Theme: Intersections of equity, technology, and the future of education

Hosted by GL Roberts CVI, a Durham District School Board high school by beautiful Lake Ontario in south Oshawa, TEDxOshawaED brings the educational community in Oshawa together in our newly renovated lecture theatre to deepen our knowledge of prevalent issues in equity and marginalization, and how these might intersect technology and what the future of education might look like.

GL Roberts CVI
399 Chaleur Ave.
Oshawa, Ontario, L1J 1G5
Canada

Christopher Warren

Facilitator and Teacher

Throughout his career, Christopher Warren draws upon his life experiences, training, and time in the classroom to connect with his students to understand the whole person. Growing up in poverty in Newfoundland, Warren has had to work through various barriers that were not easily seen by his classmates and teachers. These experiences helped shape him, both personally and professionally, ensuring that he reaches out to his students to understand their motivations, and how he can help them to succeed. Warren strives to understand what barriers his students face and how this impacts their ability to thrive. He has a keen interest in equity issues that surround technology, and how students can use collaboration tools to advocate for others. This has helped him to earn his Masters in Education, concentrating on digital citizenship and equity in areas focused on technology. Warren currently works as a Facilitator at the DDSB, after spending 17 years in Ajax as a teacher and educational lead.

Karly Church

Crisis Intervention Counselor, Social Service Worker

Karly Church is a Crisis Intervention Counselor, Social Service Worker, and advocate for survivors of domestic sex trafficking. She has worked the front line with youth in sex work and trafficking for over four years. Church works at Victim Services of Durham Region, where she provides specialized services and support to survivors of human trafficking. Church is a Canadore College graduate from two separate programs: Mental Health and Addictions, and Social Service. As a survivor of domestic human trafficking, she harnesses her lived experience, extensive knowledge, and her passion to work with her fellow survivors. She meets individuals at their need while providing support with a trauma informed perspective. Church has delivered keynote speeches throughout Canada and has trained and presented to thousands of social service providers. She is dedicated to providing preventative education through youth symposiums, presentations, consultations, interviews and panels on human trafficking.

Leeno Karumanchery, Ph.D.

Chief Diversity Officer

A sociologist with 20+ years of experience in the diversity & inclusion field, Dr. Leeno Karumanchery is an internationally recognized speaker and consultant in the areas of diversity, inclusion, emotional intelligence and communication. Dr. Karumanchery is widely published in the field. He is co-author of "Removing the Margins", "Playing the Race Card" and the forthcoming, "The Old Black Lesbian Elephant in the Room: Why Diversity Does and Doesn’t Work in Organizations". An official member of, and contributor to, the Forbes Human Resources Council, Dr. Karumanchery explores how context is everything in human communication, and how the right person, in the right position of power, at the right time, can help inspire and drive trust, safety, hope, resilience and motivation in marginalized bodies. As Chief Diversity Officer at MESH/Diversity, he is focused on supporting organizations interested in bringing Diversity Intelligence™ into the mainstream of their culture and strategic plan.

Nicole West-Burns, Ph.D.

Consultant – Educational Equity Issues

Dr. Nicole West-Burns works as a consultant on educational equity issues. Since 2008, she has worked with educators in Ontario to support/guide professional learning promoting equitable educational outcomes in schools for students, using Culturally Relevant & Responsive Pedagogy (CRRP). She is a leader on equity initiatives in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, and is currently a facilitator with the Education Equity Secretariat’s Office, developing and leading provincial work tied to deepening understandings and practices of CRRP. Dr. West-Burns taught on the faculty in the Master of Teaching program at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)/ University of Toronto (UofT). She worked as the Director of School Services (Urban Schooling) at OISE. She served as a lead writer on the "Equity Continuum: Action for Critical Transformation in Schools and Classrooms", which sold thousands of copies and is on the required reading list for the Ontario Principals’ Council.

Nouman Ashraf

Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Nouman Ashraf is the Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, and is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, within the Organizational Behaviour area at the Rotman School of Management. He is a recognized thought-leader in governance, and since 2007, has taught thousands of directors in the national Rotman program on Not for Profit Governance in partnership with the Institute for Corporate Directors. Ashraf teaches Emancipatory Leadership within the Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) program, Leading Social Innovation with the two and three-year MBA program and Leading Across Differences within the Rotman Commerce Program. He serves as Teaching Fellow at the Institute for Gender + the Economy, and is also an Associate at Trinity College within the University of Toronto. At lunch time, he can be found at Massey College within the University of Toronto, where he mentors exceptional post-graduate students in his capacity as Senior Fellow Emeritus.

Tabia Charles-Collins

Entrepreneur, Fashion Designer, Retired Professional Track and Field Athlete

Influencer, fashion designer, entrepreneur, and life coach, Tabia Charles-Collins, is a retired professional track and field athlete. She competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games for Canada and holds several Canadian records. While completing her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology at the University of Miami in three years, she won her first NCAA Triple Jump title, graduating with honours and becoming a 10 time All-American. She currently has a fashion line and online store called Anisah, and together with her husband, Dennison Collins, runs an elite training and development program for youth, called Team Collins, as well as a residential property investment company.