In her role as the Human Rights and Equity Advisor for the Waterloo Region District School Board, Deepa Ahluwalia helps to support the establishment of a human rights culture. This is achieved by helping the senior team to identify and address systematic barriers and gaps, and to also support the resolution of Code-based complaints. Deepa oversees the Human Rights Branch, whose mandate also includes providing professional learning and training as it relates to anti-oppression and human rights, and to assist in the resolution of complaints by providing coaching and conducting investigations.

 
Natasha Bascevan (miskwaabiimizh mashkiki — Red Willow Medicine) is an Indigenous Relations Consultant, evaluator, and educator with fifteen years of practice across education, health, and government sectors. Holding an MEd from OISE (Leadership, Policy & Change) and certification with the Ontario College of Teachers, she serves on the boards of the Odeiwin Foundation, the Indigenous Evaluation Network, Feather Carriers and EECOM. 

At this year's EDI Summit, Natasha introduces "Colonial Detours" — a diagnostic framework identifying the six ways institutions deflect structural change without producing it — giving Indigenous and racialized leaders a shared language for naming what they experience.