UBC BLSA and CFLS in conversation with Celina Caesar-Chavannes

The UBC Black Law Students' Association and the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies invite you to join us in conversation with Celina Caesar-Chavannes.

Celina is a former Member of Parliament and currently serves as an Adjunct Lecturer and Sr. Advisor of Equity, Diversity and Inclusions Initiatives at Queen’s University. Her new memoir, “Can You Hear Me Now: How I learned to live with passion and purpose?” was published by Penguin Random House Canada, in February 2021 and was shortlisted for the 2021 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. A breaker of boundaries in business and politics, in her memoir, Celina shares the insights she's gleaned from navigating places that weren't built for her while holding steadfast to her principles.

About the Speaker

Celina Caesar-Chavannes, already a breaker of boundaries as a Black woman in business, got into politics because she wanted to make a bigger difference in the world. But when she became the first Black person elected to represent the federal riding of Whitby, Ontario, she hadn’t really thought about the fact that Ottawa wasn’t designed for someone like her. Celina soon found herself both making waves and breaking down, confronting at night, alone in her Ottawa apartment, all the painful beauty of her childhood and her troubled early adult life.

To register, please email cfls@allard.ubc.ca. Zoom link will be provided by email closer to the event date.