Our Partners

We believe innovation comes from collaboration. Our ideas are energized by the diversity of experiences offered by our networks. Collaboration is a key ingredient in designing solutions to help us implement positive and sustained change.

Haran Vijayanathan

Haran Vijayanathan has more than 16 years of experience working in the non-profit sector. He has worked in the HIV sphere within community health centre settings and in social service organizations. He has lived and worked in many communities across Ontario, and brings with him the cultural sensitivity needed to address issues such as HIV, 2SLGBTTIQ+ community concerns and diversity. Haran is also a trained facilitator for SafeTALK – suicide prevention training, and has conducted tailored workshops for health teams, shelters serving individuals facing homelessness, and post-secondary institutions. He was the founder of My House: Rainbow Resources of York Region and is the Director, Equity and Strategic Initiatives at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg.

Vijaya ChikermanE

Vijaya Chikermane is the founding Director of 7.10 stories, a consultancy specializing in using diverse forms of arts-based education and storytelling for social change. She works with clients to build creative knowledge mobilization tools, design imaginative community engagement projects and develop compelling resources. Vijaya has over 15 years of experience working with health and gender-based programs, public education, resource development, corporate giving and community engagement. Vijaya holds an MSc of Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and as a strong believer of life-long learning, she has recently completed courses on social research methods, arts-based engagement, design thinking and transmedia storytelling. She is passionate about exploring diverse models of communication to transform complex data into simple meaningful messages that drive positive social change.

Angie Arora

Angie Arora, M.S.W., R.S.W., is an activist and educator in the areas of violence against women, issues affecting immigrant and refugee communities, compassion fatigue, pet loss bereavement. Her experience spans over 15 years through front-line practice, community development, board governance, policy work and education. Angie practices from anti-oppressive and critical approaches to social work. She completed her Bachelor of Social Work at Ryerson University, Masters of Social Work with York University, and Bereavement Education Certificate Program with Toronto Advanced Professional Education. Angie is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist, trained through the Traumatology Institute.

Devan Nambiar

Devan Nambiar, MSc.in Integrated Healthcare has been providing training and education on sexual and gender minorities (2SLGBTQ+), cultural and clinical competencies and Integrative medicine since 1996. Devan has trained staff from over 500 organizations, approximately 200,000 people on a regional, national and international capacity. Devan’s education in Addictions and Mental Health provides a rich intersectional depth to various counselling techniques. In 2002, Devan was the recipient of the honor roll award of the Ontario AIDS Network and in 2006, he was the recipient of the Canadian AIDS Society Leadership Award. In 2015, he co-wrote an education module for healthcare providers: Cancer Screening and LGBTQ Communities.

Anita Balakrishna

Anita Balakrishna is passionate about engaging in organizational and systemic change work, especially around issues of diversity, human rights, inclusion and equity. After spending several years practising law in areas such as human rights, immigration and employment, she is able to provide proactive and strategic solutions to problems and crisis management in areas such as policy development, conflict resolution (mediation) and training for a wide variety of groups. As an equity trainer she has developed expertise in areas such as cultural safety, unconscious bias and the art of practising allyship and solidarity. She has worked as a lawyer, a college professor, a conflict resolution professional, and a diversity strategist. She is also an experienced yoga teacher and is currently in the final year of a yoga therapist training program. Finally, Anita loves telling and hearing stories of resilience, strength-building and healing. and she aims to infuse empathy and compassion into all of her projects. Anita holds a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Trinette Klein

Trinette Klein is a graphic designer, artist and communications specialist with over 12 years of experience in both non-profit and public sectors. As visual learner and communicator, she is passionate about collaborating with her clients to build authentic brands and convey strong, clear messages to the right audience. Her work in regional government focuses on producing communication strategies and resources for York Region residents on diversity and inclusion, issues around homelessness, and newcomers to Canada. She holds a diploma in Graphic Design at Seneca College and achieved her RGD professional designation in 2019. In 2016, her designs for York Region’s Inclusion Charter and awareness campaign ‘I Am Different Like You’ won the national RGD In-House Design Award.