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WOMEN'S MARCH VICTORIA

We acknowledge that we live, work, and play on unceded territories of the Lekwungen and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples. We acknowledge that the Songhees and Esquimalt nations have stewarded these lands and waters, and we all have a better quality of life due to the work they’ve done and continue to do.

WOMEN'S MARCH SYMPOSIUM - SAT. JULY 21, 2018, 12-5pm at UVIC - PROGRAM

WELCOME, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, INTRODUCTIONS

Meagan Pal (she/her) is a third year student at the University of Victoria, studying Computer Science. Through Women in Engineering and Computer Science (WECs) and other organizations, she leads and participates in science outreach towards elementary, middle school, and high school students. Women in Engineering and Computer Science. Megan was a speaker at the Victoria Women's March in January 2018 and will be moderating the Symposium.

PANEL 1: INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S RIGHTS, SAFETY, AND REPRESENTATION

Mayor Lisa Helps (she/ her) believes that it is her job as Mayor of Victoria to employ business sensibilities and community values to lead an organization that serves all of its citizens. With a transparent and common-sense approach to decision-making, she has championed both citizen-led and local-business-led initiatives in a variety of areas. She's leading a transformation at City Hall in order to foster a more innovative, proactive and responsive culture to meet and exceed the needs of residents and the business community. Lisa was a speaker at the Victoria Women's March in January 2017 and 2018 and will be moderating this panel.

Sage Lacerte (she/her) is a Carrier woman who engages in Indigenous feminist theory via the Gender Studies program at UVic. This year she became the National Ambassador for the Moose Hide Campaign, contributing to the vision of ending violence towards women and children in Canada using culturally-informed practices and consciousness building.

Racelle Laloya Kooy (she/her) is a member of Samahquam First Nation and has strong family ties to Stswecem’c Xgat’tem. She excels at expanding opportunities for Indigenous People. She enjoys community engagement work as well as collaborating with Canadian national organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations and the Indspire Foundation. Racelle finds great joy in instigating a round of belly laughs and “aha” moments of exchanges with others. She stays grounded through her ancestral First Nation spiritual practices and as pow wow dancer.

Rose Henry (she/her) is one of the matriarchs from the Tla'amin Nation from her mother's nation and lineage of the last hereditary chief family from the Klahoose Nation from her father's side and through marriage to one of the Henry family in Snuneymuxw making her a band member of the Nation. Culture is very important to her. Just as important as empowering young elders and preparing everyone for social changes that are happening right now.

Isabel O'Kanese (she/her) is Oji-Cree from the Turtle Clan. She is the founder and organizer for Wanska: Decolonize Victoria, an online Facebook group for decolonization for both Natives and Allies. She was a radio broadcaster for twelve years on CJSR FM 88.5 in Edmonton. She is a local small business owner and has lived in Victoria for just over seven years.

PANEL 2: IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION

Elizabeth May (she/her) is leader of the Green Party of Canada and its first elected Member of Parliament, representing Saanich-Gulf Islands in southern Vancouver Island. In 2005, Elizabeth May was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of her decades of leadership in the Canadian environmental movement. An environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer, she served as the Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006, and has a long record as a committed advocate for social justice, for the environment, for human rights, and for economic pragmatic solutions. She is an environmentalist, writer, activist and lawyer who has been active in the environmental movement since 1970. Elizabeth was a speaker at the Victoria Women's March in January 2017 and 2018 and will be moderating this panel.

Ruth Miranda (she/her), originally from Chile, arrived to Canada in 1979, due to the political unrest in her country. Ruth has been working since 1989 with immigrants and refugees at the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA), helping families in their settling and integrating in their new society. Her focus includes women groups, settlement orientation, and parenting programs for immigrant parents. Ruth has been involved with Casa Maria Society housing, she is a member of the executive Local 301, community social services of the BCGEU, and is also an active member of international solidarity groups.

Keri Greenidge (she / her) has over 6 years of work experience assisting newcomers to Canada through her work with the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society (VIRCS), Victoria Newcomer Mom Network (VNMN) and M.I.S.C (My International Sistas Closet). As a mother and a newcomer, she understands the issues that mothers new to Canada face in raising children in a different culture and country. She has vision to empower women and mothers to live their lives to the fullest. Keri was a speaker at the Victoria Women's March in January 2018. 

Alice Liu (she/her) is completing her undergraduate studies in Psychology and Canadian Studies with interests in mental health, marginalization, and subcultures at McGill University. She prides herself on being a live-in caregiver’s daughter, and became drawn to activism when she started to advocate for her mother’s rights as a temporary foreign worker in 2015. She has been published in the McGill Daily and the Scrivener Creative Review. In her current project, she is fictionaling her mother’s story to voice the concern about abuse and exploitation of temporary foreign workers. Alice joined the Women’s March Victoria volunteers team after helping to organize the Rally to End Family Separation in June 2018.

Daniela dos Santos Pinto (she / her) immigrated from Brazil to Canada five years ago with her two sons. She is concluding her Masters in Political Science at the University of Victoria. While in Brazil, she worked for the UN Women coordinating programs to end violence against women and girls. In Canada, Daniela conducted a community-engaged research project to co-create the strategic plan for Greater Victoria Local Immigration Partnership (GVLIP) and became passionate about community work and multi-stakeholders collaborations. Now she is an active volunteer member of GVLIP’s Stewardship Group and member of the UVic Global Community Student Advisory Council.

