CAPDHHE Conference

Dr. Malinda S. Smith, Vice Provost and Associate Vice President Research (EDI) | University of Calgary

Dr. Malinda Smith is the inaugural Vice Provost and Associate Vice President of Research (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and a full professor of political science at the University of Calgary. Prior to joining UCalgary, she was a full professor of political science at the University of Alberta, where she held various roles, including Provost Fellow (EDI Policy) in the Office of the Provost and Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) in the Department of Political Science.

Dr. Smith has served on numerous higher education governance committees, including Vice President (Equity Issues) for the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and Chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion External Review Committee for the Canada Research Chairs. Currently, she serves on SSHRC Governing Council and Executive; as Vice Chair of the Inter-Institutional Advisory Committee for the Scarborough Charter, on Statistics Canada’s Immigration and Ethnocultural Statistics Advisory Committee; and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s External EDI Advisory Board.

Dr. Smith is the coauthor, editor, or coeditor of 7 books, numerous articles, book chapters and reports and has given dozens of invited keynotes and public lectures in the areas of equity, diversity, human rights, and decolonization in higher education, African political economy, and international relations. Dr. Smith is the coauthor of The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities (2017); coeditor of Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics (OUP 2023); the Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy (UofT Press, 2022); States of Race: Critical Race Feminism for the 21st Century (BTL 2010). and three books on Africa, including Securing Africa: Post-9/11 Discourses on Terrorism (2010).

Dr. Smith is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including Calgary Black Chambers’ Lifetime Achievement Award (2023), an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Simon Fraser University (2021), Compelling Calgarians (2021), the International Studies Association’s  Women’s Caucus’s Susan S. Northcutt Award (2020), 100 Accomplished Black Women Honouree (2020), the ISA-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award (2018-19), P.E. Trudeau Foundation Fellow (2018), the HSBC Community Contributor of the Year Award (2016); and the Canadian Association of University Teachers’ Equity Award  (2015).

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Dr. Evelyn Hamdon, Senior Advisor, Equity & Human Rights, University of Alberta

Dr. Evelyn Hamdon is the Senior Advisor, Equity and Human Rights, in the Office of the Provost and is a member of the EDI team led by Vice Provost (EDI), Dr. Carrie Smith. Combining over 25 years of practical EDI experience with a PhD in Educational Policy Studies, she brings both current theory and informed practice to her work. 

Evelyn’s research and practice are grounded in intersectional, anti-racism, and post-colonial feminist theories which she uses to examine social exclusion in organizational and learning spaces. She has developed rich insights into identifying and addressing performative EDI work and supporting organizations in moving from performance to substantive change.  

Prior to holding her current position, Evelyn was an advisor and Acting Director in the Office of Safe Disclosure and Human Rights (University of Alberta), and before coming to the U of A she worked for over 20 years as an educational and strategic consultant in equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. Her clients included all levels of government, not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, and businesses. Evelyn has extensive experience in education, strategic planning, audits, and evaluation as they relate to EDI and anti-racism work. 

In addition to her work at the U of A, Evelyn currently serves as President of the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education (CAPDHHE), an association of equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and human rights practitioners that centre on the dignity of the individual and work to foster equity, diversity, and inclusion on Canada’s post-secondary campuses (physical and virtual).  

While passionately committed to social justice Evelyn also tries to live a life of balance and spends as much time as possible with her hands in the dirt or on a paintbrush. Her movement practices include swimming and long meandering walks in forests. She has two amazing children, both of whom are musicians and one of whom is a builder and maker of things and the other of whom is an ethnomusicologist. They are her best teachers and inspire her to keep going. 

Dr. Penny Werthner
Interim Provost and Vice-President (Academic)
University of Calgary

Dr. Penny Werthner, PhD, became the Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology in 2012 and left the position to become the Interim Provost and Vice-President (Academic) in 2022. She is one of Canada’s most distinguished consultants in the field of sport psychology. She has served as a sport psychology consultant for Canada's national and Olympic teams since 1985. She is one of the founding members of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) and has been named one of the Top 20 Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity by CAAWS. 

For more than 30 years, she has worked in sport psychology consulting, sport-related management consulting, program management and academic leadership. She came to the University of Calgary after spending 12 years at the University of Ottawa as Director and Associate Dean of the School of Human Kinetics.

Dr. Werthner has written dozens of peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. She currently serves on the editorial board for the International Sport Coaching Journal as well as a reviewer for the journals of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise and Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. She is also a member of the editorial board for the Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching. 

She is a founder and past Chair of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association, a member of the International Council for Coach Education, an advisor to the Coaching Association of Canada Women in Coaching Program, and a learning facilitator for the National Coaching Certificate Program.

