The ceremony coincides with the third annual Speaking with Pride<\/a> event, hosted by Pride Niagara and Brock Professional and Continuing Studies<\/a> (Brock PCS) with support from other University units.<\/p>\n \u201cBrock University is committed to breaking down barriers to and through education,\u201d says Arja Vainio-Mattila, Provost and Vice-President, Academic. \u201cSpeaking with Pride is one way in which we are working together toward a more equitable and inclusive future for all. We hope the community will join us for this important and informative event.\u201d<\/p>\n The professional development event, which is free and open to the public, will feature a keynote by Sonali (Alyy) Patel<\/a>, an author, scholar and activist focusing on intersectionality. The keynote will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.<\/p>\n Sonali (Alyy) Patel is set to be the keynote speaker at the Speaking with Pride 2025 event hosted at Brock University on Thursday, June 5. Patel, the author of \u201cDon\u2019t Tell My Parents: Queer Diasporic Truths,\u201d will also run one of the learning sessions for the event.<\/p><\/div>\n Following the keynote, attendees will be able to choose from three in-person breakout learning sessions organized by Brock PCS. Topics include practicing intersectionality at work, diversity and mental health, and understanding Niagara\u2019s 2SLGBTQIA+ community.<\/p>\n Attendees \u2014 along with all Brock students, faculty and staff \u2014 can also learn more the University\u2019s community-facing departments and services during an information fair starting at 11:30 a.m. in the Rankin Family Pavilion.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking with Brock University to host initiatives like Speaking with Pride is crucial for fostering a safe, inclusive, learning environment for our 2SLGBTQ+ community in Niagara to establish professional and personal networking skills,\u201d says Enzo DeDivitiis, Chair of Pride Niagara. \u201cQueer identity is not something inherently visible though a professional and educational lens; Speaking with Pride changes that and sets a higher precedence.\u201d<\/p>\n Brock PCS event lead Jonathan Belgrave (BAcc \u201910), Marketing Manager for Brock PCS, came up with the idea for Speaking with Pride through his volunteer work with Pride Niagara and attending other 2SLGBTQ+ professional development events in Toronto.<\/p>\n \u201cNiagara has a diverse working population and is a welcoming community. There are many individuals who are part of the pride community and their allies who want to learn more and support each other,\u201d he says. \u201cSpeaking with Pride fills a gap of professional queer events in Niagara and I\u2019m proud that Pride Niagara and Brock University can work together to service the community.\u201d<\/p>\n While Speaking with Pride is free and open to all members of the community to attend, space is limited and registration is required, including for virtual streaming provided by BrockTV. More information can be found on the Brock PCS website<\/a>. Questions about the event can be directed to ce@brocku.ca<\/a> or info@prideniagara.ca<\/a><\/p>\n Also taking place on campus is the Pride Niagara Hieee Tea event, presented by CAA Niagara, which will feature a panel of 2SLGBTQ+ community members answering\u00a0 audience questions on Sunday, June 8 in the Goodman Atrium. Details are available on the Pride Niagara website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With Pride Month just around the corner, Brock is gearing up to host several events to celebrate and support the vibrant and diverse communities on campus and across Niagara.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9794,7484,3319,1],"tags":[13593,2508,5498,5501,11177,14562],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101721"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101721"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101832,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101721\/revisions\/101832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Sonali](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Alyy-Patel-Business-copy-1050x1050.jpg\")