Welcome and Opening Remarks
PLENARY: Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC)
OMSSA 2021 Awards Presentation – Young Leader Award
KEYNOTE: Mitigating Unconscious Bias in Human Services

Unconscious bias can influence decision-making and health and wellness and organizational performance, and thus have a profound effect on the service users that CMSMs and DSSABs are assisting. This plenary session will introduce you to essential strategies for identifying biases and mitigating their impact. It will be facilitated by Catherine Chambers, a social researcher and organizational development consultant. Catherine will provide an overview of structural and cognitive biases while elaborating on specific actions that can be taken to reduce their impact on staff development and the provision of human services. She will also share relevant insights from her work with organizations in a number of industries and sectors.