DiversiPro is honoured to serve as the Secretariat and co-chair of the African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Advisory Group established by Canadian Blood Services. This role reflects a shared commitment to advancing equity, rebuilding trust, and embedding community-informed leadership within Canada’s healthcare system.

The team that was selected by CBS to establish the Advisory Group includes DiversiPro CEO Hamlin Grange, and Associates Sylvia Okonofua, Adam Benn, and Samah Osman. Together, they – in collaboration with Osayi Ogieva, CBS’s Director of DEI, Sustainability and Engagement – developed the terms of reference and recruited members of the Group from across Canada that reflect the remarkable diversity of the Black community.

DiversiPro, through Hamlin Grange, will be a trusted advisor, providing strategic counsel on ACB-related initiatives, supporting culturally informed engagement approaches, and helping ensure that the Group’s recommendations are conveyed clearly, responsibly, and with integrity. 

The process of searching and selecting members of the Advisory Group highlighted the work being done across Canada by members of the ACB community – from researchers, health equity advocates, students, parents, and those living with sickle cell disease and other blood-related disorders prevalent in the Black community.

The ACB Advisory Group was created in recognition of the systemic barriers and historic harms that African, Caribbean, and Black communities in Canada have experienced within healthcare institutions, including exclusion from decision-making and policies that have contributed to mistrust. Canadian Blood Services has made a long-term commitment to addressing anti-Black racism, strengthening relationships, and ensuring its policies and practices are culturally safe, responsive, and equitable. 

The ACB Advisory Group serves in an advisory capacity. Its mandate is to provide strategic guidance, culturally grounded insight, and community-rooted perspectives to inform Canadian Blood Services’ ACB engagement and recruitment strategies. A core focus of the Group’s work is the co-development of a trust and relationship-building strategy that supports meaningful, sustained engagement with ACB communities across Canada.

The Group’s guiding principles include authenticity, inclusion and equity, intersectionality, and Ubuntu, reflecting values of collective responsibility, interconnectedness, and mutual accountability.

As Secretariat, DiversiPro is responsible for convening and co-chairing the Advisory Group; developing agendas collaboratively with Canadian Blood Services and Group members; facilitating meetings and dialogue; documenting deliberations; and supporting the implementation of advisory activities.

DiversiPro is proud to contribute its expertise to this important national initiative and looks forward to supporting the ACB Advisory Group as it advances equitable, community-informed healthcare outcomes across Canada.