2023 Conference Keynote Speakers

Desiree Phillips is a Registered Psychotherapist and Equity Consultant based in Markham, Ontario.

As an equity consultant and expert trainer, Desiree designs and facilitates various activities for organizations at all levels. She incorporates principles of industrial and organizational psychology to support organizations of all sizes to enhance organizational effectiveness and success while centering equity. In addition to this, Desiree has also worked alongside various experts across multiple sectors to create curriculum exploring various aspects of power, privilege, and oppression and implement various organizational processes and tools to weave equity into the very fabric of organizations.

She uses her expertise in training, counselling, and advocacy, along with a passion for equity, to design and deliver various sessions and consultation activities worldwide for numerous organizations across a range of sectors. These activities have covered all aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion, the implementation of cognitive, behavioural therapeutic approaches, as well as trauma-informed case analysis and intervention. Desiree incorporates an analysis of the specific impact of culture, marginality, and oppression on service users and the ways in which these aspects of human experience impact the therapeutic process for both service users and service providers in order to promote and support more equitable practices.

Jason is a dedicated professional working within Indigenous communities. Jason graduated from Laurentian University with a Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work (Honours) with a double minor in Indigenous Healing and Wellness, and Psychology. Jason is completing his Masters of Education with a focus on teaching and learning from the University of Ottawa.

Jason has been working in the not-for-profit sector for 9 years beginning in arts-based programming, into employment & training programs and services until becoming the Executive Director at NPAAMB Indigenous Youth Employment & Training in Southern Ontario. NPAAMB Indigenous Youth Employment and Training provides employment and training supports to urban Indigenous Youth between the ages of 15-30.

Throughout Jason’s career, he has achieved experiences across various helping professions – including the child welfare sector, employment & training, healing and wellness (counselling), education and as a trainer for not-for-profit organizations across Ontario, providing formal and informal roles of leadership within these experiences.

As a part of his professional philosophies and approaches, Jason ensures a strong lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity by employing four key approaches to his work – an Indigenous healing and wellness strategy (whole being approach), general systems theory, ecological perspective, intersectional approaches, all being rooted in Indigenous ways of being and knowing. Through these approaches, Jason has been able to develop meaningful programs, services, and approaches to the organizations he has worked with in order to promote an individual-focused and results-driven strategy that leads to greater success for the folks accessing programs and services with an organization.

Through his work with NPAAMB Indigenous Youth Employment & Training, the organization has brought forward a wholistic approach to provided programs and services to urban Indigenous youth that focuses on a youth development model that encourages creating a sense of belonging for the youth where they can safely participate in a career development journey that correlates with positive identity development, developing healthy workplace behaviours, and becoming meaningful members of the labour force, as well as their community.