As a highly motivated and team-oriented professional, I am passionate about making the world more equitable and inclusive. With a strong drive to effect positive change, I am aware that I don’t know everything, and am committed to working collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders, and folks with different perspectives and experiences. With a proven track record of building relationships, designing and facilitating trainings, and conducting research, I am confident in my ability to excel in any collaborative, inclusive and change-driven environment.
Positions
Policy Analyst
Canada Border Services Agency
Mar 2023 – Present
Strategic Policy Branch, Innovation Policy Unit.
Previous Positions
Senior advisor
Canada School of Public Service
Feb 2021 – Mar 2023
Subject-matter expert Gender-Based Analysis Plus. Design and implement a learning path for GBA Plus in partnership with Women and Gender Equality Canada.
Group Facilitator
New Directions, Counselling and Family Service Ottawa
Jul 2021 – Jan 2022
Facilitate 12 week group education and counselling program on domestic violence and non-abusive ways of resolving conflict for men who were arrested for acts of domestic violence.
Facilitator, Trainer and Training Design and Development Specialist
Graybridge Malkam
OcT 2020 – FEB 2021
Provide training for civil servants on Gender Based Analysis Plus, Authentic Inclusion, and Bias Awareness for our client: the Centre for Learning in Intercultural Effectiveness and International Assistance Policy (CFSC), Global Affairs Canada.
- Facilitation and evaluation of training interventions, programs, courses, seminars, workshops, distance learning or similar projects;
- Design of training interventions, programs, courses, seminars, workshops, distance learning or similar events;
- Design of materials in support of training interventions, programs, courses, seminars, workshops, distance learning or similar events; and
- Participation in other training-related or research activities as appropriate.
Group Facilitator
Living Without Violence
Dec 2020 – Apr 2021
Facilitate 12 week group education and counselling program on domestic violence and non-abusive ways of resolving conflict for men who were arrested for acts of domestic violence.
Project Coordinator
THE AFRO/CARIBBEAN MENTORSHIP PROGRAM, CARLETON UNIVERSITY
Sept 2020 – Feb 2020
The Afro-Caribbean Mentorship Program (ACMP) is an initiative dedicated to supporting the success of African, Caribbean, Black (ACB) and other racialized undergraduate and graduate students on campus, while encouraging them to be confident members in our Ottawa community.
- Develop and manage projects, evaluation, reporting to management, stakeholders and funders.
- Event planning and management.
- Digital production and social media management.
Consultant
Planned Parenthood Ottawa
Dec 2020 – Jan 2021
Support Planned Parenthood Ottawa with the development of a curriculum, a series of classroom-based workshops for students in Grade 9 to reduce teen dating violence among youth of all genders.
Case Worker
John Howard Society of Ottawa
JaN 2020 – Nov 2020
A Different Street provides male identifying youth, regardless of their complexities and challenges, an opportunity to access safe accommodations and utilize intensive on-site supports to assist with their life goals. This program strives to contribute to a reduction in the number of individuals using homeless shelters or living on the street, as well as to intervene with justice-involved and at-risk youth to decrease their risk for future offending and other problematic behaviours.
- Completed standardized assessments to evaluate the client’s risk and need areas, and to develop and implement an intervention plan to address those areas of need;
- Intervention development utilized behavioural, cognitive behavioural and social learning approaches;
- Established with the client achievable, time specific goals, and identified intermediate targets for change;
- Provided structured individual counselling with clients.
Program Coordinator
John Howard Society of Waterloo-Wellington
Aug 2018 – Jul 2019
Coordinated the Partner Assault Response (PAR) program; clients were perpetrators of domestic abuse, and court-mandated to finish the program. The program focused on taking responsibility and developing healthy relationship skills.
- Counseled clients in group and individual settings.
- Case management of criminalized and often vulnerable clients. Responsibilities included intake and determining eligibility, client assessment, determining client needs and client referrals to other services, reporting to management.
- Evaluated and monitored participant behaviours, cognitions, stages of change and motivation in relation to goals and the effects of behaviours on partners, children as well as the client.
Data Analyst
Innodata
Mar 2016 – May 2018
Innodata is an IT company providing services for publishers. My department worked with Wolters Kluwer Belgium, a legal publisher.
