Episode Overview

“I did not want to be tokenized. I wanted to be utilized for my brain, my capacity, and my experiences. I wanted to help him achieve the agenda we had set for Canadians.” 

Celina Caesar-Chavannes is a business consultant, coach and international speaker, who currently serves part time as the Senior Advisor of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives and Adjunct Lecturer at Queen’s University. Celina is an author and her memoir ‘Can You Hear Me Now?” was selected as a finalist for the 2021 Shaughnessy Cohen prize for political writing and a book award finalist for the Speaker of Ontario Legislature.

Celina was the former Member of Parliament for Whitby, Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Parliamentary Secretary for International Development. During her term as a Member of Parliament, Celina was awarded several distinctions including a feature in the April 2018 edition of O (Oprah Winfrey) Magazine entitled, “What would you stand up for and named Chatelaine Magazine’s Woman of the Year (2019). 

Celina has a Bachelor of Science, an MBA in Healthcare Management, an Executive MBA from the Rotman School of Management and is currently enrolled in a neuroscience PhD program at Queen’s University exploring the intersection of empathy, leadership and equity. 

This week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard and Scotiabank,  is part of our mental health takeover for mental health awareness month! We will discuss Celina’s journey with mental health, her passion for diversity and inclusion, and experience working in politics and writing her book.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download