Breaking Barriers: A Conversation with Rohan Thompson, Dufferin County's Director of People and Equity

What happens when personal experience with discrimination fuels a lifelong commitment to equity work? Mr. Rohan Thompson, Director of People and Equity for the County of Dufferin, takes us on his remarkable journey from youth worker to systems change leader.

Rohan reveals how childhood mentors who kept him "on the straight and narrow" inspired his mission to pay it forward. This calling led him through various roles working with at-risk youth before stepping into pioneering equity leadership positions. Beyond his municipal work, Thompson maintains a private therapy practice using client-centered, trauma-informed approaches—a career path sparked by his own harmful experience with a non-Black therapist who asked if his father was "a typical Jamaican."

The conversation explores the evolution of equity work from community development frameworks to today's EDI terminology, with Rohan offering a historical perspective on why current pushback against social justice initiatives shouldn't discourage practitioners: "Anytime there has been progress, there has been resistance. We've seen this before, we've experienced this before."

Among Thompson's proudest achievements is the "Black Brilliance" initiative he helped establish in Waterloo Region, which transformed from a one-day event into a powerful platform where Black students documented their school experiences through digital storytelling, becoming educators to the system that was failing them.

Drawing from his own experience as a football player and coach, Rohan shares how sports teach accountability, resilience, and self-confidence—lessons that translate perfectly to equity work where persistence through resistance is essential. For aspiring social workers, he offers three profound principles: focus on not doing harm, recognize people are doing their best with what they have, and understand that with proper support, anyone can thrive.

Join us for this inspiring conversation about building more equitable communities and the personal journey that drives this vital work. Subscribe to SpeakupUP! International for more thought-provoking discussions with changemakers from around the world!

You can reach Mr. Rohan Thompson using the following platform: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohan-thompson-8b39111b2

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