Dr. Tanya (Toni) De Mello
Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, Toronto Metropolitan University
With a background comprising finance, management consulting, and law, Dr. Tanya (who we call “Toni”) De Mello has spent much of her career focusing on, and researching, equity, diversity and inclusion with a focus on unconscious bias. She is a human rights lawyer and a certified coach and mediator and a leading educator on equity and diversity in Canada. She teaches at Ryerson University and was the Director of Human Rights for four years. She is currently opening Ryerson’s Faculty of Law, the Lincoln Alexander School of Law – Canada’s newest law school, as the Assistant Dean of Students, Development, Programming and Equity. In addition to founding two NGOs, Toni has served in the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme in Geneva (Switzerland), Senegal (West Africa) and Columbia (South America).
Anthony Morgan
Manager of the City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism (CABR) Unit
Anthony is a racial justice analyst & strategist, educator and lawyer. He is the Manager of the City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism (CABR) Unit. Prior to joining the City, Anthony was an Associate at Falconers LLP, specializing in the areas of civil, constitutional and criminal state accountability litigation. He has a special interest in anti-racist human rights advocacy, particularly in the area of anti-Black racism. He has appeared at various levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and has also represented the interests of African Canadians before United Nations human rights treaty bodies. In both 2016 and 2017, Anthony was nominated as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. While based in Toronto, Anthony is completing a Masters of Studies in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. In addition to holding an LL.B. and B.C.L. from McGill University, Faculty of Law, he holds an Hons. B.A. from the University of Toronto in Ethics, Society & Law.
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah
Assistant Professor, University of Toronto (Sociology and Criminology)
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto (Sociology and Criminology), a Senior Fellow at Massey College and a Special Advisor to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Prof. Owusu-Bempah’s work examines the intersections of race, crime and criminal justice, with a particular focus on policing. Prior to becoming a professor, he held positions with the National Judicial Institute, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.
Dr. Mai Phan
Race Data Collection Expert, Toronto Police Service
Dr. Mai Phan is a data expert consultant who is passionate about data equity, social justice, equity, and human rights. She has over 20 years of experience teaching, researching, developing, and leading initiatives to address systemic barriers and promote inclusive practices and policies in public sector organizations. Mai is currently supporting the Toronto Police Service’s anti-racism data initiative, Race and Identity-Based Data Collection Strategy. She was a senior research and policy advisor at the Anti-Racism Directorate at the Province of Ontario where she led the development of the Ontario Anti-Racism Data Standards and provided strategic advice to public sector organizations regulated to collect race-based data under the Anti-Racism Act.
- Publication: Race-based data in the criminal justice system
Kaylee Rich
Law student, Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Ryerson University
Kaylee Rich is a second-year law student at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Ryerson University and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Ottawa in Psychology (B.A Hons).
Harsimran Sidhu
Law student, Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Ryerson University
Harsimran Sidhu is a second-year law student at the Lincoln Alexander School of law at Ryerson University and received her undergraduate degree from McMaster University in Political Science (B.A. Hons).
Tyrone
Tyrone is a 25-year-old man who grew up and still lives in Scarborough, in Toronto’s east end
At 13, Tyrone was illegally stopped and searched. At 15, he was wrongfully incarcerated. At 25, he’s overcoming his past and giving back to his community in Toronto.
- Publication: “Guilty until proven innocent”: Tyrone’s story
