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Celebrating 10 Years

J2DW Celebrates 10 Years of Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Safety in the Workplace

Celebrating 10 Years of J2DW’s Vision and Mission for a Better Workplace

 

For Immediate Release

Barrie, Ontario, December 3, 2023 – Journey to Diversity Workplaces (J2DW), a non-profit organization that advocates for diversity, equity, inclusion, and safety in the workplace, is celebrating our 10th anniversary this month. Founded in December 2013 by a group of passionate individuals who wanted to reform the workplace and introduce progressive policies that promote harmony and growth, J2DW has grown into a network of members, partners, and supporters who share our vision and mission.

J2DW believes that the workplace should be a place where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered. It believes that diversity, equity, inclusion, and safety are not only moral imperatives but also strategic advantages that foster creativity, innovation, and connectedness. J2DW is not just an organization but a movement that aims to transform the workplace culture and environment for the better.

Over the past decade, J2DW has been involved in various initiatives and activities that support our goals and objectives. Some of these include:

    • Producing a volunteer-run podcast called Diversity on Air, which interviews experts, leaders, and activists who share their insights and experiences on diversity, equity, inclusion, and safety.
    • Publishing a blog called Voices of our Nation, featuring articles contributed by volunteers and summer students who write about their opinions, stories, and research on workplace issues.
    • Hosted amazing speakers such as Paralympic athlete Zak Madell and former PEI opposition leader Hon. Peter Bevan-Baker.
    • Partnering with various organizations and platforms such as OnGood, Charity Village, and VolunteerMatch to increase our reach and impact.
    • Being featured in various media outlets such as the Barrie Advance, Barrie Today, and InDurham to raise awareness and recognition of our work and community.

    J2DW is proud of our achievements and milestones over the past 10 years. It is also grateful for the support and collaboration of our members, partners, donors, volunteers, staff, board members, and advisors who have contributed to our success and growth. J2DW invites everyone to join it on our journey to diversity in the workplace. Whether one is an employer, an employee, or a supporter, one can make a difference by becoming a member, a partner, or a donor. One can also listen to our podcast episodes and read our blog posts to learn more about our work and community.

    J2DW’s motto is “Respecting differences ethically, morally, and legally!” We hope to continue living up to this motto for many more years to come.

    For more information about J2DW, please visit our website at www.j2dw.ngo. You can also follow us on social media platforms such as Facebook, Threads, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Mastodon.

    Journey to Diversity Workplaces is a non-profit organization built on improving the business and social environment by championing diversity and the workers within those workplaces. J2DW was formed in 2013 by Founder and CEO Peter V. Tretter with the goal of introducing and maintaining progressive workplace policies. Ideas like higher wages and a four-day workweek are key strategic pillars for J2DW to improve the quality of life and social footprint that businesses have on their employees and communities.

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    Contact:

    J2DW Media Relations
    705-481-1674
    Email us!

Our top articles & essays for 2022

A lot has been written by our summer students and volunteers and published by us, most in the last year.

Here we present our top 8 articles & essays.

  1. The Unemployment Crisis of Indigenous People in Canada
  2. The Pros and Cons of Hiring Older Employees vs. Younger Employees
  3. 5 Ways to Promote Inclusivity of Indigenous People in the Workplace
  4. Ethics, organizational culture and behaviours
  5. How is Systemic Racism Affecting Childcare Employees?
  6. Sensory Overload of Neurodivergent Individuals at Work
  7. Bystander intervention training in the workplace
  8. Challenges to Rural and Urban Workplace Diversity

We hope you will join us for more fantastic workplace-related articles in 2023!

Some of these articles were funded by the Government of Canada.

J2DW Announces 2022 New Board Directors

J2DW Announces 2022 New Board Directors

 

For Immediate Release

Barrie, ON, 18 May 2022 – Journey to Diversity Workplaces, a leader in the promotion of a new progressive workplace, announces three new board directors for two-year terms.

Current board members include:

Cynthia Gordon, Past Chair, joined the Board in 2018.
Heba Roble, Privacy Commissioner, joined the Board in 2021.

New board members include:

Dr. Leland Harper, Chair, ratified 12 May 2022.
Frank Tuzi, Secretary, ratified 12 May 2022.
Muddasir Zaib, Director, ratified 12 May 2022.

Dr. Leland Harper is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Siena Heights University. His research focuses on philosophy of race, particularly issues of racial solidarity and racism. He is the editor of the Philosophy of Race series at Vernon Press and the organizer of the Great Lakes Philosophy Conference, an annual international philosophy conference. Leland grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, and received a BA in General Studies from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, an MA in Philosophy from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham. In his spare time, he operates Leland Harper Consulting, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting firm based in Toronto, spends time with his wife and two children, and can be found cheering on the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Frank loves spending time with his wife and 3 kids aged 6, 5 and 2 and currently lives in Ottawa. He really enjoys a great story. The topic or the format doesn’t matter as long as it is a great story. He has worked in the mortgage industry for 18 years, working his way up from a summer student to various leadership roles in mortgage underwriting. He is excited to contribute to J2DW’s growth and is eager to learn and grow along with the organization.

