Lerato
ChondomA LL.B, MBA
Storyteller, Convener, Bridge builder, Advocate + Activist, Pathfinder
I am rooted in justice movements and am deeply committed to being anti-racist and decolonial. I believe in the power of stories and storytelling as a way to build bridges, activate hope and inspire allyship through solidarity. Where all my interests intersect is a space where sometimes, something really magical happens💡 an idea is born, a story is woven; and through it a transformative message is relayed. This is what I love to do and what I would like to do in partnership with you.
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Let us share and weave together: transforming the world one story at a time.
KEYNOTE SPEAKING & EMCEEING
I weave experiences about life, encounters, journeys and work to support your vision and event. Grounded in all things justice, I use Black storytelling and imagery to share authentic stories with messages about community, abundance, love, joy and empathy.
FACILITATING &
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Valuing the need for dialogical, generative, brave spaces for ideas to flourish. I work with you and your team to vision and create spaces for discussion, conversation and dialogue.
STORYTELLING & STORYWORK
From gaining a sense of identity - to aligning with purpose - to charting your own course…. I draw on my lived and professional experience to work with you and your team to design workshops that unlock the potential of storytelling and storywork as a way to communicate & share your impact.
The Art of Weaving
Tensions and Threads -
highlights of my body of work
Keynote Speaking and Emceeing
Storytelling and Storywork
Facilitating and Panel Discussions
Our lives are a metaphorical piece of multiple textiles that a woven and shaped in many intersectional ways. My keynote speaking is grounded in intersectional approaches that centre justice, equity, anti-racism and decolonization. I hope to share stories and experiences that resonate and connect the lives that we weave for ourselves as human beings and as a broader society. Stories and experiences that give us pause to reflect on our current societal fabric; unpicking, unravelling and un/(re) learning as we go.
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Nice to meet you, I am Lerato Chondoma
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Association for Information Science and Technology - Opening Plenary Keynote​
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In weaving, the shuttle is the device that turns threads into cloth. The shuttle carries the weft yarn in-between the warp. The practice of the shuttling of the weft is akin to intersectionality; weaving left and right, under and over, up and down. I use my storytelling and storywork to cultivate enriching discussions, discussions which in turn lead to transformative ideas, ideas that eventually form the basis of beliefs. Beliefs that we collectively weave into narratives, informing our own sense of identity and belonging.
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Partners in Change Society, Sunshine Coast BC - Social Innovation Day
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​Early Edition with Stephen Quinn, CBC Radio - "Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build." Featured Black Community Builder
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"To Be in Right Relations"- Caleb Behn (Eh-Cho Dene and Duane Za/Cree, Treaty 8 Territory)"
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"Land Acknowledgments and Place-Based Protocols"- Seraphine Munroe (Sto:lo and Dakelh First Nations)
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​ part of "Fostering Relational Engagement Between Researchers and Indigenous Communities" Module 1 - a researcher training module developed by UBC Indigenous Research Support Initiative, Lerato Chondoma and in collaboration with the UBC Scholars Program.
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My approach is to support consensus-based, community-driven approaches for equity-deserving groups, Black and Indigenous partners to be active participants in designing solutions for themselves, shaped by (their) distinct worldviews, cultural context(s) and values. I work to design inclusive + brave spaces for dialogue between equity-deserving groups, Indigenous partners and public institutions on projects with a local, provincial and national scope.
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“Making Community: Towards Black Flourishing” part of Inaugural Forum of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education
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Witness Summary Panel: Partnering in Research Conference
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Ethics for UBC - Ethics in Policy, Business and Law
Projects, Reports and Publications
PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS:​
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Building Indigenous-Led Engagement Frameworks. Indigenous Research Capacity and Reconciliation Connection Grant from the Social Sciences and Human Resources Council (SSHRC) from the Government of Canada.
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Blackness Committee Report and Glossary of Terms of UBC Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force Report.
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TEACHING AND PEDAGOGY:​
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Transformative Learning and Innovation Course: Designing for Transformation
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Worked as part of a team to develop and roll out the first offering of the Executive MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership Program at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University
Board and Advisory Committee Appointments
CURRENT:
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PREVIOUS:
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​Vice President, Board of Directors, Association for Administrative and Professional Staff at UBC (2022-2024)
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Member, Cultural Safety in Research Working Group, BC NEIHR, Victoria (2021 - 2023)
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Steering Committee Member, Centre for Culture, Identity and Education at UBC (2021 - 2024)
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Committee Member, Indigenous Strategic Plan Executive Advisory Committee (ISPEAC), UBC (2021 - 2024)
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Vice-Chair, Racial and Ethno-Cultural Equity Advisory Committee to Vancouver City Council (2021 - 2022)
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Committee Member, Indigenous Strategic Plan Implementation Committee (ISPIC), UBC (2018 - 2024)
