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.