Panel of Black Excellence

Erica Dixon is a former policy officer who worked at the Australian High Commission in Canada. She graduated from the University of Ottawa with a bachelor’s degree in history. Her undergraduate paper, Leaving The Breakfast Club: Cyrus R. Vance, The Iran Hostage Crisis, and The Burden of Being Secretary of State, was featured in the sixth edition of Clio, the University of Ottawa’s undergraduate history journal. Born and raised in the nation’s capital, Erica is proud to call Ottawa home.

Abdi Bileh Dirir is a historian, researcher and promoter of African history and culture. He is very involved in the community: he is a school vice-principal; a founder of the ACPHA, a Canadian association for the promotion of African heritages; and a former president of the expert group against racism in education at CCUNESCO (2020-2021). In 2014, Mr. Bileh was awarded the prestigious Capital Teaching Excellence Award and a provincial award from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade for his advocacy work in inclusion and diversity. In 2016, he was nominated for the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence. An active member of the community, he organizes large-scale national and international events to promote the culture and history of people of African descent. In February 2017, he worked with UNESCO to bring together Canadian artists from different backgrounds and origins to join the UNESCO International Coalition of Artists for the General History of Africa, a first in Canada.

Sean Foyn is a happily unapologetic history geek who cannot remember a time when he wasn’t listening to storytellers, reading history, visiting historic sites, researching and sharing what he learned. Sean is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s Transition Year Program and holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Dalhousie and a master’s degree in history from the University of Ottawa

His article A Troika of Programs: African Nova Scotian Education at Dalhousie University, RE/ visioning: Canadian Perspectives on the Education of African in the Late 20th Centuryexplores initiatives designed to redress historic educational and social inequities in Nova Scotia.

Sean’s master’s thesis, The Underside of Glory: AfriCanadian Enlistment in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1917, was nominated for an Excellence in Research in Graduate Studies award.

Sean was a historical researcher for Anthony Sherwood’s docudrama Honour Before Glory, and he wrote and produced the audio documentary Africville Not For Sale. Sean worked with the Michaelle Jean Foundation to produce a two-part podcast, Emancipation Day: What Now is Our Past, Present and Future.

As a member of the National Advisory Committee on the Government of Canada’s Apology for the Treatment of Number Two Construction Battalion , Sean helped develop the apology principle, national community consultations and historical materials.

Since 2021, Sean has volunteered with the Michaelle Jean Foundation to help design, organize and run the National Black Canadian Summits. As a committee member and committee chair, Sean has helped to develop sessions on justice, history and socio-economic issues, and has facilitated sessions. For the 2022 Halifax Summit, Sean was also one of the contributors to the Manifesto for the Eradication of Racial Discrimination: Halifax Declaration. For the forthcoming 2025 Montreal Summit, Sean is looking forward to seeing how a new generation of activists and workers carry forward the important work of connecting communities and driving important changes.

Sean is an active member of Black History Ottawa, where he frequently works on community-based presentations and events. Most recently, he helped Black History Ottawa develop their History in the Streets bus tour.