About halfway through our conversation, Natalya Mason describes why she took part in this summer's Black Lives Matter protests in Saskatoon, and I love it when she says, "this wasn't my first protest."

It offers you a hint of Natalya's character. She is passionate, caring, determined and not afraid to say what's on her mind and in her heart. 

Natalya is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Saskatoon Sexual Health. For the past six years, she has worked with different groups in Saskatoon, from elementary and high school students to newcomers and people with disabilities, on all things relating to sexual education. It turns out that this is her dream job and she tells a wonderful story at the beginning of our conversation about how her Mom set her down this path. 

Good storytelling is a theme in this episode. Natalya shares some insightful and humorous stories about her time in school classrooms and also opens up about being a black, queer woman in Saskatoon. Her past experiences, as well as the experiences of her family, really fuelled her passion to speak up during Saskatoon's Black Lives Matter protests. I am grateful to Natalya for sharing these stories as it's never an easy thing to do. 

I learned so much from Natalya during our conversation and I hope you do as well. She really is one of our community's strongest leaders and I am excited to see how she continues to impact people across Saskatoon.

Thank you for listening and supporting this local, independent podcast. If you like what you hear, please give the podcast a five-star review and tell your friends! Subscribe to YXE Underground on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app. Stream episodes on Spotify or the website. 

I hope all of you are staying healthy and safe. Thank you again for listening and I hope you enjoy my conversation with Natalya!

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis