Leading in Colour was founded on July 25, 2019 by Serisha Iyar - who has since served as our Executive Director.
After experiencing the rejection of racialized experiences in activist movements firsthand, Serisha decided to create a space where racialized youth leaders could come together to learn and mobilize. Our goal is to train racialized youth to become activists in and for our communities through peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, in order to demand justice and change for the inequities we are forced to live with. |
Born on the traditional territory of the Kanien'kehà:ka in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, where her family landed as refugees from iKwaZulu-Natali/KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Serisha spent most of her life on Huron territory in the small town of Georgetown, ON and now resides in Odàwàng/Ottawa, the unceeded territory of the Algonquin. As a result of this background, Serisha is committed to operating on foundational frameworks of anti-oppression including decolonization, anti-racism, feminism and using intersectional analysis, drawing knowledge and inspiration from liberation and womanist theologies. These frameworks have set the tone for Leading in Colour's work and continue to guide and inspire the programs we develop and opportunities we create. |