Director Human Right Services
Ryerson University
With a background comprising finance, management consulting, and law, Tanya (Toni) De Mello has worked in a variety of industries and brings a wealth of knowledge from her experience working in issues of equity and diversity in these fields. She is a human rights lawyer and a certified coach and mediator. In her current role, she is the Director of Human Rights at Ryerson University, where she deals with issues of discrimination and harassment, issues that often intersect with mental health issues or have an impact on parties’ mental health as a result of the complaint/incident.
In addition to co- founding two NGOs in Toronto, Tanya has served in the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme in Geneva (Switzerland), Senegal (West Africa) and Columbia (South America). Tanya holds a dual Bachelor of Economics and Political Science from the University of Waterloo; a double Master in Public Policy and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University; and a dual law degree from McGill University. She is currently completing a PhD at the University of Toronto