Ashwini Selvakumaran

Ashwini Selvakumaran (she/her/hers) is a South Asian youth and environmental activist and Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) candidate at the University of Western Ontario. With a Malaysian-Indian heritage, Ashwini honours her South Indian roots throughout her social and civic engagement initiatives and has a keen interest in validating diasporic identities. She is the founder and co-president of the Brown Citizen Circle (BCC), a not-for-profit organization which works to amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous, and South Asian-identifying youth, in decision-making spheres across Canada. Since 2019, Ashwini has been chairing the Halton Youth Newcomer Steering Committee and ​​has also held the roles of Research Fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation and co-director of Re_Generation's Policy and Advocacy Division. Ashwini’s activism has been both locally and nationally recognized, having won the YWCA Hamilton Women of Distinction, "Young Trailblazer" Award, and being selected as a Princess Diana Award Winner in 2021. Ashwini currently sits on the FORA: Network for Change Steering Committee and most recently served as the youth delegate for the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace’s delegation to the 67th United Nations Women’s 2023 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), in New York, in March 2023.

Session:

• Emerging Leaders Workshop (Friday, April 12 - 11:00 a.m.)