Board of Directors
Wisdom Tettey
Chair and National Lead
WISDOM J. TETTEY
Vice-President, University of Toronto
Principal, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus
Professor, Department of Political Science
Professor, Department of Global Development Studies
Wisdom Tettey is vice-president of the University of Toronto and principal of the University of Toronto Scarborough, as well as a professor of political science and development studies. His research interests include media, politics, and civic engagement in Africa; transnational citizenship and the African diaspora; political economy of globalization and information technology in Africa; African higher education and the knowledge society.
He was Dean of the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, both at the Okanagan Campus of the University of British Columbia, and Interim Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary. He began his academic career at Queen’s University. He is an alumnus of the University of Ghana, the Pushkin Institute (Russia), the University of British Columbia, and Queen’s University.
Professor Tettey has served as a consultant/advisor to various international organizations, including the World Bank, the UNDP, the Africa Capacity Building Foundation, and the International Association of Universities. He is an elected Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and currently serves on the Board of Civic Action and on the advisory/editorial boards of various academic publications.
Faith-Michael Uzoka
FAITH-MICHAEL UZOKA
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computing
Special Advisor on Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence
Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB
Faith-Michael Uzoka is currently a professor of computing, and Special Advisor on Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence at Mount Royal University (MRU), Calgary. He is an accomplished scholar, and has made international impacts in various aspects of human endeavor, especially in medical decision support systems, and has developed award winning innovations; e.g., automatic pill dispenser, smart medical assistant, and a system for the early differential diagnosis of tropical confusable diseases. He is a John Ware Institute Fellow, and has also served as a Canadian Commonwealth Scholar, Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, and Senior Advisor – External Relations (Shell Petroleum Development Company).
He sits on the Alberta Power and Natural Gas Consumer’s Panel, and is also the President of the African Coalition Club, and constantly works on initiatives to advance Black flourishing in Alberta. At MRU, he has contributed to the development of a culturally diverse and inclusive workplace for both employees and students. He places high premium on the value of EDI in governance and community relations, and sits on the President’s Advisory Committee on EDI (Vice Chair) at MRU. He received the inaugural Alberta Newcomers Award for Inclusive Workplaces, and also, the Queen’s Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Alexie Tcheuyap
ALEXIE TCHEUYAP
Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost
(International Student Experience)
Professor, Department of French of the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
Professor Tcheuyap supports the divisional international engagement across all three campuses through collaborative development of global opportunities for all University of Toronto students through curricular and co-curricular initiatives; academic leadership in the areas of learning abroad opportunities for students and oversight of the tri-campus Centre for International Experience in collaboration with the Vice-Provost, Students; fostering a positive international student experience at University of Toronto; and pursuing global partnership opportunities that support these goals.
Professor Tcheuyap’s scholarship focuses on African literary, cinema and media studies. Prior to this role, he served as Vice-Dean Faculty, Academic Life & Equity in the Faculty of Arts & Science.
Thomas Kwasi Tieku
THOMAS KWASI TIEKU
Professor, King’s University College
Dr. Tieku, an award-winning author, has authored, edited, or co-edited five books and published over 43 refereed book chapters and journal articles, including the prize-winning “The Legon School of International Relations.” Former Director of African Studies at the University of Toronto and recipient of the Excellence of Teaching Award, his current research, supported by a SSHRC Insight Grant, centers on informality in international organizations and conflict mediation. With a wealth of experience, Dr. Tieku has consulted for prestigious organizations like the World Bank Group, the United Nations, the State Department, and the Canadian government.
He received the Hugh Mellon Excellence in Research Award in 2023. Joining King’s from the University of Toronto, where he directed UofT’s African Studies Program, Dr. Tieku brings a passion for teaching, research, and experiential learning, fostering a collaborative and impactful environment. Beyond academia, his interests include intellectual activism, football, and contributing to anti-poverty initiatives in Africa.
