OUR TEAM

Shery Alexander Heinis

Co-Founder/Artistic Director

Shery Alexander Heinis is a St. Lucia born poet, writer, former diplomat and a person living with disabilities. She is the co-founder and Artistic Director of In Our Tongues Reading and Art Series, an Ottawa-based arts non-profit that showcases, nurtures, and advances Black, Indigenous, and racialized artists from the National Capital Region and across Canada. She is the author of A Greater Whole, as well as her debut poetry collection, Splinter (self-published). Her work has appeared in ARC Poetry Magazine, the League of Canadian Poets’ Black History Month Chapbook, These Lands, Bywords, In\Words and more. She has been a feature reader at the Ottawa International Writers Festival, Versefest Ottawa, and Tree Reading Series among others. Shery is featured in BREATH, a multimedia immersive art installation and the documentary film FOUR WOMEN  on Bell Fibe TV1 and CBC Gem. Follow her on Twitter/Spoutible @shery_ah, Facebook: SheryAlexanderHeinisPoetry, and visit her at sheryalexanderheinis.com. Shery currently works as a Senior Advisor with the Government of Canada.

Sridaya Srivatsan

Program Director

Sridaya is an Indian Classical dancer and singer, in styles of Bharatanatyam dance and Carnatic music, respectively. Sridaya was featured on the 2018 Juno nominated album “Rooted” by Alysha Brilla on the track “Centre.” She holds a Master of Public Service degree from the University of Waterloo. and currently works at the Department of Canadian Heritage as a Program and Policy Analyst.

While balancing her academics, she spent most of her free time working with local artists in the Kitchener Waterloo region: supporting local poets, musicians, and other performing artists. She carried that spirit of community with her when she moved to Ottawa in 2017 and has been a supporter of local poetic talent by frequenting open mics, Yoga Unity, and other events specially catered towards amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. She was selected as a “local upcoming artist” panel held by Sampradaya at the Ottawa Art Gallery, as a feature performer at Café Nostalgica, represented India at the Government of Canada’s reception for Asian Heritage month, and performed at The Great India Festival.

JENNIFER FERRANTE

Advisor

Jennifer Ferrante Is a member of the Algonquin of Pikwakanagan First Nation. She is of Algonquin/Italian descent and has been working with Indigenous people, communities and organizations in the Ottawa area for over the past fifteen years. Jennifer holds a Masters in Indigenous Canadian Studies with a focus on Public Policy and is also a Certified Ontario Teacher.

She is passionate about using her education and experience to educate the public and improve relations between Canadians and Indigenous peoples. She has done some stand up comedy and storytelling, as well as sharing the Anishinaabemowin language as she learns it and delivering and facilitating cultural competency and anti-racism workshops. Jennifer is also a mother to twin 6-year-old girls that motivate and teach her something new every day. She lives and thrives with cerebral palsy.

Saabiqa CHowdhury

Secretary and Marketing Director

Saabiqa is a Bangladeshi Canadian woman born and raised in Toronto. Her love for learning and communication led her to discover herself as a poet during her years of studying Biomedical/Mechanical Engineering at uOttawa. In March 2022, she featured as an up-and-coming poet at an Urban Legends Poetry Collectives event. With poetry, she finally struck an outlet that allowed her to get out the emotions she struggled expressing for most of her life. You can say her love for learning simply stemmed from what she felt she lacked- an understanding of how the world around her spun. 

Tying her STEM and life experiences together she launched As Lines Meet in June 2020, a small laser engraving business aimed to encourage the creativity in local artists around her. Discovering the creative scenes in Ottawa and Toronto, including the In Our Tongues organization- inspired her love for community care and the importance in recognizing the value of one’s creativity. She is currently employed as an accelerator-engineer-in-training at Mevex and spends her free time listening to music, crafting, or exploring new things with friends and family.

GRACE ALLOTEY

Treasurer

Grace Allotey is a native of Ghana. She graduated from Carleton University with an Honours degree in Law. In her day to day, she works as a Program Advisor. She is an avid reader and loves to travel. She is passionate about making a difference in the black community.

Co-Founder/Communications Director

Vinica Mordani

Treasurer

SHAHEEN LOTUN

Treasurer

COUMBA KANTE

Secretary