Selam Debs is a Black Ethiopian woman, an antiracism educator, an anti-oppression coach, a social justice advocate, a student in dismantling anti-Black racism, an accomplice in dismantling anti-Indigenous racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, and an advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ & disability rights through an intersectional lens.

She is the creator of the Antiracism Course and has facilitated workshops and trainings for organizations all across Canada. Selam is a yoga and meditation instructor, a restorative yoga teacher trainer, a holistic life coach, and a reiki master. First and foremost, Selam is a mother of a 20-year-old son. She is also a singer, songwriter, poet, and practitioner of self-acceptance, self-love, and radical compassion.

Selam’s antiracism work is rooted in the understanding that we must acknowledge and identify the insidiousness of racism before we can dismantle harmful beliefs and systems. The process of undoing, unlearning, and re-educating is necessary to embark on and support the healing journey for equity-denied communities.

Learning, Unlearning, Rest, and Reclamation With Selam Debs

Today, we're joined by Olivia Ho, founder of The Give and Grow and one of four winners of the 2026 Feminist Creator Prize [https://canadianwomen.org/blog/the-2026-feminist-creator-prize-winners-announced-2/].

Olivia's bio:

I am the founder of The Give and Grow and a lifelong advocate for women and girls in sport. For more than 15 years, I have worked with youth through sports camps, after school programs, coaching, and community initiatives, always driven by the belief that sport can build confidence and transform lives. Before launching The Give and Grow, I spent five years at MLSE LaunchPad, where I designed sport programs for girls ages 6 to 18 and saw firsthand the power of safe, empowering spaces for young women.

I began my career in health care, but during the pandemic I felt called to build something that blended my passion for sport, creativity, and community. That vision became The Give and Grow, a purpose-driven brand that uses sport and plants as tools for personal growth, wellness, and connection. Through our workshops, creative experiences, and youth programs, I aim to inspire the next generation of girls and women to grow with confidence. A portion of every purchase supports our youth initiatives, ensuring our mission remains rooted in giving back and strengthening communities.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.

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Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation [https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomensfoundation/]

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn [https://www.tiktok.com/@cdnwomenfdn?lang=en]

Building Confidence Through Sport With Olivia Ho

In this special bonus episode, Mitzie Hunter, President and CEO of the Canadian Women's Foundation, is joined by Madame Diana Fox Carney, an economist and climate expert whose work has taken her from Africa to the UK to here in Canada, and whose career has focused on tackling some of the biggest challenges of our time. Diana has spent years working at the intersection of climate action, economic decision-making, and social impact, and brings a perspective that's both global and deeply human. Her work pushes us to think differently about leadership and about how we build systems that truly work for people.

Bonus episode: In conversation with Diana Fox Carney

Farkhunda Muhtaj is an Afghan-Canadian football luminary and social activist who unites the worlds of sport, education and humanitarianism. Farkhunda's instrumental role in the evacuation of over 300 people, including the Afghan Youth Women’s National Football Team and their families in 2021, was profiled in the 2024 Cannes Lions winning documentary, We Are Ayenda.

Farkhunda currently serves as the Captain of the Afghanistan Women’s National Football team and continues to play professionally as part of the Calgary Wild FC of the Northern Super League, which kicked off in April 2025. Her social activism work champions gender equality, anti-racism education, refugee and newcomer support and humanitarian relief through sport and physical wellness initiatives.

Muhtaj is the Calgary Wild’s Community Ambassador and the Co-Founder and Director of the https://muslimchildrensaid.com/scarborough-simbas/Scarborough Simbas [https://muslimchildrensaid.com/scarborough-simbas/], a non-profit organization that uses sport to help ease the settlement journey of refugees and newcomers to Canada. A prolific and sought-after speaker, Farkhunda brings her voice to stages and spaces around the world to speak on Global Active Citizenship, the Transformational Power of Sport and Capacity Building, Leadership in Time of Crisis, Growth Mindset, Women & Refugee Rights, and more.

