Meheret Bisrat - BA, Criminology

Meheret Bisrat completed her BA in Criminology in 2007 and has since dedicated herself to a professional life of a humanitarian, an advocate of inclusion and diversity and speaker of truth. For the last seven years, she has made a meaningful impact on the lives of new immigrants and refugees doing frontline work at the non-profit agency DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society. Bisrat has a strong passion for social justice and seeks to empower individuals and communities to advocate for themselves while addressing the inherent inequity that exists in society. She is also a Board Member of the Ethiopian House Project, and is working with community members and other stakeholders to realize a dream of establishing an Ethiopian Community Center.

Aslam Bulbulia - Community Engagement, Centre for Comparative Study of Muslim Cultures and Societies

As the current leader in Community Engagement Initiatives at SFU’s Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies, Aslam Bulbulia describes himself as a recent settler on Coast Salish territories with South African-Indian heritage. His current work projects include traditional art workshops exploring Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Geometric Design. He holds a BA in Political Studies and Philosophy and an MA in Development Planning from University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and has had a broad range of experiences which include teaching English in Toronto and Sharjah, performing stand-up comedy, co-producing a Palestinian-solidarity album, working a large multi-national corporation and holding research positions within local and provincial governments. Bulbulia is currently enrolled in SFU’s Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement and is also a part of CityHive’s Civic Engagement Team, trying to understand how decolonising engagement can disrupt power and improve social cohesion.

Julia Hulbert (MA student in Urban Studies)

Currently completing her Masters in Urban Studies at SFU, Julia Hulbert is a community engagement and communications specialist with an honour BA in Art History from the University of Victoria. With a passion for urban planning, heritage, art and culture, she volunteers as a Heritage Commissioner with the City of Vancouver and is a member of the Heritage Advisory Panel to the Vancouver School Board. She describes her views on heritage as holistic and inclusive—she is passionate about the built environment and its capacity to shape collective experiences and most important to her interpretation of place is the understanding that the land contains layers of histories and values that are often in conflict. Hulbert’s graduate thesis explores these values and narratives by asking how the exclusion of intangible cultural heritage from municipal heritage plans creates barriers to the realization of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Actions.