Volunteer Experience

Member of Group 1: Lived experience and public Interest

The technical committee’s role is to:

identify where persons with disabilities may face barriers related to Information and Communication Technology
take into account emerging accessibility trends in Information and Communications Technology
develop a national standard or standards that will try to remove or prevent these barriers.

The Disability Inclusion, Madness, Accessibility, Neurodiversity (DIMAND) Working Group is part of the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community (PACBIC).

Cordinates the collection of feedback from DIMAND members on equity-related items to bring to the larger PACBIC group.
Aids in the coordination of equity-related events.
- In 2021, helped coordinate an “unconference” on December 1st to 3rd for the Interational Day of Persons with Disabilities. Included Flash Presentations: Critical Disability Research and Teaching Clusters, Disability Discussion: The 3 Fs of Food Inaccessibility, and Assistive Technology – Lived Experiences and Uses.
- In 2021, helped restart the Critical Mad & Disability Discussions series, with the MadChats -An Intro to Mad Studies event.
- In 2022, organized and facilitated the 2022 National Accessibility Week at McMaster for over 250 attendees. Included creating visual and written promotional communication materials, contributing as a panelist, lecturer, and moderator.

Participated as a Scientific Planning Committee member for this event series and provided digital accessibility support.

Participated as a Scientific Planning Committee member for the event series, hosted two sessions on digital accessibility (101 and 201), and moderated a panel discussion on Reframing Disability in Healthcare. Digital accessibility support was also provided.

“The Gender & Sexuality Working Group (G&S) aims to advocate for McMaster staff, faculty, and students part of gender and sexually diverse communities, including women, non-binary folks, and 2SLGBTQIA+ folks” and is part of the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community (PACBIC).

Participates in working group meetings and initiatives.

Participates in consultations, feedback, and disability-centered initiatives as a disabled staff member at McMaster.

Participates in committee meetings to discuss and organize equity-based concerns. Plans Pride-related events for UNIFOR members and partner with similar McMaster groups.

Participates in the organization and facilitation of events focused on employee health at McMaster University, ensuring inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility are considered in the planning and implementation of events.

In 2021, McMaster was awarded Excellence Canada and Canada’s healthyworkplacemonth Great Employer award. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their planning and actions to foster physically and psychologically safe and healthy workplaces, striving to continually improve across four main areas of focus, namely: Physical Health, Mental Health, Social Health and Community.

Particpated as a peer mentor during the Thread 2: Praxis Family Discourse (PFD) session, providing reflections on my experiences as a BHSc student, activities, and community building opportunities for Praxis students at McMaster University.

Particpated as a reviewer for the IDEAS grant (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Sustainability). I brought my scholarly, professional, volunteer, and lived experience in equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion to this role.

“McMaster University is committed to building inclusive community with shared purpose. In order to support this mission in the teaching context, the MacPherson Institute and the Equity and Inclusion Office are partnering to provide small grants of up to $4,000 to McMaster instructors seeking to make their courses more accessible and equitable.”

Volunteer Experience

Volunteer Experience

Technical committee on accessibility requirements for Information and Communication Technology Products and Services

Co-Convener of the DIMAND Working Group

Faculty of Health Science 2022 Fall/ Winter EDI & Indigenous Health Equity Speaker Series: Black Excellence in Teaching, Research and Care

Faculty of Health Science 2022 Spring/ Summer EDI & Indigenous Health Equity Speaker Series: Accessibility in Healthcare

G&S Working Group Member

Employee Accessibility Network Member

UNIFOR Pride Committee Member

Healthy Workplace Committee Member

Praxis Pathways / HTH SCI 1X01 Peer Mentor

IDEAS 2022 Grant Reviewer