Tuesday February 12, 2019

Cocktail Reception 6:00 PM
Presentation 7:00 PM​

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performance
and Learning
​273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

​Download the evening's programme here

Evening's Hosts:

Tammie Sutherland
City News Anchor & Reporter

Tammie Sutherland is a journalist with CityNews and the morning field reporter for Breakfast Television on Citytv. She started her career at CityNews as a writer and an associate producer, before becoming a part of the on-air team. 
 
After joining the news team in 2008, Tammie has covered a wide range of breaking news across the country and was previously the crime specialist for CityNews.
 
She’s also covered big news in the world of entertainment, reporting live from red carpets during the Toronto International Film Festival and the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles. 
 
GTA-born and bred, Tammie grew up in Toronto, Malton and Brampton, with roots in sunny Jamaica.

Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Editor, NEws Curation for Buzzfeed News and Social MEdia Editor for Buzzfeed Canada

Elamin Abdelmahmoud is a news curation editor at BuzzFeed News and a regular current affairs panelist for CBC news. His work has appeared in Maclean's magazine, the Globe and Mail and The Guardian. He can frequently be found on CBC radio's Q as an online culture panelist, and he writes a monthly column for Chatelaine. Tweet him at @elamin88. 

Speakers:

We are delighted to announce the speakers for the evening, a tour de force of Black Canadians who
​will each share a story:

Akil Augustine
host, producer, and creator of NBATV Canada's “The Hangout”

​Akil Augustine is a Canadian television personality and the host, producer, and creator of NBATV Canada’s “The Hangout”, Canada's sole topical basketball series which features celebrity guests and league insiders discussing current events in the NBA. 

A graduate of the Radio and Television Broadcasting program at Seneca College, Akil began his career in production then moved in front of the camera reporting for Leafs TV, Gol TV, and Raptors.com. Working closely with the Toronto Raptors he also produces video and social content for Raptors.com.

Esi Edugyan
2018 Giller-prize winner for Washington Black

Esi Edugyan is the author of the novels The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, Half-Blood Blues, and Washington Black. Half-Blood Blues won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction. Her latest novel, Washington Black, also won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence.

She lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Eugenia Duodu
chemist and CEO of Visions of Science Network for Learning

​Eugenia Duodu is the CEO of Visions of Science Network for Learning (www.vosnl.org), a charitable organization that empowers youth from low-income communities through meaningful engagement in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). She is an educator, speaker, community organizer and advocate who is passionate about creating equitable opportunities for youth to achieve their full potential.
​ 
Eugenia Duodu holds both an HB.Sc. in Chemistry and Biology and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Toronto.  

Jamaal D. Magloire
Former NBA All-Star, Assistant Coach and Community Ambassador for
​the Toronto Raptors

JAMAAL D. MAGLOIRE is a former NBA All-Star player, known as “Big Kat” who is currently an Assistant Coach and Community Ambassador for the Toronto Raptors.

Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, graduated from Eastern Commerce and then went to University of Kentucky on a basketball scholarship where he won a National Championship in his sophomore year.
Jamaal is the most decorated basketball player from the Greater Toronto Area and one of the most accomplished players in Canadian basketball history. 

Jamaal was drafted 19th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2000 NBA Draft.  He went on to play for 13 years, where he ended his career with the Toronto Raptors.

Jamaal’s passion is basketball, but he is equally passionate about giving back to his community whether it be through the arts or helping kids through the power of sport.
Jamaal launched his own foundation in March 2017.

Jamaal Magloire Foundation is a registered charity that is dedicated to improving the lives of youth who live in economically deprived areas to help them obtain academic and social skills through the power of sport and positive motivation.  This message is rooted in the mission that “youth deserve a chance to dream”.

“I have witnessed first-hand the positive effect of sport on children in our communities, especially in Toronto,” said Magloire.  “There were many people who helped me along the way, teaching me about sacrifice, discipline and the importance of education.  It is my turn to continue to pay it forward in a bigger way to help our youth achieve their dreams.”

