Taralyn Parr is a dynamic and passionate advocate, dedicated to building an equitable, inclusive, and accessible future. As one of the lead architects of McCarthy Tetrault’s award-winning EDI strategy, Inclusion Now, Taralyn has successfully operationalized forward-thinking strategies that have elevated the firm’s EDI capacity.
Taralyn’s approach is guided by her lived experience as a queer bisexual+, and over a decade of education in gender and workplace equity studies. Her expertise lies in collaborating with leadership, staff, educators, and community partners to develop research-driven solutions that prioritize equity for a more inclusive future of work. She has led initiatives that have transformed diversity data and analytics, embedded inclusive values into talent management practices and policies, increased the recruitment and retention of equity-deserving groups, and built cultural awareness, engagement, and a culture of allyship and belonging.
Taralyn’s dedication to inclusion extends beyond the workplace. She is completing her Ph.D. at the University in Toronto in Adult Education, specializing in Workplace Learning and Social Change and Sexual Diversity Studies. Her dissertation project is exploring how bisexuals+ navigate visibility within the workplace and when in leadership positions. She also teaches in the School of Administrative Studies at York University, and serves as the Director of The Bisexual Research Group.

Jade Pichette is an inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA!) professional based in Tkarón:to/Toronto. Currently, Jade serves as the Director of Programs at Pride at Work Canada, where they work with over 250 large employers across Canada around gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation inclusion. Previously, Jade served as the Volunteer and Community Outreach Coordinator at the ArQuives, the Education Programs Coordinator at Kind Space, and an independent inclusion consultant. They are an Ásatrú Gythia (priestess) and interfaith advocate who was the first trans-feminine person to present at the Parliament of World Religions in 2018. Jade was one of the authors of Transitioning Employers: A survey of policies and practices for trans inclusive workplaces and is the cohost of the Uncovering Belonging Podcast. Jade has been named one of Future of Good’s 2022 Young Impact Leaders, Toronto Metropolitan University’s 2021 Pride Champions, and is a judge for the Canadian HR Awards. In their spare time they can be found geeking out over queer, trans, and Norse histories, firekeeping, and spending time with their chosen family.