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KEYNOTE SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES: Zahra Dhanani is currently the Immigration and Refugee Lawyer at the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, a clinic that serves women who are survivors of violence. She is also the dj and host of the wildly successful and fantastically freaky funkasia nights. For more info on her, check out www.djzahra.com "i'm all about love and justice and about learning how to practice that in my daily life. its a constant learning process and i struggle with it in every moment. i've been out since i was 17 and have been actively seeking social change since i was even younger. i'm not one dimensional so its never been as simple as working on "one issue", e.g. just "queer representation" or just "anti-racism". as someone whose experienced the pain of invisibility and marginalization on many fronts, i could never see the picture without looking at the many layers of complexity. after trying many different forms of social justice work and after many years of internal healing, i've realised its not what i do but how i do it. it doesn't matter if i'm lawyering, dj'ing, demonstrating, or getting my nails done, i do it with passion."
Rinaldo Walcott is currently Associate Professor in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, at OISE/UT. He taught in the Division of Humanities at York University for seven years prior to going to OISE/UT. At York University he served as the Graduate Program Director of Interdisciplinary Studies and he was also the Director of Affirmative Action, which is a program that speciically targets tenure stream faculty appointments. While at York Rinaldo was also a founding member of the Center for the Study of Black Cultures in Canada, in the Robarts Center for Canadian Studies. At OISE/UT he is a member of the Centre for Media and Culture in Education. Rinaldo's teaching and research has been largely in the area of cultural studies and postcolonial studies with an emphasis on black diaspora studies. He has published on music, film, queer theory, literature and theatre. His most recent scholarship branches out from black studies to engage with other forms of marginalized difference in a project that he calls:" Other Canadians and the Re-Making of the Nation".
Rinaldo is the author of Black Like Who?: Writing Black Canada (1997)
of which a second edition will be published in the Spring of 2003; and
the editor of Rude: Contemporary Black Canadian Cultural Criticism
(2000). He is currently editing a collection of essays on Austin Clarke
called Surviving the Crossing: Essays on the Works of Austin Clarke;
and desparately trying to finish a book on black Canadian Studies titled
Disturbing the Peace: The Impossible Dream of Black Canadian Studies. A | B | C | D | F | G | H | J | K | L | M | N | P | R | S | T | V | W | Y | Z Tatianna Adams is a young, up and coming actress who has been affiliated with the TRANS community and was previously a radio co-host on Psychopathia Transsexualis on 89.5fm. She believes in building RESPECTFUL communities for all cuz were not there YET! Joanne Adolph, is an Afrikan Transsexual woman from Zambia; Central Afrika who chose to live in Canada because of its diverse cultures. A singer and humanitarian activist, Joanne believes that all people should be accepted for who they are. Chris Bell is an independent scholar who calls Chicago home. He is thrilled to be in attendance at this conference, and would like to thank the planning committee for their efforts. Dr Leslie Bella, of the Social Work department at Memorial University, edits the The Heterosexism Enquirer (http://www.mun.ca/the), which emerged from research funded by the Maritime Centre of Excellence for Women's Health. Leslie is now researching positive space campaigns on Canadian campuses. George F. Bielmeier is a Professor and Associate Director, Ryerson School of Social Work and a member of the Equity Committee of the Ryerson Faculty Association. He undertook a study on Heterosexism and Homophobia at Ryerson which was presented at the first Bent On Change Conference. He has been involved in community organizing for Queer and HIV services. George will do an overview of issues and challenges at Ryerson from both a Faculty and Staff perspective - in particular he will emphasize the views of the different union groups on campus. Jen Bradd - Jen (like half the planet is named) is a Women's Studies major at Simon Fraser University. She is also the coordinator of Out on Campus, SFU's LGBTQ organization. She has followed Lady Clairol colours since she was 13 and has used her hair as a canvas many times over. Her recent accomplishments include organizing a week of queer education, sand belting a door (she's burly!), and crossing the street without a chaperone. Kate Bride has an MA in Art History from York University in Toronto, and is currently living in St. John's, Newfoundland, working on her PhD in Folklore. njeri-damali campbell is a young, funkafied dreamer, lover, poet, and photographer. She's program director of the Ontario Young People's Alliance, and is a second year student in her master's studies at York University. Jordan Cantwell is a Project Coordinator with the Breaking Barriers in Education Project of the Rainbow Resource Centre in Winnipeg. Jordan has facilitated anti-homophobia workshops with pre-service and in-service teachers, as well as university faculty and high school students. Elise Chenier is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of History at McGill University and is completing a book on the history of the criminal sexual psychopath in Ontario. Anthony Collins is an underfocused undergrad at U of T, currently majoring in Semiotics. He does anti-oppression and peer education work both on and off campus with a number of volunteer groups. Cheryl Cooke Harrington is Co-Chair of PRIDE York Region, editor of the group's electronic and print newsletters, and creator of