Dr. Renée Ferguson

Renée (they/she) is a Liberal Arts faculty and program coordinator at Georgian College. As a developer for the Supporting Learners from Care Tuition Waiver and coaching program at Georgian and a policy advisor for the Child Welfare Political Action Committee, Renée consults with other post-secondary institutions launching their own programming. They also engage in advocacy work with Barrie Pride, UPlift Black, and the Provincial Education Liaison Network.

Incorporating her lived experience, education, and the voices of those who have been/are othered, Renée facilitates immersive workshops for schools and organizations with the aim of fostering communities that truly prioritize, champion, and action belonging. Renée helps attendees explore vital topics and develop/enhance powerful relational tools to ensure they are trauma-informed, can recognize and confront assumptions of family privilege, ableism, heterosexism, and transphobia, and understand the impact of social identity and intersectionality on power, privilege, and inequity. Renée holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Leadership and a M.A. in Human Development, Applied Psychology and Education (Specialization: Adaptive instruction and special education) both from OISE at the University of Toronto, and a Specialized Honours B.A. in Psychology from York University.