She/her. Founder & director WeDoSomething.org and Versus, a dialogue-building program to counter polarization, disinformation and dehumanization. EN/FR/SP

In 2015, I founded the non profit WeDoSomething.org to fight my own sense of powerlessness during the (ongoing) refugee crisis. I wanted a way to do something good about the bad news in the world.

So I knocked on the doors of society’s overlooked experts - community leaders who support those who are excluded by our system and our society. I asked them how I could support their work, and I spent the next 4.5 years organizing 18 'fun-raisers' to raise over $150k in donations and awareness about organizations dedicated to asylum seekers, Indigenous communities, suicide prevention, the hungry and the homeless - anyone whose suffering we consumed in the news. It was an education unlike any I've ever received.

WeDoSomething's ‘fun-raisers’ gathered together disparate communities whose paths never cross: the mortgaged with the homeless, immigrants with Indigenous, citizens with refugees - so that we could be together, as equals. Together we helped each other feel less powerless - by funding beautiful organizations, by listening to the stories of those who were struggling, by sharing moments of joy that created intimacy and connection across communities. It’s hard to judge or hate someone when you’ve sat next to them, shared a meal, heard their story. I created spaces and moments that didn't corner anyone, diminish anyone, or shame anyone - with joy.

Along the way, I learned how to design care between strangers and conversations between cultures. I learned the power of listening. How hard it can be. How powerful it is to be listened to, to listen to others. How being heard is being seen.

Getting people to care about 'others' is my way of planting seeds of empathy respect and care across divides, perhaps my way of healing old family traumas that left my grandparents displaced by war, refugees for a time. WeDoSomething changed my life. Every person who shared their story with me - from the overworked directors of these organizations to the people who depend on their help - has carved itself into my cells. I carry their words deep in my heart, I feel responsible for passing on what they taught me. They taught me not just about their lives, but about myself: I discovered that I was sometimes not just ignorant of what others were living, but ignorant of my ignorance. This is another version of privilege - and realizing that has made me curious: what else I am extra ignorant about, and how does my unconscious incompetence affect the people around me?

Versus is a Masterclass in Openness, a distillation of what I have learned throughout my years of trying to build bridges between communities: three workshops to bring out your most open-hearted, self-aware, and empowered self so that you can see the impact you have on the world around you. Together we build skills of critical thinking but also compassionate, constructive conversation. We examine our information diets - the ideas and concepts we consume every day and how they affect our view of each other and of the world. And we practice the skills of dialogue, so that we can expand our comfort zones and tolerate ideas we disagree with.

Versus empowers individuals to engage in deep listening, to see their impact on the world, to communicate constructively, to become bridges between "us" and "them". It's about becoming better humans so we can be better citizens.

My objective is to build a movement - a middle ground in which more and more people refuse to hate each other, and instead choose to engage in dialogue to better understand how we came to be so far away from one another. This ability is at the root of all change, innovation - all the big trendy words our companies and schools spend billions trying to foster.

We lay the groundwork for change: Versus helps people to embrace rather than simply participate in change, whether it is to implement JEDI (Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion) policies or becoming empathetic leaders. We help individuals and teams choose these paths willingly, rather than because they are folowing company policies.

My purpose is to be a bridge between communities, to teach what I have learned from others, with compassion, humour, gentleness. To teach what I believe, in the words of Mama Teresa: 'If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other'. Inclusion is not ours to give, it is the birthright of each person.