National Indigenous History Month: Reconnecting with Identity

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Featuring: Dylan Jenkins, CPO 2 Pat Stevens, and Vanessa Brousseau

Co-hosted by: Darlene Bess and Rob Chambers

Date and time: Wednesday, June 19, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM EST

Audience: Open to all Government of Canada employees

About Event and Speakers

About the Ask Me Anything series

This session is part of a series of Ask Me Anything discussions that give us a platform to share stories, listen, ask respectful questions and continue on our journey towards more inclusive organizations.

As an individual, you can’t necessarily change where you live. You certainly can’t change your past, but you can adjust who influences you—through the authors you read, the music you listen to, the movies you watch, and the interactions with your community. The ‘Ask Me Anything’ series provides you with an opportunity to increase your perspective — to learn from the lived experiences of individuals who are bravely sharing their stories to help educate and move the public service towards a culture where equity is embedded.

The series also provides an opportunity for you to know that you aren’t alone. These experiences, especially the negative ones, are systemic and can happen all too frequently throughout the public service. The objective of shining this light is to continually increase the network of public servants ready to take action and move forward toward a culture of inclusivity and belonging.

Meet our panellists

Dylan Jenkins (they/he - lel/il/lui), Senior Executive Advisor, Economic Development Policy and Engagement, Indigenous Services Canada

Katherine Ip (she/her - elle/la) began her career in the public service as a casual employee for the Canada Revenue Agency in 1998 while also studying at the University of Winnipeg, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. In 2005, she accepted a full-time position in an English-French bilingual work environment with the Translation Bureau as part of the operations support staff and has since become the Administrative Services Coordinator for the Translation Bureau’s Social and Political Sciences and Law Directorate. In June 2023, Katherine became the interim Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee champion and was appointed to the position officially in October 2023.

Katherine is a cis-gender, late-diagnosed neurodivergent, able-bodied queer woman happily married to her nonbinary genderqueer spouse and, together, share their lives with four rescue dogs, including one who is Deaf and another who is blind. She is also a visible minority whose parents are first-generation immigrants to Canada from Hong Kong and the Philippines. Her name in Cantonese is Yip Bik Wa and she was given a sign name in American Sign Language (ASL) by her friends in the Deaf community in Winnipeg. Katherine speaks Cantonese, is fluent in both official languages, learned some Japanese while teaching English for a year in Japan, and is currently learning ASL virtually from Deaf instructors across North America.

Katherine’s interests as a portrait artist, member of a Japanese drumming (taiko) group, Certified Family Dog Mediator, and rock climber of over 20 years, along with the many layers of her identity, allow her to face challenges and find solutions with creativity, compassion, and always through an intersectional lens.

Mark Mindel, Program Officer, Integrity Services Branch, Employment and Social Development Canada, Service Canada

Mark Mindel is growing their career in government by working out of the Prince George Service Canada Centre in British Columbia’s North! As a people person, Mark strives day-to-day to provide excellence in client services.

Mark’s non-linear path in gender identity is an experience Mark uses in their elected role for their union to lead the non-binary conversation.

That conversation is one that falls alongside Mark’s layers as a parent to three adopted Indigenous children, recent marriage to their husband, and Mark’s Euro-Punjabi roots.

Mark holds a Master’s degree in Immunology and went all-but-dissertation on a McGill Doctorate publishing in diverse fields of science, medicine and engineering (maiden name of “James-Bhasin”). After taking some law courses, Mark got their feet wet, understanding our system of government in Mark’s hometown of Ottawa. After a few years of learning experiences in the proverbial “bubble,” Mark produced Mark Carney’s Global Citizen Award for the United Nations.

Mark’s passion for diversity is best understood by their emphasis on ensuring that all voices get brought to the table.

Andrea Monrad, Communications Security Custodian, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Andrea Monrad joined the Communication Reserves in 1988. She worked within the Forces at Esquimalt, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and the Golan Heights before transitioning to public service in 2009, still within the Department of National Defence. Her military career covered radio and teletype, the start of computer networking and on to supporting Defence Wide Area Network and classified networks at home and deployed. Throughout her military career, she has focused on communication, security, and IT. In 2017, Andrea moved over to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to become the Communications Security (ComSec) Custodian, supporting Classified networks and then, in 2020, moved over to the Cyber Security and Policy office.

Andrea is a proud single dad of a twenty-year-old queer kid who ‘came out’ in her teens and helped Andrea realize her own identity journey. Her path led her to become the co-champion of ECCC’s Pride Network, the co-chair of the Public Service Pride Network’s Interdepartmental Working group on Chosen Names and Gender Marker Modernization, and an active participant in both GC and ECCC DIEE and identity issues.