As a corporate lawyer, Muddasir has been involved in many large and small business transactions with Canadian, the US and European organizations. In the course of these dealings, Muddasir has worked with many other lawyers and professional advisers in providing range of legal services including business incorporations, contract drafting and other regulatory compliance matters. Muddasir holds a bachelor of law, a master of business administration and is currently pursuing LLM (Business law) from York University Toronto.

“I think it’s fantastic that we have such a diverse board with such exceptional people with the level of experience that they have.” commented Founder & CEO Peter V. Tretter

Journey to Diversity Workplaces is a non-profit organization built on improving the business and social environment by championing diversity and the workers within those workplaces. J2DW was formed in 2013 by Founder and CEO Peter V. Tretter with the goal of introducing and maintaining progressive workplace policies. Ideas like higher wages and a four-day workweek are key strategic pillars for J2DW to improve the quality of life and social footprint that businesses have on their employees and communities.

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J2DW Media Relations
705-481-1674
Email us!

I want to tell you about my Mom

Hello –

How does one put into words over 30 years of memories, experiences, and emotions?

Many don’t know that I spent three years at Ryerson’s theatre school. It was a time of adventure and discovery. I still value those experiences to this day.

My Mom always encouraged me and sister to do whatever we wanted. Music lessons, dance classes, scouting or guiding, and participating in the Greely Players were all par for the course for us, and I am very thankful that my parents were able to do that for us.

Mom also was an accomplished painter. I have this amazing milk can by my front door decorated like an old-church stained-glass window.

Because of this, the arts are a subject that I hold quite dear.

Mom passed away from cancer in June 2014.

Like any good son, I had been wracking my brain for ways I could do something special to honour and celebrate my Mom. Unfortunately, I lack the $100,000+ to have something like a new wing at the hospital named after her.

The Doris Tretter Memorial Scholarship for Diversity in the First Arts was born as my way of honouring Mom.

Except I need your help.

Tomorrow we are doing a Thunderclap.

A thunderclap is when many social media users send the same message at the same time on the same day. Unfortunately, coordinating something like this without technology is almost impossible.

So we are using a website, appropriately named Thunderclap. You can sign up, for free, with your Facebook and/or Twitter and/or Tumblr accounts. It takes no more than a minute.

We need 100 signed up social media accounts. Right now we have 52.

Then on Wednesday at noon Thunderclap will release the same message on all the signed up accounts at the same time.

Hopefully, we become a trending topic.

The other way you can help is by directly contributing to our crowdfunding campaign. We have contribution levels for all incomes.

I appreciate you loaning me a few minutes of your time to tell you about my Mom.

All the best,

Peter V. Tretter
President & CEO
Journey to Diversity Workplaces

Thunderclap

Profiles of Diversity -:- Shan Simpson

Shan Simpson
Profiles of Diversity is a series in which we profile in each post one of the members of our Board of Directors or volunteers.

Today’s profile is Shan Simpson.

Shan has a physical disability. He tell us his greatest strength is resiliency. He is driven to succeed. He earned his Eagle Scout badge at age 14.

Shan’s hobbies include sports, reading, listen to music, and blogging. He really enjoys basketball as he can play it with his disability.

Shan got interested in J2DW because he thought it was a good idea. He lives in a small area with little accessibility. His proudest achievement was going back to school and earning his Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He’s also proud of his Eagle Scout Award.

In 5 years Shan sees J2DW having expanded to more areas and with a more global reach, especially to smaller communities.

E-mail Shan!

Profiles of Diversity -:- Lucas Woodcock

Lucas_Woodcock_2Profiles of Diversity is a series in which we profile in each post one of the members of our Board of Directors.

Today’s member is Lucas Woodcock.

Lucas is the Treasurer on the Board.

By day he is a team leader at a local call centre. Lucas says his greatest strength is the ability to analyze others, and to find their strengths and weaknesses.

Lucas’s most favourite hobby is playing board games. He enjoys interacting with people in person, but he also enjoys the occasional video game.

He got interested in Journey to Diversity Workplaces for two reasons:

  • Peter (the CEO) asked.
  • He thought it was a great idea, and wanted to help others find their workplace happiness.

    • Lucas’ greatest achievement is:

  • Personal & professional success.
  • That he has lived, and loved.
  • In 5 years, Lucas sees J2DW hopefully one of the ten largest organizations in Canada.

    • Email Lucas!

    Profiles of Diversity -:- Steven Bennett

    Steven BennettProfiles of Diversity is a series in which we profile in each post one of the members of our Board of Directors.

    Today’s member is Steven Bennett.

    Steven is Journey to Diversity Workplaces Vice Chair, and has been on the board since May 2014.

    Steven is a Disability Support Worker in his professional life. He says his great strength is adaptability. He’s always changing with the circumstances.

    His hobbies are sleep, work, and technology such as computers.

    He joined the Board of Journey to Diversity Workplaces because he is an advocate for workplace change, service, equal pay.

    His proudest achievement is working for Camp Hill.

    In 5 years, Steven sees us having a fairly good member base, and turning our vision into reality.
    Email Stephen!