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Dr. Jean Augustine made history as the first Black Woman elected to Canada’s Parliament and served from 1993-2006.

Her tenure included distinguished service as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister; Minister of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women; Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee; and Deputy Speaker of Parliament.

Her legislative successes include the historic Black History Month Motion; and the ground-breaking Famous Five Motion, which authorized the first and still the only statues on Parliament Hill depicting women - - other than Queen Elizabeth.

From 2007 to 2015, she served as Ontario’s first-ever Fairness Commissioner.

In 2008, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora was launched at York University to help advance education, equity and inclusiveness.

Also in her name are a Girls' Leadership Academy in Scarborough; a Centre for Young Women's Empowerment and a municipal park in Etobicoke; a Secondary School in Brampton, and a multi-purpose complex and district park in Vaughan.

A member of the Order of Canada, Order of Ontario and Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Jean Augustine holds honourary doctorates from the universities of McGill, Toronto, York, Windsor, Guelph, Trent and Ryerson; is a senior fellow at Centennial and Massey College; and supports scholarships at George Brown, Centennial and Humber College.

MORE INFO: https://jeanaugustinecentre.ca/

Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine (Keynote Speaker)

CELEBRATING OUR POSSIBILITIES

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion

A passionate advocate for his community, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen has been proudly representing the residents of York South—Weston since 2015.

Before he started in politics, Minister Hussen worked at the grassroots with neighbours and allies to create “local solutions to local problems.” This would lead to the Minister helping to secure $500 million to revitalise Toronto’s, Regent Park in 2006.

Minister Hussen is a firm believer that diversity is a fact and inclusion is a choice. During his time as the National President for the Canadian Somali Congress, he worked with national and regional authorities to advocate on important issues to Canadians of Somali heritage, which helped foster better civic engagement and integration.

Having lived in social housing himself, Canada’s first dedicated Housing minister understands the positive impact of having an affordable, reliable place to live. In his new role, Minister Hussen is focused on bringing home ownership back within reach while ensuring that everyone in Canada has a safe and affordable place to call home.

Closing Remarks

Kimberlee Shelley (Host)

Kimberlee Shelley is an author, community and political activist, Talk Show Host and HR professional. She is the recipient of several awards, including:
RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award, CIBWE TOP 100 BLACK WOMEN TO WATCH, Brampton TOP 40 UNDER 40, Mississauga Board Of Trade Business Person Of The Year and United Way Of Peel Community Leadership Award
Ms Shelley currently works as Branch Manager at Universal Staffing and as Advisor, Stakeholder Relations to Graham McGregor - MPP Brampton North
Bolu Adefemi – BoluSings (Performer)

15-year-old singer-songwriter Bolu Adefemi. A.k.a “BoluSings” is a singer-songwriter. She is a three-time award winner of The Women of Inspiration Youth Excellence award 2020, Zimbabwe Young Achievers Award 2020, and the Emerging Artist Award 2022, presented to her by the Mayor of Oshawa. Including co-hosting a podcast surrounding teen mental health, partnering with Pickering City on a pilot project fighting racism, performing at the Canadian online launch party of the release of a book meant to inspire children to activism written by the cousin of Rosa Parks, Angela Sadler-Williamson and has been featured on an exclusive episode of SHEROES, showcased in Africa with Anita Erskine. Other social features include New York Times, Ticker News Australia, The RoundTable Talk show in Long Beach, California, CityTV, CP24 News, and much more. Bolu says that her goal is to heal through music.
Nadine Williams (Performer)

Multi-Award winning Poet-Author and Arts Educator Nadine Williams is a Jamaican-Canadian with a passion for social Justice. Her awards include The York Regional Police’ Deeds Speak Award 2014, received Parliamentary mention in 2019 and recently named among the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women (100ABC)2022.
She is a published author of five books: three poetry, two children’s books and over fourteen posters for Black History Month. Her visual art exhibition The Fabric of Our Being celebrates and brings awareness to The International Decade for People of African Descent. It has been shown at over forty locations with a Black History Month exhibit.
Latoya Mullings (Performer)

Recipient of the International Women Achiever’s 2019 Entertainment Award
Recently nominated for Gospel Music Canada Awards in the Category, “Female Vocalist of the Year.”
Her songs are available on all retail platforms world-wide that are covered by Universal, such as Google Play, Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon.
She’s in demand to perform at various events across the country and can be contacted through her website at www.latoyamullingsmusic.ca.
One of Toronto’s dynamic and prolific singers, Latoya Mullings!
Zoom -Shawn Kellerman (Performer)

ZOOM IS OLD SCHOOL, NEW SCHOOL, AND EVERYTHING THE BLUES SHOULD BE... RAW, REAL, HONEST AND SINCERE!!! .Zoom was introduced to the blues at 3 years old and in the late 70’s, she saw Koko Taylor for the first time. That experience of seeing and hearing Koko’s raw tone changed her life.
They called James Brown the “hardest working man in show business” and it would be no understatement to call Shawn Kellerman the “hardest playing blues guitarist” on the scene today. Shawn is recognized as one of the most powerful stage performers you will ever see. He literally puts every ounce of mental and physical energy into his music. Sitting up close at a live performance is truly an awesome, jaw dropping experience

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Throwback to the

previous Gala events

Click on the video and scroll down to see the red carpet highlights and the fantastic dinner of our stunning recipients of the previous Top 100 Black Women to Watch.

“A memorable night - so grateful that I was honoured.”