Racial Equity Manager

School District 36: Surrey

Canada:  British Columbia | North America

Growing up as the seventh of nine siblings in a single-parent household, I had the odds stacked against him from the start. His mother, who immigrated from Kingston, Jamaica to Canada at age 18, raised her large family in Southern Ontario with a strong belief that education was the key to survival. Life was far from easy—poverty, racism, violence, and systemic barriers were everyday realities—but my mother ruled with love, discipline, and determination.

Sports became my first avenue for structure and hope. Basketball, football, and track kept me grounded and connected to something positive, while my older siblings made sure learning continued long after the school bell rang—especially lessons in Black History and identity. Still, like many young Black men navigating challenging environments, I eventually found myself drawn toward the wrong crowd. Negative encounters with police, racial stereotyping, and low expectations pushed me further from school and community. “The streets were what I could relate to,”

It was my mother’s unwavering strength that pulled me back. Determined to change my path, I reached out to my school guidance counsellor, an act that would alter my life’s course. “I didn’t even think college was possible,”. “I don’t know what kind of future I would have had without the adults who showed up when I needed them.”

I went on to complete the Human Services Foundation program in 2003 and began my career at Lutherwood, a mental health treatment and youth custody program. Over the past 20 years, I have dedicated my career to supporting vulnerable youth and their families through strength-based, restorative approaches. From 2005 to 2018, I worked at the John Howard Society in Breaking the Cycle—one of Canada’s first gang-exit programs—and later served as a Family Counsellor providing direct support to high-risk families.

Since 2019, I have worked with the award-winning WRAP Team through School District 36, where I also developed a training module on Restorative Practice through Racism in Education. As the Founder of 360 Connection Consulting Inc. I am now a nationally recognized leader in restorative practice and anti-racism education.

Certified in Restorative Justice, Restorative Practice, Connect Parenting, CBT, DBT, and Anti-Racism Facilitation, I continues to give back—mentoring youth, lecturing at Simon Fraser University, and coaching basketball teams in his community.