Speaker Bios

Kasari Govender started her five-year term as B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner on Sept. 3, 2019. Since then, the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner has been working swiftly to build a strong team, to listen deeply to the concerns of British Columbians, to issue policy guidance to protect vulnerable communities and to lay a human rights-based foundation for the Office’s work. As an independent officer of the Legislature, the Commissioner is uniquely positioned to ensure human rights in B.C. are protected, respected and advanced on a systemic level throughout our society.  

Tanu Gamble was born and raised on the North Coast of B.C. and belongs to both the Haida and Gitxaala Nations. She is a practicing Registered Clinical Counsellor who currently works at SFU, providing support to Indigenous students, in private practice at Peak Resilience and in the community providing anti-Indigenous racism education and support.

Alex Sangha is a social worker, counsellor, documentary film producer and the Founder of Sher Vancouver, a registered charity for LGBTQ+ South Asians and their friends, families and allies. Alex has a Master in Public Administration and Public Policy from the Department of Government at the London School of Economics. He has a Master of Social Work from Dalhousie University, as well as a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of British Columbia with a First Class Standing. He also completed an Associate in Arts degree at Douglas College.

Alex has produced an award-winning short documentary film, My Name Was January, and his first feature documentary film, Emergence: Out of the Shadows. Alex’s next documentary film, I, Migrant, captures the journey of newcomers and settlers from different parts of India to different parts of Canada. Alex is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada.

Abigail Cameron has extensive experience working with not-for-profit organizations within community development and project management roles. She joined S.U.C.C.E.S.S. in 2017 as the Tri-Cities Local Immigration Partnership Manager, where she collaborated with community partners on several anti-racism capacity building initiatives. She currently holds the role of Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives and Development, where she supports anti-racism initiatives, develops new initiatives to support equity-seeking communities and facilitates the agency's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. 

Mary-Catherine Kropinski is the Special Advisor to the VP, People Equity and Inclusion, at Simon Fraser University. From 2020-2022, she served as the inaugural Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Faculty of Science at SFU. She has a BSc from Queen’s University, an MMath from the University of Waterloo, and a PhD from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prior to joining SFU in 1995, Mary-Catherine held a visiting research position at the Courant Institute of NYU.

Robyn Affleck has been working as an ally of human rights, anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for the past 15 years both within Canada and abroad. As a former professional freestyle skier travelling the world representing Canada, Robyn saw firsthand the inequities faced by the majority of the world’s population. After retiring from her ski career, Robyn moved to Honduras, where she created a sport for development program for underserved children living in underserved communities. After completing her Masters in International Leadership, Robyn has since worked in the field of EDI in a variety of capacities, such as within the non-profit sector, within municipal government, primary education, and now at Douglas College as the Respect, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist.