Breakout Sessions
About the Session:
Session materials: Co-Creating Community Spaces Through Afrocentric Mentorship: A Conversation with Staff & Students
For over 20 years, the Imani Black Academic Mentorship Program has supported Black middle, high school, and undergraduate students in Scarborough through a community-based, Afrocentric approach to mentorship, identity development, and access to post-secondary pathways.
This interactive 50-minute session invites participants into a living exhibit and facilitated roundtable experience featuring Black staff, undergraduates, and a high school mentee. Through storytelling, dialogue, and small-group engagement, attendees will explore what it takes to design and sustain intentional, identity-affirming community spaces that meet the diverse needs of students across educational stages. Participants will gain practical insights into building mentorship programs, developing student-centered Afrocentric curriculum, and creating meaningful mentorship experiences. Grounded in both lived experience and programmatic practice, this session offers scalable strategies for fostering belonging, empowerment, and authentic community partnerships.
Presented by:
Adrian Leckie is the Imani Program Team Lead at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where he leads the Imani Black Academic Mentorship Program, supporting Black youth in accessing and thriving in post-secondary education. A proud University of Toronto alumnus, Adrian holds a Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Engagement from OISE. His work centers on designing programs that empower Black-identifying youth—using the arts and public speaking as powerful tools for confidence, identity development, and academic success.
Daniella Djaigbe is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto and a dedicated member of the IMANI community, where she has held a range of leadership roles over four years. Progressing from mentor to student lead, she has contributed both as a participant and as a curriculum developer. Through these experiences, she has developed a strong commitment to mentorship and youth engagement. Her work focuses on youth mental health, community development, and culturally responsive care.
Students
Tajudeen Onigbanjo is a 4th year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He is an student leader who has been apart of the Imani Program for 4 years as a volunteer mentor and Student Lead.
Aiyana Walker is a 12th grade student at West Hill Collegiate Institute. Aiyana has been apart of the Imani Black Academic Mentorship Program for 2 years.
About the Session:
Session materials: Decolonizing Partnerships: Overview of the Ohahi:yoh Summer Mentorship Program
In this session, participants will hear from Peel District School Board students who completed the Ohahi:yoh Summer Mentorship Program. The Ohahi:yoh program launched in Summer 2025 and was designed to offer high school students a chance to explore what life is like as a university student at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. These students received a 3U or 4U English credit while connecting with current Indigenous UTM Students and engaging in cultural land-based learning to support their academic learning.
Presented by:
Delaney Thomas is a part of the Seneca Nation, Bear Clan, from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and is the Community Engagement Coordinator: Indigenous Access and Inclusion in the Centre for Student Engagement at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her work is designed to empower Indigenous students to consider post-secondary and ensuring current Indigenous students feel welcomed on campus.
Stephanie Turenko is an Instructional Coach at Maawnjiding Wiingushkeng Centre for Indigenous Excellence and Land Based Learning with Peel District School Board. She helped write, develop and teach the English course last summer.
Student Speakers
Student speakers Indica (Grade 11), Sasha (Grade 12), Abdu (Grade 12) and Megan (Grade 12) were all high school participants of the Ohahi:yoh Student Mentorship Program partnership between University of Toronto Mississauga and Maawnjiding Wiingushkeng Centre for Indigenous Excellence and Land Based Learning at Peel District School Board. where they learned from Indigenous community members, experienced mentorship from current UTM students, participated in various Indigenous related activities, reflected on their learning, attended field trips and experienced learning on a university campus, while also earning a high school English Credit.
About the Session:
Session materials: Reimagining the University: Inclusion, Belonging and Lifelong Learning
This interactive session will explore how universities can better support mature and non-traditional students who return to education after careers, caregiving, or major life transitions. Although these learners bring rich lived experience and diverse perspectives, they often face isolation within traditional academic environments.
Co-facilitated by an intergenerational team, the session will examine how belonging, peer connection, and relational learning can be strengthened across age-diverse classrooms. Through storytelling, small-group discussion, and reflection, participants will consider how inclusive learning environments can value lived experience and enrich the university community for all students.
Presented by:
Raza M. Mirza, PhD received his MSc and doctorate degrees from the Graduate department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. His areas of expertise and teaching interests include research methods and evaluation, medical decision-making, the socio-behavioral determinants of health in persons aging with a chronic illness, aging-in-place, and factors such as social isolation and loneliness influencing late-life social, mental and physical well-being. He is the lead for the intergenerational Canada HomeShare Program, the Intergenerational Classroom initiative between Christie Gardens and the University of Toronto, and is the chair of the Central Ontario Age-Friendly Network.
He has been an invited speaker at national and international gerontology and geriatrics conferences, workshops and symposiums, and has consulted with various levels of government on diverse issues related to an aging population.
Raza is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) with HelpAge Canada, and Assistant Professor (Status) at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Institute for Life Course and Aging.
