Many students follow a traditional path when it comes to their education and career. For alumnus Jamie Glass (BA ‘91), the path to a career in education was anything but linear. What began as a career in law evolved into a desire to empower future generations of students. It was a shift that began with his decision to transfer from Carleton University to 91��ɫ’s Law and Society program.��  

“I knew 91��ɫ had an amazing Law and Society program and it was a huge university compared to Carleton,” says Jamie. “91��ɫ had a little more substance to it. I just thought I really want to go there and challenge myself.” 

After completing his undergraduate studies at 91��ɫ, Jamie attended law school at the University of British Columbia and worked as a criminal defense lawyer for a year before discovering his true passion was in teaching. This realization encouraged him to go to teacher’s college at McGill University. For more than two decades, Jamie has combined his knowledge in law and teaching to educating and inspiring multiple generations of students as a law teacher at Middlefield Collegiate Institute.  

“I didn’t enjoy the practice of law in criminal defense,” says Jamie. “Academia was much more pleasant. The idea of teaching, imparting knowledge and helping young people on their journey for knowledge and wisdom was really appealing.” 

While his educational pursuits led him to other universities, it was his time at 91��ɫ that would foster his desire to make a meaningful impact. 

“I just felt empowered that I could change the world,” says Jamie. “91��ɫ made me feel confident that I could go out in the world and make a difference and be a changemaker or be a leader.” 

But Jamie’s passion for making a difference isn’t just limited to the classroom. He is Middlefield’s mock trial coach and has established the school’s Amnesty International Club, where he helps students examine human rights violations around the world. Jamie has also led conferences and programs to help educate other teachers on how to effectively communicate with racialized or marginalized students. 

“You can’t teach a person to teach, it’s kind of an art. It’s inside you or it’s not inside you,” says Jamie. 

Jamie’s impact as an educator was recognized in 2019, when he was honoured with the Chief Justices’ Award from the Ontario Justice Education Network. The award acknowledges an individual who has made an exceptional contribution in promoting public understanding, education and dialogue in support of a responsive and inclusive justice system. He was nominated by his students, colleagues and members of the justice community for his contributions as an educator and for sharing his knowledge and expertise with other educators in law.  

Drawing from his own experiences, Jamie reminds students that they can continue learning and exploring their passions after they graduate. 

“Follow your dreams,” says Jamie. “Don’t feel that you have to jump into some job to make money right away. Pursue academia, if you like learning and enjoy it.” 

The post Criminal defense lawyer discovers passion for teaching   appeared first on Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends.

Earlier this month, the 91��ɫ Black Alumni Network (YUBAN) and 91��ɫ Sexuality and Gender Advocacy (SAGA) Alumni Network held the third annual Black and Rainbow graduation celebrations. Graduates, alumni, faculty, staff, friends and allies gathered at Keele campus to celebrate and honour the achievements of the Class of 2025.  

The graduating class of Black-identifying and 2SLGBTQIA+ identifying members were celebrated in a supportive and inclusive environment while providing the graduates with the opportunity to network with alumni. 

Hosted by Zoey Wyeld (BFA ’16), Chair, Sexuality and Gender Advocacy Alumni Network, the Rainbow Grad Celebration included inspirational words by graduating student Freddie Wraight (BFA ‘25) and moments of nostalgia and reflection for alumni.  

“It was a very reflective and poignant moment for me to have come back to 91��ɫ tonight as an alumni,” says Wasifa Noshin (BFA ’22). “It’s a privilege to get to sit amongst many fellow alumni and celebrate the graduates from 2025.”  

Graduates from the class of 2025 were also acknowledged in a celebration ceremony to commemorate their hard work and dedication and highlight their success.  

“The Black and Rainbow Grad Celebrations remind us of the power of community when we honour and recognize not only achievements, but identity and resilience in a space where Black and 2SLGBTQIA+ graduates are seen, celebrated and supported,” says Heather Auden, Director, Alumni Engagement. 

The Black Grad Celebration was hosted by Fikayo Aderoju (BA ’22), Chair, 91��ɫ Black Alumni Network, a few days later and included powerful words by Professor Uzo Anucha (BSW, MSW ‘98), Assistant Vice President of Faculty Affairs at 91��ɫ, followed by an inspiring performance by Kayla Jones (BA ‘25), a fourth-year interdisciplinary Social Science student and 91��ɫ student ambassador. 

