FLOURISH 2026: Leadership for 2SLGBTQIA+ ERG Leaders

Date: October 13, 2026, 6pm-8pm
Speaker: Kelsey Harpur (He/Him)

As workplaces navigate increasing complexity, Employee Resource Group leaders are often called upon to champion inclusion, respond to emerging challenges, and drive meaningful change. This session will explore how ERG leaders can use human rights frameworks, data, and measurement strategies to strengthen their impact and advance accountability within their organizations.
Participants will gain practical insights into leading through change while balancing advocacy, partnership, and organizational priorities.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:

• Understand how human rights principles apply to workplace equity and inclusion.
• Recognize the role ERGs can play in advancing human rights-informed approaches.
• Explore key metrics and indicators that demonstrate ERG impact.

Study Group Week: Courageous Conversations

Week of October 19, 2026

Participants will reflect on navigating conflict, share peer strategies, and explore how to transform tension into connection.

The Situation Room sessions are interactive problem-solving spaces where participants can pressure test ERG strategies, receive peer and facilitator feedback, and apply program learning to real-world workplace scenarios.

Date: October 20, 2026 , 6pm-7pm ET
Facilitator: Anika Rasheed, She/her Founder of Ground and Grow Somatics Inc.

Decluttering Leadership Perspectives & Building Buy-In

This interactive session supports participants in exploring how leadership perspectives may be shaped by stress, competing priorities, and change fatigue. Using practical nervous system regulation tools and the ADKAR framework, participants will develop strategies to increase leadership awareness, desire, and buy-in for ERG and DEI work. The word “ADKAR” is an acronym for the five outcomes an individual needs to achieve for a change to be successful: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.

Anika Rasheed is a Certified Trauma-Informed Somatic Practitioner, Sound Healer, and Wellness Facilitator dedicated to helping individuals, communities, and organizations build nervous system awareness, emotional resilience, and sustainable wellbeing.

Drawing on neuroscience, mindfulness, somatic practices, movement, and sound healing, Anika creates engaging and accessible learning experiences that equip participants with practical tools to feel more grounded, connected, and resilient. Her sessions combine psychoeducation with experiential practices, including breathwork, gentle movement (seated or standing), grounding techniques, and sound-based relaxation.

Anika has facilitated more than 100 wellness sessions across the Greater Toronto Area, partnering with corporate workplaces, community organizations, seniors’ groups, women’s programs, educational institutions, and diverse community audiences. Her inclusive and adaptable approach creates supportive environments that meet participants where they are, regardless of age, background, or ability.

With over a decade of experience in public service, Anika brings both systems-level insight and lived experience to her work. She is passionate about fostering psychologically safer workplaces and communities where people can thrive through connection, self-awareness, and compassionate leadership.

Date: October 27, 2026
Time: 6:00–8:00 PM ET
Speaker: Letecia Rose, (She/her) Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Fasken
Format: Fireside Chat

This session will help participants articulate the value and impact of their ERGs by combining storytelling, data, and lived experience. Participants will begin drafting or refining their ERG impact story and explore how to communicate the benefits of ERG participation.

Agenda

• 10 minutes: ERG Experience
• 30 minutes: Fireside Chat
• 10 minutes: Q&A

Letecia Rose is the Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Fasken. As a seasoned equity strategist, she works with the Firm’s leadership to drive inclusive outcomes and cultivate a culture of inclusion and belonging, ensuring that every member of the Firm feels valued and supported.

Passionate about creating inclusive spaces and delivering equitable outcomes, her values-driven approach centred around ‘fostering proximity to promote empathy’ combined with her ability to design people-centred solutions has made her a trusted voice and thought leader.

Letecia’s cross-sector experience spans corporate, non-profit, and public sectors, where she has built and led EDI strategies that drives both culture change and measurable business outcomes. She has worked with boards, senior executives, and HR teams to embed equity into talent management, leadership development, and organizational design. Her collaborative and data-informed approach has helped organizations align values with action to create sustainable impact.

Letecia is a recognized as a leader in diversity, social justice, and community engagement and has received the United Way Innovation and Creativity Award, a Vital People award from the Toronto Community Foundation, the Mercedes Benz Emerging Leader recognition at the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) Top 100 Awards and was named a Top 100 Accomplished Black Leaders for 2024.

Study Group Week: Making Impact Visible

Week of November 2, 2026

Participants will workshop ERG storytelling, share qualitative and quantitative impact strategies, and strengthen approaches for increasing visibility.