Michelle Brownrigg is a Senior Director and Chief Program Officer for Hart House at the University of Toronto, a community, cultural and wellness centre at the University of Toronto. She works with an interdisciplinary team who oversee initiatives that foster civic and community engagement, various forms of arts expression, and support overall health and well-being.
Prior to her role at Hart House, Michelle was the Director of Physical Activity and Equity at UofT in the Faculty of Physical and Health Education. She has a long history of work in the non-profit and charitable health and community development sectors including a term as CEO of Active Healthy Kids Canada, as Executive Manager of Projects & Public Affairs for Ophea, and serving as the Strategic Communications & Knowledge Management consultant for the Laidlaw Foundation. Michelle was also a course director with Faculty of Health at York University, and has been an independent consultant in various areas of arts, sport, health, and community engagement, with a particular focus on youth development.
As a recipient of the prestigious McCall MacBain Regional Award, Canada-Graduate Scholarship-Masters (CGS-M) and UofT’s 2026 Leadership Award, Muhammad Ansar is a celebrated social innovator, community leader and graduate student within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Passionate about destigmatizing mental health, advancing education equity, and increasing environmental literacy, he has built and led youth-focused programs that have empowered thousands locally and globally over the past six years, both within and beyond UofT. His work, recognized at municipal, provincial, and national levels, reflects a deep commitment to creating accessible, inclusive systems and inspiring meaningful change across generations and sectors.
Throughout his time at the University of Toronto, Muhammad has dedicated himself to building inclusive, community-driven initiatives that advance health, education, and environmental stewardship. He supported UofT’s Scarborough community as a student first responder throughout his undergraduate studies, co-directed UofT’s first-ever science meets arts conference to advance healthcare innovation and co-founded a mental health student club at UTSG to expand mental health awareness.
Outside of UofT, Muhammad serves as a crisis responder with the Distress Centres of Greater Toronto and also co-founded Human Nature Projects Canada, an environmental not-for-profit that has involved 10,000+ youth across the globe in environmental education, action, restoration and protection since 2020. He also champions education equity by co-leading an E-Learning Initiative, which has provided free, virtual tutoring and academic support to 200+ low-income, immigrant and refugee students since 2020. Across these roles, he has led large teams, organized 45+ impactful events, and secured $25,000+ in funding to expand access to community programs, reflecting a consistent commitment to empowering others, fostering collaboration, advancing interdisciplinary dialogue, and creating meaningful, tangible impact.
Florene Shuber is an advocate, retired lawyer, teacher/educator, and was past President of Montessori Teachers’ College and Montessori Dementia Program.
About the Session:
Session materials: An Open Circle: Co-Creating Indigenous Health Learning for Summer Programs
This initiative brings together dance, storytelling, and presentation through respectful collaboration with Indigenous partners. Centering Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, it demonstrates how Indigenous health learning is co‑created and implemented within summer programs at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Participants engage in movement, dialogue, and reflection that honor culture, community, and lived experience while supporting meaningful, impactful education.
Presented by:
Dionne Banton is the Outreach Coordinator in the Office of Access and Outreach at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. She is the lead coordinator for the Summer Mentorship Program and the MedLinx Program, opening the minds of students from underrepresented communities into the world of health sciences. Her background working in medical education for over 10 years in multiple hospitals in Toronto as well as event planning.
Lindy Kinoshameg (Odawa Nation from Wiikwemkoong Unceeded Territory), Indigenous Outreach and Program Coordinator, Office of Indigenous Health, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Throughout his career, a main focus has been breaking stereotypes and raising cultural awareness around Indigenous knowledge and communities. He has supported Indigenous artists, students, and youth through education, facilitation and community building. With a deep connection to Indigenous communities through the arts, Lindy has helped artists tour the world, and bring artistic visions to life, while also sharing and performing his culture with audiences. Lindy always honors the wisdom of respecting the seven generations that came before us, and remembering that our actions affect the seven generations that follow.
With 15+ years supporting youth in employment and education, Mark Dennis is passionate about building relationships that empower young people to move forward with confidence. At UofT’s Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, he contributed to admissions, recruitment, and student advising as a key front-line resource. Now, in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Office of Access and Outreach, he supports students preparing for undergraduate, graduate, and medical school pathways. Outside of work, you’ll find him cooking, traveling, playing basketball, or reading manga.
About the Session:
Session materials: Science in Motion: Empowering Scarborough Youth Through the LinC STEM Program
Linking Laboratories to Curriculum in STEM (LinC STEM) is a program designed with the mission of increasing access to and engagement with STEM among high school students from historically underrepresented communities in science. Through in- class and laboratory activities, we seek to demystify research and combat stereotypes regarding who “belongs” in science by supporting Grade 9 and 10 students developing scientific skills.