Dr. Hyacinth Simpson
Dimensions Director, Dimensions Faculty Chair, and Associate Professor
Toronto Metropolitan University

Dr. Hyacinth Simpson is an associate professor in the Department of English and the Dimensions Faculty Chair in the Faculty of Arts. Her Scholarly, Research, and Creative (SRC) activities and teaching prioritize Caribbean, Black, and Decolonial studies; and she launched her work at TMU in these areas in 2005 by organizing the SSHRC-funded international conference Caribbean Migrations: Negotiating Borders. From 2005 to 2014, Dr. Simpson was the Editor of MaComère,

the peer-reviewed scholarly journal of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers & Scholars. Under her editorship, MaComère won the Horizon Award (Council of Editors of Learned Journals) in 2010. She has also guest edited special issues of other scholarly journals. In her individual publications, she has contributed significantly to research and scholarship on, among other topics, Caribbean oralities, the history and poetics of the Caribbean short story written in English, and the burgeoning film industry in the Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora. 

In addition to her literary research and publications, Dr. Simpson is the Principal Investigator on the multitiered SRC social history project Black Canada and the Great War, which includes the eponymously titled SSHRC-funded Symposium (2021). Keeping true to her commitment to use her SRC undertakings to enhance the lived experience of Black and Caribbean peoples in the Caribbean and Canada, Dr. Simpson continues to make community engagement a hallmark of her work. She also emphasizes public-facing methods of disseminating SRC results (including engaging with media outlets) in the interest of reshaping public perceptions of, and narratives about, Black and Caribbean lives and histories.  

A member of the Yeates School of Graduate Studies, Dr. Simpson has taught in the MA program in Literatures of Modernity (LitMod) and the MA program in Immigration and Settlement Studies (ISS), and has supervised extensively in LitMod, ISS, the Joint Graduate Program in Communication and Culture, as well as the MA program in Early Childhood Studies. She is also involved in supervisory committee work in the Policy Studies PhD program. Under her supervision, several of Dr. Simpson’s graduate students have published, and co-published with her, in reputable journals.

Ms. Tamar Myers
Director, Research, Planning and Assessment
Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI)
Toronto Metropolitan University

Tamar identifies as a racialized woman with a multiethnic family, and is the mother of a child with a disability. Tamar has experienced, witnessed and worked to dismantle racism, including anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia and other forms of oppression in the community, classroom and workplace. 

Tamar's career spans 35 years in the public sector, including 10 years as a leader in equity, diversity and inclusion at Toronto Metropolitan University. She has wide-ranging experience in program and policy creation, data collection and analysis, metrics and progress indicator development and reporting, strategic planning and more. In her current role as Director, Research, Planning and Assessment in the Office of the Vice President, Equity and Community Inclusion, Tamar oversees TMU's employee and student diversity self-id programs, working collaboratively to produce meaningful information about students, staff and faculty from the university’s six equity seeking groups: women; racialized people; Black people; First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ people, within a shared responsibility model for embedding EDI into all areas and activities of the university. The Research, Planning and Assessment unit also develops evidence-based tools to integrate EDI into programs and initiatives, such as a recently developed tool that incorporates diversity self-id data, along with information from research and reflection questions, used for considering EDI in periodic program reviews. 

Dr. Michael Godfrey
EDI Data Analyst
Western University

Michael began his EDI work during his graduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. His PhD examined how cultural diversity impacts sport teams and individual athletes’ experiences. Following the completion of his PhD in June 2020, Michael began a Postdoctoral Fellowship that focused on advancing EDI within the Faculty of Science at the University of Windsor. His SSHRC-funded program of research examined the academic climate for students who belong to the 2SLGBTQ+ community and the effects of ethnic diversity on the persistence of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) students.

His current role as the EDI Data Analyst involves coordinating the collection of campus-wide EDI-related data, and subsequently, analyzing and producing reports on this data to inform institutional EDI initiatives.

Michael’s dedication to advancing EDI is driven largely by his experiences in sport, postsecondary education, and as a partner of a Black woman. He strives to use his expertise in EDI and indirect experiences of systemic discrimination and oppression to educate others and promote change.

Dr. Ana Boller
Digital Learning Specialist, EDI
University of Western Ontario


Ana has been part of the Western community for the last 9 years. After completing an Undergraduate Bachelor degree of Education in the field of Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador and teaching ESL for 5 years in Caracas, Venezuela, she emigrated to Canada with her family. At Western, she earned a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies, Literature. In 2018 she joined the Centre for Teaching and Learning as an Educational Developer for ITA Programs, and she has been part of the Western English Language Centre since 2016 teaching academic English to international students. Later, in 2022 she joined the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as the Digital Learning Specialist, EDI.  