“The third annual YUBAN Black Grad Celebration was truly a success. The energy in the room was electric, the stories were powerful, and the atmosphere was one of genuine celebration and pride,” says Fikayo. “The celebration was not just an event; it was a reflection of what is possible when community, commitment and culture align.” 

The graduates also connected with the leaders of YUBAN, who welcomed them to the alumni community and shared words of encouragement. 

“Getting feedback from the graduates on how happy they were to cross the stage made me happy that YUBAN is fulfilling its mandate to support graduating students from their last days at 91��ɫ to becoming successful alumni,” says Aisha Imran (BPA ‘22), Career and Mentorship Coordinator, YUBAN. “The success of the third annual Black Grad Celebration is a testament to the resilience and strength we get from working together and lifting one another up.” 

If you are interested in learning more about YUBAN, SAGA or our other alumni networks, please reach out to Yasmine Mensah (BA ‘20), Alumni Engagement Officer at mensahy@yorku.ca.   

The post 91��ɫ community honours Black and 2SLGBTQIA+ graduates   appeared first on Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends.

“It's exciting to work with SAGA as a continuous network for queer and trans people who share a connection with 91��ɫ past, present, and future so that we can rally together and support each other in times of both success and hardship,” says Shant Joshi (BFA ’17), president and executive producer of Fae Pictures and a 2021 honouree of 91��ɫ’s Top 30 Alumni Under 30 program. 

As a recently formed network, SAGA is currently seeking new members. If you are interested in joining SAGA or hearing about their upcoming initiatives, please contact Yasmine Mensah, Alumni Engagement Officer, at  mensahy@yorku.ca. &�Բ�����;

Meet the 2024 - 2026 Executives

Zoey Wyeld

(she/her)

BFA '16, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design 
Filmmaker, Assistant Editor 

View Bio

Zoey Wyeld (BFA '16) is a bisexual and transgender woman who graduated from 91��ɫ with a degree in Film Production. As a filmmaker, she has produced a plethora of short form content. Most recently, she created and directed a horror web series entitled LILcanthropy, which tackles the social stigma of sexually transmitted infections. As an Assistant Editor, her numerous credits include TV shows made for Corus Entertainment, Blue Ant Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, and the History Channel. Zoey has just wrapped on two shows coming to Discovery+ this summer, and is currently seeking out her next adventure -- which she hopes will be trans-focused and very uplifting. 

Susan Gapka

(Trans Elder) (she/her/elle)

BA '09, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Education and Training Facilitator, The 519
Executive Board Member, CUPE Ontario Pink Triangle Committee

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Susan Gapka (BA '09) is a dedicated campaigner for social justice. She has worked for affordable housing, homelessness, mental health, harm reduction, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans issues since coming out as a community leader more than 20 years ago.

As founder and chair of the Trans Lobby Group, Susan helped lead a lengthy campaign to persuade the Ontario Minister of Health to fund sex reassignment surgery for trans people.  She also helped change the Ontario Vital Statistics Act so that trans people's legal documents can more accurately reflect their lived identities.  She also help lead the campaign to amend the Ontario Human Rights Code to include "gender identity" and "gender expression."  

Susan has served on the Toronto Local Advisory Committee and as Toronto representative on the National Consumer Panel of the At Home/Chez Soi Research Demonstration Project, the Housing Component for the Mental Health Commission of Canada. She also served on the Board of Pride Toronto which hosted World Pride 2014 and is past Fierté Canada Pride's Central Regional Director for Ontario.

Susan has been employed at The 519 since 2015 in the Education Department as an Education and Training facilitator. She was elected to CUPE Ontario Pink Triangle Committee in December 2017 and appointed to CUPE National Pink Triangle Committee in January 2018. Susan was elected to CUPE Ontario Women’s Committee in December 2018. Susan is the first out trans Executive Board member of CUPE Ontario and was reelected May 2021.

