, concrete skills, and confidence that leads to personal growth, success and contributions to the greater Edmonton community. When you walk through the front door of our downtown location, diversity is present everywhere. Among the more than 1,400 students enrolled in our programs in 2015-16, you will find diversity in areas such as: Age From 17 to 70+ years Gender About 40 percent male students, 60 per cent women Country of Origin Every corner of the world from, Central and South America, to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Immigration Status A good mix of citizens, permanent residents, refugees, international students and those here to work Abilities & Sexual Orientation Over the years, our students have excelled regardless of various physical disabilities, mental health issues, and a range of sexual orientations and religion.

Many of the world’s major religions including Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Taoism and others. Staff Like our students, our volunteers, teachers and administrative staff also represent a wide range of ages, genders, nationalities, religions and backgrounds. Our volunteer instructors are comprised of a growing number of foreign-trained professionals. We are proud to serve as a springboard for many of them by providing invaluable Canadian experience in a professional setting, as well as a professional reference. In fact, the quality of our program and recognition of the talent we attract is well-known, and a number of Edmonton non-profits often reach out to us to circulate paid ESL teaching positions to our volunteer base. A number of our volunteers have been hired by ASSIST Community Services, CSS, and One World One Centre, just to name a few. Diversity is positively expressed and celebrated in each of our classrooms and throughout the school. An important feature of English language learning at CCILEX is the shared cultural exchange that occurs between students and instructors. This is not just about instructors talking about Canadian customs and cultural traditions but it is also about students sharing their own customs and traditions with their classmates and instructors. We are very excited and honoured about being considered for the diversity award in the Cultural Diversity in Non Profits category. As required, please find documents supporting this nomination from some people who have first-hand experience with our school and its contribution to Edmonton’s cultural diversity.

Diversity Awards

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Diversity Award Winners 2016

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Friends of Diversity

Appreciated for her work in telling diverse stories, organizing and donating gifts to kids from low income schools, support to charities in Edmonton and sharing of the rich Ukrainian culture

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Samarendra Maiti

Honored for his work in giving multicultural artists from across the world a stage in Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Appreciated for her work in supporting charities such as United Way and sharing of the rich and beautiful Ugandan culture with Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Henry Fung

Awarded for his role in sharing the rich and beautiful Chinese culture with Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

Friends of Diversity

Ruben Contreras

Awarded for his role in promoting the beautiful Latin culture in Edmonton

Diversity Award 2016

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