I am a white settler of Dutch descent living, working, and playing on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people, also known as Ottawa. I have over twenty years experience in community development, civic engagement, research and public policy. Most recently as the Executive Director of the City for All Women Initiative (CAWI), a grassroots organization working at the intersection of municipal affairs, civic engagement, and gender equity in Ottawa, Canada, I led advocacy campaigns for inclusive and equitable municipal policies and practices on affordable housing, public transit, food security, and urban planning. During this time, CAWI received the Layton Social Justice Award. Over a period of nearly six years, I also led the organization through tremendous growth and change: most notably, transitioning to a distributed leadership model of horizontal decision-making and adopting the 4-day work week.
I am passionate about working in, and with, community. I am also keen to ensure organizations adequately and accurately represent and amplify their members and constituents’ needs and values. As a consultant, I am particularly invested in supporting mission-driven organizations through large-scale change management processes so as to better reflect your values through policy, practice, governance and organizational design.
My consulting and work experience spans five continents. I have been grateful to learn from, and work with, skilled facilitators and development practitioners in Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, the Netherlands, and Canada. I have applied my expertise in GBA+, EDI, participatory learning and design, mapping, strategic planning, evaluation, and arts-based inquiry to local and international settings. My consulting services include organizational change management, governance, policy design and review, and learning design and facilitation. With a PhD in Sociology from Carleton University, I bring an eye for detail and a passion for community-engaged research. I am also a skilled facilitator and educator, particularly in strategic planning and qualitative research. I hold an MA in Conflict Studies from Saint Paul University and a BA in International Development from McGill University. With this background, I bring expertise on conflict transformation, equity, and social justice to my practice. Past clients include embassies, municipalities, nonprofits, healthcare institutions, and organic farmers.
I have a proven track record of generating innovation, leading high achieving teams, transforming vision into reality, and building networks and partnerships through collaboration. I have worked with renowned institutions such as Ottawa Community Housing, the International Development Research Centre, Community Health and Resource Centres, the Parliamentary Centre, and other Canadian and international organizations. I am a published author in my field, with strong expertise in gender equity, social entrepreneurship, diversity and inclusion, and social determinants of health.
A lover of languages, I am fluently bilingual (English/French), have a working knowledge of Dutch and Spanish, and dabble in Wolof, Hindi and Russian. In my free time, you can find me paddling on the water, playing with The Endpins cello ensemble, or writing fiction.
Please see my portfolio and my research for a more comprehensive look at my work.
Valerie Stam 