Phiona Lloyd-Henry (she, her) is coordinating principal for leadership, capacity building and school partnership at the PDSB – she migrated from Jamaica and has worked with the Peel District School Board for more than ten years. She has been a classroom teacher, department head and has served as the instructional resource teacher and instructional coordinator for equity and inclusive education. While serving as coordinator, her core responsibility included coordinating the Board’s We Rise Together Action Plan. This included facilitating anti-racism training,  leading the development of curriculum, learning resources and materials and providing system-wide facilitation/training related to the School Success planning process. 

Phiona is dedicated to serving students and creating educational environments that are equitable, inclusive and free from discriminatory practices. She is interested in critical democratic pedagogy and anti-oppressive forms of teaching and learning; she values positive partnerships with families and caregivers. She also values the development of student efficacy and social activism. Her undergraduate work in Education (University of the West Indies) and her graduate work (OISE – University of Toronto) have contributed to her praxis as an activist educator. In addition to her formal work as an educator, Phiona serves on the board of local not-for profit organizations that advocate for Black children. For example, she has recently joined the Jamaican Canadian Association as the Education Chair and she serves as a board members of the Black Youth School Success Initiative in Peel. In February 2019, Phiona was awarded with the United Way’s Community Leadership Award for her work as a Black community advocate. Phiona is an executive member of PAACE – the Peel Association of African Canadian Educators.