Meet our co-hosts

Alfonso Ralph Mendoza Manalo, Junior Policy Analyst, Anti-Racism Unit, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Born in Manila and based in Toronto. Alfonso Ralph Mendoza Manalo is an openly-gay Filipino-Canadian public servant. He is currently a Junior Policy Analyst in the Anti-Racism Unit. Prior to this, Alfonso worked as a Policy Advisor in the RCMP's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit and the Race-based Data Collection (RBDC) Team, and as a Research Assistant for the Information Management Policy Section. He has worked on a variety of EDI files, i.e. the founding of the RCMP’s Pride Network, co-writing the RCMP Addressing Systemic Racism Budget Submission, RBDC, and advocating for the inclusion of an anti-Asian racism and religious-based discrimination sub-module in the RCMP’s United Against Racism course (authoring the former). He is currently the co-chair of the RCMP’s Pride Network.

Outside of the RCMP, he has worked in a variety of research and policy roles for the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, the Scarborough Campus Student Union’s Racialized Students Collective, the Filipino Centre Toronto, and the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He has published on 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, East/Southeast Asian politics and history, and migration and diasporas. He recently graduated from the University of Toronto, with a double major in Public Policy and Global Asia Studies and a minor in Critical Migration Studies.

Emilie Plows, Acting Manager, Fleet Operational Priorities, Canadian Coast Guard

Emilie Plows works for the Canadian Coast Guard and recently celebrated 15 years in the Public Service.

She graduated cum laude from the University of Ottawa in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. You may wonder about the utility of such a degree in the Government of Canada, but it has served her in great stead in three areas: 1. note-taking (her superpower): maintaining historical context and decisions on long-standing issues, 2. analysis: researching a broad topic and synthesizing relevant information, and 3. writing and editing: everything from newsletters to senior management briefings. (Maybe 4. Convincing others that a history degree is a worthwhile pursuit.)

Emilie joined the Positive Space Initiative in November 2022 as an ally and has since assisted in the drafting/review of communications material and 2SLGTBQIA+ awareness training within the department. She is passionate about encouraging and loving the people around her, especially those who are marginalized and downtrodden.

Emilie’s greatest joy is being a mom! She pursued motherhood as a single woman and, after 2.5 years on a roller coaster of emotions, was finally successful in conceiving by IVF. Her daughter, Evelyn (Evie), is now 2 years old and an absolute delight! Though it might sound cliché, Emilie feels that life with her daughter as a solo mom is a dream come true.

Mission: Ask Me Anything series

We recognize that individuals are composed of a multitude of layers that make us who we are. We do not fit easily in one box or another and we can’t be neatly counted. We represent the mosaic of Canada.

It is important that we find value in each other’s experiences, differences and unique characteristics. When we build our cultural competencies, we are able to work better together in our teams and respond to each other with relevance, empathy and compassion. By celebrating and sharing our authentic selves, we gain greater appreciation of each other and the diversity that surrounds us.

We know through diversity, that workplaces and communities are stronger, more successful and resilient. And most important, it creates spaces of inclusion and fosters a sense of belonging at work where people feel valued.

#AMAChallenge

We encourage others to have courageous conversations with their peers. Use the monthly Ask Me Anything sessions as an opportunity to have brave conversations in your workplaces with your teams.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Invite your leaders and colleagues in your organization to an Ask Me Anything watch party, tune in live and watch the session together. Make sure it’s in their calendars.
• Before the watch party, book an “After the AMA – Team Session” with your immediate team for the day after the event for 30-60 minutes. Share the resource guide and have these questions for discussion.

After the AMA: Team session discussion questions

1. What was my main takeaway? – Expand and share an amazing quote, story or moment
2. What made me uncomfortable/ what was one of my blind spots?
3. What is an example of systemic discrimination that I am aware of in my life?
4. What am I not going to do anymore?
5. How can I use my voice/ influence? – both overtly/covertly
6. Where am I going to dig in and learn more?
7. How will I continue this conversation?

It is important that we find value in the experiences, the unique characteristics of each other. When we develop our cultural competence, we are able to work better together within our teams and respond to each other with relevant empathy and compassion. By celebrating and sharing our authentic selves, we gain a greater appreciation for each other and the diversity that surrounds us.

Thank you to our contributors

Thank you to our contributors from across the Public Service of Canada – Canadian Coast Guard, National Defence, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Employment and Social Development Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Public Service and Procurement Canada MCs: Alfonso Ralph Mendoza Manalo and Emilie Plows Panellists: Katherine Ip, Mark Mindel and Andrea Monrad Production Team: Shelby Racine, Melissa Michaud, Quinn Brown, Kelly Brewer-Balch, Chichi Ayalogu and Samantha Moonsammy