Date: November 11, 2026
Time: 6:00–8:00 PM ET
Speaker: Abhishek Sarathy He/Him, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging and Employer Brand, Canadian Tire Corporation

This session will explore how 2SLGBTQIA+ rights show up in workplace policies, practices, and culture. Participants will identify gaps between institutional commitments and lived experiences, while building confidence to advocate beyond compliance and toward meaningful cultural change.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• Understand how 2SLGBTQIA+ rights appear in workplace policy and practice.
• Identify gaps between commitments and lived experiences.
• Build confidence to advocate beyond compliance and into culture.

Abhishek leads Canadian Tire Corporation’s diversity, inclusion and belonging strategy and employer brand portfolio. At Trillium Health Partners, Abhishek co-facilitated its antiracist journey. With a decade at Sun Life Canada, he led marketing, product and operations teams, and cultivated racial inclusion.

He has been recognized as a 2025 Emerging Leader in People and Culture by The Peak and a 2024 Top 10 Diversity & Culture Impact Leader by DiversityCan Magazine.

Board Co-Chair for the Catalysts’ Circle and former Board Chair for the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, Abhishek is a 2019 Civic Action DiverseCity Fellow and a 2022 Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference alumnus.

He enjoys binge-watching, eternally craves French fries, and is never not thinking about travel.

Study Group Week: Whose Rights? Whose Voice?

Week of November 16, 2026

Participants will share real-life workplace examples, deepen their understanding of intersectionality, and strengthen dialogue skills for complex conversations.

The Situation Room sessions are interactive problem-solving spaces where participants can pressure test ERG strategies, receive peer and facilitator feedback, and apply program learning to real-world workplace scenarios.

Date: November 17, 2026, 6pm-7pm ET
Facilitator: Anika Rasheed, (She/Her) Founder of Ground and Grow Somatics Inc.

From Buy-In to Action: Scenario Lab for Leadership Engagement

This scenario-based lab builds on the first Situation Room session. Participants will work through real-life organizational challenges related to leadership sponsorship, engagement, and accountability in ERG and DEI initiatives.

Participants will leave with one actionable strategy and reflection tool they can apply in their workplace.

Anika Rasheed is a Certified Trauma-Informed Somatic Practitioner, Sound Healer, and Wellness Facilitator dedicated to helping individuals, communities, and organizations build nervous system awareness, emotional resilience, and sustainable wellbeing.

Drawing on neuroscience, mindfulness, somatic practices, movement, and sound healing, Anika creates engaging and accessible learning experiences that equip participants with practical tools to feel more grounded, connected, and resilient. Her sessions combine psychoeducation with experiential practices, including breathwork, gentle movement (seated or standing), grounding techniques, and sound-based relaxation.

Anika has facilitated more than 100 wellness sessions across the Greater Toronto Area, partnering with corporate workplaces, community organizations, seniors’ groups, women’s programs, educational institutions, and diverse community audiences. Her inclusive and adaptable approach creates supportive environments that meet participants where they are, regardless of age, background, or ability.

With over a decade of experience in public service, Anika brings both systems-level insight and lived experience to her work. She is passionate about fostering psychologically safer workplaces and communities where people can thrive through connection, self-awareness, and compassionate leadership.

Date: November 24, 2026, 6pm-8pm ET
Speaker: Denine Das, (She/her) Executive (VP) Lead, Inclusion, Indigenous and Social Responsibility, Metrolinx

This session will explore peer support as a core leadership practice within ERG work. Participants will learn how to recognize boundaries, respond to burnout, and embed care, mutual support, and accountability into their leadership approaches.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• Understand peer support boundaries and practices.
• Recognize burnout and embed care.
• Build tools for mutual support and accountability.

Denine Das is the Vice President, Inclusion, Indigenous and Social Responsibility at Metrolinx, bringing more than 20 years of leadership experience in Human Resources, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Human Rights.

Throughout her career, Denine has championed initiatives that advance human rights, accessibility, anti-racism, reconciliation, and belonging, helping organizations translate inclusive values into meaningful workplace practices. With experience spanning multiple industries, she brings a thoughtful and practical perspective on building cultures where people feel respected, heard, and empowered to thrive.

A strategic and people-centred leader, Denine believes that leadership is a daily practice rooted in empathy, accountability, and trust. She is passionate about developing high-performing teams, strengthening organizational culture, and creating environments where diversity is recognized as a catalyst for innovation, excellence, and lasting impact.

Known for her authenticity and collaborative approach, Denine has earned a reputation for engaging diverse audiences, fostering meaningful dialogue, and inspiring leaders to create workplaces where everyone can belong and succeed.

Final Study Group Week: Showing Up for Each Other

Week of November 30, 2026

Participants will share sustainable ERG practices, reflect on care-centered leadership, and co-create collective commitments.