Ask An Expert: Being a Powerful Self-Advocate
You have more power than you think. Learn what it takes to help yourself be heard.
Our speakers, from March of Dimes Canada’s own team, will answer your questions about advocating for yourself and others. Join us to learn what advocacy means — hint: it’s not all protesting and placards — how to identify decision-makers in everyday life, and steps to leverage your own story to advocate for issues that matter to you.
By the end of the session, you’ll have the tools you need to effectively advocate for yourself and others in everyday life.
First Speaker: Gift Tshuma brings extensive experience to his work as an Advocacy Specialist at March of Dimes Canada. Before joining us, Gift was an Access Advisor at McGill University’s Office for Students with Disabilities, where he ensured that students got the academic accommodations they needed. He’s also a disability rights activist, an accessibility consultant, and co-founder of Accessibilize Montreal (a grassroots organization that advocates for disability rights and to improve transit accessibility in Montreal). Gift enjoys composing and playing music in his free time.
Second Speaker: Sasha Elford advocates for an inclusive, barrier-free society as March of Dimes Canada’s National Manager, Public Affairs. With nearly a decade in the non-profit sector, Sasha has worked in advocacy, communications, and volunteer management. Before joining us, she worked on issues of gender equity and gender-based violence, at Interval House, Girl Guides of Canada, and femifesto. In her free time, Sasha loves getting out in nature, dabbling with photography, and cooking vegetarian food.