Welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast everyone. You may or may not know today’s guest by name but if you are a mother in the Waterloo Region, chances are their work will influence your children’s education. I’m talking to Teneile Warren an Intersectional Equity Educator and Consultant. Teneile is a Nonbinary, Queer Black-identifying immigrant settler to Turtle Island. They are the Equity and Inclusion Office for the WRDSB and is also co-founder of insideWaterloo, a founding member of ReallocateWR, and a steering committee member of the African, Caribbean and Black Network of Waterloo Region. Teneile is partner to Rebecca and parent to their son Kelso, & their furbabies (Goop, Oopy and Rae).

This episode is really powerful as we not only talk about how to cultivate safe and inclusive schools, something Teneile is very passionate about, but Teneile also emphasizes the importance of creating safe and inclusive spaces for ourselves as individuals, in order to feel supported in becoming the most aligned version of ourselves. A

Teneile and I talk about:

• Their role with the school board, including what they want to achieve in their time there.

• What parents can do to support the work their team is doing within the school board.

• The impact of becoming a parent on day 3 (!) of the pandemic

• Their gender identification journey - what it means to be non-binary, why they felt it was important to come out as their most authentic self, and how as parents we can support our children in doing just that.

Enjoy the episode!