Our program moves beyond traditional outreach programs by offering students research experiences that are integrated into the provincial science curriculum. In our program, students transition from their high school desks to UTSC’s teaching labs where they learn about science by conducting their own experiments, utilizing advanced equipment and techniques. Beyond the “wet lab,” they learn to analyze their own data and present findings to peers, building confidence as scientific experts. Throughout this journey, students work alongside a diverse intergenerational team of University of Toronto mentors who serve as role models and provide an authentic “taste” of the university science experience.
Since 2024, LinC STEM has supported over 300 students from West Hill, Cedarbrae, and Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institutes.
In this session, you will have the chance to explore the core of our program. You will engage with our developed materials (including presentations, videos, activities and protocols) and participate in a “hands-on lab workshop” that simulates the transformative experiences our students encounter in our program.
Presented by:
Dr. Luciana Baruffaldi is a biologist, science communicator, and activist dedicated to equitable access to STEM. With over 20 years of experience in academic research and teaching, she specializes in sexual selection using arachnids as model systems, while developing innovative curricula that foster critical thinking and scientific inquiry.
As the Founder and Director of Linking Laboratories to Curriculum in STEM (LinC STEM), Luciana oversees all the program components, from strategic design to evaluation. She leads the integration of hands-on laboratory and in-class activities directly into the Grade 9 and 10 curricula for underserved schools in Scarborough. Her mission is to dismantle systemic barriers to higher education and disrupt stereotypes in science while strengthening the scientific skills of the high school students participating in the program.
Luciana currently works as the Laboratory Coordinator for the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories in the Department of Biological Sciences at UTSC. In this role, she leverages her expertise to build inclusive learning environments and engage students to persist in STEM research careers. In addition, she has supported numerous outreach initiatives for different departments at UTSC.
Chris Armstrong, MSc., has worked in supporting and engaging undergraduate learning in high education for more than 15 years. Over this time, he has developed a deep understanding of student engagement and extensive experience in devising and implementing high-impact experiments within teaching lab settings.
As a core collaborator and partner of the LinC STEM program, Chris is a key component in designing and facilitating the program’s hands-on laboratory experiments. He ensures that these activities are both scientifically rigorous and feasible for the high school students taking part in this program as well as assisting with the technical aspects of delivering these experiments when students visit the teaching labs at UTSC.
Chris currently works as the Laboratory Technician for the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories in the Department of Biological Sciences at UTSC. In this role, he manages the technical delivery of laboratory curricula and supports the infrastructure for students’ learning. He has also been a long-standing supporter of the department’s numerous outreach initiatives to promote engaging with STEM.
Dr. Rishi Krishnamoorthy is a science educator and learning scientist. Their scholarship examines the sociopolitical dimensions of youth science learning as shaped by race, gender, sexuality, and class. They enjoy collaboratively developing justice-oriented curricula with students and teachers to improve learning experiences for minoritized youth across North America.
As a key collaborator and partner of the LinC STEM program, Rishi is a vital component in designing and facilitating in-class activities that promote critical thinking and social awareness of the high school students participating in the program. They also support the students’ laboratory experiences and work closely on the design of program components and program evaluation.
Rishi currently works as an Assistant Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). In addition to training pre-service teachers, their research projects span education and public health. Rishi’s scholarship works to understand how South Asian, queer, and trans youth negotiate barriers to learning in formal and informal contexts, while also developing approaches to decolonize and queer science education through curriculum and pedagogy.
About the Session:
Session materials: Designing with Intention: Niyyah and the Architecture of Equity and Belonging
This facilitated session examines how niyyah (Arabic word for intentionality) can serve as a relational and equity-centered framework for supporting students navigating institutions not originally designed with their belonging in mind. Drawing on initiatives such as the Get Finished Scholarship Program, the session explores how structures grounded in care, trust, and shared purpose can cultivate reciprocity, partnership, and persistence by honouring the whole person rather than privileging academic output alone.
Participants will engage in a reflective and dialogic space that foregrounds cultural humility and relational accountability, asking how intention (spiritual, personal, and institutional) shapes who is supported, who is seen, and who is able to persist. Through a workshop format that integrates conceptual framing, guided reflection, and small-group dialogue, the session invites attendees to consider how intentional design can reconfigure systems toward equity and belonging.
Presented by:
Dr. Mariam Aslam completed her PhD at OISE, where her doctoral research examined the experiences of Muslim women employed in Canadian universities as they navigate marginalization while contributing to decolonization through knowledge production. Her work theorizes these dynamics through the Islamic concept of niyyah (intentionality, pronounced nee-yah), positioning it as both an ethical orientation and a framework for institutional transformation. Mariam has worked at the UTSC for over 18 years, including nearly a decade as a Student Success Research Analyst. In this role, she collaborates across institutional units on data-informed interventions related to retention, persistence, and graduation, consistently integrating an equity-centered lens into student success strategies and practices.