Bois Brule and Flower Beadwork People - the Métis experience in Canada.

Roy Pogorzelski is Métis from Saskatchewan and his family comes from the communities of Green Lake and Meadow Lake in the north. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies and a Bachelor of Human Justice from the University of Regina, and an M. Sc. in Cultures and Development Studies from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven in Belgium.

Roy spent 4 years with the City of Lethbridge as the inclusion consultant representing the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities against Racism and Discrimination (CCMARD) initiative and the Vibrant Lethbridge’s poverty reduction initiatives. He represented Lethbridge at the City for All Women Initiative, and collaborated on the creation of a National Equity and Inclusion Guide for Municipalities, which became Policy for the City of Lethbridge in 2016.

Roy also co-chaired the Reconciliation sub-committee and was instrumental in the creation of a Reconciliation Implementation Plan (2017-2027) for the City of Lethbridge in response to the TRC Calls to Action. He also represented UNESCO Canada at the International Coalition of Cities against Racism and Discrimination (ICCAR) in Nairobi Kenya. Roy is also a member of the University of Lethbridge Senate, chairs their Student’s Union, is President Elect of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge Mosaic, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and the Provincial Hate Crimes Committee.

In 2016, Roy received a Human Rights Champion Award from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, and his enterprise, Pogo Bros Inc, received an award for best event/festival of the year for Oktoberfest YQL from the Best of Southwest Tourism Awards. In 2017, he was awarded a Friends of Diversity Award from Diversity Magazine in Calgary, was named a Top 40 under 40 by the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, and CCMARD Lethbridge was awarded a “From the Heart Award” from the Downtown Awards for their work in creating a welcoming and inclusive downtown.

Roy has worked in business, non-profit, government, internationally and as a consultant Recently, he accepted a position as Director of the Indigenous Centre on the University of Lethbridge campus where he is a sessional lecturer for the Faculty of Management and Native American studies.

Len Rudner is Principal at Len Rudner & Associates, a consultancy focusing on community advocacy, diversity & inclusion and human rights. He is the former Director of Community Relations and Outreach for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).

Prior to working with CIJA Len was employed in successive roles with Canadian Jewish Congress, acting as Ontario Regional Director, National Director of Community Relations and Ontario Director of Community Relations. He has represented the position of the Jewish community on a variety of issues including antisemitism, discrimination in the workplace, reasonable accommodation and Holocaust denial. He has represented CIJA and CJC at international conferences focusing on Holocaust education, antisemitism, hate speech and freedom of speech.