Description
This session is a continuation of our Seeds of Transformation webinar series. In Part 1, we shared the origins of Tamarack’s equity, reconciliation, and belonging framework. In this follow-up, you’re invited into an open and honest conversation with Tamarack staff, board members, and a First Nations advisor who supported this transformative journey—what we’ve called our pérégrination.
We’ll reflect on key decisions and lessons, including:
- Why Tamarack staff needed to lead and carry forward the foundational work initiated by Power of Discourse Consulting.
- What non-financial resources were required to carry out this work in a good way.
- How we’ve integrated the Seeds of Transformation Action Plan into Tamarack’s annual operations—including tensions and breakthroughs.
- What the publication of the framework means in a time when DEI is being questioned and deprioritized across sectors.
- What’s next: how we embed this work into community pathways, decision-making, and support for closing equity gaps identified by communities themselves.
You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of what it really takes to conduct an internal equity audit, how to engage your ecosystem in the work, and the very human lessons learned along the way.
We’ll be candid about our limitations and challenges, and also celebrate progress, possibility, and the power of walking together with intention.
Speakers
Danya Pastuszek, President and CEO, The Tamarack Institute
Danya is a mother, daughter, wife, sister, neighbour, community-builder, and runner—identities that have shaped her passion for belonging and financial inclusion in community. Her career has also included refugee resettlement and criminal justice reform. She spent a decade with the Promise Partnership of Salt Lake, co-designing school, neighbourhood, city, and regional partnerships advancing work on financial inclusion. From 2022 to 2024, she served as Co-CEO of the Tamarack Institute, an inaugural Schwab Foundation Collective Social Innovation Awardee, before being appointed President & CEO in December 2024. Danya is a published author whose work has appeared in the National Observer, Social Innovation Journal, and World Economic Forum. She is also a lifelong learner and holds an MBA, an MA in Psychology, and certifications in Systems Change, AI Stewardship, and Centering Equity in Climate Action. She is recognized as Utah Business Magazine’s CxO of the Year (2021). She is proud to serve on the advisory board for the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resiliency and the board of Future of Good.
Dina Al-khooly, Board Member, The Tamarack Institute
Dina is the Team Lead of Policy Development at the Department of Children, Community and Social Services, Government of Ontario . She advocates for youth voice, science literacy, and racial justice, fostering equitable STEM access. Dina is also a member of the Tamarack Institute board, influencing Tamarack's engagement with youth leaders and other community members.
Rochelle Ignacio, Director of Equity, Anti-Racism and Reconciliation, the Tamarack Institute
Rochelle Ignacio (she/her) is an equity strategist, facilitator, public speaker and community builder who guides organizations and individuals through meaningful equity and anti-racism journeys. Grounded in an intentional, relational, and care-based framework, she fosters environments where belonging, reconciliation, and transformative change can take root.
Since 2021, she has led Tamarack Institute’s inaugural Equity, Anti-Racism and Reconciliation team, spearheading the Seeds of Transformation, a loving framework for equity, belonging and reconciliation. Rochelle embeds equity into organizational culture by shaping policies, leading training programs, and coaching teams. She is experienced in developing equity strategies and coaching teams on developing disaggregated employee engagement dashboards.
Beyond consulting, Rochelle advances Black mobility and belonging through developing economic opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Learn more
- Blog Post: Navigating Equity Audits: A Guide for Organizations Searching for Meaningful and Sustainable Change
- Resource: Seeds of Transformation: A Loving Framework for Equity, Reconciliation and Belonging
- Blog Post: Supporting our Well-being as Racialized Equity Practitioners
- Learning Cohort: Equity+ Belonging in Community Change (October – November 2025)