The Future of Work is Diverse, Inclusive, Just and Equitable
GlobalMindED closes the equity gap by creating a capable, diverse talent pipeline through connections to role models, mentors, internships for low-income students, returning adults, First Gen to college and inclusive leaders who teach them, work with them and hire them.
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Meet the Centre for Sport and Human Rights Canadian Lead: Dr. Sabrina Razack
Sabrina is an award-winning curriculum writer and developed Teach Beyond a Boundary. Her new role is with the global organization the Centre for Sport and Human Rights. As the project lead for Canada, she is responsible for developing an initiative around children's rights in collaboration with the other host cities in the United States and
Mexico.
What is your personal/professional story?
In high school, I became acutely aware of gender discrimination in sports and physical activity settings. I grew up in a small town and left to pursue a Kinesiology Degree at York University. I focused on areas of the sociology of sport to understand persisting inequities and investigate ways to improve conditions for marginalized populations. I developed and sought out opportunities to learn more about the culture of sports and physical activity settings. My interests include physical education as well as examining physical cultures. I embarked on various volunteer and employment positions that enabled me to work in the Caribbean focusing on healthy lifestyles, and eventually completed my teaching degree with a specialist in physical education. I entered public education and quickly realized how resource-poor many of the schools in which I taught were. I built several partnerships across the school board and community providing enriching learning outcomes for students including city-wide dance showcases, however, I still had questions concerning systemic discrimination within institutions. I returned to the University of Toronto to complete my Master's degree in Exercise Science with a focus on the sociology of sport. My thesis investigated the experiences of the National Women’s Cricket Team of Canada. I discovered that globally Black, racialized, and Indigenous women comprised the lowest participation rates in sport and physical activity. Researching and highlighting such discrepancies became the emphasis of my work and community advocacy.
What key moments in your life led you to where you are today?
I was on maternity leave with my second son and took a position as the Community Outreach and Education Manager with the TO2015, the organizing committee for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan American games. For four years, I had the privilege of working with close to 1,000 community organizations, organizing events totaling over 30K people and liaising with elite athletes, and all levels of government and multi-national corporations. The experience was incredible and although I truly believe in the power of sport to be a catalyst for change, I was exposed to how mega sporting events can leave both positive and negative legacies. I returned to teaching and decided to pursue a PhD with my Master’s supervisor, Dr. Margaret MacNeill. The presence of cyber networks – particularly amongst Black and racialized women – warranted some further examination. I wanted to investigate the influence of sports and social movements. I conducted a case study on the Black Girl Hockey Club (BGHC). I completed 29 qualitative interviews and studied over 6500 tweets. My findings revealed how the founder, a self-identified Black woman named Renee Hess, founded BGHC to build a hockey fan network of Black women. BGHC exponentially grew after gaining notoriety through television appearances and support from NHL teams, sponsors, and professional players. The community activities and online presence consequently propelled BGHC as the organization that might be able to shift hockey cultures to be more inclusive.
After the racial reckoning that resulted from the tragic murder of George Floyd, the hockey world turned to BGHC to solve racism in hockey. The research participants rightfully acknowledged the limited power and influence in comparison to behemoth hockey institutions' ability to transform hockey environments. Other outcomes of engagement with BGHC, an anti-racist movement, included heightened consciousnesses of racial and gender discrimination. This resulted in more awareness among the research participants, courage, and the ability to influence change within their own personal environments. The blurring of on and offline networks within sport and physical cultures continue to be an area of research interest with a continued focus on racialized girls and women. As a strong believer in education, I remained connected to the academy, as an Assistant Professor, teaching stream in Kinesiology and Physical education.
I recently accepted a role as Project Lead, with the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR) and am responsible for developing child’s rights initiative in conjunction with the upcoming FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026. I feel honored and look forward to combining both my professional and personal passion for increasing the awareness of ongoing inequities and addressing human rights issues in sports. I look forward to continuing the work with communities, organizations, and host committees to implement innovative ways to integrate children’s rights during sporting events and create lasting legacies.
Where does your passion to serve come from?
Although I experienced and continue to face gender and racial discrimination, I feel very fortunate to have acquired experience and post-secondary education. Despite attaining a wealth of knowledge and skills, my journey is also filled with rejection and frustrations. I am the daughter of immigrants who were not well-versed in the Canadian sports system. My lifelong pursuit is to increase access and generate opportunities for those without such social or economic capital.
How can GlobalMindED help you reach your goals?
GlobalMindED is an internationally renowned network and organization, that successfully develops pipelines for equity deserving groups. Through participation in GlobalMindED, I hope to gain access to platforms in which I can share opportunities with youth and connect with organizations working to address inequities and better the conditions for diverse communities.
How you can connect with Sabrina: www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinarazack Facebook: Sabrina Razack Instagram: @becauseofhersports Twitter(X): @bcuzofhersports
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See this 1-minute GlobalMindED 2023 at a glance video:
Read What Speakers and Attendees said about the GlobalMindED 2023 annual conference:
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If you are a leader at a district, college, company, non-profit, or foundation supporting GlobalMindED’s Tenth Anniversary event in Denver on June 17 (pre-conference, Inclusive Leader Awards dinner) 18-19 (conference) 2024, you are eligible to attend our Fall special event at the United Nations:
Transforming Financial Boundaries in Education, the Environment, and the Economy
Thursday, October 12th
United Nations DDR
New York City
Write Celeste Gardner to reserve your space: Celestegardner@globalminded.org
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PBS12 Denver filmed and live-streamed the GlobalMindED Inclusive Leader Awards on June 7th as well as our main stage plenaries and presentations on June 8th. You can find them all individually on the GlobalMindED YouTube channel.
Here are links to the 2023 GlobalMindED Inclusive Leader Award Winners' introductions and acceptance remarks:
Miriam Calderon, Chief Policy Officer, ZERO TO THREE: Inclusive Leader - Early Childhood Education
Dr. David Miyashiro, Superintendent, Cajon Valley Union School District, Inclusive Leader - K-12 Education
Carrie Billy, CEO, American Indian Higher Education Consortium: Inclusive Leader - Higher Education
Afua Bruce, Founder & Principal, ANB Advisory Group: Inclusive Leader - Government
Dr. Elena Rios, President & CEO, National Hispanic Medical Association: Inclusive Leader - Health & Wellness
Hassan Salem, Head of Commercial Banking, US Bank: Inclusive Leader - Banking & Finance
Greg Robinson, James Webb Space Telescope Project Director NASA (ret): Inclusive Leader - Space & Aerospace
Mary Nichols, Professor, UCLA Institute of the Environment, Inclusive Leader - Energy & Sustainability
Michael Campbell, General Manager, Education Division, Intel: Inclusive Leader - Technology
Diego Mariscal, CEO & Chief Disabled Person, 2Gether-International: Inclusive Leader - Entrepreneurship
Mario Carrera, President & CEO, CLLARO: Inclusive Leader - Media & Arts
Nasruddin Rupani, Chairman, Ibn Sina Foundation: Inclusive Leader - Foundations & Funders
Rosanna Durruthy, VP, Global Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, LinkedIn: Inclusive Leader -Global Impact
Kimberly Bryant, Founder & CEO, Black Innovation Lab; Black Girls Code: Inclusive Leader - Non-Profit
Click below to see Insights from GlobalMindED Leaders:
View the Main-stage Presentations:
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Would you like to give to support our student programs? You can scan the QR code below or go to our website to support our year-round programs. GlobalMindED is a 501(c)(3).
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Thank you to all of the Sponsors, Speakers, Students, and Attendees at GlobalMindED 2023
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