CEO
Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
(she/her)

Anne-Marie Pham has worked with diverse communities and workplaces for over 25 years. She has a deep understanding of issues and opportunities related to diversity and inclusion, and specializes in mobilizing, educating, and sharing the latest research and promising practices on equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. Anne-Marie brings a unique set of skills and perspectives having worked as a diversity and inclusion lead for Spectra Energy and the City of Calgary, and as a trainer and facilitator for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. She has provided dynamic presentations, training, and consulting services to clients from a wide range of industries in the business, public, and nonprofit sectors.

Anne-Marie has a master’s degree in public administration (MPA), a BA in sociology, and a senior HR professional certification with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). She is also a certified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory tool.

Anne-Marie is a wife and mother of two, as well as an avid community leader, supporting civic participation, mentoring, and leadership development especially among immigrants, visible minorities, women, and youth. In 2013, she received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee award for her community service. Anne-Marie is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF), a Crown corporation dedicated to working towards the elimination of racism and all forms of racial discrimination. She was a member of the City of Calgary's Anti-Racism Action Committee from October 2020 to October 2023.

Assistant Vice Provost, Graduate School Diversity Office and Affiliate Faculty, Higher Education Program
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities

Cori Bazemore-James, PhD, enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Western New York, is the assistant vice provost of the Graduate School Diversity Office and affiliate faculty in the Higher Education program at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. She also serves as a consultant/trainer for Strategic Diversity Initiatives Inc., and president of the Twin Cities professional chapter of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc., the oldest Indigenous Greek letter organization in the United States. Cori’s passion and academic research centers Indigenous knowledge to magnify the functional area of Indigenous student affairs and to support Indigenous students and staff in historically white institutions. Her proudest professional accomplishments include many publications from her award-winning research, founding the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Indigenous Student Affairs Network—the first national/international professional network of Indigenous student affairs educators, and leading the development of the first Indigenous Student Affairs Standards from the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS).

 

 

Librarian
New College, University of Toronto

Mikayla Redden (she/her) is a mixed race woman (Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg and Anglo-settler), from Nogojiwanong (Peterborough, Ontario). She is a member of Curve Lake First Nation who lives and works in Gichi Kiiwenging (Tkaronto). She is an auntie, helper, and learner who works as a librarian at New College, University of Toronto. She approaches her professional practice with an anticolonial lens and is guided by intersectional feminist theories. Mikayla is passionate about listening, learning, and amplifying the voices of marginalized peoples; critical, antiracist research methodologies; Indigenous data sovereignty; and community-led library practices. 

 

 

President
American Indian Library Association

Allison M. Waukau (Menominee and Navajo) currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She brings a wealth of experience in community engagement to her work. Allison was at Hennepin County Library for the last five years and served as the American Indian Community Liaison. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in humanities from Fort Lewis College. Allison serves as the president of the American Indian Library Association and was recognized as one of Library Journal’s 2021 Movers & Shakers. Additionally, she received the Rising Leader award at the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color. In the past year, Allison has had the privilege of interviewing and engaging in conversations with acclaimed Indigenous authors, such as Louise Erdrich and Tommy Orange. Allison's professional interests center around exploring land acknowledgement practices, developing community-led initiatives, and amplifying the voices and perspectives of her Native community.

Founder
Reclamation Ventures
(she/her)

Nicole Cardoza is a magician, equity activist, and culture visionary who seamlessly blends the art of stage magic with the work of social justice to conjure a world where possibility knows no bounds.

As a magician, Nicole enchants and educates her audiences by weaving creative illusions with the oft-untold history and future of Black and female magicians, encouraging us to discover our inherent magic, take risks, and learn from the extraordinary. By moving cards through time, coins through space, or destroying and restoring simple objects, audiences visualize and imagine what once may have felt impossible. 

Nicole strives to be a beacon of change, utilizing action, strategy, and performance to reshape our reality. As a Black queer woman, Nicole works to transcend societal binaries, exploring the realms of possibility and reclaiming the essence of "Black Girl Magic" that is too often overlooked. 

As the founder of Reclamation Ventures and the Reclamation Ventures Fund, Nicole has not only created a venture studio but a movement dedicated to incubating endeavors that redefine the limits of human potential. Nicole spearheads projects that bridge the wellness gap, giving over $600,000 in non-equity grants to trailblazers forging a path to make wellness more accessible. 

By founding initiatives like Anti-Racism Daily, a media platform boasting 300,000 email subscribers and 600,000 social followers, Nicole has become a force of change, raising over $2 million to dismantle the structures of white supremacy.

Nicole fosters literary rebellion with the Banned Books Book Club, inviting others to celebrate forbidden narratives while championing the freedom to read. Nicole is a noted children’s book author and seasoned public speaker, having graced the stages of major conferences and festivals, hosted and facilitated workshops for major Fortune 500 companies, and lectured at colleges and universities. She has been featured in the New York Times, Fortune, and Teen Vogue.