Michael F. Charles is a lawyer in the Province of Ontario and one of Canada’s foremost Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategists. He has served in several inaugural EDI leadership positions at higher education institutions including his current role as Associate ViceiPresident, EDI at Centennial College in Toronto. Previously, he led enterprise-wide strategic change as the Assistant Vice President, Equity and Inclusive Communities at Carleton University and created the role of Executive Director at the Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion at York University.
His body of service in the postsecondary sector has led him to national EDI advisory roles with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Interinstitutional Advisory Committee responsible for the creation of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education. He was a founding member of the Universities Canada EDI Advisory Group and most recently, appointed to the EDI National Advisory Committee for Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan).
Prior to work in education, Michael provided EDI research, strategy and program consulting services to a broad array of public, non-profit and private sector entities. Industry engagements included work for financial service institutions, health care companies, international law firms and IT service corporations across North America.
In 2014, he co-authored The Challenges Facing Racialized Licensees report for the Law Society of Upper Canada, now the Law Society of Ontario. Examining the experiences of 45,000 racialized and non-racialized lawyers and paralegals, the study remains the largest of its kind in Canada, forming the basis for transformative governance changes within the legal profession.
Michael aligns his professional and personal interests. He currently serves as the Executive Committee LGBT Chair for Human Rights Watch (Canada) and is a Peer Reviewer for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Michael is a frequent speaker, advisor and author on matters of organizational culture, inclusion, and human rights.