UN Decade of Peoples of African Descent: Canada in the International Context

Ms. Gaynel Curry is an Independent Expert Member of the United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. The Forum, which became operational on 2 August 2021 through UN General Assembly resolution 75/314, serves as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent, as well as an advisory body to the Human Rights Council.

Ms Curry has worked with the UN for more than 23 years in various capacities and duty stations, including in Geneva and New York as well as in Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Timor-Leste. Most recently, she served as Human Rights Advisor in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, where she led work on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development within the Human Rights Council, supporting States to adopt a human rights-based approach in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Ms Curry previously served as the Gender and Women’s Rights Advisor and Acting Chief of Global Issues in the UN Human Rights Office, New York. In this context, she co-led the implementation of several Security Council resolutions on Conflict-related Sexual Violence by setting up the UN mechanisms to effectively respond at headquarters and in the field. She led engagements with the Commission on the Status of Women and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and supported the work of the CEDAW Committee as well as the Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women and Trafficking in Persons.

Ms Curry oversaw the work of OHCHR-New York Office in support of the International Decade for People of African Descent and regularly coordinated events to promote the Decade. She lectured at the OHCHR Fellowship Programme to Promote the Rights of People of African Descent and advised the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as well as the UN Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action on Racism.

Ms Curry has held several positions in her government, including Director of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs within the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development. She is a Member of the Law Faculty at the University of The Bahamas where she lectures in International Human Rights Law and Public International Law. She has been a guest lecturer at several universities in North America and Europe and a Fellow at the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA) at Fordham University.

Currently, Ms Curry is also an independent consultant advising Governments and other entities such as the Caribbean Development Bank on a broad range of human rights and social justice issues, including gender equality, environmental racism, climate and reparatory justice, and sustainable Development.

Ms Curry holds a Master’s Degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom; a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the American University in Washington, DC; a Degree in Law (LLB) from the University of London; a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Social Sciences from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica; and an Advanced Diploma in Public Policy from the College/ now University of The Bahamas.

Tamara Thermitus is an award-winning lawyer who has worked for Justice Canada, The Quebec Human Rights Commission, and who was involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tamara Thermitus arrived in Sept-Îles, Quebec in 1967. After studying law at the University of Ottawa and obtaining her Bar, she became a specialist in discrimination issues with the Bar.From 2000 to 2003, she chaired the Advisory Committee on Visible Minorities of the Department of Justice, and also chaired the Committee on Cultural Communities of the Québec Bar Association and several other committees related to issues of discrimination and equality in the workplace. From 2004 to 2010, she was president of the Quebec Bar’s Committee on Cultural Communities. She was among the first to raise issues of racial discrimination within the profession, and played a key role in the development of a course on the social context of law, which is now part of the compulsory curriculum for professional training at the Bar.Thermitus served as director of Policy and Strategic Planning for the Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada at the Ministry of Justice. In 2011, she became the first Black woman and the first Ministry of Justice Canada lawyer to receive a Prix Mérite from the Quebec Bar. At the time of her appointment to the Quebec Human Rights Commission, Thermitus was the first black person to serve as the head of the organization in its 40 year history.

Stephanie Dei is the Head of Private Sector Partnerships at the United Nations - International Organization for Migration where she leads the implementation of the private sector strategy across IOM to engage the private sector as a key stakeholder to truly harness the promise of migration. Stephanie is also an Advisor to the CEO of the Canadian Academy and Television on all matters concerning diversity, equity and inclusion. Previously, Stephanie was  the Director of Research Partnerships at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada where she focused on women’s entrepreneurship and diversity and inclusion. Stephanie previously led UN Women’s - women’s economic empowerment programme in Canada  which encouraged deeper action in the private and public sector to advance women’s economic empowerment in Canada and throughout the G7.  Stephanie’s early career was built at IKEA, Rogers Communications and the Government of Canada – Foreign Affairs and International Trade Department. Stephanie is the Co-Founder of the African Development Forum at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the United Kingdom. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada to African migrants, Stephanie holds a BA Honors in Political Science and Law from Carleton University, Canada, and a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London - UK. Stephanie is married with five children.

