BHM 2023: Celebrating Leaders in our Ecosystem featuring Rohene Bouajram
February marks Black History Month in Canada, celebrating the many stories, journeys, hardships and accomplishments made by Black communities and individuals across the country. At entrepreneurship@UBC, we seek to highlight and celebrate leaders in our ecosystem doing fantastic, impact-based work, sharing their stories and learning from their insights about the effect their work has on our communities.
This year's nationwide theme for Black History Month is "Ours to Tell", learning more about the stories of Black communities/individuals and hearing their histories, successes, sacrifices and triumphs. From this prompt, we connected with champions in our wider innovation ecosystem to learn about their work and goals, and share what they have to say - widely! - with our own community. Learn more about Rohene Bouajram below and check out our other interviewees here!
Meet Rohene Bouajram, Associate Director, Strategic IBPOC Initiatives, at the University of British Columbia:
Please share with us your background and role at UBC:
As the Associate Director, Strategic IBPOC* Initiatives, I have the honour of applying principles of equity, diversity and inclusion along with lenses such as anti-racism, decolonization, trauma-informed and intersectionality in both my work and relationships in service of the student experience at and beyond UBC.
This often requires courage, humility, risk and intentionality to recognize that each individual student has different circumstances, different starting points, different needs, different help-seeking behaviours and in the space of this difference, we, as higher education professionals have the ability to match our institutional structures, policies, procedures to level the space between meeting students where they are and where they want to be.
From designing the recently launched Beyond Tomorrow Scholars Program to co-creating safe spaces for IBPOC students at UBC through the Decolonial Dialogues series as a few examples, the impact I try and continue to make is to amplify the principles and lenses through concrete initiatives, systemic changes and programs. I recognize that is only possible with many hands and hearts and I continue to be grateful for the many colleagues and campus partners across both campuses who offer their time, openness to change and support to move ideas into successful implementation.
*Indigenous, Black and People of Colour
Given that Black women are often underrepresented in leadership roles, how do you navigate this experience?
Thank you for this acknowledgement as we are often afraid to acknowledge the truth even when we have studies at our UBC fingertips* or articles on the emotional burden of racialized leaders that offer insights to seriously consider.
I am proud to be a Black woman and as one of the very few in leadership roles at UBC, my race is not my entire identity; however, it does allow me to deepen the conversations of re-writing success for different types of students. I bring a level of consciousness to my role of what it is like to immigrate to Canada as an uninvited settler, the pain of experiencing trauma that has taken me years to let go and still keep close in my heart and the privilege of working over 19 years in post-secondary while financially supporting myself to complete two degrees, one certification and study and live in multiple countries. These experiences allow me to connect with students in diverse, relevant and relatable ways.
At the same time, I have been on the receiving end of passive aggressive terms of endearments, experienced gaslighting, constant interruptions when I’m speaking in meetings, having my ideas stolen to experiencing microaggressions. I share this not to create guilt or sympathy. I share this to acknowledge that in an effort to create and lead change that truly can benefit many, it can be exhausting to work effectively when there is hostile noise and behaviours that I have to decide to address that sometimes comes at a cost to me. I know that I’m not alone.
Therefore, I have invested in increasing my self-awareness by understanding what motivates me, what triggers me and understanding where these came from. Being aware of the strengths we all bring and the areas we need to grow helps with finding our voice and expressing ourselves in a way that we intend to come across. Lastly, I have surrounded myself with people who lift me up, are comfortable to hold a mirror to my truths and are willing to challenge me with compassion and trust. We are all learning, unlearning and rewiring approaches to how we lead in an institutional context that continues to change rapidly and the collegial company we keep influences how we all evolve as leaders.
*Resource: How racism holds Black women back from leadership positions
"I have surrounded myself with people who lift me up, are comfortable to hold a mirror to my truths and are willing to challenge me with compassion and trust."
- Rohene Bouajram
What message are you wanting to share - widely! - with our community?
The quote that is nested within my email signature is the message that I’d love to share – that is – “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others” by Marianne Williamson. This quote signals the opportunity to reframe scarcity to abundance, reclaim spaces with echoes of voices that have not been heard and to watch in wonder the ripple effects of how stepping forward may just lead one, few or more to join you.
Thank you Rohene for sharing your story!