Equity and Inclusion
at Work: Now What?

Dr. Hazel Symonette (she/her), Program Development & Assessment Specialist Emerita, is Evaluation Facilitator at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research—the LEAD Center (Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation and Dissemination) and the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her work focuses on using assessment and evaluation as participant-centered self-diagnostic resources for continuous improvement, developmental innovation, and strategic image management.

Dr. Symonette is very active within the professional evaluation community. She has served on the American Evaluation Association (AEA) Board of Directors, as Co-Chairs of AEA’s Building Diversity Initiative and the Multi-Ethnic Issues in Evaluation Topical Interest Group and many other progressive change initiatives. Currently, she serves on the AEA Task Force on Evaluator Competencies. Since 2008, she has also been serving on the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation–initially as AEA’s Representative and now as an At-Large member. Hazel is an active Fellow within the University of Wisconsin Teaching Academy.

Gerald Ratt (he/him) is Woodland Cree from Northern Saskatchewan, and is a member of the Lac La Ronge First Nation in Treaty 6 territory. He is a child of a survivor of Indian Residential School, Two-Spirit, and his traditional Blackfoot name is ai’ssoo which translates to “warrior” which was gifted to him in ceremony by from Blackfoot Elder Keith Chiefmoon of the Kainai Nation. Land and place are important to who he is. His cultural identity is his strength. As a lifelong learner Gerald is open to new experiences, knowledge, and challenges for self-improvement. 

Major Anita Yengue is an Aerospace Engineering (AERE) Officer serving with the Canadian Armed Forces. A passionate traveller, she has always been drawn to aviation, making her work with aircraft a natural fit. Anita is a licensed Professional Engineer with an undergraduate degree in Electromechanical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Moncton. Proud to serve Canadians, she views the country’s diversity as a powerful asset—one that reflects our values, objectives, and aspirations on the global stage.

Before joining the military in 2012, Anita worked in the manufacturing sector as an Electronic Project Lead Engineer and Project Manager. Since then, she has held multiple aerospace engineering roles, including aircraft maintenance officer and various project management positions. Her commitment to education led her to teach at several technical colleges in the National Capital Region, where she also dedicated her time to tutoring and mentoring underprivileged youth and refugees.

Carla Cowie (she/her) is the Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition at Vancity and will soon be transitioning into the role of Senior Manager, Culture. She brings deep experience in recruitment, candidate experience, and people practices, along with a practical understanding of how organizational systems shape employee experience. As she moves into culture work, Carla is focused on expanding her impact by helping strengthen the systems, relationships, and practices that support inclusion, belonging, and organizational change.

Lisa Lewis, CPHR (she/her) is an HR and systems design consultant, speaker, and founder of MindMosaic Inclusive HR. She specializes in neuroinclusion, communication, psychological safety, and designing workplaces that work better for humans. With a background spanning human resources, leadership, behavioural science, and organizational development, Lisa helps organizations make sense of human complexity at work through a practical, human-centred lens. She is passionate about creating environments where different ways of thinking, learning, and communicating are understood as strengths rather than barriers, and where small shifts in design can create more inclusive, connected, and effective workplaces for everyone.

Kelly Chhor (she/her) is the Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Reconciliation at Vancity, where she leads work to embed equity, anti-racism, accessibility, and Reconciliation into organizational strategy and practice. Her work focuses on strengthening leadership accountability, building sustainable structures, and advancing process change that supports more equitable outcomes across the organization. Kelly is passionate about creating workplaces where people feel seen, supported, and able to contribute fully.

Ale (she/her) is a healthcare ethicists at PHSA, where she provides consultation for teams, patients and families. She is originally from Mexico City, and she is a proud Latina, recognizing that her ancestors were European settlers in Abya-Yala, where many Indigenous peoples and communities still thrive today.

She has a Law Degree, a Master’s degree in Science, specifically in the area of Bioethics, and a PhD also in Bioethics from the National University of Mexico, UNAM. Ale is passionate about anti-oppression work and education, and tries to incorporate that lens into her daily practice. She holds a certificate on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from UBC. She also serves as the Diversity Office for the Canadian Bioethics Society (CBS/SCB).

Before coming to Canada, Ale worked for the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico and the National Bioethics Commission. She also taught Bioethics, Law and Human Rights theory in various private and public academic institutions.

Danielle Barkley works as a career educator at the University of British Columbia where she support students and alumni in understanding and achieving their career goals. Danielle has previously worked at McGill, Bishop’s University, and the University of Glasgow. She is an ICF certified coach and holds a PhD in 19th century literature.

Mami Takahashi works as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Research Officer at the University of Victoria. As the content expert, she offers education facilitation and consultation to offer a space for people to explore ways to maximize their engagement in inclusive practices and equitable decision making. In the post-secondary field, she also had worked in International Education and Work-Integrated Learning.