Gideon Christian
GIDEON CHRISTIAN
Assistant Professor (AI and Law), University of Calgary
Prof. Gideon Christian PhD is an Assistant Professor of AI and Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Calgary, Alberta. Prior to joining the University of Calgary, he was technology lawyer with the federal Department of Justice where he deployed legal technologies in high profile litigation involving the Government of Canada. His research interests are in artificial intelligence and law, as well as legal impacts of new and emerging technologies.
Prof. Christian’s research seeks to identify elements of racial bias in AI technologies. He has appeared on many occasions before the House of Commons Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) as an expert in the use of AI in immigration decisions.
Prof. Christian is the Ontario Bar Association 2023/2024 Chief Justice of Ontario Fellow in Research. His fellowship aims to develop ethical guidelines for the use of Generative AI in the legal profession. In 2024, he was named by the Calgary Herald as one of the top 20 compelling Calgarians.
Western Canada Coverage: (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Yukon)
Josephine Etowa
JOSEPHINE ETOWA
Professor, University of Ottawa
Dr Josephine Etowa, PhD RN RM FWACN FAAN FCAN FCAHS is a Full Professor & OHTN Chair in Black Women’s HIV Prevention and Care at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing. She is a past holder of the Loyer-DaSilva Research Chair in Public Health Nursing, and past president of the Health Association of African Canadians. Dr. Etowa is a Fellow of the Canadian and American Academies of Nursing, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and Fellow of the West African College of Nursing. Her research focuses on inequities in health and healthcare with emphasis on women’s health, perinatal health, HIV/AIDS, nurses’ worklife, community health nursing and the health of African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Canadians using intersectionality lens and a community-based participatory research approach.
Dr Etowa leads national and international initiatives examining the social determinants of health, racism and health inequities and developing interventions to address anti-Black racism and health inequity.
Dr Etowa collaborates with community leaders, researchers, health service providers, and policy makers to create practice and policy changing knowledge mobilization tools. Her antiracist healthcare practice and co-edited Community Health Nursing: A Canadian Perspective books are well cited. Her anti-Black racism work has resulted in seminal contributions to Canadian health policy and bringing racism to the forefront of dialogues.
Central Canada Coverage: (Ontario, Quebec)
Sulaimon Giwa
Regional Lead: Atlantic Canada
SULAIMON GIWA
Dean (Interim), Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs
Associate Professor, School of Social Work,
Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
Dr. Sulaimon Giwa is an associate professor, interim dean, and associate dean of undergraduate programs at Memorial University, St. John’s, in the school of social work with a cross appointment to the department of sociology. He is also the endowed chair in criminology and criminal justice at St. Thomas University, Fredericton, and is an antiracism, equity, diversity, and inclusion trainer and consultant.
Dr. Giwa’s professional experience includes research and policy work at the community and federal levels, anti-Black and antiracist community and organizational change, and direct practice in diverse contexts, including policing and corrections. Dr. Giwa’s primary research interests are in forensic social work, intersectional LGBTQ+ stigma and human rights, sociolegal systems and intersectional forces that shape correctional and policing experiences of racialized and underserved communities, and critical race theories and praxis.
Dr. Giwa is an associate editor of the journal, Psychology & Sexuality, and is an editorial board member of the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.
Atlantic Canada Coverage: (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island)
Evelyn Kissi
EVELYN KISSI
Assistant Professor, College of Education,
University of Ghana.
DR. EVELYN KISSI is an African tri-citizen, Black Disability and Transnational scholar of Ghana, Nigeria and Canada. Dr. Kissi is the Coordinator of Sunyani Learning Centre. Dr. Kissi interdisciplinary research interests intersect with Black Critical Disability, Transnational Studies, Black Global Health, and Lifespan Studies and Education.
Dr. Kissi has worked in North America, Africa and Europe with not-for-profit organizations, women groups, education institutions, and disability advocacy groups. She completed her doctorate degree in Critical Disability Studies (CDS) at York University, Canada. Her PhD contributes to the construct of disablement––particularly how it functions to support systemic oppression creating Black Madness. Her MA also in CDS focused on the different disabling structures that Black Educators/Teachers encounter in the field of Early Childhood Education.