Centre for Race and Culture - CRC Staff Biographies

Home

ABOUT CRC

CRC Staff Biographies

	You can find contact information for CRC Staff here.
	Charlene Hay (MEd., BEd.) is a former teacher who has lived and worked in Africa and an Aboriginal Community in northern Alberta. She has a Masters of Education in sociology and intercultural education. Charlene is currently the executive director of the Centre for Race and Culture, where she has worked since 1997. The author of two teachers' resource booklets, Charlene has been involved in several research projects on race relations and is coordinating work with Education school districts in the Edmonton area toward ways to ensure racial and cultural equity in schools. She currently works with two school districts in Edmonton toward systemic change regarding racial equity. Charlene is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Medal for community work and the Alberta Centennial Medal in recognition of outstanding service to the people and province of Alberta.
	Ricardo Carlos (BCom, International Business) is a professional with over 12 years of combined experience in facilitating, business development and management roles across different industries including hospitality, real estate, language training, cultural training, and international recruitment. He currently serves as the Associate Director ofthe CRC, where he is responsible for a variety of programs in regards to Cultural Competency for businesses, schools and other organizations. Ricardo has vast experience dealing with individuals from different countries, cultures, social backgrounds and religious beliefs. He has served as the Chair of the Immigration sub-committee at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and has two passports and three languages at his disposal. Ricardo graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce in International Business from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico. His academic studies also include exchanges with the University of Duisburg in Germany and the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. He is a member of the Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC).
	Roxanne Felix is a professional consultant with eleven years of experience in the government and non-profit sector. She has worked with the civic government, provincial government, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. She is also currently an Adjunct Faculty Member with the Centre for Health Promotion Studies, School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Roxanne has lived in Canada her whole life and is the daughter of Filipino immigrants who came to Edmonton in the 1960s. She served as the Manager of Health and Community Initiatives at the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers. In order to stay connected to community issues, Roxanne is involved regularly on a contract basis with the Multicultural Health Brokers’ Co-operative in Edmonton, Alberta.She is currently a Program Manager with the Centre for Race and Culture.
	Siye Abbenssetts (BA) is the administrative assistant for the Centre for Race and Culture; her desire to work at an equitable agency led her to CRC, where she has been since 2007. She holds a Bachelors degree in Economics from York University and believes in life-long education. Siye is an active member of the community and firmly believes in diversity and inclusion. She strives to enthusiastically engage herself and maintains a standard of personal achievement and encourages others to do so.
	Stephanie Molina (BA Politics and Latin American Studies, Certificate Publicity and Public Relations) is currently the Communications Coordinator for the Cultural Crossroads program and the Communications Associate at the CRC. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Oberlin College, one of the top liberal arts institutions in the United States known for its progressive attitude towards diversity and inclusion. Her desire to make a difference has led her to explore the fields of education, the arts, immigration, human rights, family law, and international politics. Stephanie has consistently chosen to work for organizations whose mission she can whole-heartedly stand behind, the CRC being no exception.
	Ian Mathieson currently serves as an Education Coordinator for the Centre for Race and Culture Edmonton AB. Ian has been a facilitator of equity programming, anti-racism, cultural competency,peace-building, and hate crime prevention to thousands of adults and youth in diverse environments. He is well versed in techniques that use intercultural communication, intercultural conflict transformation, popular education andcommunity dialogue. Ian has worked within organizational environments ranging from law enforcement and educational boards to health care institutions, community NGOs as well as the private sector. His academic background includes studies in international peace and conflict in Costa Rica focused on systemic forms of conflict transformation and peace operations, and a second MA with Innsbruck University, Austria in Peace, Development, Security and Conflict Transformation with a focus on Equity education. Ian has training in Civil-Military Coordination with International Peace Support Missions and human rights work experience nationally and internationally. Ian also represents the Centre for Race and Culture on the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee.
	Karen Chinaleong-Brooks (BSc, MPH) is the Education Coordinator for the Peace Ambassadors program for the Centre for Race and Culture. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology (Honours) from the University of the West Indies and a Master of Public Health from Simon Fraser University. Karen is an active member of her community who actively works with several community organizations empowering and building capacity in immigrant and youth communities in Edmonton.
