Tamarack Institute Webinar
Loving Lessons from our Equity, Reconciliation and Belonging Journey
September 24, 2025 | 12:00-1:00 PM ET
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
From 2022 to 2024, Danya has 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.
Dina Al-khooly, Board Member, The Tamarack Institute
Dina Al-khooly has served on the Tamarack Board for three years and currently works in policy development at the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. She has a multidisciplinary background in science, public health, education, and community development. Dina is passionate about economic justice, anti-racism, and child and youth wellbeing.
Kahienes Sky, First Nations Advisor from Kahnawà:ke
Kahienes Sky is a Kanien’kehá:ka woman of the Ronathahión:ni/Wolf Clan from the small Kanien’kehá:ka community known as Kahnawake (located on the South Shore of Montreal). In 2021, she resigned her 20-year role as Social Counsellor with the Kahnawake Survival School to pursue her passion of continuing to share, learn and grow with People through her personal Venture: Sky Woman Circles. She has also continued to nurture her passion for deepening Community ties through various Volunteer work and continued engagement with Youth and Elders.
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.
Alison Homer, Director, Learning, Evaluation & Systems Change
Alison Homer builds a culture of learning, reflection, and continuous improvement within Tamarack’s networks for change. She supports her teammates to surface and share success stories that amplify and accelerate community change. Alison enjoys mountain biking and snowboarding in Revelstoke, BC.
Learn more
-
Part One of this Webinar Series: A Roadmap to Move Equity-Related Talk to Equitable Action
-
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)
-
Inspiration for our own Equity Audit Journey: Imagine Canada's Equity Benchmarking Project