Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that Cian Knights will be joining the AGO on Monday, January 25th as our new Manager, Diversity and Inclusion. Cian will be part of the Director’s Office team and work closely with myself and Stephan, the Leadership Team, the People team, and others in the organization to advance our Diversity and Inclusion strategy throughout the museum.
This is very exciting news and I hope you will all join me in welcoming Cian to the AGO. We all have much to learn from Cian, and to share with her.
The Manager, Diversity and Inclusion position aligns with Cian’s professional experience, passion and commitment to developing and implementing strategic initiatives that explicitly address equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Cian has a degree in Women’s Studies & Caribbean Studies and also a master’s in Business Administration. She has a background in healthcare, education and the arts, having worked at Unity Health Toronto (Hospital network of Providence, St. Joseph’s, St. Michael’s driving health equity strategies), Harmony Movement (building the capacity of Ontario school boards to address racial equity, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-oppression, and inclusive education and work environments) and Scarborough Arts (developing inclusive community arts programming). She also has vast stakeholder engagement, community and volunteer experience.
Thank you to the IDEA Group for their suggestions and support regarding this position along with Letecia Rose, who provided consultation and those who served on the hiring panel: Jessica Bright, Alain Graham, Audrey Hudson, Wanda Nanibush, Michelle Noel and Nathalie Sato.
Diversity and Inclusion is one of our key strategic drivers. Cian, the IDEA Group, the new Diversity and Inclusion Working Committee of the board – as well as all of us – will continue to work together to help make the AGO more inclusive, welcoming and reflective of the people who live in our city.
Cian’s email is [email protected]. She will report to me with a dotted line to Alain in People.
Thank you,
Erin
Erin Prendergast
Chief, Strategic Initiatives