Curated Conversations

What does it really cost to stand unapologetically in your identity and truth? In this powerful episode of Created Conversations, host Sheliza Jamal sits down with award-winning author and storyteller Zain Bandali for a deeply candid conversation titled "The Cost of Being a Queer Muslim Author". Zain opens up about the friction of navigating multiple identities and the realities of modern censorsh...

In this episode “A Therapist’s Blueprint to Humanizing Therapy”, we are joined by Sarah Ahmed, The POC Therapist, and founder of Leena, a mental health service by people who look like you.  Sarah speaks about culturally relevant therapy, the humanization and decolonization of therapy practice, the importance of humour in life, and finding joy from our younger selves.   Learn more about Sarah and h...

🎙️ Season 3, Episode 24! 🎧 In this episode “It’s Just Lunch”, we are joined by Nadine Woods, Creative Director and CEO of Mayana Genevière™ Inc, the founder and executive director of Maternal Goddess® and developer of the patented ALUXTRA™.  ✨ Nadine gives insight on the changes and challenges that women experience post-birth. She speaks on the transition from birthing to motherhood and how ther...

In this episode we speak with Sandra Helou, CEO and Co-Founder of MetaMinds Group, a pioneering Metaverse and spatial web company.  Sandra talks about all things tech!  Listen to hear her thoughts on accessibility of technology, end-user awareness and responsibility, and self-governance of identity on the internet.  Find out what web3 actually even is! Learn more about Sandra and her work: LinkedI...

In this episode, we speak with Beisan Zubi, founder of antipalestinianracism.com ✨ As an advocate of anti-Palestinian racism in public education, Beisan discusses liberation, equality, futures, and hopes of Palestininans, anti-Semitism and active Jewish voices in the struggle, the current growing movements, and the importance of solidarity. Want to learn more and connect with Beisan? antipalestin...

In this episode, Sheliza speaks with Pardeep Singh Nagra, a multi-hyphenate Canadian.  As a lover of sport, human rights advocate, and action-based volunteer, Pardeep discusses his personal value as a citizen of Canada, responsibility towards civic engagement and reconciliation, human rights and racism in sports, and other topics important to all Canadians.  Pardeep also connects his Sikh heritage...

In this episode, Curated Leadership founder, Sheliza Jamal, speaks with Omme-Salma Rahemtullah, Interim Executive Director of FoodShare South Carolina.   In this podcast, Sheliza and Omme discuss how food system are created, who has access to healthy choices, food apartheid, and how our grocery stores affect us without even knowing it! Omme works on building advocacy and energy around state-wide p...

Episode 19: The Cost of Volunteerism - This month, listen to our new episode of Curated Conversations where we speak with Faiza Venzant, Executive Director of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration.  Faiza and Sheliza talk about who gets to volunteer, what it means to be able to give your time and resources to others and at what cost!

Nadia Bennett, the founder and CEO of When Brown Girls Lead, talks about the importance of leadership in developing anti-racist educational programs and schools. This conversation dives into Nadia's lived experiences as a student, educator and black woman. It raises many questions: how we can challenge the status quo in education, create psychologically safe and brave workplaces for women of colou...

In this episode, Tristan Mohamed, a qualifying registered psychotherapist and founder of Life Transitions Therapy, shares his personal journey of healing and self-discovery. He discusses his unique approach to therapy, which combines relational embodiment and spiritually integrated psychotherapy. Tristan also explains some of the complexities of working with developmental trauma and emphasizes the...

Narmin Ismail, the founder of The Spark of Hope Foundation, discusses her organization's efforts to empower young women in developing countries through education. In this episode, Narmin shares inspiring stories of students who pursued their academic aspirations and went on to become leaders in their fields and communities. She also explains how igniting hope in young women and investing in their...

In this episode, Jan Frolic and Jennifer Johnson, co-founders of Captains and Poets, share their passion for social emotional learning and discuss how it can help young people develop a positive sense of agency and self-discovery. They discuss the importance of bridging the gap between social emotional learning and equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging and how systemic change can be achieved...

