CRRF Youth Ambassador Program

Akanksha Thakur is an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Educator at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Akanksha is currently also pursuing her Master’s degree in Equity Studies in Higher Education, and is particularly interested in anti-racist curriculum development and human rights education. In her role at SFU, she has helped curate resources for two online courses – one that helps develop students' intercultural and equity-related understandings, and another that helps build students’ intercultural communication skills prior to stepping foot in the Canadian workplace. These materials help students understand the complexity of culture, equity, and inclusion, as well, the value of intercultural communication skills in today's diverse Canada. In developing such materials and as she pursues her Master’s degree, Akanksha has worked on issues of race, inclusion, cross-cultural relationship building, power, and privilege, and is passionate about her work making an impact towards building a more equitable and inclusive society.

Akanksha has gained recognition for her work from the United Nations Association of Canada (John Gibbard Award; 2017), and was most recently invited by the Canadian Federal Government to offer her insights on a new national Anti-Racism Policy (2018).

Feel free to get in touch with her for consultations and collaborations on related projects.

Fluent in French and English, Areena Antoine was born in Mauritius Island and grew up in Vancouver, BC. Areena is an undergraduate Sociology student at the University of British Columbia. Sociology has helped Areena discover her passion for women's rights. After her studies, she hopes to become a lawyer specializing in human rights. Passionate and dedicated, Areena Antoine is the host of Self-Love Lounge Podcast which is a platform for empowered women to empower others.

Her extra-curricular activities include mentoring with Go Girls for building young girl’s confidence and self-awareness to thrive, and in the past has volunteered with the Francophone Association of Surrey and with the Association Canado-Mauricienne de la CB.

Charlotte Murret-Labarthe is a student at the University of Ottawa. She is currently completing her Bachelor's degree in Women’s studies and Sociology and is planning to pursue a Master’s degree in Sociology next year. Her research interests include migration, citizenship and identity.

She is a Youth Ambassador for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, and has also worked for the Child and Youth Refugee Research Coalition as a research assistant. She is currently working on a media analysis of the portrayal of Syrian refugees with professor Elke Winter of the University of Ottawa.

"My name is Diandre Thomas-Hart, My spirit name is Young Woman who stands Among Eagles, I represent the Bear Clan. I am from Treaty 1 Territory, on Cree, Ojibwe, Anishinabe, Dakota and Dene land, also the Homeland of the Metis Nation."

A member of the Peguis First Nation, born and raised in Winnipeg, MB, Diandre understands the urban Indigenous experience after being raised in Winnipeg's' community of Point Douglas: one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Canada. After many years of work experience in building Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations, Diandre is now a current student at the University of Manitoba, studying Indigenous Governance and Business. Diandre also volunteers with Aboriginal Youth Opportunities, a grassroots youth-led organization. She aspires to empower Indigenous economic development, business, and this includes her passion for film production and community.

Johise is a recent graduate of Oxford University where she completed a Master's degree in African Studies. She holds an honours B.A in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Manitoba and her research has focused on race relations, gender, human rights and violence against women. She has over 5 years of experience working in human rights advocacy as well as public engagement with media outlets, high profile politicians and diverse community groups. Johise has had the opportunity to engage with social justice issues in national as well as international settings when she was first chosen among 338 Daughters of the Vote in Ottawa, secondly among 40 international students attending the United Nations Summer Intensive Program in New York and lastly as a panel speaker at the Racialization and Publicness in Africa and the Diaspora Conference in Oxford, UK. As a proud Congolese-Canadian, Johise uses her voice to encourage and empower the visibility of young women like her.

Kris currently works with diverse, high risk youth in Vancouver, case managing and assisting them in gaining the life skills they need to be successful in the community. Kris has worked with new immigrants as well as many Aboriginal youth and she has had the pleasure of learning about many different cultures through her work. Kris previously worked and volunteered with the World University Service of Canada Student Refugee Program (WUSC SRP) which is dedicated to youth resettlement and education. Through her work with WUSC she was able to help new Canadians with community integration as well as campus integration while working with Simon Fraser University.

Mathieu Lizotte is pursuing his BA in high school education with a focus on social and professional development at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. As research assistant, he has worked on projects focusing on themes related to ethnocultural diversity within schools, alongside professors Sivane Hirsch and Corina Borri-Anadon. After receiving a research scholarship from the Government of Québec, Mathieu began working on a project focusing on the history of immigration in a regional context, welcoming initiatives, intercultural education, and diversity within schools in the Mauricie region. Mathieu plans to pursue an MA in education and to continue his research on intercultural education and the integration of students from immigrant backgrounds.

Michelle has a BA International Relations and Law and Society at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Canada. And she is a current Graduate Student at Queens University studying Global Development. Her research question looks at how Canada-assisted international development project can integrate community ownership in their planning and implementation in Sub-Saharan with Ghana as a case study.

She has a wide range experience at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Affairs Canada, Canadian Resource and International Development Institute and UBC Office of Regional and International Engagement. She is also a member of Ontario Council for International Cooperation and Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID). She also has alot of experience initiating projects and working with communities in Ghana. Currently, Michelle is also the founder of Voice Out Africa, a youth-led group in Ghana aims to give young Ghanaian the opportunity to be in community development through volunteerism, training and mentorship. More of her work with this group can be found at www.voiceoutafrica.org

She loves pizza and enjoys solving word puzzles. For more information about Michelle see her website at https://michelleowusuansah.wordpress.com. Say hi at

Monique Sekhon is an undergraduate Health Sciences student at Simon Fraser University. Her extra-curricular activities include acting as an SFU Health Peer Educator, executive member of UNICEF SFU, chair of Phi Delta Epsilon Pre-medical Fraternity - Canada Beta Chapter, Research Assistant with the BC Cancer Agency's Healthy Aging Study, Lifeguard/Swim Instructor, and Project Leader for Care-2-Share for Mental Health Awareness.

As a Youth Ambassador for the CRRF, Monique was able to be active in many discussions and steps being taken towards creating a diverse and inclusive Canada. Aspiring towards a career in healthcare, Monique hopes to bring to her work a recognition of intersecting factors and a goal for equity among all Canadians. Monique would like to thank the CRRF and all of the esteemed guests, speakers and panelists for inspiring youth to be aware and to work towards bettering our Country.

Ruby is an artist, writer and entrepreneur from Montreal, now living in Toronto. His work focuses on the intersections of race, capitalism and culture.

Swetha Prakash is a graduate student at the University of British Columbia, where she does research in the field of neurosurgery. As a proud first generation Canadian, Swetha is passionate about addressing health inequities in Canada and discussing race relations through an intersectional lens.

In her free time, Swetha enjoys photography, hiking, and news podcasts.