“I am a part of all that I have met”

– Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses

Last week I celebrated the launch of NSB Consulting with a room filled with some of the most inspirational people I have come across in life.  I was honoured to have friends and colleagues in attendance who have taken great personal and professional risks in order to find new ways to contribute to the world around them and expand themselves creatively.

I was also graced by the presence of some respected experts from the Human Rights and Equity profession; including former colleagues from the Ontario Human Rights Commission,  fellow investigators and equity specialists, and members of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.  I continue to learn and expand my thinking through dialogues with these impressive folks and am continually grateful for their support.

Equitable workplaces and communities emanate from a shared commitment to continually strive towards inclusion and respect.  I am grateful to my peers who have taught me how to work as part of a broader collective towards the achievement of systemic change.

Engaging in dialogues on discrimination and exclusion is not always easy or comfortable, and it is through the conversations I have had with my peers, friends, and family that I have learned how to navigate through these difficult topics with respect and consideration.

Privileges and inequities are not immediately apparent to those who benefit from them.  Without human rights work, systemic discrimination escapes detection and critique, and historically marginalized groups are perpetually relegated to the margins of society.  As I delve deeper into human rights work, both academically and professionally, I am grateful for the support I receive from my mentors, my friends, and my colleagues; and I am committed to channelling this support into the work that I do.

Please visit nicolebernhardt.com to learn more about the work that I do.

The evening was captured by Toronto-based photographer Jalani Morgan, to view the complete gallery of the NSB Consulting Launch party please visit: http://www.jalanimorgan.com/gallery/Nicole-Launch/G0000xoSVHHVT39E and enter the password: “nicole”.