Nadine Spencer is the Founder and CEO of BrandEQ Group Inc., Canada’s most prominent Black- and female-owned marketing consultancy. Her proprietary “People Matter” strategy has grabbed attention, demanded interaction, and generated long-term value for clients. She also created BrandEQ Black, the firm’s cultural sensitivity arm, to examine and address racial biases in advertising and marketing across sectors. Logging several achievements for her work – including mention in the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women anthology, the Harry Jerome Business Award, and The Dale Carnegie Highest Award in Public Speaking – Nadine has proven time and again that she’s a leader and expert who brings passion, skill, and mastery to every organization and initiative she touches.  She is the Past President of the Black Business Professional Association, a founding board member of the Federation for African Canadian Economics (FACE), and a board member of the Toronto Police Service.  She also is a research associate with the Diversity Institute and collaborator on many programs including the 50-30 Challenge, the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) and the Future Skills Centre.

Dr. Mohamed Elmi, the Executive Director of the Diversity Institute where he oversees the work of 130 full time research and program staff conducting. multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder research to address the needs of diverse Canadians, the changing nature of skills and competencies, and the policies, processes and tools that advance economic inclusion and success. Mohamed has led many DI projects including the seminal Black Experience Project with the Environics Institute, the YMCA of Toronto andH the United Way. He also led DiversityLeads including the 2020 edition which was the first study of corporate leadership in Canada which disaggregated data on Black leaders.  He holds a PhD in Information Systems at University of Cape Town. Prior to this, Mohamed completed his thesis Masters of Arts in International Development Studies at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and an Honour Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of New Brunswick.

Nancy holds a Masters Degree in Political Science with a Graduate Collaborative Specialization in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Toronto. She previously worked as a consultant with UN Women supporting numerous initiatives including ending violence against women; women's economic empowerment; women's entrepreneurship; representation and inclusion in media; and others. At the Diversity Institute, Nancy works with stakeholders across the public sector, private sector, and civil society to develop research and support stakeholder efforts for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has led large-scale consulting projects for organizations including the Canadian Council of Academies, the City of Markham, the City of Vaughan, the Standards Council of Canada, and others. She also led the development of publically available specifications (PAS) and technical specifications (TS) to support the 50 – 30 Challenge and recently completed an assignment to develop a gender strategy for the International Standards Organization. Her work focuses on diversity and inclusion on boards and in senior leadership; inclusive entrepreneurship and innovation; developing strategies to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within companies, organizations, and others; eliminating anti-Black racism and microaggressions; and others. 

Ms. Ahmed-Omer has accumulated a wealth of experience and accomplishments in the performance measurement, policy development, HR planning analysis, and employment equity and diversity sectors. Ms. Ahmed-Omer has been the recipient of notable awards over the years, including the exceptional service within the Federal Public Service, the Canada150 Community Builder Award, the Ottawa Black History Community Leadership Award, the top 100 under 40 Most Influential Person of African descent in support of United Nations decade and most recently, the Globe and Mail’s Inaugural Business Changemakers Award (2021), Most recently, last year she was listed as one of Canada's most Influential Women Leaders by Bay St Bull. 

In the professional realm, Ms. Ahmed-Omer is the Chief Executive Officer of the BlackNorth Initiative. In her previous role, Ms. Ahmed-Omer was the Human Resources Specialist within the Public Sector and primarily responsible for the Visible Minority Advisory Steering Committee of the Agency and working in the agency-wide Employment Equity Action Plan and Anti-racism Strategy. Ms. Ahmed-Omer is a founding member of the Justice for Abdirahman Coalition, which advocated securing justice for the late Abdirahman Abdi and his family. A previous member of the Black Agenda Noir organization, a Circle of United Black Citizens whose goal is to cement Black presence on the national radar. Among the many other organizations she has been a part of, Ms. Ahmed-Omer has played an instrumental leadership role in the Ottawa Mayor’s taskforce combatting anti-black racism. Ms. Ahmed-Omer was a lead researcher for Justice for Abdirahman for its submission to the Justice Tulloch Independent Police Oversight Review and street check review. Ms. Ahmed-Omer has also played an integral role in the rollout of the new Ottawa Police Service’s recruitment strategy and is a lead member of Black Agenda Noir. Her crucial role in the Nyansapo Wisdom, which promotes equity and inclusion for African, Caribbean, and Black Canadians (ACBC) students in education, has seen Dahabo make deputations at the School Board to address a series of challenges facing children and teens of African descent within the Ottawa School Board. Ms. Ahmed-Omer stands as a strong role model, particularly to members of all-Black communities, and has played a transformative role in improving the quality of life of Canadians of African descent and the community at large.

