Topic: Social Justice & Leadership: Beyond Struggle & Sacrifice
Description: Black educators have a long history of activism, advocacy, and transformative leadership that has driven crucial changes for our children and community. However, the effect of Anti-Black racism and other social inequities and the fight for social justice often contributes to immense mental strain. This can affect our ability to lead with wisdom, inspiration, vision, and purpose.
This discussion will focus on strategies for leading in a way that uplifts rather that exhausts so that future leaders will see leadership as a source of power, possibility, and collective strength rather than simply struggle and sacrifice.
Bio:
Donna Alexander is a Social Worker with a specialisation in addiction and mental health. She currently serves on the Clinical Equity & Inclusion Council at the Department of Psychiatry and is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.
Donna currently serves on the Community Advisory Committee for Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and the Healthcare Task Force of the Black Opportunity Fund.
She previously served as the Vice President of the Black Health Alliance and was a member of the Black Experiences in Health Care Initiative at Sinai Health Systems.
Donna consults with organizations relating to mental health services for their staff and facilitates training for staff at community-based agencies on factors relating to concurrent disorders and cultural safety in clinical practice.
Donna holds a Master of Social work from the University of Toronto and currently works in a program that provides mental illness and substance dependence treatment and support for Black clients and their families at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health.
