She/Her
Akilah Haneef-Jabari BA, MSW, RSW, has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from McMaster University. She started her career looking at data trends in community race and class equity work.
Akilah studied adult education and staff training at Seneca College and graduated with honours. She then conducted anti-bullying training across Ontario. She went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in social work from York University; then focused on race issues as she completed her master’s degree in social work on a full scholarship.
Akilah has been an advocate for racial equity and the amelioration of conditions for Black peoples in educational systems child welfare systems and the justice system for over three decades. She was a co-founder of the Durham Children’s Aids Society’s Community Advisory Council, a community student advocate across the GTA and an active member of the Durham Police Diversity Advisory Committee. She submitted the first race based data analysis on suspensions in Durham Regional Schools for a Human Rights case. Akilah worked as a Senior Public Education and Outreach Advisor with the Anti-Racism Directorate. She conducted hundreds of anti-racism workshops across Ontario. She was a Public Education and Outreach Officer with the Ontario Human Rights Commission and is currently with Jabari Community Services, a community based organization which focuses on addressing systemic racism to advance racial equity.
