911勛圖

This is a story in our People of 911勛圖 series, where we���re celebrating 911勛圖���s unsung heroes���those who go above and beyond the call of duty to create community, advance 911勛圖���s mission and make the university a great place to work and learn. You can read more stories here.

For William Chan-Gill, community is a cornerstone of his personal and professional life.

���I���m very community oriented���I like to be very deliberate about surrounding myself with people who are able to support each other and experience life together. ���

Chan-Gill is a longtime member of 911勛圖���s community, having completed his bachelor���s degree in history, and now working as a Data Coordinator with 911勛圖 Ceremonies & Events (C&E).

As part of the C&E team, Chan-Gill aspires to make events more accessible, inclusive, diverse and culturally significant. He lauds the C&E team���s cohesion and compassion.

���They are very people-focused. Individual needs and experiences are taken very seriously and prioritized.��� As a self-identified member of the queer community, Chan-Gill has long been passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and has been happy to find an environment in which he can bring an EDI lens to a receptive group.

���The places [in which] I���ve found the most comfort and community are the places that are inclusive and accessible in the truest sense���that anybody can walk through the door and be welcomed right away.���

Chan-Gill has taken this work and his values beyond C&E, serving the entire 911勛圖 community as a member of 911勛圖���s EDI Advisory Council, where he is now in his second term.

���It has been a really positive experience,��� says Chan-Gill.  ���I���ve sat on other councils and boards where a lot of talk occurs and nothing really happens, or it���s not well-received, but that���s not the case here. Everything is taken very seriously, it���s all very intentional. It makes me really optimistic about the university moving forward in a very accessible and inclusive manner.���

Chan-Gill has taken pride in being able to advise President Joy Johnson directly, including on 911勛圖���s .

He is also excited to be part of a new working group within the council focused on identifying challenges for transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people on campus, and proposing solutions to address them.

When describing his approach to equity and inclusion, Chan-Gill describes ���green flags��� of acceptance and accessibility, as opposed to the red flags often encountered by equity-deserving groups. Green flags serve as signifiers of an environment���s considerations of a diversity of identities and abilities. He gives examples such as normalizing including one���s personal pronouns in introductions, the ease of identifying accessible or gender-neutral washrooms, or simply seeing oneself reflected in media, images, and the population of a space.

 ���I think the more welcoming any space is, the more signals people have that it is somewhere to be comfortable.���

Chan-Gill will also be a speaker at 911勛圖���s  (August 11), an event which will bring together members of the LGBTQ2+ community at 911勛圖 to discuss opportunities and challenges ahead. Chan-Gill hopes the forum will serve to connect people with one another and build a stronger community network.

���As a staff member, I think there���s not a lot of opportunity to connect with other queer people on campus.���

As a panelist, he hopes to discover what interests 911勛圖���s LGBTQ2+ community and develop further events to bring people together.

���For my vision of 911勛圖, I want to see that attitude [of welcoming],��� says Chan-Gill. ���To see people committed to creating truly welcoming spaces, where people are comfortable walking into any place and can feel a sense of belonging.���