About the Office of EDI

Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President Research (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)

Professor, Political Science, Faculty of Arts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MalindaSmith 

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Vice-Provost, Associate Vice-President Research (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion), and a professor of political science at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Smith holds a PhD in political science from the University of Alberta, an MA, MDA, and a BA magna cum laude in political science and criminal justice, from Western Michigan University. 

She is a co-author, editor, or co-editor of numerous books, including:

• Co-Author, The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities (UBC Press, 2017);
• Co-Editor,  Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy: Teaching, Learning, and Researching While Black (UofT Press, 2022),
• Co-Editor, Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics, 6/E (forthcoming, Oxford University Press, 2023).
• Co-Editor, States of Race: Critical Race Feminism for the 21st Century (BTL Press, 2010). 
• Editor, Securing Africa: Post-9/11 Discourses on Terrorism (Routledge, 2010).
• Editor, Beyond the African Tragedy: Discourses on Development and the Global Economy (Routledge, 2006).
• Editor, Globalizing Africa (Africa World Press, 2003).

Dr. Smith serves on several national bodies, including the External EDI Advisory Board, Innovation, Science and Economic Development;  Governor, SSHRC Council and Executive; Member, Statistics Canada’s Immigration and Ethnocultural Advisory Committee, and Member, Scarborough Charter Inter-Institutional Advisory Committee.

Dr. Smith is the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships and honours. In Spring 2021, she was the recipient of a doctor of laws, honoris causa, from Simon Fraser University. Awards include the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellow (2018), Compelling Calgarians (2021), the Susan S. Northcutt Award from the International Studies Association (2020), 100 Accomplished Black Women Honouree (2020), the Rosalind Smith Professional Award (2020), the International Studies Association (ISA)-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award (2018-19), the HSBC Community Contributor of the Year Award (2016); and the Equity Award from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (2015).

OEDI Director (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility)

Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Sevan Beukian will be joining the University of Calgary after serving as the Senior Executive Advisor on Anti-Racism and Intersectionality at the City of Edmonton, where she focused on implementing the Anti-Racism Strategy. She has also worked in provincial and municipal governments to incorporate GBA+, anti-racism and intersectionality into policies, programmes, and systems change.

Her experience has spanned over a decade in teaching, research, and public policy across government, university, non-profit and community-based work. Her approach combines (non-western) intersectional feminism, queer theory, anti-racism, trauma-informed approach, and anti-oppressive framework with a strong commitment to reconciliation and decolonization. 

Dr. Beukian holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Alberta and a Master of Arts in Political Studies from the American University of Beirut. Her current research focuses on how trauma and memory shape national identity discourses. It examines the impact of intergenerational traumatic memories (of genocide) and post-war experiences on national identity constructions, focusing on the Canadian and Armenian contexts. Dr. Beukian's publications have appeared in Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, Armenian Review, Routledge, Demeter Press, and Palgrave Macmillan, among others. 

Executive Assistant

Email: [email protected]

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Rupa Shankar is an Executive Assistant to Dr. Malinda Smith, Vice-Provost & Associate Vice President Research (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) and Dr. Sevan Beaukian, OEDI Director (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility). She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Administration and Communication. 

Before joining the University of Calgary, she was with Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Toronto, where she worked with the Healthcare Compliance Department as an Executive Assistant and Compliance Training Lead. She has 18 years of experience in office administration, working with different organizations in different countries.

Office Administrator Coordinator 

Email: [email protected]

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Tracy is an Office Administrative Coordinator in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She holds a BA in Business Administration and Project Management and certificates Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership and Indigenous Cultural Awareness and Competency Training. 

Tracy has worked at Mount Royal University for 15 years, supporting Wellness Services (50%) and The Office of Campus Equity and Meaningful Inclusion (50%). During her career at MRU, she had helped design, collaborating with stakeholders across Alberta, a charter for the Healthy Campus Alberta community of practice - the first of its kind collaborative body that focuses on supporting mental health and well-being in Alberta campuses. 

She also supported the design and implementation of MRU's Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Framework and updated policies, including Human Rights, Harassment and Discrimination, Academic Accommodation and Sexual Violence Response and Awareness. This work removed barriers for marginalized individuals to have a safe space to learn, work and play. 

Tracy's latest work has been as a Project Manager supporting several humanitarian refugee projects throughout the USA.

Academic Director - EDI in Research and Black Futures Strategy

Email: [email protected]

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Jennifer D. Adams is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair of Creativity and Science and Associate Professor at The University of Calgary, Department of Chemistry, and affiliated with the Werklund School of Education.

She is the PI of the Creativity, Equity and STEM Lab, where she and her team research equity in STEM teaching and learning environments, emphasizing identity-affirming, anti-deficit, and justice-oriented approaches. In addition, she is in leadership on several national projects, including “Securing Black Futures,” which seeks to increase the visibility and support the flourishing of Black students in STEM and the Canadian Black Scientists Network, where she is involved with a national data collection project about Black students’ STEM experiences, serves the steering committee as a co-leader on STEM education Pathways and Postsecondary projects and is the PI of the STEM Beyond Borders initiative that will examine research, policy and practice in Canada and the United States around equity and justice in STEM education and careers for Black students.