As the Digital Learning Specialist, EDI, Ana collaborates with subject matter experts as well as internal and external stakeholders to design, create, and facilitate digital and in-person learning experiences to advance EDI in the Western campus and in the London community.  

Ana’s passion for EDI began when she arrived in Canada, as she learned more about her identity as a person of colour, and her relationship to this land. Recognizing the work that was needed to champion EDI in the community, she pursued an EDI Certificate from UBC to formally learn more about this field and to achieve her goal to advance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion using her teaching skills.  

Ana is also the proud mother of Mariana and Kathy, and two puppies named Scarlet and Luna.

Dr. Tolulope (Tolu) T. Sajobi
Professor
Academic Director - EDI Data Research, Analysis, and Strategy, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
University of Calgary

Dr. Sajobi is a professor and biostatistician in the Departments of Community Health Sciences and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary. He completed his undergraduate degree (First Class Honors) in Statistics from Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria), a Masters's degree in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Windsor, and a PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Saskatchewan.

Dr. Sajobi is the Director of the Person-Centered Methods & Analytics Research Lab, through which he leads a methods research program that focuses on (1) measurement and analysis of behavioural/patient-reported outcomes, (2) design and analysis of randomized controlled trials, and (3) predictive analytics. He has received peer-reviewed research funds worth more than $26 million as a principal investigator and co-investigator/lead statistician and has published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

As a biostatistician, Dr. Sajobi is a seasoned collaborator and statistical leader on several national and international health research projects. He received the 2018 Avenue Magazine’s Calgary Top 40 under 40 award.

Sarah Scanlon
Associate Director, Sexual Violence Response
Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management
Wilfrid Laurier University

Sarah Scanlon (they/she) has spent the last 15+ years in gender justice work. Having worked across nearly a dozen organizations and initiatives focused on ending gender-based violence (gbv) and responding to human rights violations, they have substantial experience working with individuals and groups who have experienced
interpersonal, institutional, or state violence.

Sarah has extensive experience facilitating conversations around complex and sensitive issues, having facilitated workshops or discussions to 35,000 individuals over the past 14 years. She has successfully produced research-based manuals, trainings, websites, and resources focused on supporting those impacted by harm and creating safer and more accountable spaces.

Sarah acts as a consultant for both profit and non-profit organizations. They are the Associate Director, Sexual Violence Response at Wilfrid Laurier University and a member of the Ontario University Sexual Violence Network. They act as the co-coordinator for Laurier's Restorative Practice Initiative and was a member of the ‘Towards a Justice that Heals’ Community of Practice, created by the Federal ‘Courage to Act’ initiative, which produced "Essential Elements for Non-Punitive Accountability: A Workbook for Understanding Alternative Responses to Gender-Based Violence." She also co-developed the "Responding to Critical Incidents of Sexual Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions" Guide available through Courage to Act. Sarah is an adjunct faculty in the Masters of Restorative Justice program at Vermont Law School and sits on the steering committee for Project Willow.

They have a double Honour’s degree in Psychology and Women's Studies and Feminist Research from Western University and a Masters of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University. She is certified in Alternative Dispute Resolution and has received many certifications in trauma-informed therapy, transformative/restorative justice practices, facilitation, conflict resolution, and innovative responses to oppression.

Ms. Sarah Coderre
Partner and co-founder
Bow River Law LLP

Sarah Coderre is a partner and co-founder at Bow River Law LLP in Calgary, where she primarily practices employment law, labour law, and human rights. Prior to starting her own practice, she worked for firms from boutique offices to one of the largest firms in Canada in both Calgary and Edmonton. Born and raised in Alberta, Sarah completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta, and her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Calgary, and she was called to the Alberta Bar in 2012.

A passionate advocate for civility, mentorship and diversity in the profession, Sarah is also known as a leader in the legal community. She is the Secretary for the Canadian Bar Association Alberta Branch Board of Directors, a director for the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, a director for the Association of Women Lawyers, she served as the President of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers Alberta Chapter, and she is involved with Lawyers for Equity, Access and Diversity Alberta.

Beyond her practice and volunteer work, Sarah is also the mother of two young children.

Mr. Milé Komlen
Managing Director - Mediator, Investigator
Ethical Associates Inc

Milé Komlen is a Dedicated Neutral with a practice as an independent mediator, investigator and adjudicator. He is currently the Managing Director of Ethical Associates Inc. In this role, he advises institutional clients on conflict resolution strategies and maintains a roster of skilled mediators, adjudicators, and investigators to facilitate resolution services. He also provides expertise on the resolution of “deep conflict” through his mediation and investigation practice.