Off the pitch, Farkhunda is an ambassador for Right To Play, Common Goal, Penny Appeal Canada, and Women for Women International. Muhtaj also serves on the Canadian Child Rights in Sports Advisory Committee, Canada Soccer’s Women’s Development Advisory Committee, and the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Sport, Physical Activity, Health & Wellness Program Advisory Body.

Named a Top 30 Under 30 Alumni by her alma-mater York University, Farkhunda has been featured in the BBC, CBC, AP News, NPR, Al Jazeera, People Magazine, Elle Magazine and more.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://www.facebook.com/CanadianWomensFoundation/]

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Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation [https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomensfoundation/]

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn [https://www.tiktok.com/@cdnwomenfdn?lang=en]

Impact On and Off the Pitch With Farkhunda Muhtaj

Esther is a trauma informed care counsellor, a guest lecturer and a trainer on gender-based violence, diversity, equity, inclusion, human rights and social justice. Her work is grounded in an integrated anti-racist/anti-oppression, and feminist analysis, a holistic approach in which a person's lived experience and realities of life are not fragmented and divided. Esther has been working in the human services field for over 30 years. She is a mentor and mother to many. She has a BA (Hons) in Sociology/Anthropology and Women’s Studies, Trauma Informed Care Counselling Certification, and an MBA.

Esther is honoured to be selected by the CWF in 2025 as a delicate to United Nations Conference in New York. She was also selected in 2019 by the WAGE to represent Canadian Women at the International Conference in Vancouver, B.C.

Esther is the founder of the Women’s Committee of Durham Region (WCDR). She is also one of the founding members of the Redwood Shelter for Assaulted Women and Children, Toronto, the former past Vice President of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH). She co-authored “Creating Inclusive Spaces for Women; a Feminist, Anti-racist/Anti-oppression Training Manual”, for organizations working in the field of gender-based violence. As the VP of OAITH, she and some directors delivered intersectionality of gender-based, anti-racist and anti-oppression training to all OAITH member agencies across Ontario. Esther is a Provincial Resource Group Member for the Western University Violence Against Women Learning Network; Past Seneca College Social Service Workers, Immigrant and Refugee Advisory Committee Member, Advisory Member Black Health Matters, Dalla Lama, School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Co-Chair, City of Barrie Anti-Racism Task Force, Advisory Committee Member, Metroland Media, Member Banker Ladies Council, Collective Diaspora Steering Committee Member, and many others. Esther is a co-author for a book “Help Her Recover”. She is a recipient of several professional and Community services awards.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://www.facebook.com/CanadianWomensFoundation/]

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://ca.linkedin.com/organization-guest/company/the-canadian-women%27s-foundation?challengeId=AQFx5LuRTB7VagAAAXYuZQPL2267ksLSAxMh__RqsN2be8i2uhjH7ghWQHBa7g70zJO9Wh-tAzglk0HnAXyx0UhMEXlvjF8LcA&submissionId=55ea61be-6c8d-4d16-e9b5-507053530f53]

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation [https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomensfoundation/]

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn [https://www.tiktok.com/@cdnwomenfdn?lang=en]

Intersectional, Anti-racist, and Feminist Leadership With Esther Enyolu

Angela Sterritt is an award-winning investigative journalist, TV, radio, and podcast host, and national bestselling author. She is from the Wilps ‘Wii Ḵ’aax of the Gitanmaax community within the Gitxsan Nation on her dad’s side and from Bell Island, Newfoundland, on her maternal side. Sterritt worked as a television, radio, and digital journalist at CBC [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/author/angela-sterritt-1.2456302] for more than a decade. She also hosted the award-winning CBC original podcast Land Back. [https://open.spotify.com/show/7C0ooqoNsiE8UmHFsbJeRw?si=30104a7d24c944c2]

Her book [https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/AUgNRER1yUqq-KijnRlcYA]Unbroken [https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/AUgNRER1yUqq-KijnRlcYA]is part memoir and part investigation into the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls. It became an instant national bestseller in May 2023. Unbroken was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, one of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. It was also nominated for the prestigious Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Award [https://www.writerstrust.com/awards/hilary-weston-writers-trust-prize-for-nonfiction] for Best Non-Fiction Book in Canada.

