This summer, we at Inclusion Action in Ontario hired two full time employees for the first time in our 30+ years of history! Earlier this year, we had a chance to apply for a Canada Summer Jobs Grant. This program is an initiative of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to help young Canadians develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into the labour market. We received a Canada Summer Jobs Grant which covered about 80% of the costs, fundraised the remaining amount, made two amazing hires, and got to work. Our summer students, Danielle and Sanjna, are working as Communications and Marketing Specialists and their biographies can be found on our team page.
We had a wishlist of work we wanted to get done: to make information accessible to families advocating for inclusive education; to connect to other people and groups with a similar mission; and to offer support to parents and friends seeking to enrich the lives of children with disabilities.
This revitalized site is the result of their work. So far they have investigated technology choices, made the selections, and moved us to a new infrastructure. They designed the website and conducted interviews and research to create content for the pages. You’ll be seeing more of the results in the coming weeks.
Here is more information about Sanjna and Danielle:
Sanjna Gogna
Sanjna Gogna is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM). She completed her major in Biology for Health Sciences and did two minors in Psychology and Chemistry. Working with IAO is a natural continuation of the non-profit and volunteer work she had previously done within UTM Best Buddies and UTM Accessibility Services. Much of her focus has been around disability advocacy and allyship. Having witnessed students with disabilities be isolated in the community, Sanjna is excited to work at IAO and make progress towards an inclusive education system in Ontario. Sanjna has been working on IAO’s website relaunch and content generation for social media platforms. She hopes to help strengthen IAO’s brand and build a larger membership base through a variety of insightful content and useful resources.
Danielle Mogyoros
Danielle Mogyoros is a graduate from McMaster University where she completed a double major in Classics and Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. In addition, she received her post-graduate certificate from Mohawk College in Communication and Media Studies. At the core, her interests lie in understanding people, the origin of storytelling, and finding the best ways to tell those stories. Danielle has experience working with Hamilton Health Sciences on content creation, running charity events and overseeing related media, and working in sales and marketing. After her father got sick and required accommodations, she realized how inaccessible most institutions were, and how it often resulted in him being separated and subsequently disadvantaged. Danielle has been working on IAO’s rebranding and social media, and launching a new website with the focus on creating a resource hub for families in need. She hopes to continue leveraging her expertise to further IAO’s mission of inclusion by reaching out to parents and families, and creating content that appeals to them as IAO grows.