their information web site. Gavin Downie is the facilitator of the TransYouth Toronto drop-in at the 519 Community Center Richard Fung is a Toronto-based videomaker and writer. His tapes, which explore the intersection of race, sexuality and representation, have been widely screened and collected internationally, and his essays on cultural policy and politics have been published in many journals and anthologies. He is currently at the Centre for Media and Culture in Education at OISE, University of Toronto. Susan Gapka is currently enrolled a Specialized Honours in Public Policy and Administration in the Political Science Program at York University. Prior to entering York she served as a Director of the Student Association at George Brown College. Susan is currently in her second term as TBLG Commissor for the Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario. Susan is a collective member of TBLGAY at York. Sky Gilbert is a writer, teacher, director, and drag queen extraordinaire. He has published three critically acclaimed novels. His fourth novel will be published next fall by Cormorant Press. He is presently working on his Ph.D. in Drama at the U of T. Leanne Gillard is a priestess, femme, activist and devoted whore in her community. She creates sexualized ritual, queer thealogyâ and touch-positive counsel for queers, sex workers, and all respectful venerators. Andre P. Grace works in the Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta where his research foci are sex-and-gender differences and inclusive education. Trevor Gray, coordinator of the Black Coalition for Aids Prevention's Men2Gether Project. He conducts HIV/AIDS outreach to black men. John Grundy is a graduate student in Political Economy at Carleton University and is writing his thesis on the political economy of Toronto Pride. Tara Goldstein is an Associate Professor at OISE/UT where she works in the pre-service teacher education and graduate education programs. Her research interests include the education of immigrant adolescents, schooling in multilingual communities, critical teacher education, playwriting as critical ethnography, and applied theatre research. Fred Hahn is the President of CUPE Local 2191 (800 Social Services Workers in Toronto), the 4th Vice-president member of CUPE Ontario and a member of the CUPE National Pink Triangle Committee (queer / trans committee). CUPE Ontario has just prepared an Equalities Bargaining Kit in which they have identified issues of justice and equity that unions could and are taking up. Fred will particularly share the section which deals with Workplace representation. Laila Haidarali is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at York University. She is currently working on her dissertation entitled "The Vampingest Vamp is a Brownskin:' Sex, Colour, Beauty and African American Women, 1930-1954." Fraser Hall is a social worker in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a graduate of McGill University (BSc '01, BSW '02), where he was a member of Queer McGill for 4 years. Florence Chee Wai Heung is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Youth and Women's Programs at ACAS, Asian Community AIDS Services. For almost three years, she has been involved with QAY at ACAS, a group that organizes events for Queer East and Southeast Asian Youth. Andrea Huskie is currently an Assistant Program Director in Community Development at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She will continue her graduate study at an as-of-yet unnamed university next fall, focusing on American Literature and Queer Studies. J.D. is a cultural and community social justice activist/organizer/producer/artist. Karleen Pendleton Jimenez is a mixed Chicana butch from Rosemead, California. She is a writer, teacher, and a member of Lengua Latina, a creative writing group for Latinas in Toronto. Didi Khayatt teaches in the Faculty of Education at York University. She is the author of Lesbian Teachers: An Invisible Presence and has published many articles that deal with race and sexuality. J.D. is a cultural and community social justice activist/organizer/producer/artist. Gary Kinsman is a queer liberation and socialist activist who teaches Sociology at Laurentian University in Sudbury. He is the author of The Regulation of Desire: Homo and Hetero Sexualities, co-editor of Whose National Security? and co-auhtor of the forthcoming The Canadian War on Queers': National Security as Sexual Regulation. Valerie Lebreux is a 3rd year undergrad at U of T, studying political science, philosophy and Spanish. A displaced Quebecer in an English world, Valerie's jokes never make sense. She is proud to be a geek and volunteers with TEACH at Planned Parenthood of Toronto. Byron Lee - Byron is well traveled, thoughtful and likes to suffer instead of taking vacations. He loves pure and chaste from afar and thinks that bookkeeping is kinda neat. He proves you can wear Prada and drive a tractor at the same time. He never plays his minority card. He has no Dragonaires. Cassandra Lord is a graduate student at OISE/UT within the department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. Her areas of focus are anti-racism education, queer studies, feminist studies and cultural production. Susanne Luhmann reveiced a PhD in women's studies from York University in 2001 is teaching in women's studies at Laurentian University. Susanne developed and taught the first queer/lesbian studies class and has published on questions of (queer) pedagogy and will use that work to reflect upon my recent experiences with teaching queer/lesbian texts and sexuality studies. Steven Maynard is a Kingston-based historian who is completing a book on Toronto gay history. His photo essay, "Sex Underground: The Lost World of Toronto's Cruisy Public Toilets," appeared in Xtra!'s Pride issue this past June. Kevin McBean is PRIDE York Region's equity specialist and a key member of their Speakers Bureau. He has been addressing equity issues for over two