Susan has a degree in Political Science from 91��ɫ and a diploma in Community Work from George Brown College.‎

Susan Gapka is a proud recipient of the City of Toronto Pride Award (2004), CAMH Courage to Come Back Award (1999), and Canada 150 Difference Maker in Mental Health (2017), holds a Key to the City of Toronto (2018), and received CUPE National’s Grace Hartman Award (2021)

Susan is also the recipient of multiple 91��ɫ Student Awards: 

• Christopher Janca Award: McLaughlin College Students Council 2007. Presented to graduating student for exceptional achievement in McLaughlin College and 91��ɫ 

• Ellen Bar Award: McLaughlin College Masters Office 2004 & 2006. For commitment to the public policy mandate of McLaughlin College 

• Ross McMillan Award: McLaughlin College Students Council 2002 & 2004 & 2006. For Outstanding contribution to the 91��ɫ community by a McLaughlin College Student 

• Vice President Students Debra Hobson Award for Student Leadership 2005. For outstanding leadership and significant contributions towards promoting school Spirit. 

Shant Joshi

(he/him)

BFA '17, School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design
President and Executive Producer, Fae Pictures

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Shant Joshi (BFA '17) is an award-winning producer and president of Fae Pictures, based in New 91��ɫ and Toronto, on a mission to decolonize Hollywood. His credits include award winners at Sundance (Framing Agnes), Red Sea (In Flames), Iris Prize (Scaring Women at Night), Durban (Runs in the Family), premieres at Cannes, Toronto, Canneseries (Streams Flow From A River), Aspen (I Live Here), Palm Springs (Diaspora), Hot Docs, Black Star (Noor and Layla), Pentonville, and BFI London, and nominees for the Canadian Screen Awards (Queen Tut). He was also an executive producer on Nisha Pahuja’s Academy Award ® nominated film To Kill A Tiger, an impact producer on John Greyson’s TEDDY Award-winning film International Dawn Chorus Day, and an associate producer on Ingrid Veninger’s Canadian Screen Award-nominated film Porcupine Lake.��

Shant currently sits on the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) Regulatory Committee and was previously Co-Chair of the BIPOC TV & Film Board, on the CMPA EDI committee, and co-founder of the Future of Film Showcase. 

He is an alum of the Canadian Film Centre, Rotterdam Lab, and Osgoode Hall Law School, and was named a MIPTV Producer to Watch, Reelworld Trailblazer, nominated for an Indiescreen Award, and to 91��ɫ’s Top 30 Changemakers under 30. 

2022 - 2024 Executives

Susan Gapka

(Trans Elder) (she/her/elle)

BA '09, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Education and Training Facilitator, The 519
Executive Board Member, CUPE Ontario Pink Triangle Committee

View Bio

Susan Gapka (BA '09) is a dedicated campaigner for social justice. She has worked for affordable housing, homelessness, mental health, harm reduction, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans issues since coming out as a community leader more than 20 years ago.

As founder and chair of the Trans Lobby Group, Susan helped lead a lengthy campaign to persuade the Ontario Minister of Health to fund sex reassignment surgery for trans people.  She also helped change the Ontario Vital Statistics Act so that trans people's legal documents can more accurately reflect their lived identities.  She also help lead the campaign to amend the Ontario Human Rights Code to include "gender identity" and "gender expression."  

Susan has served on the Toronto Local Advisory Committee and as Toronto representative on the National Consumer Panel of the At Home/Chez Soi Research Demonstration Project, the Housing Component for the Mental Health Commission of Canada. She also served on the Board of Pride Toronto which hosted World Pride 2014 and is past Fierté Canada Pride's Central Regional Director for Ontario.

Susan has been employed at The 519 since 2015 in the Education Department as an Education and Training facilitator. She was elected to CUPE Ontario Pink Triangle Committee in December 2017 and appointed to CUPE National Pink Triangle Committee in January 2018. Susan was elected to CUPE Ontario Women’s Committee in December 2018. Susan is the first out trans Executive Board member of CUPE Ontario and was reelected May 2021.

