The Calgary Police Service has launched the names of the 15 individuals named to its anti-racism motion committee.
The committee, which was introduced on Monday, is predicted to begin work on March 1. On Monday, police mentioned they couldn’t announce the names of the committee members as a result of they hadn’t all been notified but.
Learn extra:
Calgary police anti-racism committee chosen; work to start by March 1
Of the roughly 215 individuals who utilized, these are those appointed to the committee:
- Dr. Fouzia Usman is an fairness, variety, and inclusion instructional marketing consultant on the College of Calgary. As a self-identified girl of color with lived experiences of racism, she has spent nearly twenty years working within the areas of social justice and anti-oppression. She has additionally labored with college students (Canadian and worldwide) to develop their understanding of systemic racism and the mandatory work to shift towards a extra inclusive and anti-racist society.
- Shauna Porter is the chief govt officer of Higher Home Company. She is an organizational behaviour and tradition marketing consultant that creates insurance policies and workshops with an anti-racism lens. Porter is the CEO of the AllThingsBossy Model, a enterprise service and occasion planning firm that’s devoted to Black ladies and ladies that fosters mentorship, private improvement, excellence, and entrepreneurship. She can also be the founding president of Let’s Be Human, a non-profit group dedicated to serving Calgary’s homeless inhabitants with a give attention to psychological well being and wellness. Porter is a self-identified Black feminine activist.
- Holly Wong is the president of the Federation of Asian Canadian Attorneys’ western chapter. She has skilled racism personally and professionally, and brings that have to her work. She is a longtime neighborhood volunteer.
- Rishi Nager is the information director for the Calgary Multicultural Broadcasting Company and is a printed creator on the subject of racism. He’s additionally a member of the College of Calgary Senate. He has lived {and professional} expertise with racism and understands a spread of civil and human rights points, together with on the historic origins of systemic racism.
- Kim Kakakaway is a Cree and Saulteaux First Nations girl from Crimson Pheasant First Nation. She has labored with and for Indigenous communities throughout North America and has been an advocate for social justice and alter. Kakakaway has over 20 years of expertise in working with susceptible youth and younger adults and works in the direction of the inclusion of Indigenous values and practices inside oppressive methods. She is educated in household counselling and is skilled to supply each trauma-informed care practices and harm-reduction rules to front-line employees. Kakakaway has witnessed racial discrimination and profiling and is devoted to decreasing racial disparities within the prison justice system.
- Giftii Girma is a strategic variety specialist and affiliate pastor at Journey Church and a neighborhood psychological well being dealer with Motion Dignity. She was a founding member of Ernst & Younger Calgary’s Black Skilled Community and works carefully with the East African neighborhood by her work with Excel Household & Youth Society in Calgary.
- Adam Massiah is a latest Mount Royal College graduate, a neighborhood chief and an activist for anti-racism initiatives who at present chairs the United Black Individuals’s Allyship (UBPA). Massiah has devoted his time to elevating consciousness and addressing systemic racism in Calgary, making him a outstanding determine within the occasions devoted to combating for equality, variety and inclusion. Whereas at present employed inside metropolis corridor as a neighborhood relations adviser, Massiah additionally pursues his position within the native music recording business as an entrepreneur and musician.
- Eddie Richardson III has spent his life as a coach and mentor to racialized minority youth by sport. He’s an energetic neighborhood member and works carefully with KidSPORT Calgary, Alberta Basketball and lots of companions within the personal sector to assist BIPOC youth all through their scholar athlete journey from as younger as 5 years previous. He’s enthusiastic about inspiring participation from BIPOC youth and their households for the betterment of neighborhood.
- Darren Lund is a professor on the College of Calgary’s Werklund College of Schooling. He brings substantial tutorial experience on social justice and guaranteeing variety and inclusion in faculties, businesses and communities. In 2008, he was named the grand marshall of Calgary’s Delight Parade. He has been a keynote speaker and offered at over 350 conferences and conferences on fairness and human rights points.