decades, most recently with a focus on heterosexism. Nancy Nicol is an Associate Professor in the Visual Arts Dept, and director of the Master of Fine Arts Programme at York University. She will explore some questions regarding the application of Affirmative Action to queers such as: What obstacles do LGBT persons face? and How is Affirmative Action applicable to lesbian, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons? Katherine Perdue is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at York University. She is completing a dissertation on Canadian lesbian history. Ishwar Persad is coordinator of TBLGAY at York University. Rupert Raj, M.A., 50, is a Eurasian, bi transman (female-to-male transsexual) and 30-year transactivist with two lifetime achievement awards. A part-time therapist and gender specialist (rrconsulting@sympatico.ca), Rupert counsels transpeople, queer folks, abuse survivors, people of colour, etc., and delivers training workshops to mental health and social service providers based on his "transpositive therapeutic model." David Rayside is a professor in Political Science and Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto, where he is regularly an activist and occasionally an administrator. He has authored On the Fringe: Gays and Lesbians in Politics, and is now working towards a book comparing the politics of sexual diversity in Canada and the United States. David will talk on what it means to include sexual diversity in University policy and practice on faculty matters. He will draw on some examples of steps taken at the University of Toronto, but also talk more generally about best practices. Lisa Seymour a feminist social worker, began her work as an ally with the Breaking Barriers anti-homophobia workshops out of the Rainbow Resource Centre. Lisa is an Assistant Professor at the Student Counseling & Career Centre at the University of Manitoba and is interested in documenting the impact of Ally programming on university campuses. She's also hooked on Trading Spaces. Lisa Silverman is currently trying to keep afloat in the tumultuous seas of her master's thesis (OISE, UT). She is also a photographer, musician, youth play writing development coordinator, photography instructor and a bit of a jock. She hopes to finish the thesis by January and get back to any and all of the above other pursuits. Christopher Smith is an MA candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at York University. His area(s) of research are Queer Theory and Sexual Politics, Black diaspora Studies, and Popular Culture. Dale Smith is a recent graduate of the BSW Program, Faculty of Social Work and a current student at the University of Manitoba. Dale initiated the Identifying Allies project at the University of Manitoba to educate individuals on campus and to challenge issues and people around homophobia and heterosexism. Miriam Smith is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Carleton University and Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at University College for 2002-03. She is working on SSHRC funded projects on queer politics in Toronto and across Canada and has published extensively on this topic, including a book, Lesbian and Gay Rights in Canada (U of T Press, 1999). Lisa Steele is Vtape's Creative Director and co-founder. Steele is an artist and currently is the Associate Chair of the Visual Studies Programme at the University of Toronto. Marc Stein teaches in the Department of History at York University and is the author of City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves (2000). Verlia Stephens is an Afro-Caribbean lesbian nerd pursuing her Certificate in Dispute Resolution at the University of Toronto. She is also a radio programmer at CKLN 88.1 FM and a counsellor at the Ontario Assaulted Women Help Line. When not busy with all these endeavors she enjoys the company of her partner and two cats. Debera Sutherland is a Ph.D. student in Educational Studies at UBC, focusing on LGBTQ issues in education and teacher-training. She is also a high school counsellor and an activist with the Gay and Lesbian Educators of BC. Nicole Tanguay is a Two-Spirited person of Cree and French heritage. She is a poet, playwright, and activist. She has been fighting racism and homophobia for over twenty years. Mariana Valverde teaches at the University of Toronto and is the author of The Age of Light, Soap, and Water (1991). Her current work is on the sociology of law, focusing on the governance of security in Toronto's gay village and sexuality and the law. Silvia Vilches is chair of the Committee for Sexual and Gender Diversity, an organizational change project which has been working since 1998 to create a healthier environment for on sexual orientation and gender identity issues at the University of Victoria. Jody Nyasha Warner is a librarian at York University. As a mixed-race Black woman, mother and social activist, she has a long-standing interest in issues of diversity and inclusion. She is currently the Equity Officer for the York University Faculty Association. Kris Wells is a graduate student in Educational Policy Studies whose research focus is creating safe and caring schools and communities for Queer youth. Natalie Wood, MA in Arts Education, is an artist and cultural animator. Curator of the Lesbian Art Collective Les Images: Staring Fires Pride 2002. b.h. Yael is a Toronto based filmmaker. video and installation artist; she is Associate Professor and Chair in the Integrated Media area of the Ontario College of Art and Design. Her work has dealt with issues of identity, authority and family structures, while at the same time addressing the fragmentary nature of these identities and memories. She is also actively involved in Coalition for a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel. Jamea Zuberi, B.Sc., B.Ed., Associate Principal at The Linden School for girls, board member of Pride Toronto committee. |
 
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