Milé is formerly the Director of Human Rights & Equity Services at McMaster University where he served for eight years as a member of the University’s Senior Management Team, providing strategic advice and guidance on human rights and equity matters to the University Administration and various stakeholders on campus. In this high-profile role, Milé was tasked with engaging members of the University environment in building an inclusive community with a shared purpose.

During his term at McMaster, Milé engaged in the resolution of hundreds of cases involving discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, accommodation, and general workplace conflict. Using a variety of dispute resolution techniques, such as individual coaching, mediation, facilitation, intergroup dialogue, and restorative justice, he cultivated resolutions on numerous disputes involving faculty, students and staff. He also served as the Acting Senior Advisor on Human Rights and Equity to Brock University.

In his other public roles, Milé is the immediate Past President of the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education (CAPDHHE). He has previously served as the Chair of the Equity Advisory Group for the Law Society of Upper Canada and as the Chair of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Caucus (SOGIC) of the Ontario Bar Association.

Milé was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2000 and is licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Women’s Studies from Carleton University (becoming the first man in Canada to graduate with a degree in Women’s Studies). He holds a Certificate in Workplace Investigations from the Association of Workplace Investigators and obtained an Advanced Certificate in Adjudication for Administrative Agencies, Boards and Tribunals from Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development. He has also served as faculty for the Osgoode Hall Certificate Program in Human Rights Theory and Practice and is regularly asked to speak at conferences on human rights, employment law and diversity management.

Mr. Cory Boyd, B.A. Hons., LL.B.
Co-managing Partner
Rubin Thomlinson LLP

Cory Boyd is co-managing partner of Rubin Thomlinson LLP. With over 20 years of experience, he is a highly accomplished workplace investigator and trainer. His fair, analytical approach adapts to the characteristics of every workplace he encounters, respecting each client’s unique workplace culture. Cory believes that a well-done investigation can truly and deeply improve an organization.

Cory regularly presents at conferences and writes on the subjects of workplace investigations, workplace restorations, bullying and harassment, human rights developments, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. He also continues to advance his professional knowledge, having completed a Certificate in Conflict Management at Conrad Grebel College and a Compliance and Ethics program.

Prior to Rubin Thomlinson, Cory has worked with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and Toronto Community Housing as an in-house investigator and human rights consultant.

• Called to the Bar of Ontario
• B.A., Honours, Bishop’s University
• LL.B., University of Toronto

Ms. Sylvie Lang
Barrister & Solicitor
Southern Butler Price LLP

Sylvie Lang received her law degrees (common and civil) from McGill University and articled with a national firm in Montreal before returning home to Calgary. She was called to the Quebec Bar in 2009 and the Alberta Bar in 2010.

She has worked for small, medium, and large companies as in-house counsel and believes that each workplace requires practical, sensitive, and respectful approaches that reflect the work environment. Sylvie had a strong desire to focus on labour and employment and transitioned to an in-house role in 2010 where she had the opportunity to work as both a barrister and solicitor and focus on regulatory and labour and employment law. She has worked for provincially and federally regulated employers as in-house counsel in the healthcare and transportation sectors. She has extensive experience in labour relations matters, practicing in the areas of employment, labour, and human rights, assisting with and providing advice on investigations in both unionized and nonunionized workplaces.

She has led numerous workplace education and training sessions on various matters, including human rights and investigations. She has assisted in policy development and implementation on various workplace issues. Sylvie has appeared before various administrative tribunals as an advocate, and as a panel member on arbitration panels. She is an effective problem solver who has always looked for opportunities for early resolution of disputes including mediation.

Sylvie is fluent in French and English.

Dr. Tanya (Toni) De Mello
Vice President, Equity and Community InclusionVice President, Equity and Community Inclusion
Toronto Metropolitan University

With a background comprising finance, management consulting and law, Tanya (Toni) De Mello has spent much of her career focusing on and researching equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). She is a human rights lawyer and a certified coach and mediator. She has taught at the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and several Colleges. She has worked at TMU as the Director of Human Rights and then at Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Canada's newest law school. She is currently the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion at TMU. She has worked with over 100 organizations in training, consulting and supporting them in their EDI journey.

In addition to founding two NGOs, Toni has served in the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme in Geneva, Senegal and Columbia. Toni holds a dual Bachelor of Economics and Political Science from the University of Waterloo, a double Master's in Public Policy and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University, a dual law degree from McGill University and a Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of Toronto. She also completed her doctorate at the University of Toronto, where she researched bias in hiring in Canada.

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