Adornment: Stories of Transformation is a space committed to connecting the intersections of art, beauty, and wellness. This space prioritizes the healing of Black women and femme identified Black folks in the unique ways we relate to art, beauty, and wellness. Our collective mission is to provide safer spaces for Black women/femme youth to discuss the issues that are impacting their mental health, develop self-love practices and increase earning capacity via digital arts education.

Role: Finance Manager; Previous: Project Manager & Workshop Facilitator
Year: 2018 - 2025

Situated in the beautiful Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto and surrounded by nature, the two-day symposium is an intimate meeting place for health care and food systems stakeholders to learn about how food in health care can enhance patient experience, organizational culture, and community wellbeing.

Keynote speakers and thought-leadership from prominent Indigenous, Canadian, and international leaders;

Experiential workshops with practitioners leading innovation around food in health care;

Immersive hospital food experience around the future of food in health care;

Elders gathering and a focus on truth and reconciliation through food in health care.

Local tours to health care sites and food places of interest in Toronto

Networking opportunities with national leaders & a chance to share challenges and pathways forward to getting more value from the food served in health care

Role: Event Coordinator (A/V lead, Main stage Producer, Volunteer Manager, Supplies Lead)
Year: 2019

The Turning Tables tour is designed to bridge the gap in accessibility between Indigenous Youth and role models like Joshua DePerry, aka Classic Roots, an up-and-coming music producer and DJ who blends Indigenous sounds with modern techno and house music.

The communities we intend to visit include remote areas with lack of resources such as Webequie, areas suffering from mass youth suicide such as Attawapiskat, as well as a number of First Nation reservations who have expressed interest in hosting Classic Roots but have not had the funds available to make it happen. Bringing subjects from the film specifically to these communities to speak further than the film and engage directly with these youth will provide a deeper connection to the underlying message - that dreams are attainable and there is support to achieve them.

The Turning Tables Tour is designed to address four key objectives; to strengthen Indigenous culture and community, inspire creative confidence, create a positive environment for youth, and encourage self-expression. We intend to reach these objectives through various art-based workshops, including film, photography, music and dance.

Director: Chrisann Hessing
Producer: Tanya Hoshi

Role: Travel Coordinator for Impact Campaign
Year: 2018 - 2019

The Behind the Dust series is a portal into a world that is curated and created by Women of Colour, showing the possibilities of imagining beyond convention, and “behind the dust” of inflammatory and one-dimensional portrayals of communities under fire. As a collective, the media-makers are Muslim, Indigenous, Black, Women of Colour conveying in-depth visual stories about their communities, celebrating the fullness of experience in all its layers. What does it mean to visiblize these experiences? How are we learning from the past and creating for the future?

Role: Digital Media Project Coordinator
Year: 2017 - 2018

Creative Connect (CC) is a professional development project for early career artists seeking capacity building and career opportunities in the creative business sector. The project utilizes a customized approach to the development of mentorship opportunities, apprenticeships, job shadowing, income generation and internships in creative fields. Participants combine a diverse range of professional development opportunities with professional workplace experiences and mentorships from workplace professionals in the creative fields.

Role: Project Coordinator
Year: 2016

The Coffee Connect program, is a one-on-one informational-conversation between a professional (a person working in a professional capacity in either the arts, creative sector or in a role that supports creative professionals) who will be referred to as a mentor and a young creative who will be referred to as a mentee.

Coffee Connect sessions are a one time meet-up between a mentor and mentee; meetings are mediated through a private online portal where the costs of coffee are covered in the form of a giftcard to a major coffee retailer.

Role: Project Coordinator
Year: 2016

Creative Connect Conference (CCC) was an opportunity for young artists and creatives 16-29 who are dissatisfied with current options for finding meaningful employment to connect with local entrepreneurs, industry professionals and organizations in a full day training and networking conference.

In partnership with the Faculty of Communication and Design at Ryerson University, CCC offered a diverse range of interactive sessions each facilitated by business professionals and leaders. Participants learned insider information on what it takes to get into the creative sector, how to land your dream job, what are the biggest mistakes and how to avoid them.

Role: Project Coordinator
Year: 2016

Leaving Evidence is a multi-disciplinary community archiving program of The People Project. Leaving Evidence is a collective of Queer & Trans grassroots artists (predominantly self-taught, community educated artists) 29 and under, each skilled in one of our identified mediums (I.e. video editing, sound production, etc.), and all are interested in expanding their repertoire by learning from each other. Leaving Evidence gives each artist the opportunity to explore and be mentored new art practices. Individuals in the group are both professional artists and community members, depending on the context.

Role: Project Coordinator & Workshop Leader
Year: 2014

ArtWorksTO is a capacity building and professional development project for youth arts entrepreneurs, in partnership with the City of Toronto Toronto Youth Equity Strategy (TYES). The project deliverable was to create a customized poster for the Toronto Caribbean Carnival Event Kick-Off in collaboration with a community partner.

Role: Project Manager
Year: 2017

Much of queer history is oral history, stories you happen to hear when you meet someone who has accomplished and seen magical things. Hearing Desh Pardesh Artistic Director Punam Khosla talk powerfully about how Shyam Selvadurai got his first book deal at the iconic Desh Pardesh queer arts festival in the 90s; Former Buddies Artistic Director Sarah Stanley reminiscing with a smile about the original run of Strange Sisters and the moments in the back alley behind the theatre; Coman Poon sharing stories about what Buddies was like when it was housed on George St. These are moments are gifts that we want you to receive.

Role: Production Manager
Year: 2014