- Produced tools for teams, such as such as guidance documents, training documents, process flows, reports, etc.
- Analysed project progress, bottlenecks and efficiencies, project quality and results, project workflow and organizational structure, and data collection methods.
- Reported to senior management and clients in person and in writing, in briefings, reports, meeting preparation materials, memos.
- Facilitated flow of information between teams, management and clients, briefed management on important developments or inquiries, answered client inquiries.
Community Involvement
Founder
Masculinity: Under Construction
June 2018 – Present
Masculinity under construction is for male-identifying folks to get together and discuss masculinity. The aim is to challenge ourselves, review our privilege, formulate a positive form of masculinity, build community and work towards change for ourselves and others.
- Organize a group of 250+ men to improve allyship skills and decrease toxic behaviours together with community partners, through a range of activities.
- Topics include(d): gender-based violence, nonviolent conflict resolution, fatherhood, effective communication, bystander intervention.
- Set up a formal cooperation with the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women.
- Successfully secured funding from the Ottawa Community Foundation.
Workshop Facilitator
MANifest Change, by OCTEVAW
May 2016 – Present
MANifest Change equips men and boys to skillfully prevent common situations of gender-based violence. We train people of all genders to facilitate the Five MANifest Change Conversations in your school, university, or place of work. MANifest Change is a project by the Ottawa Coalition To End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW)
- Developed workshops in consultation with the community.
- Educated youth and men on consent, #metoo, accountability, bystander intervention, positive forms of masculinity, gender-based violence, privilege.
- Accompanied other facilitators with lived experiences on allied projects, such as Project SoundCheck.
Organizer
Sex Workers’ Action Network of Waterloo Region
October 2018 – July 2019
SWAN is a non-partisan group consisting of individuals, including those with lived experience, agencies and groups committed to recognizing and honouring individuals working in sex work.
- Organized Dec 17 event (International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers) to fight stigma, improve understanding, and increase solidarity with and support for sex workers’ rights.
- Organized June 2nd event to allow sex workers to celebrate in a safe space.
Sex Educator
SHORE center
September 2018 – July 2019
The Sexual Health Options, Resources & Education – SHORE Centre aims to provide all residents of our community (Kitchener-Waterloo) with sexual health information and support.
- Provided sex-ed to youth on schools.
- Participated in improv theater to educate youth on consent, gender and sexual diversity, and sexual health.
Research coordinator / Interim Director
PACT-ottawa
february 2014 – august 2016
Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking (PACT-Ottawa) is a non-partisan, secular organization whose membership includes professional educators, public servants, social service practitioners, members of faith groups and students, and aims to combat Human Trafficking. Working in human trafficking, I know that sex work is not human trafficking, and focus on all forms of human trafficking, including exploitation of labor, exploitation of migrants, domestic servitude and trafficking for the purpose of organ removal.
- Conducted and coordinated policy research, analyzed Ontario health policies and regulations, Canadian criminal law, population statistics, social trends, and the international legal framework, with a team of experts.
- Organized a Round Table to explore opportunities for cooperation among stakeholders: Health Canada, Justice Canada, the Kidney Foundation, and others.
Education, Training and Awards
Education
Master of Sociology (M.Sc.) specializing in Gender and Migration
University of Amsterdam
Master of Philosophy (M.A.) specializing in Social Sciences
University of Amsterdam
M.Sc. and M.A. thesis: Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Policies
Specialization in Law
LL.M. thesis (in Dutch): First as tragedy, then as farce: How the history of the human trafficking offense is still relevant
Bachelor of Sociology (B.Sc.)
University of Amsterdam
B.Sc. thesis (in Dutch): The process of framing
Awards
Founder’s Award for Outstanding Contribution
PACT-Ottawa, 2015
Community Program Award
Crime Prevention Ottawa, 2015
Training
Nonviolent Crisis Intervention
Crisis Prevention Institute
October 2020
Fundamentals of Addiction
University of Waterloo
September 2018
Gender-based Analysis+
Status of Women Canada
May 2018
Introduction to Project Management
University of Adelaide
April 2016
Advanced Anti-Human Trafficking Training Course
AAMS & Ontario Trillium Foundation
February 2015