BOARD MEMBERS

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Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Irene Moore Davis is an educator, historian, writer, podcaster, and activist who speaks, teaches, and writes about equity, diversity, inclusion, and African Canadian history. Irene’s previous publications have included poetry, journalism, and history, including a chapter in the collection A Fluid Frontier: Slavery, Resistance, and the Underground Railroad in the Detroit River Borderlands; her forthcoming book is titled Our Own Two Hands: A History of Black Lives in Windsor from the 1700s Forward. work has included poetry, history, and journalism. Her documentary producer credits have included the award-winning The North Was Our Canaan (2020) and the new Across the River to Freedom (currently in post-production.) Her many appearances as a content expert have included the Discovery Channel mini-series Secrets of the Underground Railroad and the CBC series Black Life: A Canadian History. Irene is a graduate of the University of Windsor, Western University, and Queen's University. She recently served as Project Manager of the McDougall Street Corridor Project, encompassing a walking tour, a digital archive, and other knowledge mobilization strategies regarding downtown Windsor's historic Black district. Irene fulfills community roles including President of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society, Chair of the Annual History Conference at the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, Programming Chair at BookFest Windsor, co-host of the All Write in Sin City podcast, co-host of the Windsor television program Talkin' Real Melanin, and member of the University of Windsor Board of Governors. In 2022, Irene was the recipient of the Harriet Tubman Award for Commitment to a Purpose from the Ontario Black History Society and was named to the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women.

Jamaican born Canadian who has merged her award-winning TV production experience with her passion and empathy for creating great content. Glace’s independent documentary and drama projects Coming To Voice, Hotel Babylon: Heroes & Hustlers, directed by Charles Officer, and D-E-S-I-R-E, were broadcast on VisionTV, Bravo! and the W Network. As a Line Producer, her TV projects include two seasons of the multiple award-winning comedic doc-lifestyle series The Stagers for HGTV US & HGTV Canada; two seasons of Consumed for HGTV Canada; and live to tape specials for The Bachelor Canada S1 for Rogers.  Glace is also a Co-Founder/Producer of Possible Futures Studio Inc., which just completed concept development on a narrative VR prototype. Ghosts of Remembrance (Ontario Creates, CMF) explores the untold stories of Black slavery in Canada. She is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre, a past Executive Director of the Ontario Black History Society, and a founding member of Toronto’s Black Film & Video Network.

Cheryl Thompson is an Associate Professor in Performance at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University. She is author of Uncle: Race, Nostalgia, and the Politics of Loyalty (2021) and Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada’s Black Beauty Culture (2019). In 2022, Dr. Thompson co-edited Creative Industries in Canada. She is the recipient of multiple Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants. In addition, Dr. Thompson is currently principal investigator on “Mapping Ontario’s Black Archives: Building An Inventory Through Storytelling,” an Early Ontario Researcher Award (2021-26) project that is cataloguing Ontario’s Black archival collections. Dr. Thompson's fourth book, Canada and the Blackface Atlantic: Transatlantic Slavery in the Age of Theatrical (Re)productions, 1604-1895 is currently under review with Wilfrid Laurier Press.

Educator, historian, and curriculum consultant. She is the author of Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada(June 2010) and Talking about Freedom: Celebrating Freedom in Canada (January 2012). Natasha is the president of the Ontario Black History Society. Through her various professional, academic, and community roles, Natasha’s work is grounded in her commitment to research, collect, preserve, and disseminate the histories of Black Canadians.

Professor in the Department of Humanities, School of Advancement at Centennial College. As well, she is a Communications Coach in leadership development with The Humphrey Group. Prior to teaching and coaching, Amanda worked in entertainment freelancing for large Canadian companies such as Corus, CCI, and Breakthrough Entertainment, and on shows such as Bake with Anna Olsen, Timeblazers, Kids World Sports, and animated series' Producing Parker, Atomic Betty, Jimmy Two Shoes and My Big Big Friend. She has been a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT), the Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), and Women in Film & Television (WIFT-T). She holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts; Radio and Television from Ryerson University.

Archaeologist, historian and award-winning author specializing in African Canadian/African American transnationalism. She holds a PhD in History (Race, Slavery and Imperialism), and is an Affiliated Scholar at SUNY Buffalo and an adjunct professor at Acadia and Dalhousie Universities. The former vice-chair of the Toronto Historical Board, she also served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Historical Society. In 2012-2013, Dr. Frost was the Bicentennial Visiting Professor for Canadian Studies at Yale University.  A pioneer in public archaeology, Karolyn’s 1985 excavation of Canada's first Underground Railroad site, the home of Kentucky freedom-seekers Lucie (Ruthie) and Thornton Blackburn, made history. She spent more than 20 years researching their experiences in slavery and freedom. Her 2007 biography of the couple, I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad, received several historical and writing prizes. It remains the only book on African Canadian history ever to win  Canada’s top literary honor, the Governor-General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction.  Co-author of The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto! (2002) and co-editor of The Archaeology Education Handbook: Sharing the Past with Kinds (2000); Ontario’s African-Canadian Past (2008) and the Canada-US collaborative volume, A Fluid Frontier: Slavery, Resistance and the Underground Railroad in the Detroit River Borderland (2016), Karolyn is widely sought after as a speaker and storyteller.