Webinar: Equity and Accessibility
Tuesday, May 28 from 12pm-1:30pm AST
ASL interpretation and Zoom captioning provided.
An online panel exploring the meaning of accessibility from an equity perspective and discussing promising directions in equity-oriented accessibility work, featuring Dr. Wendy Mackey, Dr. Emmanuel Banchani, and Ms. Liza Arnason.
Speaker Bios
Dr. Mackey is currently serving in the role of Associate Professor of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Leadership within the Faculty of Education at St. Francis Xavier University (StFX). Dr. Mackey coordinate’s the Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Master of Education program and serves as the Chair of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for her University. Her research encompasses educational leadership, educational change, culturally relevant pedagogy, anti-racist education, sensemaking, and decolonizing education. Dr. Mackey’s previous roles during her 29 years as an educator include working as the Senior Diversity Advisor for the largest school district in Nova Scotia, serving as Supervisor of Schools, as an Elementary School Principal, Elementary and Junior High Vice Principal, and Music teacher.
Dr. Emmanuel Banchani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at St. Francis Xavier University. Prior to joining StFX, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, York University. His research interests focus on global health, population health, and health services research. In particular, his research explains how various aspects of the social determinants of health can be used by policymakers and practitioners to prevent, control, and manage non-communicable diseases (NCDs). His research appeared in journals such as Global Health Promotion, BMC Health Services Research, Health and Social Care in the Community, Journal of Biosocial Sciences.
Liza Arnason BA, MA , is the founder and Chair of the Ase Community Foundation for Black Canadians with Disabilities, the owner of Arnason Consulting, founder and Chair of the UCalgary Black Alumni Network, and UofT Alumni from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education; and above all a mom, grandma, and mentor. Liza's commitment to the principles of "nothing without us" and "for us, by us”, has always been the cornerstone of her work as an educator, administrator, and community advocate. Her depth of knowledge and expertise is informed by her lived experiences, research and policy initiatives, passion for equity, and an inspirational 30-year career journey as pioneer and visionary. Liza draws on critical pedagogy including Black Feminism, disability justice, and critical race theories to inform community-based research and policy change initiatives. She unapologetically brings the lived experiences of those intersectional experiences of race, gender, and disability to the “table”, identifying nuances, gaps, and disparities within systems, structures, and research. Through collective leadership and wisdom across Canada, Liz continues to design and advocate for new models and systems that will affect real change.
