Jessi Taylor, PhD

Dr Jessi Taylor (she/her, they them) is an experienced educator and activist.  They have over 10 years of experience in facilitation, curriculum design, content delivery, and brokering conversations on tricky topics on a policy and personal level.  Jessi has a background in social justice, gender and sexuality, sexual health, and violence.  She has hands-on experience developing policy, best practices, and projects. 

Jessi has been working for non-profits and universities on education projects, curriculum design, and teaching.  She will take an interdisciplinary approach to your needs, helping you think outside the box and meet your priorities.  

Recent projects:

Kalum D. Ng

Kalum Ng (they them) is a storyteller/activist who uses writing as their main tool for activism. They’ve performed work at the Vancouver Queer Arts Festival, the Naked Heart LGBT Literary Festival in Toronto, and Montreal Pride. They are a freelancer for Xtra and Taiwan-based The News Lens. Kalum volunteer’s translation services for Chinatown community groups as well as a Hong Kong based media non-profit named GdotTV. 

Kalum is currently a board member of Yarrow Society for Intergenerational Justice.  They have sat on the Vancouver Parks Board’s Trans and Gender Variant Inclusion Steering Committee for two terms and does public education around creating queer friendly environments, the work of local community builders, and how to write politically. 

They tell stories through writing and traditional lion dance, on the intersections of race and queer identities, with a view to build community.

Recent projects:

Photo of Ryan Lai

Ryan Lai

Ryan Lai (He/Him) has over 8 years of program management and community development experience within the nonprofit sector. He is currently a graduate student in the SFU Urban Studies Program and works as a Constituency Assistant with Jenny Kwan, Member of Parliament for Vancouver-East, supporting the Vancouver East Community. He is passionate about exploring alternatives to gentrification, particularly in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood, where many low-income, racialized seniors are facing housing insecurities. In the Urban Studies Graduate Program, Ryan has decided to focus his learning towards gaining a clearer understanding of the income disparities and the housing issues that communities in the Vancouver-East riding experience. His recent academic projects include:

  • “Decolonial Framework for Anti-Gentrification Movement”, final paper for URB 695: Storyscapes: Decolonizing the City through Arts and Culture, with Kamala Todd
  • “Minimizing Harsh and Unnecessary Evictions of Seniors”, final assignment for URB 665: Housing Policy, with Yushu Zhu
  • “Supportive Employment Social Enterprises Walking Tour in the Downtown Eastside”, final assignment for URB 695: Tourism, Public History and Popular Memory with Lynnell Thomas

Indigo Komiwonuhke Poirier

Indigo Komiwonuhke Poirier (she/her) is a member of the Wolastoq nation, Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Native Studies and Sociology at STU, musician, and chronic worrier. She is currently involved with research projects related to abortion access in New Brunswick, health disparities, and GBT2SQ+ folks doing online sex work. Indigo has also been the chair of Fredericton Gender Minorities for many years. 

Imriel Bissnette

Imriel Bissnette (xe/they) is a queer, non-binary Black and Mi’kmaw individual with ancestral ties to the Annapolis Valley First Nation and is working on reconnecting with xer Indigenous heritage. Xer MA thesis researched the experiences of exclusion and inclusion of non-binary individuals accessing the Nova Scotia healthcare system. Xe have worked with the Looking Out For Each Other project, and the Universities of Lakehead and New Brunswick to produce a workshop about MMIWG2S+ and police accountability.

Conor Falvey, MA, MI

Conor Falvey (she/they) is a queer non-binary person who lives and works in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. They have over 10 years of experience in the non-profit and academic sectors, most recently as a grants specialist and research administrator. They have recently completed a Master of Information degree with specialized training in user experience, information architecture, and educational resource design. They also have a Masters degree in History focused on the development of modern-day queer communities in Atlantic Canada.

Conor is the former provincial coordinator of Sexual Health Nova Scotia, a partner organization of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights. In this capacity, they led numerous educational initiatives to promote equitable health care, particularly for 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, and/or older individuals. They designed and managed the educational program Doing It Better, a healthy relationship and sexuality program for intellectually disabled individuals, which won the 2018 Helen & Fred Bentley Award for excellence in sexual health education.

Currently, they are professionally based at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law, where among other roles, they have served for two years on the standing committee for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as it undertakes a full equity review of faculty-level policies, in dialogue with calls from the Black Lives Matter movement and the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.

Conor is also a proud spouse and step-parent, an active volunteer at their synagogue, and an avid reader and watcher of science fiction.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conor-falvey