	Michelle Todd is the Keshotu Leadership Academy Coordinator. An Edmonton native, Michelle graduated from the GMCC Theatre Arts program in 1996 and has been active in the arts community ever since. From Montreal to Vancouver, down to Seattle, and all around Alberta, Michelle has worked as an actor, writer, and choreographer on the stage and on the screen. She has toured local schools in Theatre for Young Audiences and served on the board for Oliver Centre Early Learning Programs for Children and Families Society. Her own one-woman show was mentioned in the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal’s centennial celebration collaborative book Alberta 100 Years A Home. As a facilitator and performer she has worked with students and teachers discussing multiculturalism and diversity.
	Abdul Daash Hussein (BA, Msc) is a community leader and mentor who has over 10 years of experience working as a community liaison. He brings a wealth of experience as a volunteer, facilitator, program coordinator and program officer in the areas of multicultural initiatives and community partnerships. Abdul’s position as a Bamboo Shield Program Coordinator allows him to continue working on fostering the creation of relationships within the multicultural community and partnerships between multicultural communities and cooperative/educational organizations. Abdul strongly believes in engaging parents, school administration and community members as partners in promoting personal and social responsibility in immigrant youth.
	Eugene Chok (B.B.A C.G.A.) Accountant After completing his Bachelor of Business Administration degree at the Texas Tech University, he immigrated to Canada in search of the good life and an opportunity to develop his skills in the field of accountancy. From 1980 to 2000 he worked as an accountant in both industry and government organizations. Along the way he picked up a professional Accountancy Designation with the Certified General Accountant Association of Alberta. In 2000 he accepted an offer to work as an Accountant with The Alberta Lung Association and has continued working in the Non-Profit sector since. He admires the strong commitment that the NGO workers hold toward their cause and plans to finish his career in this sector. In his spare time he teaches Tai Chi Chuan to seniors at the Chinese Freemason Association in Edmonton.
	Christine Sokaymoh Frederick is the Aboriginal Leadership Academy Coordinator. She is a Métis, Edmonton-based artist with many years experience as an actor, writer, singer/musician, dancer, workshop facilitator and producer. She has an arts & cultural administration background with many connections to the local and traditional community in and around Alberta. She is the co-founder/co-director of Alberta Aboriginal Arts and a board of director for the Edmonton Arts Council. She has consulted for the Edmonton’s cultural plan The Art of Living (Edmonton Arts Council) and on the 2005 draft of Alberta’s Cultural Policy for the Ministry of Alberta’s Community Development. She has studied at the University of Alberta and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Christine was featured in Alberta’s arts and culture Legacy Magazine for the province’s centennial. She is the recipient of the 2007 Esquao Award in Arts & Entertainment and dedicates herself to promoting and supporting the tender network of Aboriginal artists across Turtle Island.
	Guled Hussein is a community leader and youth mentor. He is actively involved within the African Communities in Edmonton, and has a proven history of committing himself wholeheartedly to the issues surrounding youth and the barriers that they face. As a member of the Bamboo Shield team, he has dedicated himself to improving the life of newcomer and refugee youth. Guled is also a member of the Multicultural Coalition of Edmonton and has been instrumental in contributing and playing a role in advocating for healthy and inclusive public policies, assisting community members in initiating community actions to improve quality of life of all. Additionally, Guled was elected position on the Board of Directors for the Multicultural Coalition since October 2010. In the past Guled has served as the editor of a Pacemagazine and has travelled in communities across Canada, he is a dedicated volunteer within the Edmonton arts community and an emerging Photographer and Filmmaker.
	Reuben Quinn is currently the Coordinator for the Aboriginal Attendance Circle program and for the Cree Language Instruction program. Reuben has been working with Aboriginal youth within Edmonton for 16 years. He has been a Cultural coordinator and Cree instructor for Edmonton Public Schools, Mother Earth Children’s Charter School, as well as the Edmonton Young Offender Center. Reuben grew up in the residential school era and when the Blue Quills School was taken over by Aboriginals, there was a resurgence of language and cultural teachings. Reuben credits the late Mrs. Rosanna Houle for reviving the Nehiyo(Cree) Cahkipeyihkanah and teaching it to all the students who had been liberated from residential school. The Nehiyo Cahkipeyihkanah, or as some refer to it’ the Star Chart’, is a tool Reuben uses for teaching the Cree language. The Star Chart has a myriad of philosophical meaning, numbers, and the teachings arising from its unique structure. All of its significance is explored and discussed in the course of the Cree program.
