Board of Directors
The
Board of Directors
Neto Naniwambote
Chair
Neto Frank Naniwambote is a Licensed Legal Practitioner and is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO). He is the founder and executive director of NNWAMBOTE LEGAL SERVICES. Neto’s practice encompasses a variety of legal areas—including, but not limited to, torts, accident benefits, provincial offences, summary convictions, human rights, residential tenancies, and immigration; Neto has appeared in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice, Small Claims Court and various tribunals on numerous legal matters—including motions, mediations, pre-trial hearings, settlement conferences, examinations for discovery, and trials.
Neto is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Harriet Tubman Community Organization—a not-for-profit organization for Black/African youth that provides services and programs to promote Black/African heritage, academic success, and leadership and life skills in Black/African youth. He also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of IGNITE.
Neto holds a Bachelor’s Degree in ParaJuriste Studies, a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Management (Honours), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Physics (Honours). He speaks English, French, Portuguese, and Dutch/Afrikaans.
Valarie Steele
Secretary
Valarie Steele is a veteran community activist and community leader. She was a Vice President and President of the Jamaican Canadian Association for several terms, and was the president of the Jamaican Diaspora Canada Foundation. She has also served in numerous other, capacities and boards and committees and organizations throughout Toronto’s Black community and as one of two Canadian representatives/Directors on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board, which advises the Jamaican government, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, on matters of import to the diaspora and in particular to Jamaicans residing in Canada. Valarie is the vice president of Black Action Defense Committee Inc.
Selwyn Pieters
Ex-officio
Selwyn Pieters is a sole practitioner called to the Bars of Ontario, Canada; Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana. Selwyn has a vast experience in criminal, human rights, law enforcement and national security issues and can provide unmatched professional legal service in individuals, corporation and governments. Specialties: Education law, Criminal law, Human Rights law, Police law, Administrative law, Constitutional law, and civil litigation and can provide Notary services.
Ivor Christopher
Treasurer
Ivor is a Chartered Professional Accountant. As a seasoned Accounting and Finance professional, Ivor brings over 35 years experience including over 15 years financial managerial experience, in non-profit and charitable organizations. Ivor also served for two years as the Controller for the Italian Canadian Savings and Credit Union. Ivor is currently leading the Pan-African Credit Union Initiative, looking to establish a Black Credit Union in the GTA. He tirelessly lends his expertise and skills to the Black Community.
Jacobet (Edith) Atieno Wambayi
Organizational Member Director
Edith is Founder and Executive Director of Uzima Women Relief Group International.Uzima provides care and support to families affected by poverty, war and disease with particular focus on women and children living with HIV/AIDS globally.
Edith was a Senior Research Officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute until she immigrated to Canada in 2001. As well as working on other diseases such as malaria, Edith has worked in the HIV/AIDS field since the first case was diagnosed in Kenya in the early 1980s.
Since coming to Canada, she has continued to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. She works with several Provincial, National and International AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) as well as non-ASOs facilitating community-based education and research.
Edith serves on several Boards and Committees providing health and social services to marginalized communities including those serving African people. She is the former President of Abeingo Association Canada currently supporting AIDS orphans and other needy children in Kenya. From 2007 – 2015, Edith was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS advising the Federal Minister of Health, Canada on the Federal Initiative on HIV/AIDS.
Edith is also owner of her own Consulting Firm Health and Life Promotion Research Consultancy (HELP) providing research and community education and support services locally and internationally. Edith’s international work includes working in Bangladesh as a WHO Advisor to the Bangladeshi government.
Edith is a holder of a PhD and MSc in Medical Sciences, a Bachelor’s degree in Education/Science, a Diploma in Community-Based Program Planning and Management, and several certificates in the health and social services fields.
Edith is a mother of 4 and grandmother of 5 children.
Ayderus Alawi
Legal Service Provider Director
Ayderus’ commitment to community issues has spanned over 10 years and has been reflected in the work/projects he has participated in. This work has included a position as a Youth Worker in a Toronto District School Board suspension program where he routinely interacted with a diverse group of youth who had negative interactions with the police and other criminal justice actors.
These interactions required that he advocate on their behalf in court as many of the youth that he worked with were arbitrarily detained, searched and assaulted by Police Officers and Toronto Community Housing Security Officers. This work also included facilitating workshops that discussed their rights and responsibilities when interacting with the Police and Toronto Community Housing Security Officers and assisting them with the Police Complaints process.
Ayderus is the co-founder and Executive Director of Beyond the Lyrics Youth Resource Centre, a youth-led, grassroots organization that supports youth by addressing access issues (access to resources, education and justice).
Ayderus continued to be involved in community and advocacy work while attending Osgoode Hall Law School through his work as a Youth and Education Division Leader with C.L.A.S.P., Osgoode’s Legal Aid Clinic. He completed his final semester of law school in the Criminal Intensive Programme.
Owen Rhoden
Organizational Member Director
Mr. Rhoden is a Senior Business Development Manager and Financial Advisor and am a Director of the Jamaican Canadian Association. He is a community advocate with a proven commitment to advancing equity and justice for my Black communities. His passion for addressing systemic barriers aligns directly with the mission of the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC). Mr. Rhoden has extensive governance experience. He has helped to steer other Black organizations vital to the Black community. He honed his skills in strategic planning, financial oversight, and collaborative leadership while providing professional and personal guidance and mentorship to Black clients and community members. With over 15 years of deep involvement in community service, he has developed a robust understanding of the challenges facing Black Canadians.
Dr. Jacqui Getfield
General Member Director
Dr. Jacqueline Getfield is the manager of the Caribbean African Regenerative Medicine (CARM) Project. She is a social scientist who does qualitative research that focuses on mothering, blackness, and disability/disablement in health and education spaces, and specifically in home-institution-community partnerships. She theorizes through the lenses of Critical Race Theory, Black feminisms, and Critical Disability Studies.
Dr. Getfield delivers keynote speeches and public lectures at academic and professional conferences in Canada and the US. In community settings, specifically for charitable and non-profit organizations, she conducts Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB) workshops and seminars. Dr. Getfield sits on the board of charitable organizations including the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC) and the North York Senior Centre (NYSC). As the founder of MUMMA (Mothers United in Mediating Mutual Alliances), Dr. Getfield consults with families, educators and health professionals in Ontario.