Susan has a degree in Political Science from 91��ɫ and a diploma in Community Work from George Brown College.‎

Susan Gapka is a proud recipient of the City of Toronto Pride Award (2004), CAMH Courage to Come Back Award (1999), and Canada 150 Difference Maker in Mental Health (2017), holds a Key to the City of Toronto (2018), and received CUPE National’s Grace Hartman Award (2021)

Susan is also the recipient of multiple 91��ɫ Student Awards: 

• Christopher Janca Award: McLaughlin College Students Council 2007. Presented to graduating student for exceptional achievement in McLaughlin College and 91��ɫ 

• Ellen Bar Award: McLaughlin College Masters Office 2004 & 2006. For commitment to the public policy mandate of McLaughlin College 

• Ross McMillan Award: McLaughlin College Students Council 2002 & 2004 & 2006. For Outstanding contribution to the 91��ɫ community by a McLaughlin College Student 

• Vice President Students Debra Hobson Award for Student Leadership 2005. For outstanding leadership and significant contributions towards promoting school Spirit. 

Israa Izzeddin

(she/her)

BA '17, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Policy student, Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

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Israa Izzeddin (BA '17) is an equity-policy enthusiast working within The Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services (MCCSS) as a co-op master-level policy student. She is a passionate changemaker and hopes to advance a more equitable society through public policy. She is currently the president of the Graduate Student's Association of Public Policy, Administration and Law (GSAPPAL) and holds multiple executive roles on boards across Canada. Israa is an expert speaker on the multiple intersectionalities facing women and the 2SLGBTQ+ community including mental health, accessibility, and diversity and inclusion. She joined SAGA in hopes of bringing her advocacy and awareness skills to the 2SLGBTQ+ 91��ɫ alumni community and building a strong-net community for 91��ɫ's 2SLGBTQ+ alumni. 

Shant Joshi

(he/him)

BFA '17, School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design
President and Executive Producer, Fae Pictures

View Bio

Shant Joshi (BFA '17) is a queer Indo-Canadian producer based in Los Angeles and Toronto. His credits include the films Framing Agnes (Sundance, NEXT Audience Award, NEXT Innovator Award), International Dawn Chorus Day (Berlin, TEDDY Award Winner), Porcupine Lake (Toronto), and Noor & Layla (BlackStar); the hit web series Teenagers (CSAs); and the Dekkoo original series, I’m Fine (Outfest). Shant co-founded the Future of Film Showcase as a launchpad for emerging Canadian filmmakers, and he previously worked at the United Talent Agency, Buchwald, and Lit Entertainment Group (fka Madhouse Entertainment).  He is an alum of the Producers Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, holds a Certificate in Entertainment Law from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was named to 91��ɫ’s inaugural Top 30 Changemakers Under 30 in 2021. 

Shant is currently vice-chair on the board of directors at BIPOC TV & Film, a sitting member of the Restructuring, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Action Committee at the Canadian Media Producers Association, and sits on the advisory board at the Future of Film Showcase

Sarah Rayner

(she/they)

BA '18, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
PhD student in Cultural Studies at Trent University

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Sarah Rayner (BA '18) is a PhD student in Cultural Studies at Trent University. They hold a Master’s in Cultural Studies from Trent University, alongside a Specialized Hons. BA in Human Rights & Equity Studies from 91��ɫ, and a Diploma from George Brown College in Community Work. As a nonbinary lesbian with a background in social justice work and visual art, their passions intersect through their research into queer visual cultures, feminist media studies, and queer and feminist social movement histories. Though currently focused on their academic work as a researcher and teaching assistant, Sarah has also worked as a community worker and educator for various 2sLGBTQ+ service groups and social service centres, and remains involved in their community through volunteer work. 

Zoey Wyeld

(she/her)

BFA '16, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design 
Filmmaker, Assistant Editor 

View Bio

Zoey Wyeld (BFA '16) is a bisexual and transgender woman who graduated from 91��ɫ with a degree in Film Production. As a filmmaker, she has produced a plethora of short form content. Most recently, she created and directed a horror web series entitled LILcanthropy, which tackles the social stigma of sexually transmitted infections. As an Assistant Editor, her numerous credits include TV shows made for Corus Entertainment, Blue Ant Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, and the History Channel. Zoey has just wrapped on two shows coming to Discovery+ this summer, and is currently seeking out her next adventure -- which she hopes will be trans-focused and very uplifting. 

The post Sexuality and Gender Advocacy (SAGA) Alumni Network appeared first on Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends.