That style of repetition and rhyming is infused in her new book, Trailblazers: The Black Pioneers Who Have Shaped Canada. The illustrated children’s book tells the under-told stories of over 40 Black pioneers who have been left out of Canadian history.

The idea for this research first came to Ridley-Padmore after she had learned about the history of 17th-century explorer Mathieu da Costa as a young adult. “Here’s this Black translator who was instrumental in maintaining peaceful relations between French explorers and Indigenous peoples, and yet his name had never come up once [in school],” says Ridley-Padmore, a lifelong learner who was shocked by the obvious gap in her education. “I think that was the catalyst that challenged me to do a lot of learning—and unlearning— and to really intentionally seek out information that was so important but had been essentially erased from our mainstream narrative.”

Ridley-Padmore started this project while working full-time as a policy advisor in the international development sector and completing her Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law (MPPAL) at York. She credits MPPAL Graduate Program Director and Professor Naomi Couto with supporting her throughout the editing and review process. “Professor Couto even helped come up with a couple of rhymes for the very, very early rough draft,” says Ridley-Padmore. “She was such a big champion.”

“Books send a powerful, implicit message about whose stories are worth telling,” says Ridley-Padmore. “I think it’s really important that all children know that Canada’s Black stories are worth telling.”

Ridley-Padmore worked with Ottawa illustrator Merryl-Royce Ndema-Moussa to bring the stories to life, and submitted the manuscript to eight Canadian publishers. “Only one got back to us,” she recalls. But after substantial revisions to the draft, the final book would have been drastically different from the version Ridley-Padmore submitted. At the same time, the murder of George Floyd in the U.S. and reckoning of anti-racist protests around the world inspired Ridley-Padmore to seek community support instead and self-publish the book. Within hours of launching a Kickstarter campaign, they had reached their $10,000 goal to fund the project and raised a total of $47, 713.

“It was such an affirming experience, especially after navigating the publishing industry, and a lifetime of receiving the implied messages that Black stories didn’t matter.”

The community support generated from the campaign helped Ridley-Padmore to ultimately enter into a supportive and empowering publishing agreement. The funds raised from Kickstarter will be going toward maximizing the impact of the book, including translating the book to French, marketing to a wider audience and enabling more community initiatives, such as donating copies of the book and giving live readings.

“Books send a powerful, implicit message about whose stories are worth telling,” says Ridley-Padmore. “I think it’s really important that all children know that Canada’s Black stories are worth telling.”

Trailblazers: The Black Pioneers Who Have Shaped Canada is available for pre-order , and books will be shipped out in November.

The post Alumna Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore (MPPAL ’19) writes Canada’s history of Black pioneers in new children’s book appeared first on Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends.

Q: Why did you choose to study at the Schulich School of Business?
A: From an early age I had been entrepreneurial and always wanted to start my own business. I knew that I needed a well-rounded education to be successful, and the Schulich School of Business provided a multidisciplinary approach that resonated with me. My mother attended York and many of my friends also studied at Schulich, but aside from the personal connection, Schulich had a great reputation. The name carried a lot of weight and respect, which was something I wanted to affiliate myself with. It felt like a true achievement when I was accepted into the program!

Q: What did you enjoy during your undergrad?
A: As an undergrad, Schulich also gave me opportunities to learn lessons both personally and professionally. These really helped me think ahead in life, in the workforce and as an entrepreneur. It was a fantastic feeling being among peers who enjoyed business in the same ways and to celebrate each other's successes. I also had the opportunity to connect with incredible York alumni who came back to meet with the undergrads and share their expertise.

Q: During your studies, were there any important lessons that helped you with your career?
A: Being in business school, I learned how to take information and apply frameworks when making decisions.  It showed me that everyone has different aptitudes, so you must learn to leverage those strengths and weaknesses to make things work. My heavy course loads gave me great practice in time management and the entrepreneurship and marketing classes taught me lessons that I still find useful today.

Q: How did you end up starting your own business and where did YouTube come into play?
A: After graduating from Schulich, I landed a corporate job that made me quite unhappy. I was 24 years old and felt that I was still able to take risks and try new opportunities. So, I quit my job and decided to develop a cleaning service company. I took all that I learned from Schulich and put together a solid business plan. After three months, I had my business up and running! It wasn’t until five years later that I started making YouTube videos. With no prior experience with cameras or lighting, my passion for marketing allowed me to target my audience, stay on the cutting edge and use SEO to drive traffic. Now Clean My Space is one of the top YouTube channels in the country! I’ve also had the opportunity to come out with a book called Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Everyday and my own product line of premium microfiber cloths called ‘Makers Clean’.

