LMR Human Rights and Equity Consulting

‘I am not a snowflake’: Disability activist Stella Young memorialised in bronze A statue of comedian, writer, disability activist and self-described “crip” Stella Young has been unveiled in her home town of Stawell.

Today, March 22, 2023, marks the launch of my new self-owned company, LMR Human Rights and Equity Consulting.

March 22 is an auspicious date, also marking Ugadi, the Lunar New Year for the Telegu and Kannada communities from which I am descended. Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit words yuga (age) and adi (starting) – literally the beginning of a new age.

Running my own company will allow me to build on my three decades of experience working to promote and protect equity, diversity and inclusion in post-secondary institutions in Canada and the United States. I was able to address many pressing issues and institute significant policies during those 30 years, but I finally concluded that trying to bring about change from within the system was inevitably blocked by too many institutional conflicts of interest.

But, as a neutral expert, I will be free to offer advice and guidance unbeholden to internal politics and corporate structures. I will be able to provide a unique, unbiased and honest perspective on the issues facing my clients and the solutions necessary to solve them.

As an independent consultant, I have already begun working with school boards across Ontario. Issues of discrimination and exclusion in education and business do not suddenly appear with age. Helping organizations responsible for child development, as well as those working in the adult world, will allow us to develop more pro-active approaches to equity issues.

Thus, LMR Human Rights and Equity Consulting was born – an opportunity to provide services based on a transformative model of realigning our world. While recognizing we are currently tied to models that rely on terminology such as diversity, inclusion and belonging, my hope is to encourage a holistic re-imagining of structures and organizations. This is based on ideas of confluence, interdependence, eradication of poverty and sustainable development.

These ideas give rise to three tenets of my practice:
-Treat others as they want to be treated (Cultural Humility).
-Everyone is the expert on their own lives (All cultural capital should be recognized and honoured).
-I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours (Ubuntu).

The above principles are tied to my interpretation of “confluence” – a merging which addresses questions such as “Where do we come from?” “What do we do?” “Who are we?” - as a recognition that mutual interdependence will move us to a discussion of truth and justice.

I am hugely excited and privileged to be starting this new chapter in my life. I am looking forward to partnering with new people and institutions seeking to move their organizations beyond buzzwords to a holistic re-examination of their place in Canada today. It will require hard work, but in the words of Arundhati Roy “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

For more information: https://lmrconsulting.ca/