Sabine has ten years of experience in government and the non-profit sector. Prior to joining the Diversity Institute she started her consulting firm dBrief Consulting, where she provided strategic advice to decision-makers and not-for-profit leadership on how best to connect and engage with diverse communities. She also advises organizations on strategic communications and marketing, events management, and connections with the provincial and federal governments. She worked as Senior Communications and Stakeholder Relations Advisor to Ontario’s Attorney General and Minister of Francophone Affairs between 2015 and 2018. She also advised the Premier's Office on outreach opportunities, as well as stakeholder and media relations. Sabine holds a master's degree in marketing from the École Supérieure de Gestion in Paris, as well as a communications degree and a certificate in strategic management.

Ovie Onagbeboma is nationally recognized as a nurse and business leader. She is Lean Six belt certified and is a clinical nurse manager in Toronto, Ontario. Ovie is a sought-after consultant to many national organizations. She is an advisor member to the Chief Nursing Officer of Canada Dr. Chapman on nursing retention.

A transformative leader who identified a serious problem in healthcare and acted quickly to form a national organization and initiative to address this problem. The Canadian Black Nurses Alliance (CBNA). Under Ovie’s leadership and in a short period of time, CBNA has become a phenomenal national organization that is life-changing for many Black Nurses. Already, the CBNA has grown to include students and practicing members in multiple provinces as CBNA chapters across the country and has become the most influential voice for Black Nurses across the nation. Ovie has had the opportunity to drive change as a co-author in nursing curriculum revision with a nursing school in Ontario that develops Online Educational Resources (OERs) for nursing students. She is hopeful other nursing schools will engage the CBNA for curriculum change.

Ovie sees the future of nursing through an African proverb Ubuntu and embodies the understanding that “I am because we are” as a motivation to strive for a society where all can grow and flourish. Ovie has broken the glass ceiling to inspire the next generation by way of disruptive thinking and action.

Trevor Massey has spent a lifetime working in the management ranks at post-secondary institutions. For more than three decades he was a senior manager at Centennial College in Toronto, where as college registrar he managed the full range of student services covering admissions, registration, student records, student information systems, enrolment management, scheduling, student awards and policy development. He also served on a number of provincial agencies and committees given to the overall stewardship of the Ontario college system, and was part of the registrars’ initiative that conceived and introduced the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS). As an education-management consultant, he has served a number of post-secondary institutions including the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in Oshawa Ontario, University of Technology in Kingston, Jamaica, and La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa. He was part of a Canadian team given to leading the implementation of a vocational college system in Romania.  Mr. Massey also served as executive director for the Ontario college-system project titled Colleges Integrating Immigrants towards Education (CIITE).

Floydeen Charles-Fridal is a change agent who, for the last 35 years, has demonstrated her commitment towards improving the lives of others through her work in the community. Floydeen is committed to building the capacity of Black Led, Black Serving and Black Mandated charitable organizations towards financial sustainability and economic independence. Her years of working with non-profit organizations has resulted in the development of social and health services programs, strategic business and operational planning, program implementation and operations primarily for equity-deserving populations. She started as Executive Director at Caribbean African Canadian Social Services (CAFCAN), the successor organization to the Jamaican Canadian Association’s Social Services Program in 2017. 

Floydeen is the recipient of the 2014 Association of Ontario Health Centre’s Joe Leonard Award;  the 2015 City of Toronto Public Health Champion Award; was an Honouree in 2016 at the 100  Accomplished Black Canadian Women Gala and Book Launch and in 2018, was the Harry Jerome  Award recipient for Health Sciences. Floydeen is the recipient of the United Way of Greater  Toronto’s Community Leader award In 2022, Floydeen received the Hon. Jean Augustine  DreamKEEPERS Life Achievement Award and the Ontario Black History Society’s, Harriet Tubman  Commitment to A Purpose Award. 

Before becoming the BBPA’s executive director in 2020, Frances served on the BBPA’s board. In the corporate world, Frances served as Bell Canada’s senior procurement manager from 1981–2016 and was a three-time recipient of Bell Canada’s “Way to Go” Leadership Award.

Frances was born in Dominica and served as the Caribbean island’s Canadian representative, promoting and marketing Dominica as a unique tourist destination and an investment opportunity. She was also the founder and past president of Council of Caribbean Associations Canada.

Following her Bachelor of Arts, Administration & Information Management, from Ryerson, she completed a Graduate Diploma (Hons) in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Penn State.