ABOUT THE HOSTS
Nic Wayara is equal parts levity and tenaciousness. Born and raised on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ territories, Nic is Luo with roots in Kenya--a place she longs to return to, and soon. Possessing a penchant for lively discussions and self-exploration, her breadth of experience spans across community radio as a co-host of The Storytelling Show on CFRO 100.5 FM Co-op Radio and in various roles across research, service provision and project management within nonprofits and government.
Most recently, Nic founded Hook or Crook Consulting Co., where she weaves the transformative practices of equity, community care, and social justice into the sinews and bones of organizations and teams. Nic also serves as a proud board member of the Vancouver-based WISH Drop-In Centre Society. Wherever she goes, intersectional feminist teachings and first-generation experiences ground her voice as she envisions new worlds of safety, love and brilliance for Black women, femmes and girls.
Lala is a daydreamer, a healer, a survivor, and a recovering skeptic. Some of her people are Indian, specifically Malayali, and others are white. She is queer and cis, a woman of colour and a settler, chronically ill and middle class. Her understanding of power, privilege, and oppression is shaped by the range of her positions in the world.
Lala’s experiences of violence and oppression led her to seek change, for herself and for others. She is a therapist and the co-founder of Healing in Colour, a directory of BIPOC therapists with anti-oppressive values across what is currently known as Canada. Her work sits at the intersection of counselling and activism, firmly rooted in the radical possibilities of QTBIPOC spiritual and emotional healing.