- Tyson Bankert has labored on anti-racism and social justice points starting from youth in care to selling management and good citizenship. He’s educated in prison justice and has in depth expertise in neighborhood improvement and engagement on the neighbourhood degree.
- Adanech Sahilie is the founding father of the Immigrant Outreach Society and has advocated for Black, marginalized communities and important staff. She has been a facilitator with Motion Dignity and has been an addictions case employee.
- Walter MacDonald White Bear has used music and storytelling to work with Indigenous youth and assist them discover their id and their path. At present, he’s the cultural adviser with Alberta Justice on the Calgary Correction Centre. He has in depth involvement with community-based, non-profit organizations Schooling and Justice Circles.
- Inez Ashworth is a pacesetter in inclusion, variety and fairness. She has additionally been a part of many fairness, variety and inclusion advisory councils and sits on a number of steering committees sharing greatest practices to advance this trigger each in our communities and organizations. She is an energetic board member, and she or he leads the Calgary Ambassador’s group for Delight at Work Canada.
- Lissy Snowden is a registered social employee and therapeutic entry coach. She has in depth expertise facilitating numerous teams to create motion plans that assist sustainable, long-term modifications for susceptible youngsters, youth and households in Calgary. Snowden at present sits on the social work program advisory committee at Mount Royal College and has additionally initiated and administrates an internet group known as Investing in Anti-Racism that consists of over 3,000 members.
- Stephen Shirt is a proud member of the Kainai First Nation, a part of Treaty 7. He works with Authorized Support Alberta as an Indigenous courthouse navigator to assist Indigenous males, ladies and households overcome boundaries. He has interned with Correctional Service Canada and labored on the Native Counselling Companies of Alberta.
CPS mentioned the standards for committee members included:
- Lived expertise of racism and/or skilled, tutorial or cultural experience in anti-racism associated work
- Demonstrated capability to develop and preserve robust collaborative relationships
- Sturdy understanding of a spread of human and civil rights points and the historic origins of systemic racism
- An openness to supporting individuals and communities in the direction of significant, constructive change
- Ideally private and/or skilled neighborhood connections that may inform the committee’s work
“We’re very excited to get to work with this committee and begin shifting ahead on addressing the issues raised by members of our neighborhood this previous summer time,” committee co-lead Performing Insp. Avril Martin mentioned.
“We’re assured that the group will carry collectively the various views, abilities and neighborhood connections we have to create significant change.”
Learn extra:
Calgary hearth chief Dongworth admits to racism downside in CFD, outlines plan
The group Defund2Fund mentioned Thursday night it was happy so see so many individuals of color included in within the police service’s checklist, together with a excessive variety of Black and Indigenous individuals.
“It actually confirmed that there’s a level of precedence for the best. And that’s a reasonably highly effective assertion,” Courtney Walcott mentioned.
Walcott took subject with the CPS’ degree of transparency by the committee task course of, and mentioned he hopes as soon as the committee begins assembly, the occasions and choices of these conferences shall be extra obtainable to the general public.
“Wanting on the checklist itself, it does present a level of expectations of effectivity on this yr,” he mentioned.
“To see some acquainted faces on this checklist was very promising.”

Walcott mentioned the method doesn’t come with out its issues although, and Defund2Fund is attempting to be optimistic that the committee will carry tangible change.
“There’s a whole lot of doubt, and there’s a historical past of this work failing and there’s a historical past of this work being lip-service,” he mentioned.
“I can’t really stroll away from something saying that I count on it to work and that I’m going to imagine that these individuals have achieved their homework. Nonetheless, I’ll by no means shut the door on it.
“If we will preserve collaborating, then this may go properly. But when it retains going by the boundaries and veil of secrecy we’ve even seen this week — we have to be sure that these boundaries come down.”
© 2021 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.