Dr. Adams was recognized by the Calgary Black Chambers with an award for Black Achievement in STEM. In addition, she is an NSF Early CAREER award winner. She has served on the executive board of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching and on advisories for NSF-funded grant projects that focus on racial and gender equity in STEM. She also serves on the editorial board for Cultural Studies in Science Education, Journal of Research in Science Education and International Journal of Informal Science and Environmental Learning. Her prior appointments include Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, the American Museum of Natural History, and The New York City Department of Education.

Senior Advisor, Institutional Analysis

Email: [email protected] 

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Dahlia is a Senior Advisor, Institutional Analysis, in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences in 2010 from the University of Alberta and her Master’s in Public Health in 2014 from the University of Saskatchewan. She finished her degree at the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia. She currently is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo under the supervision of Dr. Hannah Neufeld (PhD) and Dr. Lorie Donnelle (PhD). Dahlia’s research focuses on immigrant mothers' health literacy and numeracy by examining comprehension as a situated, sociocultural practice. Adopting methods from cognitive science, her research on health literacy and numeracy views information processing for its tight relationship between thought and the world and loose relationship between language and thought.

Dahlia has over a decade of experience in healthcare systems across western Canada (BC, AB, SK). Her specialties include health information management governance, health program planning, data integrity and quality, and evaluation. Dahlia is also a Lecturer and Subject Matter Expert at Conestoga College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Her professional endeavours include PROSCI’s Change Management certification, AIIM’s Enterprise Content Management certification, and the Centre for Teaching Excellence’s Certificate in University Teaching.

In her spare time, Dahlia mentors female scholars in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), navigating the transition from high school to university. In addition, Dahlia is a strong advocate for the health and educational equity of visible minority populations in Canada.

Academic Director - EDI and Anti-Racism Policy and Strategy

Email: [email protected]

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Hieu Van Ngo is associate dean (teaching and learning) and associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work. As a person with intersecting identities, he has lived with and confronted many inequities facing immigrants, racialized people and LGBTQ2S+ members. 

Hieu has been involved in anti-racist and equity work since 1997. To date, he has led over 15 collaborative initiatives that address systemic discrimination in education, health, and justice.  

Program Manager, Dimensions EDI

Email: [email protected]

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Lauren Remple is the Program Manager, Dimensions EDI. Lauren obtained a Bachelor’s in Management from the University of Lethbridge in 2009, and a Masters of Arts in Global Leadership from Royal Roads University in 2019. Lauren’s research focused on the reciprocal benefit of Indigenous youth participating in experiential-learning opportunities to build solidarity for the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. She has over a decade of experience in human resources, Indigenous engagement and EDI and is a proud member of Alexander First Nation.

In her spare time, Lauren enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and two golden retrievers. She is an avid backcountry enthusiast and has travelled extensively throughout Central and South America, Asia and Europe.

Academic Director - EDI Data Research, Analysis, and Strategy

Email: t[email protected]

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Dr. Sajobi is an associate professor and biostatistician in the Departments of Community Health Sciences and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary. He completed his undergraduate degree (First Class Honors) in Statistics from Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria), a Masters's degree in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Windsor, and a PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Saskatchewan.

Dr. Sajobi is the Director of the Person-Centered Methods & Analytics Research Lab, through which he leads a methods research program that focuses on (1) measurement and analysis of behavioural/patient-reported outcomes, (2) design and analysis of randomized controlled trials, and (3) predictive analytics. He has received peer-reviewed research funds worth more than $26million as a principal investigator and co-investigator/lead statistician and has published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

As a biostatistician, Dr. Sajobi is a seasoned collaborator and statistical leader on several national and international health research projects. He received the 2018 Avenue Magazine’s Calgary Top 40 under 40 award.

Academic Director - Race, Disability and Decolonization

Email: [email protected]

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Aruna Srivastava is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and is affiliated with the International Indigenous Studies Program in the Faculty of Arts. Over her years at the University of Calgary, she has engaged in research and teaching in race, racism and anti-racism, decolonization, Indigenous peoples in global contexts, the politics of reconciliation, disability and chronic illness. She has worked particularly on pedagogies related to these fields.

She has held various leadership positions and been an advisor to the Faculty of Graduate Studies on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, focussing especially on Indigenous initiatives; Aruna has worked for many years in Calgary as an anti-racism educator and consultant.

Senior Advisor, EDI Literacy, Education, and Training

(403) 220-4405

Email: [email protected]

he/him

William Yimbo is a Senior Advisor, EDI Literacy, Education, and Training in the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. He holds a BA in Political Science and Economics from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, a graduate diploma in International Relations from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands, an MA in Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota, USA.

As a Senior Advisor, Dr. Yimbo develops and delivers equity, diversity, and inclusion workshops to staff, faculty, and students across the university. He previously worked as a diversity advisor in immigration and settlement services. In this role, he delivered diversity education and advocated for equity and inclusivity in government services for Canada’s newcomer communities.

Dr. Yimbo has an extensive career background and experience in public and foreign policy administration in Kenya, Africa.