Sheila James

She/Her

Sheila James (she/her) is a critically acclaimed author, an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) leader. She is the author of two works of fiction, a collection of short stories, In the Wake of Loss (Ronsdale Press, 2009), and a historical-fiction novel, Outcaste (Goose Lane Editions, 2024).

She is currently the director of the Office of I-IDEAS at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, where she advances understandings and strategies that support Indigeneity, inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and social justice.

Sheila brings twenty-five years of experience as an EDI leader having contributed to cultural, government, and health care institutions. She is the executive director of the sole proprietorship DEVI (Diverse, Equitable, Vital, and Innovative) Consultation and Strategies. Sheila has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia and has an LL.M. from Osgoode Law School.

Sheila is honoured to return to Lancaster House for the third time.