In 2024, Sterritt announced her second book, BREAKABLE, [https://www.transatlanticagency.com/2024/07/03/deal-news-award-winning-investigative-journalist-and-author-angela-sterritts-breakable-has-been-acquired-by-jennifer-croll-at-greystone-books-for-publication-in-spring-2026/] which will investigate how racism and colonialism cultivate harmful behaviors in men and how Indigenous men and communities are breaking cycles of unhealthy notions of masculinity. Greystone Books will publish Breakable in 2026.

In 2021, Sterritt won an Academy Award (Canadian Screen Award) for Best Reporter of the Year [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sterritt-screen-award-1.6031556] in Canada for her coverage of an Indigenous man and his then 12-year-old granddaughter [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/indigenous-girl-grandfather-handcuffed-bank-1.5419519] who were arrested while trying to open a bank account at BMO. Sterritt also won a national Radio Television Digital News Association award for the same reporting. In 2020, Sterritt was named in Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/angela-sterritt-power-50-1.5791938#:~:text=Journalist%20and%20columnist%20is%20'one,in%20Canadian%20media%2C'%20panel%20says&text=CBC's%20Angela%20Sterritt%20has%20been%20named%20one%20of%20Vancouver's%2050,annual%20ranking%20by%20Vancouver%20Magazine.] list of the city’s 50 most influential people.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.

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LinkedIn:

The Power of Storytelling and Hope with Angela Sterritt

Paul Taylor is an anti-poverty activist, teacher at Simon Fraser University and has led four nonprofit organizations, including FoodShare Toronto, where he was the Executive Director from 2017-2023. He ran to be Member of Parliament in the federal riding of Parkdale-High Park in 2019 and again in 2021, when he lost by a mere 1,700 votes.

He has written several op-eds on leadership, the non-profit sector and various social issues. In 2020, Paul was named one of Toronto Life’s 50 Most Influential Torontonians, was awarded the Top 40 under 40 in Canada, and voted Best Activist by the readers of Now Magazine. He is the co-founder and co-managing director of Evenings & Weekends Consulting.

Paul’s experience includes Executive Director roles at Second Base Youth Shelter, Gordon Neighbourhood House and the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House. He has also chaired the British Columbia Poverty Reduction Coalition, served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Metro Vancouver Alliance and as Vice-Chair of Food Secure Canada.

When not at work, Paul is almost always found in the kitchen, on his bike, in a good book or at a local protest.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://www.facebook.com/CanadianWomensFoundation/]

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://ca.linkedin.com/organization-guest/company/the-canadian-women%27s-foundation?challengeId=AQFx5LuRTB7VagAAAXYuZQPL2267ksLSAxMh__RqsN2be8i2uhjH7ghWQHBa7g70zJO9Wh-tAzglk0HnAXyx0UhMEXlvjF8LcA&submissionId=55ea61be-6c8d-4d16-e9b5-507053530f53]

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation [https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomensfoundation/]

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn [https://www.tiktok.com/@cdnwomenfdn?lang=en]

Curiosity, Care and Values-based Change with Paul Taylor

Today, we’re joined by Mesi, a leader whose national and global advocacy is transforming how we understand and respond to economic abuse in Canada. 

Mesi shares how her lived experience, decades of work in global health, finance, digital innovation, and gender equality, and her leadership at the Canadian Centre for Women Empowerment led her to help build the national infrastructure needed to prevent economic abuse, one of the most hidden and often overlooked forms of gender based violence in Canada.