PANEL 3: WOMEN AND POVERTY

Anu Lotay (she/her) is a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria and Research Director for the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG). Her current PhD research looks how people interpret health, illness and their bodies at the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, and national identity, and how they tell their unique stories.

Miranda BerticevićNicols-Watters (they/she) is the Media Director of the Victoria Chapter of Women’s March Canada and a graduate student in the Department of Economics, at UVic. She completed her B.A. in Economics with Honours at the University of Alberta, focusing on social welfare and wealth inequality; particularly how wealth inequality has changed throughout the last few decades. Her graduate research continues to examine the causes of wealth inequality by studying how social organization affects resource allocation. Miranda helped organize this Symposium and many other initiatives of Women’s March Victoria.

Elaine Laberge (she/ they) is a Vanier scholar and doctoral student in the Sociology Department at UVic. She focuses on widening access to, and participation in, higher education for students whose lives have been shaped by childhood poverty. She is currently spearheading a first-of-its kind Canadian initiative to support "poverty-class" students at UVic. She is the author of the Echoes of Poverty blog. 

Emily Stremel (she/her) is an undergraduate student in the History Department at UVic, specializing in disability history. She advocates for transgender, queer and disability rights, and is the creator of QueerMentalHealth.org.

Sarah Potts (she/her) is a community organizer who currently works at Our Place Society. She is a single parent and her experience working with marginalized communities, as well as her own lived experience, motivated her to advocate for solutions to address poverty. As a Co-Chair and founding member of Basic Income Victoria Sarah ensured the City of Victoria was the first municipality in Western Canada to endorse a universal guaranteed income for all Canadians. Sarah is running for Victoria City Council in October. 

PANEL 4: WOMEN'S HEALTH AND SAFETY

ChrŸs Tei (she /her) is the Executive Director at Rainbow Health Co-operative, BC’s largest trans owned organization. The Co-Op is a community owned, not-for-profit organization with the mandate to provide healthcare, livelihood and related services to under-served communities. Much of her work year includes multi-organizational coordination, board development and governance and community consultation. She has assisted with the organization of the Women’s March Victoria (WMV) in January 2018, where she was a speaker, as well as other WMV initiatives throughout the year, and is in the process of forming the WECAN Women’s Co-Op. She will be moderating this panel.

Zainab bint Younus (she / her) is a Canadian Muslim woman who has been involved in grassroots activism in the Muslim community for over ten years, with special focus on writing about and advocating for Muslim women's rights and concerns on her blog, The Salafi Feminist. Zainab was a speaker at the Women's March Victoria in January 2018 and has helped organize other events and initiatives for WMV. 

Tanille Geib (she/her) is a Lover of Humans. She is a sexual health facilitator & curriculum developer, consent culture advocate, community leader, creative producer, erotic artist, writer, director, filmmaker, yoga teacher, intimacy coach, and birth doula. 

Vanessa Hammond (she/her) runs the Victoria Health Co-Op, and has lived in 12 countries, worked in 65, and spent most of my life working in the co-op sector, currently focusing on health (a synonym for "wellness, not medical") co-operatives on Vancouver Island, in Ireland and wherever else there is an opportunity.

Sonja Yli-Kahila (she/her) is a health coach and nutritionist and founder of Rejuvenize Health Coaching & Nutrition. Health, nutrition, and fitness have been Sonja’s passions for over 20 years and she thrives in helping people achieve their ideal health, fitness and skin, so that they can love the body they are in with complete confidence. Sonja helps individuals to optimize their mental and emotional health, and helps individuals uncover what has been blocking or stopping them from achieving the body, skin, or fitness of their dreams, and how to move towards their desired health or fitness instead. She has a Master of Science in Holistic Nutrition, a certification from Precision Nutrition (focused on bridging exercise and nutrition science), and is a certified Health Coach.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS GUIDE Launch

Heather Houle (they/ she) is a queer illustrator, graphic designer, and writer whose work focuses on anti-oppression; sexuality; identity; mental health; self love; and critiques of current events and pop culture through a feminist lens. They currently live on unceded WSÁNEĆ (Saanich) territory with their roommate and several dozen houseplants. Their website is a work in progress, but you can find their work on Instagram at @sorry.not.heather. Heather designed the Anthology of Social Justice and Intersectional Feminisms and the Women in Business Guide for Women's March Victoria. 

This is a community-building and fundraising event. Tickets are $30 and available on our website. All proceeds are going to help establish Women’s March Victoria as a non-profit organization that supports women in our community with events, local initiatives, and publications. Please join us!  

SYMPOSIUM PHOTOS by Chorong Kim

SYMPOSIUM VIDEOS by Chorong Kim

All Videos

All Videos

All Videos
Women's March Symposium: Welcome, Acknowledgements, Introductions

Women's March Symposium: Welcome, Acknowledgements, Introductions

19:49
Play Video
Women's March Symposium: Panel 1 - Indigenous Women's Rights, Safety, and Representation

Women's March Symposium: Panel 1 - Indigenous Women's Rights, Safety, and Representation

01:04:00
Play Video
Women's March Symposium: Panel 2 - Immigrant and Refugee Women's Rights and Representation

Women's March Symposium: Panel 2 - Immigrant and Refugee Women's Rights and Representation

35:30
Play Video
Women's March Symposium: Panel 3 - Women and Poverty

Women's March Symposium: Panel 3 - Women and Poverty

36:56
Play Video

WOMEN IN BUSINESS GUIDE - Download here: 

Women in Business Guide - Cover.jpg

We support and celebrate our amazing local women in business. We compiled their profiles in the first edition of our Women in Business Guide, available by donation of the Women's March Victoria website

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