Jamaal is also the President of The Toronto Revellers Cultural Association, a not for profit dedicated to promoting and supporting Canada’s multi-cultural landscape by celebrating the rich diverse culture and traditions of the Caribbean.
​
Jamaal also proudly serves as a Canada 150 Leader and as an ambassador for Children’s Breakfast Club.

Kimahli Powell
Executive Director, Rainbow Railroad

Kimahli has a wide range of experience in the nonprofit sector and has spent over fifteen years advocating for social justice, youth, arts and culture. Prior to Rainbow Railroad, held Director level positions at the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Dignitas International, the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival and the YMCA. In addition to holding other director-level positions with non-profit organizations in Toronto and Ottawa.  
‍
Kimahli holds a CFRE with a Bacc.Social Science (Political Science) from the University of Ottawa. Among career highlights he helped launch the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network's legal challenge to Jamaica's anti-sodomy law, led community engagement initiatives including the Human Rights Networking Zone at multiple international AIDS conferences and developed a monitoring and evaluation framework on legal advocacy. Since joining Rainbow Railroad as Executive Director, he guided the organization through its first strategic plan, and led the Rainbow Railroad to its transformational growth, which led to successful interventions in Chechnya and Egypt. He and Rainbow Railroad have been recognized with several awards, including the International Lesbian & Gay Travel Association’s Pathfinder Award, the Mark S Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies 2018 Award, the Association for Fundraising Professionals Mo Davies Small Organization for Excellence in Fundraising, and the 2018 Inspire Award for Community Organization of the Year.
‍
Kimahli is member of Canada’s Dignity Network and is on the board of directors of ILGA.

MayaSpoken
spoken word artist, author, and activist

Located in the City of Ottawa, MayaSpoken's story begins in 2015 where she competed in her first poetry slam using spoken word poems that shared her story and how she overcame abuse and racism throughout her years in high school. After winning first place, she began performing spoken word around the city spreading a message of hope and empowerment. Maya's experiences opened her eyes to the injustices and discrimination that many people face, specifically women and people of color and so began her journey as an activist fighting against those injustices through the art of spoken word. In 2017, she was awarded the RBC Spirit of the Youth Capital Award for using her art to make a difference. Shortly after she founded Tell ‘Em Girl Women’s Spoken Word Showcase. After the success through Tell ‘Em Girl, she was awarded the CBC Ottawa Trailblazer Award in 2018. Her book Warriors in Broad Daylight shares the story of overcoming hardship as a woman and was released in May 2018 shortly after.

Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu
Founder and Artistic Director of It’s A Freedom Thing Theatre and Director at Soulpepper Theatre Company

​Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu is a Kenyan-Ugandan-Canadian Theatre creator and Director based in Toronto. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Dora Nominated company IFT (It’s A Freedom Thing) Theatre and the 2015 recipient of the Pauline McGibbon Award for Directing. Mumbi has also been nominated for the John Hirsch Award for Directing and been the recipient of the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Protégé Award.

Mumbi is also an alumni of the distinguished Michael Langham Workshop in Classical Direction at Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

Most recently Mumbi directed the critically acclaimed plays Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Soulpepper Theatre Company. This spring Mumbi will direct the Canadian Premiere of Tarell Alvin McCranney’s acclaimed Play, 'The Brothers Size' also at Soulpepper Theatre.

Mumbi is also currently developing an interdisciplinary theatre projected titled ‘Motherland’ with renowned African Canadian Poet/Playwright Motion. This project will be a follow up creation to the award winning site specific play ‘Nightmare Dream’, exploring issues of 'identity' and 'otherness' in the African Canadian Community. 
 
Additionally Mumbi is the co-founder of Kendu  Hearth, an international conference on innovation and hybridity in performance in Uganda, East Africa and a former co-director of the AMY (Artists Mentoring Youth) project.