Belen holds a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science; Middle Eastern and African Studies) and Certificates in Global Citizenship, Peace and Post-conflict Studies from the University of Alberta. She is also currently defending her M.Ed. in Educational Policy Studies at the University of Alberta.
With over 15 years of experience, shehas designed, implemented, and led community-driven initiatives focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Her work includes curating community conferences and collaborating with organizations to:
- Address exclusion and discrimination.
- Advance EDI strategy and policy change for organizations that serve BIPOC, houseless, and disabled populations with complex needs.
- Implement learning and development solutions for front-line employees across various social service providers.
Her training programs have encompassed creating learning and assessments for personal and organizational growth, generating coaching models to foster relational learning between employees, and achieving quality assurance through lasting commitments to accreditation.
In her role as the Leadership and Inclusion Advisor at the Colbourne Institute for Inclusive Leadership, she creates and facilitates training on topics of EDI and anti-racism, strategize inclusion by introducing practical solutions, and offer knowledge and experience from grassroots work according to the needs of each client/organization.
She hopes to shift paradigms and introduce immediate and lasting changes for organizations, their employees, membership, and stakeholders.
What she enjoys most about her work are the continual opportunities for mutual learning, but there are two aspects that I particularly enjoy. The first is seeing that spark across peoples’ eyes when they recognize the possibility of adopting a proposed strategy in response to resolving a concern or increasing inclusion.
The second is the opportunity to facilitate difficult, but meaningful conversations that motivate individual and collective actions for improved workplace environments.
Outside of work, Belen is likely hanging out with her 4-year-old dog, Koa.