We’ll explore why financial safety is fundamental to survivor safety and how coordinated action across banking, government, housing, justice, and community services can move us toward meaningful change. 

And finally, Mesi leaves us with practical ways every sector, from finance to technology to community organizations, can help build a future where economic justice is recognized as one of the core pillars of gender equality. 

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.  

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://www.facebook.com/CanadianWomensFoundation/]  

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://ca.linkedin.com/organization-guest/company/the-canadian-women%27s-foundation?challengeId=AQFx5LuRTB7VagAAAXYuZQPL2267ksLSAxMh__RqsN2be8i2uhjH7ghWQHBa7g70zJO9Wh-tAzglk0HnAXyx0UhMEXlvjF8LcA&submissionId=55ea61be-6c8d-4d16-e9b5-507053530f53]  

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation [https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomensfoundation/]  

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn [https://www.tiktok.com/@cdnwomenfdn?lang=en] 

Gender Equality and Economic Justice With Meseret Haileyesus

Today we are joined by host Alyssa Carpenter from the Canadian Women’s Foundation. In this episode, Alyssa sits down with Jolene McDonald, an Indigenous wellness practitioner and the founder of a healing business that weaves together yoga, Reiki, life coaching, and community facilitation in the North. Together, they explore the power of grassroots care and small, practical ways to begin reconnecting with your own self and your community.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.  

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://www.facebook.com/CanadianWomensFoundation/]  

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://ca.linkedin.com/organization-guest/company/the-canadian-women%27s-foundation?challengeId=AQFx5LuRTB7VagAAAXYuZQPL2267ksLSAxMh__RqsN2be8i2uhjH7ghWQHBa7g70zJO9Wh-tAzglk0HnAXyx0UhMEXlvjF8LcA&submissionId=55ea61be-6c8d-4d16-e9b5-507053530f53]  

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation [https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomensfoundation/]  

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn [https://www.tiktok.com/@cdnwomenfdn?lang=en]  

Grounding, alignment and healing With Jolene McDonald

Michelle Osbourne is an Empowerment Speaker, Self-Image Activist, and founder of Michelle Osbourne & Co. Known for helping women reclaim their confidence and take up space boldly at every stage of life, Michelle brings an unapologetic, intersectional feminist lens to everything she does. A CBC Black Changemaker and shortlisted for the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s Feminist Creator Prize [https://canadianwomen.org/feminist-creator-prize/], she’s partnered with top brands like Amazon Prime Video, Dove, and Interac. Her work has been featured on TV, radio, podcasts, and in publications like Today’s Parent, and HELLO!. Whether she’s delivering a keynote or inspiring thousands online with her no-nonsense energy, Michelle’s mission is simple; help women show up loudly, proudly, and without apology.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ [https://canadianwomen.org/] and consider becoming a monthly donor.  

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://www.facebook.com/CanadianWomensFoundation/]  

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation [https://ca.linkedin.com/organization-guest/company/the-canadian-women%27s-foundation?challengeId=AQFx5LuRTB7VagAAAXYuZQPL2267ksLSAxMh__RqsN2be8i2uhjH7ghWQHBa7g70zJO9Wh-tAzglk0HnAXyx0UhMEXlvjF8LcA&submissionId=55ea61be-6c8d-4d16-e9b5-507053530f53]  

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation [https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomensfoundation/]  

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn [https://www.tiktok.com/@cdnwomenfdn?lang=en]  

Consistency, Care and Connection With Michelle Osbourne

Welcome to Alright, Now What?, a podcast from the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
Every other Wednesday, our experts and partners put an intersectional feminist
lens on one topic or story we’ve all been hearing about ... the issues and
stories that just seem to keep resurfacing and make you wonder, "What's this
about?", "Why is this still happening?", and "How is it possible we haven't
fixed this yet?" We’re going to explore the systemic roots of these things and
the strategies for change that will move us closer to the goal of gender
justice.

Deep Soni

Shows