2025: Conversation with Black Women in Leadership

ONLINE: 9amPST/NoonEST/5pmGMT

REGISTER NOW
This Black History Month, join Dr. Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, In Conversation with Black Women in Leadership, reflecting the Canadian Black History Month theme: Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generations. Black Women Leaders find themselves caught in the crossfires between the pressures of systemic inequities, leadership within those same systems and lived experiences that are both visible and invisible. Join us to hear from this panel of earlier career to seasoned leaders share their lessons in leadership, the legacies they aspire to leave, and their hopes for future generations.

Angela Cassie is the Chief Operating Officer at Travel Manitoba, a provincial Crown Corporation. A first-generation Canadian, Angela started her career in the Department of Canadian Heritage in 1998 as a Regional Director of Communications & Executive Services (Prairies & Northern Region). Angela then served for 10 years in progressively senior roles at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg before stepping down as Senior Vice-President, Program, Exhibitions and Public Affairs in 2019. She also served at the National Gallery of Canada as Interim Director and Chief Executive Officer and Vice-President of Strategic Transformation & Inclusion.  In addition to her professional life, Angela is a visionary and inclusive community leader, most recently serving with the Board of the Société de la francophonie manitobaine.

Bettyna Bélizaire immigrated from Haiti to Canada which she has called home for over 20 years. She is the first Black woman to be elected Municipal Councilor for the Plateau district in Quebec and is the Founder and Executive Director of Accompagnement des Femmes Immigrantes de l’Outaouais (AFIO). Bettyna graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Modern Languages ​​and an MBA (Master of Business Administration). During her time there, she founded the CEHUO — Haitian Students Club in 2008. That community leadership continues today as she mentors Black youth interested in politics by sponsoring high school students to shadow her work as a municipal councilor. She has created the Femme d’influence Award to honor impactful immigrant women leaders. Through AFIO, she also launched a municipal council simulation to inspire underrepresented groups, especially Black, immigrant and women participants to engage in civic life.

Christine Dikonguè is the Founder and CEO of Akwaa Consulting Agency through which she has supported over 30 impact-focused organizations globally and co-raised over $5 million for capacity-building programs. She has also supported and promoted the works of 100 local and international artists, entrepreneurs in the creative, cultural and entertainment industries.  She is the first black woman and youngest cabinet-appointed board member of the Francophone Television of Ontario and has been recognized internationally as one of the Top 100 most influential people of African descent by the United Nations General Assembly. The Economic Club of Canada  selected her as a youth leader to meet the 44th US President Barack Obama and she also met Michelle Obama. She holds an MSC in Management, Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship from Queen’s University and a Bachelor’s in economics from York University where she started her Canadian journey as an International student.

Dr. Dorothy Nyambe has been President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) since 2018. With a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon, Dorothy has undertaken extensive research on capacity building, advancing gender equality in developing countries, and innovation economies around the world. Prior to joining MEDA, she was Executive Vice President of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). Dorothy She is passionate about gender equality and inclusion, Dorothy has been a leader and founding member of Gender Summit Africa (Cape Town 2015 and Kigali 2018); member of AWID for the past 15 years; and board director at CAMFED Canada, Conrad Grebel University College, Kigali Collaborative Research Centre (KCRC) – Carnegie Mellon University, and chair of the IDRC board of governors. Dorothy is also a member of the Board Room Africa focused on mentoring young African women into governance roles across the continent.

In Conversation dialogues are hosted and moderated by Dr. Yabome Gilpin-Jackson during Black History Month. She is a multiple award-winning organizational development leader and scholar who centers equity in all she does. Throughout her career, which has spanned the public, private and non-profit sectors, she has helped people and organizations build capacity for transformational change. In addition to many academic peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, she has published short story/flash fiction collections about global African experiences Identities, Ancestries and Destinies.

Register by Friday February 15 to receive zoom link 24 hours prior to the event.