About the OVPECI

Building belonging through a more equitable and inclusive TMU

The Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI) serves as a resource to all TMU students, faculty and staff. We support equity and inclusion by providing guidance, strategies and amplifying diverse voices.

Our mandate

The OVPECI will provide oversight with respect to the realization of the university’s ECI strategic initiatives. We will work collaboratively — providing technical guidance and support — to empower all members of the university to create a human rights centred campus. We work in partnership to reduce barriers to access and inclusion for students, faculty and staff and bolster an equitable and inclusive community-focused decolonized university that pursues its academic mandate.

We will assist in building capacity across all sectors of the university, assemble ECI expertise and intentionally guide purposeful action through the provision of:

advice and consultation
education and awareness
identification of best practices
human rights-related services
research and data
support for the development of policies and programs, including for the review of ongoing policies and programs

Inequity is a challenge that requires diverse and intentional solutions

What is the OVPECI?

Accessibility

Identifying, removing and preventing barriers to inclusion for persons with disabilities.

Education, Awareness and Outreach

Providing educational programming, including training, consultation and workshops related to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Indigenous Initiatives

Advancing Indigenous student success, teaching, research, and community engagement through a relational model of listening, advising and partnership.

Gdoo-maawnjidimi Mompii Indigenous Student Services

Providing a culturally supportive environment for Indigenous students that blends traditional teachings with academic excellence.

Research, Planning and Assessment

Offering equity data and diversity resources to help uncover systemic barriers impacting students, faculty and staff from TMU’s six equity-deserving groups, enabling more intentional and informed decision-making.

Equitable research

The Dimensions Program seeks to enhance EDI in scholarly, research and creative activities by increasing equitable access to funding, promoting inclusive participation and integrating EDI into research design and practices.

Human Rights Services

Coaching, advice and consultation about human rights concerns, as well as investigations and alternative resolutions of complaints.

Confronting anti-Black racism and cultivating Black flourishing

The PICCABR includes teams across TMU leading the implementation of the 14 recommendations from the Anti-Black Racism Campus Climate Review. The OVPECI supports the coordination and management of PICCABR.

Leadership team 

Meet Dr. Tanya (Toni) De Mello

Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion

Tanya (Toni) De Mello, Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, is a trusted human rights lawyer, mediator and equity expert with 25 years of EDI experience and 15 years in post-secondary leadership. Since 2017, she has advanced a more equitable and inclusive TMU campus.

Toni previously served as Director of Human Rights Services and Associate Dean at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, where she led initiatives in admissions, wellness, accommodations and equity-focused student support. She has worked with the UN, co-founded two NGOs, and holds degrees in economics, political science, law, public policy and counselling, as well as a PhD on bias in hiring. A leading voice on equity, her work inspires transformative change.

Get to know Toni