Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux

Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux served as Vice Provost for Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University for three years. Effective September 2016 she was appointed as the 1st Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead University and she continues to develop pathways forward to reconciliation across Canada.

Cynthia was inducted as a “Honourary Witness” by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2014, and Chairs the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba. She sit on several diverse boards in Ontario and is a dedicated social/justice advocate.

She is a member and resident of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation in Ontario and has dedicated her life to building bridges of understanding between peoples. She is deeply committed to public education and sees endless merit in bringing people from diverse cultures, ages, and backgrounds together to engage in practical dialogue and applied research initiatives.

Cynthia co-founded a youth project out of the University of Toronto, the University of Saskatchewan and Lakehead University. Information on the Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE) can be found at: www.canadianroots.ca.

Andrew Wesley, Elder-in-Residence, First Nations House

Rev. Andrew Wesley is an Elder-in-Residence at First Nations House at the University of Toronto. He is also an Anglican priest and former Chair of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples, and holds a Master’s degree in Divinity from U of T, in addition to being trained as a civil engineering technician. Andrew is Mushkegouk/Omushkego Cree from James’ Bay and has been a recognized Elder at U of T for many years. He currently sits on U of T’s Council of Aboriginal Initiatives Elders’ Circle. He meets with students, does guest lectures on campus, and offers teachings at First Nations House. Outside his work at the University, he is also a pastoral counselor for the Council Fire Friendship Centre, and a Residential School survivor. Andrew is very respected throughout campus, and across Ontario.

Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture

Kelly Hannah-Moffat is a professor in Criminology & Sociolegal Studies and Vice President of People Strategy, Equity & Culture at the University of Toronto. Previously she was the Acting Dean Academic and Vice-Principal at UTM, Vice Dean undergraduate at UTM, Director of the Centre of Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, Chair of UTM Sociology and Special Advisor to the Provost and VPHRE on Sexual Violence and Crisis Services. She is currently responsible for employment and labour relations with 30 employee groups, including 25 unions, four non-unionized groups, and the Faculty Association. Her portfolio oversees recruitment, organizational and staff development, compensation, benefits, and HR technology and innovation. She oversees a range of safety and equity offices, including the offices of Antiracism and Cultural Diversity, Accessibility and Sexual Diversity, Community Safety, High Risk, and Crisis Management.

Shannon Simpson, Director, Office of Indigenous Initiatives

Shannon is Anishinaabe and Scottish and a member of the Mississauga’s of Alderville First Nation. She has been working at the University of Toronto since 2003 in a variety of positions, including several years at the Indigenous Student Services at First Nations House. Just over 2 years ago she joined the Office of Indigenous Initiatives as the Director of this tri-campus office.

Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo, Special Advisor, Indigenous Issues and Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream), Victoria University in the University of Toronto

Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo focuses on the history and impacts of Residential Schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Calls to Actions; Indigenous interactions with Christianity and the Church; and building community relationships. Aside from teaching, Jonathan seeks ways to enhance the presence of Indigenous peoples, culture and knowledge at the university as the Special Advisory on Indigenous Initiatives. He is the convenor of the Indigenous Advisory Circle at Victoria University.

The majority of Jonathan’s university career was in Indigenous student services (First Nations House) and was the Director of the Office of Indigneous Initiatives (Provost’s Office and Human Resources & Equity) at the University of Toronto. He has also taught at the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (now the Martin Luther University College) at Wilfred Laurier University. Prior to entering post-secondary education, he was an ESL Instructor with LINC (Language Instruction to Newcomers to Canada) and coordinated a Basic Skills and Career Program for adults at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

Jonathan is Mohawk from Kahnawake, a First Nations community outside of Montreal.

Archana Sridhar, Assistant Provost, Office of the Vice-President & Provost

Archana Sridhar is the Assistant Provost in the Office of the Vice-President & Provost at the University of Toronto. In her portfolio as Assistant Provost, Archana manages controversial events and issues, oversees executive searches for Deans and other senior positions, supervises a team of project officers and administrative staff, and is on the leadership team for crisis and communications planning. A former Fulbright Scholar, she received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, and her B.A. from Bard College. Archana practiced tax and non-profit law with Sullivan & Worcester LLP in Boston and worked as a fundraiser at the international humanitarian organization ReSurge International. She served as the Assistant Dean of Research & Special Projects at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law; Associate Director of York University’s Jay and Barbara Hennick Centre for Business & Law; and Assistant Dean of the Graduate Program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. Archana has served on the Board of Directors of the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario and the South Asian Philanthropy Project, which she co-founded in 2008.

Susan Hill, Director, Centre for Indigenous Studies, and Academic Advisor on Indigenous Curriculum & Education

Professor Hill joined the University of Toronto in July 2017 and has a joint appointment with the Department of History and the Centre for Indigenous Studies. Prior to coming to U of T, she served as Associate Professor of History, and Director of the First Nations Studies Program at Western University from 2010-2017 and at Wilfrid Laurier University from 2004-2010. Professor Hill’s academic training includes a PhD in Native Studies from Trent University, MA in American Studies from SUNY-Buffalo, BA in history from the University of Michigan and language immersion programs through Onkwawanna Kentyohkwa (Kanyen’keha/Mohawk) and Grand River Employment & Training (Gayagohono/Cayuga).

Professor Hill’s research interests include Haudenosaunee history, Indigenous research methodologies and ethics, and Indigenous territoriality, with themes that benefit Indigenous communities while expanding academic understandings of Indigenous thought and philosophy. She is particularly interested in Haudenosaunee knowledge and thought, seeking to make sense of contemporary lives through an examination of how people got to where they are now, both literally and figuratively. Her 2017 book, The Clay We Are Made Of: Haudenosaunee land tenure on the Grand River, published by the University of Manitoba Press, takes up these themes in a provocative way.

Suzanne Stewart, Director, Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Advisor on Indigenous Research

Dr. Stewart is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. She is a registered psychologist and Director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto (U of T), where she is an Associate Professor in the Division of Social and Behaviour Health Sciences. She holds the TC Energy Research Chair in Indigenous Health. At U of T she is the current Advisor on Indigenous Research to Division of the Vice-President & Provost. She recently completed the Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Homelessness and Life Transitions. Research and teaching interests include Indigenous health and healing in psychology (homelessness, youth mental health, identity, and work-life development), Indigenous determinants of health, Indigenous pedagogies in higher education and health sciences, and Indigenous research ethics and methodologies. She is committed to advancing Indigenous healing issues in academics, health practice, and policy.