Marva Wisdom

Marva Wisdom is a leading voice on empowering social change and for decades, an advocate for social justice, equity and inclusivity. Her service delivery to local, national, and international clients include keynote speeches, workshop facilitation & design, and research through her company Wisdom Consulting.

Marva’s more than 30 years of volunteer leadership have included: Founding president of Guelph Black Heritage Society, chair of United Way Campaign, fundraising cabinet member of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, board chair of the YMCA-YWCA, long time Rotarian and national policy chair and platform chair for a major political party and vice chair of the Canadian Centre for Diversity.

She has been a driving force as Director of Outreach and Engagement behind the well-received Black Experience Project (GTA) – a seven-year Environics Institute and partner research study.  She is the director of the international ArtsEverywhere Festival, co-presented by Eramosa Institute and Musagetes Foundation.  And she is the external Lead Advisor for the City of Guelph’s participatory national award winning, long-term Community Plan that is committed to setting a community standard for the elimination of systemic racism.  Marva is also a Senior Fellow at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

In giving voice to the dismantling of systemic racism, Marva has co-authored Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love.