Reflections: Working with Organizations Toward Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Access
Extended session hosted by GVPTA
In English | Simultaneous interpretation in French and ASL
Structured and inspired by GVPTA’s webinar series, Questions I’m Asking Myself, this session is an introspective conversation with consultants and leaders who are brought in to work with arts and culture organizations to advance equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. This is not a workshop with answers. This is not an “expert” panel. This is a conversation to explore curiosities and questions about this work, this sector, challenges, successes, and hopes.
Jada-Gabrielle Pape
Jada is Coast Salish and belongs to the Saanich and Snuneymuxw Nations on Vancouver Island. She is passionate about creating safer spaces for all people, healthy and direct communication and decolonizing. She has been working with rural and remote Indigenous Peoples and communities for more than 30 years, including environmental organizations, municipalities, school boards, hospitals and prisons. Her anti-oppression and anti-racism work is birthed out of traditional and wise teachings brought forward from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Community Members, and Mentors. She holds a Masters from UBC and is also a certified professional counsellor who specializes in trauma and grief. Jada teaches as a college instructor at the Justice Institute of BC; she is a filmmaker, a mixed media painter and a single mother to a fantastic 17 year old kid.
Amy Amantea (she/her)
Seeing her sight loss as a “gift”, Amy has spent many years of her career in accessibility focusing on systemic change in the area of arts and culture. She is currently the Community Outreach Coordinator for VocalEye Descriptive Arts Society, and Accessibility Coordinator at The Arts Club Theatre Company. Amy continues to share her fifteen-plus years experience as an accessibility consultant with folks from local municipalities, conducting site audits, and looking to make lasting systemic changes in several organizations and also within artistic practices. It is a true pleasure to do the work and to connect and build a community around the lived experience of disability!
Kenji Maeda (he/him)
Kenji’s experiences are grounded in his passion for the arts, education, and building community, and influenced by his Uchinanchu heritage. Based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, he is currently the Executive Director of the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance where he has led the recent research projects: BC Arts & Culture Sector COVID-19 Impact Report; BC Patron Insights, and Transforming Justice in Theatre. Kenji sits on the board of Mass Culture, a national organization where research and the cultural sector intersect. He loves spreadsheets, chewy chocolate chip cookies, and his husband, Alan.
