Anima Cafe

Anima Café | Why DEI must include pro-democracy work

Please note: If you are looking to register for the Fire and Silence Café series click here.

Host: Shakil Choudhury, Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer
Date: Wednesday, Nov 19th
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. EST

Register below for the link to join

Why DEI must include pro-democracy work

This cafe explores why DEI work needs to encompass literacy regarding basic civil rights and democracy education, which are typically seen as separate.  Making these connections is crucial to blunt the growing forces of facism and authoritarianism in North America and beyond.  Join us for this cafe to hear Shakil Choudhury paint the future of DEI work and how we can take next steps forward.

Register here


Anima Cafe 47 – November 19th 2025
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Shakil Choudhury

Author, Chief Visionary Officer & Co-Founder, Anima Leadership

Shakil is  an award-winning educator, consultant and author with more than 25-years experience in the field of racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. He’s the author of Deep Diversity: A Compassionate, Scientific Approach to Racial Justice Deep Diversity. Written in an accessible, storytelling manner, many have called it a “breakthrough” book on issues of systemic racial discrimination due to its non-judgmental approach that integrates human psychology with critical race perspectives.

He coaches executive teams and has worked with thousands of leaders across sectors in Canada and the United States to help improve their diversity, inclusion and equity outcomes. He also specializes in designing and facilitating dialogue processes to resolve inter-group conflict, having led projects internationally as well as with organizations locally. As a South Asian-Canadian who immigrated from Pakistan as a young child, much of his passion for justice and overcoming polarization stems from his family’s civil war history. Shakil is also father to two high-spirited children, and regularly runs the trails near his home in Toronto as a way of clearing his head.

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