Q: What would you like accomplish in the future?
A: Growing my cleaning service is the priority but balancing that while also being the spokesperson can be difficult. I teamed up with a Schulich MBA alum who will be helping to strategically expand the business. I have also scheduled a staff retreat to help plan for 2020 and make sure we are growing sustainably. I’m excited to see what the next year holds for us.

Q: What advice would you give to York students?
A: When you are in University, you can feel old, because it is the oldest you have ever been. However, you are quite young in comparison to your entire life. It can be overwhelming to feel that your degree will dictate your future, but that does not have to be the case. Your education will be a platform to help launch you into the next stage of your professional life! While learning the fundamentals in school, keep an open mind and an eye out for new opportunities.  To quote from my professor, “Chance favors the prepared mind”.

I’d also say to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and to make new friends in university. Sharing the same interests can cultivate lifelong friendships. I personally met two of my best friends during my time at Schulich which I’m very grateful for.

To learn more about Melissa visit or follow .

The post Alumni Spotlight: Melissa Maker (BBA ’05) appeared first on Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends.

Q: Why did you choose to study at York?
A: From the time I was in high school I thought I was going to be a journalist and always loved creative writing. I went to the University of Toronto for two years as an English student. While at U of T, I fell in love with jazz music and switched to York. Back then and to this day, I consider myself very lucky for following my passion and that it took me to York.

Q: How did your time at York prepare you for your career?
A: I did not grow up singing so I didn’t have the best technique. Professor Bill Westcott was evaluating my singing once during and exam, and I clearly remember him saying to me “Ori, I think it is excellent that you’re so passionate about Jazz music, but some of those pitches, weren’t pitches, and if you’d like to seriously tackle this, I recommend you study 17^th century baroque singing.” I took it as a sign and switched my major to classical baroque singing. In classical voice, I studied under Professor Benjamin Butterfield, and it was life changing. I learned to use my voice in a stronger way, improved my tone, technique, and explored my limits musically. It was such a blessing and made me a much better musician. The really nice part of this story is that, I think only at York could I take a path like this.

Q: Do you have a favourite memory or place on campus?
A: One of my fondest memories was in 2005, when I was the VP of Programs of the Creative Arts Student Association (CASA). I planned an exciting concert called What a Difference O’Day Made, featuring Anita O’Day – one of the most prolific jazz musicians of our time. Professor Marie Rickard, the Master of Winters College at the time, supported us in bringing in Ms. O’Day to �첥��Ƶ. I produced the show and made it a truly interdisciplinary event – held at the Burton Auditorium, Ms. O’Day was accompanied by �첥��Ƶ Professors and student dancers were on stage, interpreting her music, arts students painted a portrait of her as well. That was an experience that I will never forget.

Q: Can you tell me a bit about your career path from graduation to present?
A: When I was at York, I went through a phase where I got frustrated with my program, gave up on singing and decided to be a journalist. Over the six months that I took off from jazz music, I was miserable, and I realized that music was my passion, and this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. After York, I continued my studies at Humber College. Following this, I focused on performing. I honed my music at many jazz jams, open mics and concerts. I pushed myself to perform everywhere I could.

So far, I’ve put out three albums and I’m working on my fourth. My last album was by far my biggest success, called Nathaniel: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, and allowed me to do international work at SXSW, headlining a jazz festival in Morocco and a conference in South Korea.

For Nathaniel, I wanted to do something different and as an artist, I always try to push the envelope and bring my music to new audiences. I was inspired by Beyonce, believe it or not, and created a visual album with 12 music videos. I used 7 different directors from around the world and the videos have been featured at over 50 film festivals world-wide. My most popular music video to date is titled Sting of the Cactus and has over 140,000 views on YouTube.

Currently, I’m working on my fourth album which is all original music, so stay tuned for that.

Q: What’s the most fulfilling thing about your job?
A: For me, its all about the audience. I love playing to an audience because I’m an entertainer. What makes jazz special is that it is in the moment, its always different and if its good, it will have an element of surprise. That’s why I can sing the same song, but it will be different every night.

To learn more about Ori’s music and where to catch a performance, visit: or follow @oridaganjazz. 

The post Alumni Spotlight - Ori Dagan (BFA ’07) appeared first on Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends.