Changing the Narrative of Exclusion in Faith and Healthcare

Systems of faith, education and healthcare often exclude members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, causing harmful spiritual, mental and physical consequences. In this webinar, expert panelists will share their personal experiences and discuss their work and research, which is challenging these systems of oppression and driving meaningful change towards a more inclusive society that truly supports all members equally. 

About the speakers 

Tonya Callaghan, PhD, Tonya Callaghan is an Associate Professor with the University of Calgary Werklund School of Education. She taught secondary English for over ten years in Canadian and international schools, in rural and urban settings, and in Catholic and non-Catholic systems. Her second single-authored monograph, Homophobia in the Hallways: Heterosexism and Transphobia in Canadian Catholic Schools was published in 2018 with the University of Toronto Press. The overarching goal of Tonya Callaghan's award-winning research is to integrate theory and practice so that educational stakeholders become motivated to free members of sexual and gender minority groups from religiously-inspired heterosexist oppression. She specializes in critical social justice theories, anti-oppression education, and anti-homophobia education. Her research explores Catholic resistance to anti-homophobia/transphobia education in both curriculum and educational policy.

Dr. Caley Shukalek, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, and member of the O'Brien Institute for Public Health. He is new, junior faculty after completing his medical training, including a self-constructed sexual health fellowship, through the University of Calgary and a Master's of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. His clinical and research interests focus on prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections and the care of LGBTQ2S+ populations. In an attempt to reduce barriers, he is also involved in entrepreneurial work to provide HIV prevention tools to the GBTQ2S+ population across Canada. 

About the moderator 

Community leader and Calgary journalist Deborah Yedlin was elected the 14^th chancellor of the University of Calgary, effective July 1, 2018. Yedlin has been observing, commenting and writing about business and politics for more than two decades, as a journalist for the Financial Post, Globe and Mail and Calgary Herald. In addition to her writing, she has been a regular commentator for CBC Radio and Television, and CTV since 1996.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 

2 - 3 p.m. MDT

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