	Rebecca Palmer has been involved in the field of education for 25 years. After teaching with Edmonton Public Schools, she became a Program Facilitator for the Aboriginal Multi-Media Arts Program teaching multi-media arts, as well as life-skills and employment training, to a class of 12 at-risk Aboriginal youth. She serves as a panel member for the Alberta Attendance Board as well as being the Program Coordinator for the Centre for Race and Culture’s Aboriginal Attendance Circle Project.
	Ashima Sumaru (BA, BEd) is the coordinator for the Migrant Routes program. Ashima has always had an interest in social justice. Her previous work in the literacy field included delivering diversity/anti-racism training for facilitators and coordinators, developing materials to analyze books and other materials for racism and discrimination, providing strategies to support second language learners and researching and practicing techniques to share power in the classroom, especially with students from marginalized groups. Ashima is an experienced facilitator and has presented to audiences at the national, provincial and local level. Ashima holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Bachelor of Education degree in Secondary English and Social Studies. She is also very familiar with adult education, participatory education and family literacy. Ashima is active in many initiatives that encourage lifelong learning and critical thinking for people of all ages and from all cultures.
	Elsa Robinson (BEd., Dip. Public Relations) has worked in the field of education for more than 16 years. Her teaching career began in Jamaica where she specialized in Special Education for the Deaf. Here in Edmonton, Elsa has taught in French Immersion and English programs as well as in English Second Language Programs for adults. Elsa brings her teaching expertise and experience as well as her passion for helping others to the position of Project Coordinator with the Bamboo Shield Program. Elsa is also a visual artist and a recipient of the Edmonton Arts Council – 2008 City of Edmonton Cultural Diversity in the Arts Award. She views artistic expression as a safe tool that students can use to express and process emotions related to the challenges of adjusting to their new environment here in Edmonton, and she hopes to integrate the arts in her work with students in the Bamboo Shield Project. Elsa received her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta and a Diploma in Public Relations from Grant MacEwan College. She is presently completing the Bachelor of Arts in Art and Design at the University of Alberta and continues to pursue her art career.
	Ernest N. Khalema (Ph.D.) is a sociologist, community development specialist, and community-based researcher with an MEd in intercultural/international studies and a PhD in health sociology. His PhD dissertation entitled: “Race Talk” in Epidemiology & Public Health: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Canadian and Brazilian Texts” focused on a critical discourse analysis of epidemiological knowledge about health issues impacting racialized and minoritized groups in Canada and Brazil. He has worked as research analyst, community evaluator, and research coordinator for a number of community organizations, educational institutions, and immigrant service agencies in Alberta. He has taught research and evaluation methods, youth studies, organizational practice, community health, and diversity courses at a number of universities and colleges in Alberta including Grant MacEwan University, Athabasca University, Concordia University College of Alberta, the University of Alberta, and most recently as an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Calgary’ Central and Northern Region (Edmonton). In 2010 Ernest was awarded a University of Calgary Teaching Innovation Award in Service Learning and Student Engagement for his efforts in bringing students and the community closer together using a community service and experiential learning approach. He is also a recipient of the 2011 RISE Award for outstanding leadership in the areas of Health, Social Services and Education. He has developed, coordinated, and facilitated a number of projects and initiatives for a number of organizations including the CRC in the area of refugee youth integration, anti-racism praxis, and conflict mediation. He was the lead investigator in three of CRC’ research-based projects: Youth against Racism (2001), September 11 Research Report (2002), Research Plenum on Race Relations: Alberta Experiences and Prospects for Change (2003). Khalema participated on the research team for CRC’s Equity in Edmonton Schools (2004). Most recently, Ernest has collaborated with Charlene Hay (Executive Director of the CRC) as a principal investigator of a project entitled: “A Review of Risk Factors and Community Based Crime Prevention Strategies for Somali Newcomers in Alberta” (funded by Centre for Criminology and Justice Research at Mount Royal University). Some of his research publications include a forthcoming book on antiracism praxis in Alberta (co-authored with Charlene Hay), a number of refereed journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, academic posters, and technical research reports. His passion is mentoring youth, and advocating for deliberate interruptions that foster fairness, equity, social justice, and antiracism wherever it does not exist. Professor Khalema was recently appointed an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health’ Centre for Health Promotion Studies at the University of Alberta (Canada).