In this episode, Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad and Dr. Njoki Wane tell us about the power of oral culture in education as they launch and discuss their recent co-edited book, “The Power of Oral Culture in Education: Theorizing Proverbs, idioms, and Folklore Tales.” Dr. Eizadirad and Dr. Wane remind us why oral culture, which is often about telling stories, is a powerful and innate tool for transmitting di...

In this episode, we're joined by Eloise Tan, Ogho Ikhalo and Shelli Karamath as they bring together their diverse experiences as leaders and educators in the DEI space to talk about what radical self-love and healing mean for them.  We discuss how, in a society that often tries to define our worth for us, practicing self-love, recognizing the importance of healing and knowing your self-worth are d...

Dr. Arlo Kempf, a prominent scholar and educator in anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and critical Whiteness talks to us about the role White privilege plays in our educational system and how his background and relationship with schooling led him to study implicit race bias. He also shares strategies for how we can start to work toward dismantling White supremacy through meaningful allyship and actio...

In this episode, Curated Leadership's founder and Executive Director, Sheliza Jamal, takes the hot seat to answer questions from our listeners, talk about what day-to-day entrepreneurship looks like, and debunk common misconceptions about DEI work. She delves into how her background as a theatre artist and educator eventually led her to curate unique experiences and apply them to the world of dive...

Jothi Saldanha, founder of Jothi Creative Wellness, joins us to discuss curating a holistic wellness journey using various healing modalities. An artist educator, Jothi talks about her own journey as well as some of the obstacles and roadblocks faced by marginalized groups when pursuing their healing.   Want to learn more about Jothi? Find her at: https://twitter.com/jothicreative   https://www.yo...

Dr. Jamel Adkins-Sharif talks about the history of bias in the school system and how it manifests today. Dr. Jamel Adkins-Sharif is Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. Jamel holds an EdD in Urban Education, Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Using critical and decolonial lenses, his research explor...

On this episode, Dr. Naheed Dosani delves into palliative care for the houseless. He broadens the definition of homelessness, highlighting that it is a public health issue and is often caused by structural factors.    Dr. Dosani talks about the impact of COVID-19 on houseless communities and discusses how harm reduction in palliative care is a form of radical love and care.   Want more of Dr. Dosa...

Phil Jang, founder of The Red Dot Project, talks about menstrual equity, the stigma around menstruation, and the intersectional aspects of menstruation that are so often left out of the conversation.   Want to learn about The Red Dot Project? https://www.reddotprojecttoronto.org/ https://www.facebook.com/reddotprojecttoronto/   https://www.instagram.com/reddotprojecttoronto/ Curious about Phil Jan...

17-year-old disability rights activist from New York, Isabel Mavrides-Calderon, talks about her experience with disability rights in the education system, ableism and misperceptions about disabled folks, and the disability justice movement.   Want to hear more about Isabel? Find her on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabel-mavrides-calderon-283152217/   https://www.instagram.com/powerfullyisa/   htt...

In this episode, we chat with Mallory Nezam, Creative Consultant at Justice + Joy and a strong advocate of incorporating play into your everyday life. ⠀ ⠀ Mallory shares her work embedding artists into all levels of government, and using art to reflect and meet the needs of different communities. She talks about how play is beneficial to us at all stages of life and how it can be used to break dow...

In this episode, Sheliza chats with Javier Davila (he/him), a queer Latine award winning educator from Toronto. The conversation covers the facilitation of safe spaces for students of all identities in the education system, how to introduce equity into school environments, and the creation and sharing of equity resources. ⠀ ⠀ Javier also discusses his work in designing policies that center student...

Host Sheliza Jamal is joined by Heather Watts on this episode to discuss Indigenous rights, treaty responsibility and highlighting truth and healing in Reconciliation. The discussion also addresses ways to understand and participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, and the upcoming federal election.    Want to learn more about Heather? Find her on: https://www.li...

In this episode, host Sheliza Jamal chats with Samanta Krishnapillai, founder of The ON Canada Project. They discuss Samanta's Instagram page, which has accumulated over 100k followers and seeks to provide accessible education about COVID-19 and other social equity issues. They also talk about how to mobilize communities, particularly Gen Z and Millenials, to seek change and social impact. The two...