HAV Connect - Enacting the Language of Inclusion

Intersectionality. Social location. Anti-oppression. Anti-racism. 

Words matter. Do we truly understand what these words mean and how they impact our work with volunteers and communities? Let’s talk and learn about how we can better enact the language of inclusion professionally in our volunteer programs as well as in our personal lives.

Guest Speakers

Cole Gately and Pauline Kajiura, Co-Founders & Facilitators

Intersectionality: Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression Consultant

Cole Gately

Since the early 1990s, Cole – he/they – has been actively engaged in feminist, queer+, anti-racist, intersectional social justice work through education, community and social service work and activism.

For the past 22 years he has worked in the homelessness sector, as a frontline worker, coordinator of street outreach services, and educator of frontline workers serving Hamilton’s homeless population.

He believes in collaborative solutions to complex problems, using best practices in participatory education that will serve to transform not only the learner, but also the communities with which they interact.

Cole earned an MA in Adult Education and Community Development in 2010 from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) / University of Toronto (UT).

Pauline Kajiura

Pauline has a length of experience working toward racial and social equity in communities and workplaces, as an organizational leader, volunteer, activist, and musician.

Currently, Pauline is Project Manager, Community Inclusion and Equity at the City of Hamilton and leads the City’s Hate Prevention and Mitigation Initiative. She has also worked and volunteered at countless other community organizations.

Pauline’s intersecting social locations, as a Black and Asian woman who identifies as lesbian, bring stimulating and relevant perspectives to her anti-racism anti-opression (ARAO) work.

She holds a B.Sc. from McGill University and is certified a GIS Specialist by McMaster University.