Chavon Niles

Dr. Chavon Niles is a Guyanese Canadian researcher, scholar, educator, and advocate committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Dr. Niles completed her PhD at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She is an Assistant Professor at Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Dr. Niles was the Program Manager, Faculty Development, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Hospital for Sick Children. In 2021, she joined the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board as the Manager, Professional Development and Recruitment. She was also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Chavon completed a Master’s degree in Critical Disability Studies from York University focusing on regular and special education classroom teachers’ perceptions of teaching students with IEPs, a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Toronto with a specialization in primary/junior education, and an Honors Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University with an interest in supporting students with in/visible disabilities in the classroom.

Recent Publications

1. Noone D., Robinson L., Niles C., Narang I. Unlocking the Power of Allyship: Giving Health Care Workers the Tools to Take Action Against Inequities and Racism. NEJM Catalyst. 2022. 
2. Niles C. Who gets in? The Price of Acceptance in Canada. Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis. 7 (1), 148-162. 2018. 
3. Niles C. Examining the Deinstitutionalization Movement in North America. Health Tomorrow: Interdisciplinarity and Internationality, 1, 54-83. 2013. 

4. [C] Joseph A., Niles, C., Vaz, C., Gooding W., and Millard B (in press).  Frozen, invisible, indefinite: Immigration detention in Canada and the carceral violence of temporal torment. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work.  

5. [CO-PA] Niles, C., Hande, M. J, Schormans, A.F., Porch, W., Mahipaul, S., Anderson. J., Yoshida, K.K (in press). What and who are the “essential” in the COVID pandemic? A Disability Justice analysis of Ontario COVID-19 measures in Ontario and the impact on diverse disability communities. Journal of Studies in Social Justice 

6. [PA] Niles, C. “Bodies that do not matter”: The Erasure of Racialized Immigrant Youth with Disabilities through Health and Social Services Program Archetypes. Paper accepted by Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal. 

7. Niles C. Teaching Social Values through African Proverbs. Dei, G. J. S. & McDermott, M. (Eds.) Centering African Proverbs, Indigenous Folktales, and Cultural Stories in Curriculum: Units and Lesson Plans for Inclusive Education (pp. 51-87). Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier Press 2019. 

8. Fudge Schormans A. Mahipaul, S., Niles, C. (First three authors in alphabetical order) Yoshida K.K (SRA), COVID-19 Amplifies the Complexity of Disability and Race. The Conversation. April 7, 2021. https://theconversation.com/covid-19-amplifies-the-complexity-of-disability-and-race-157933. (Impact – 10,085 reads between April 7- Nov. 6, 2022. 

9. Niles C, Goren I. The Price of Acceptance: Immigrants with Disabilities in a System of Disadvantage. Rabble. 2016.

Honours & Awards

• 2019 | Canadian South Asian Trailblazer and Champion for Equity, Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA),  Toronto, Ontario

^{Each year CASSA selects individuals in Canada that are bringing about changes through their work. In 2019 I was recognized as a trailblazer, the first time an Indo- and Afro- Guyanese Canadian woman has been selected by the organization.}

• 2014 | Canadian Race Relations Foundations – Best Practice in Canada, Accessibility Initiative, Toronto, Ontario

^{_{Under my leadership, OCASI’s Accessibility Initiative was selected as a Best Practice by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.}}

• 2017 | David C. Onley Award Leader in Accessibility, Accessibility Initiative Toronto, Ontario  

^{Under my leadership, OCASI’s Accessibility Initiative was recognized as a leader in accessibility in Ontario, the first for the immigrant and refugee sector.}