Gender Diversity Amplified was created to explore the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities from the perspective of 2SLGBTQIA+ community members themselves. In conversation with activists, students, staff, and faculty, this series will offer unique perspectives on topics such as gender mainstreaming, gender transitioning, and queer employment.
It's not just a podcast, it's also an educational resource, a networking tool, and a space for community building.
Meet your host
Alex Pershai (they/them), Ph.D. is the Associate Director, Equity, with the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism at the University of Waterloo.
Bringing on 2SLGBTQIA+ guests from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds, they're creating a safe space where guests feel comfortable sharing authentic stories on acceptance, well-being, and intersectionality in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Episode 1: Inclusion at Pride
In a perfect world, Pride month is inclusive for all, but does it actually look like that right now?
This introductory episode explores the sense of belonging and 2SLGBTQIA+ identities visibility during Pride Month, and prompts reflections on how to make Pride more welcoming for everyone.
Featured guests:
Riley (they/them) is currently a biology undergraduate student at UWaterloo. Riley spent their first years at UW working with The Glow Centre and helped launch the Glow Together Initiative in Spring 2025 through the Queer Life Fair. Though they are no longer involved at Glow, Riley is planning to continue their advocacy and activism for 2SLGBTQIA+ students in other ways.
Tyler (they/them) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. They cofacilitate a support group once a month at Spectrum for Asexual and Aromantic folks, and have a monthly podcast, called the Aspec Podcast, which explores Asexuality and Aromanticism through a lens of intersectionality.
Washington Silk (he/they) previously held the role of the 2SLGBTQ+ Student Support Counsellor at the Counselling Services in the University of Waterloo.
Episode 2: Being Indigenous and Being Queer Through Indigenous Ways of Knowing
In collaboration between the Office of Indigenous Relations and Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism to commemorate National Indigenous History Month and Pride. Dr. Alex Pershai, Associate Director, Equity at EDI-R has a conversation with Emma Smith, Indigenous Student Experience Manager at the Office of Indigenous Relations about the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives within Pride.
They dive into in-depth examinations of key concepts such as Indigi-Queer and Two-Spirit identities, the impacts of colonization on Indigenous understandings of gender and sexuality, and the challenges of navigating both Indigenous and Western, binary, cis-heteronormative frameworks. This episode, let's reflect on experiences of self-discovery and acceptance alongside strategies for resilience, resistance, and creating more inclusive communities.
Episode 3: Walking the Talk: The Actions That Speak Louder
This episode features a Pride Roundtable Discussion at the University of Waterloo Libraries as part of the 2026 Pride Month events. The panellists discussed the systemic barriers frequently faced by 2SLGBTQIA+ activists and community members, how activism challenges microaggressions, everyday prejudice, "invisible" intersectionality, the meaning of equity and community building for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
Featured Guests:
Jim Parrott (he/him) worked as a professional librarian at the University of Waterloo from 1970-2007. He has been an activist for the local LGBTQ2+ community for over 50 years. He was involved with the UW group GLOW from 1971-1981 and 1991-2001; in 1992 he started GLOW’s first discussion group and served as a facilitator there for the next nine years. Jim was active in the local Pride Committee for the first five years of its existence (1996-2000) and is the Editor of the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project (started 2011). He has been active in the work of SPECTRUM – Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space since its founding in 2012; in particular, he was the Executive Director of SPECTRUM from 2014 to 2021 and has acted as a facilitator for various SPECTRUM groups from 2013 to the present. He has also been a co-facilitator for the local Chapter of PFLAG since 2013. For over 20 years, Jim and his gay husband William Pensaert have enjoyed strolling about in Waterloo Region holding hands, flaunting their “lifestyle” and otherwise providing cheap thrills for those who do not have ready access to their electronic appliances.
Riley (they/them) is currently a biology undergraduate student at UWaterloo. They have been engaged and involved with the queer community and advocacy through both middle and high school. Riley spent their first years at UW working with The Glow Centre and helped launch the Glow Together Initiative in Spring 2025 through the Queer Life Fair. Though they are no longer involved at Glow, Riley is planning to continue their advocacy and activism for 2SLGBTQIA+ students in other ways.
Tyler (they/them) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. They cofacilitate a support group once a month at Spectrum for Asexual and Aromantic folks, and have a monthly podcast, called the Aspec Podcast, which explores Asexuality and Aromanticism through a lens of intersectionality.
Moderator:
Alex Pershai, Ph.D. (they/them) is the Associate Director, Equity, with the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (EDI-R) at the University of Waterloo. Alex is known known for effectively developing and implementing programs that promote the inclusion of marginalized communities, gender equality and diversity, cultural sensitivity, and community capacity building. Alex also teaches courses on gender equality, gender and language, nationalism and diaspora issues, and equity, diversity and inclusion in practice.
Event Support:
Jermal Alleyne Jones (MEd) is the associate director, EDIA, at the University of Waterloo Libraries and co-founder of Next Gen Men (NGM), a team of staff and volunteers empowering boys (and men) to change the way they see, think and act about masculinity. He is also a third-year PhD student in the Recreation and Leisure Aging, Health and Wellbeing program, where he studies the intersections between race (Black), ethnicity, gender (men) and ag(e)ing from an interdisciplinary lens. Jermal will also be teaching PACS 314: Restorative Justice and Transformative Education this spring at Conrad Grebel University College.
Graham Yeates is an administrative assistant at the University of Waterloo Libraries. He helps coordinate event registration. If you have questions about this event, please contact him at libevents@uwaterloo.ca.
