Member Profiles

 Alexis She/her Carleton university General member. Joined to create a sustainable and effective change for youth in the gta. President of the Markham black youth liaison
 

 I'm Ash Mitchell (They/them), a 11th grade student at Bill Hogarth Secondary School. I am passionate about activism and issues related to the Black community, especially the intersectionality of race, gender, and LGBT+ identities. Other than that, I enjoy reading, writing, and journaling and aspire to become an author someday.

 Hi, my name is Atiya Williams 19 years old born in Trinidad and Tobago, I am currently enrolled in a Culinary Arts Program at Frontlines. I work alongside my father at Pelau Catering and I have my section in the business called Authentic Atiya Drink, I started back in 2021 and since then I have sold in farmers markets as well as some of the BYR events next stop is to get into stores and restaurants. My hobbies are watching UFC, boxing, and track, reading, writing spoken word, listening to Soca, going on hikes.
 

 Dream Tuitt-Barnes (she/her) is a first-year undergraduate attending Queen's University. She is in the Honours Health Sciences program with the prestigious QuARMs (Queen's University Accelerated Route to Medicine) program. Over the years, Dream has had many roles in BYR Youth, ranging from being a panelist to most recently working as the Operations Manager of the BYR Youth Leadership Conference 2022. Dream firmly believes that each and every youth should be given a safe space to be able to let their voice be heard, and uplift others.
 

 Hi! My name is Jaishaan Dhillon and I go by he/him pronouns! I got to Dunbarton Highschool and in grade 9. I joined BYR Youth to expand my volunteer experience and meet fellow youth who have similar growth mindsets who can uplift our community! I have volunteer experience with helping with kids soccer and have showed support at protests and spreading the word of many issues in our society in multiple ways and forms. Thank you and hope to see you soon!
 

 Hello! My name is Janae Layne. I currently attend Unionville High School (grade 10) for the arts unionville voice program. I play rep volleyball for reach volleyball club. Additionally, I am a girl guide of Canada and a community activist apart of BYR youth.

 Kayla Escoffery (she/her) Hi my name is Kayla Escoffery I'm in grade 11 at Pickering High School. I joined BYR Youth because I wanted to connect with like minded youth activist and it was opportunity to find support when it comes community based projects and idea. Outside of BYR Youth I am the founder of the Black Student Association at my school that adhere to amplifying the black student voice as well assure that black culture is celebrated and leadership member of the Women's Empowerment Association. In the future I hope to travel the world, study sociology in university and use my degree to be a cultural event planner.
 

 Marcus Mills
 

 Name - Marcus Walkes Pronouns- he him Why I joined- a friend of mine told me about a BYR youth conference that happened during the summer and it was a great experience for me, and I wanted to be able to do more. I've always thought that helping black youth is something important cause we're often overlooked, so I wanted to join so I could help change that. And the fact that I enjoyed the youth conference so much and being apart allowed me to have more opportunities like that was an added bonus.
 

 Cameron Davis has made a name for himself as a Activist, Athlete, Entrepreneur, teen traveler, content creator and role model for youth. He's co-founded a youth led organization to advocate for the needs of the many on allyship and issues pertaining to the Black Community, he's established a platform on his youtube channel Cameron D and other media publications like CTV, The Social, Metro Morning, where he raises awareness on social issues and his experiences with travel. He hopes to one day be the prime minister of Canada and have the ability to better everyone internationally.
 

 Rachel Cheng(she/her) is a 12th grader currently attending Pierre Elliot Trudeau high school. She is a youth social justice activist as well as one of four youth co-founders of BYR Youth. Since grade 9, she has been performing spoken word, as well as public speaking at youth events and on youth panels. In addition, she has helped organize and get funding for many youth summer events including the "Paint Your Story" summer art program, and the BYR Youth conference. In her free time, she enjoys writing, painting, reading, public speaking, and playing the flute.
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 Hi! I'm Runi Friday (she/her) I'm in grade 11 and I am a general member of BYR youth. My main reason for joining BYR youth was to be more political aware and further enhance my knowledge on issues facing black youth like myself. Through joining this group I have been able to learn that my voice matters and even youth like us can make a strong impact in communities!
 

 Sydney Baxter is a University of Toronto student focusing on Political Science. She organized a Black Lives Matter protest for the city of Markham in 2020 and from that point continued to advocate for Black youth in her community through the co-founding of BYRYouth. She loves to participate in public speaking events, some of which include presentations for high school and elementary school youth in the City of Markham, BYRYouth panels, and speaking at various community events. She strongly believes in the power of community and hopes to uplift fellow youth through education. She hopes that Black youth in York Region would have a sense of self, culture and belonging.
 

 My name is Kendra Kelly-Peterkin (They/Them). I am a young writer, entrepreneur, and student with a passion for creating change in our community. I recognize the importance of diversity, representation, and feeling seen on an identity level. As a writer, I find that my passion for writing can be utilized to inspire change in regard to social issues. In pieces of writing such as 'Land of The Free', written for the Kawartha World Issues Centre, I use poetry and literary devices to highlight messages in my writing.
 

 I'm Cemelia Rose Thomas Taylor (She/her) a grade 12 student currently attending Father Micheal McGivney. I like be active and involved in my community, whether that's playing sports/dancing or helping out with a charity. In addition, I strongly believe that we are all somewhat connected and will love to help continue to spread positivity throughout the world.
 

 Hello my name is Andre. I am 16 years old and loves to play sports, I also love helping the community and I'm always willing to learn how I can help make the world more acceptable.
 

 Freda She/Her Langstaff Secondary School grade 11 Hi! I joined BYR to hopefully make a difference for black students not only living in York Region but other areas so they can feel their voices are heard throughout. Even though I don't have much experience with activism over the years I hope joining BYR Youth can expand and help my confidence more to speak up about issues for black students and other issues as well
 

 My name is Boluwatife (Bow-loo-wah-tee-feh), my pronouns are she/her. I am currently a second-year pursuing a double major in Global Health and Bioethics with a minor in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at UofT. I was born in Nigeria but my family moved to Parry Sound at the start of Grade 4 and prior to that, we lived in Jamaica for a few years. I am super passionate about healthcare, especially from a global perspective and how it affects minorities and BIPOC individuals. As someone who has also sought after academic validation for so long, this has also fueled my passion and interest in mental wellbeing and wellness, specifically for youths and students. I am currently a facilitator of the Be the Program workshop by Student Commision at New Path Youth and Family Services (an organization that provides mental health support for youths and families). During my free time, I love to read, re-watch sitcoms like HIMYM, Modern Family, Boy Meets World, Grey’s Anatomy etc. (The Office and Brooklyn 99 are next on my to-watch list:) I absolutely love to listen to music and my music taste is pretty eclectic; one second I could be listening to Hans Zimmer and the next, Amapiano.
 

 Founder and Adult Mentor