Our Team’s Bio
Cleopatra Dixon
Cleopatra Dixon, born in South London to Jamaican parents, grew up as the first Black child in her schools, facing daily prejudice. Surprisingly, she joined the Metropolitan Police as a clerical assistant but left 3 years later, after being constantly overlooked for promotions. She then worked as a secretary before returning to education to become a Senior School teacher. Skipping her graduation ceremony, she made her first trip to Jamaica, where she stayed to teach for one year. She returned to the UK to work in the voluntary sector, training adults and young people.
She eventually entered the corporate world as a Data Analyst and 10 years later took a year’s sabbatical to travel solo through Afrika as a qualified Afrikan Yoga instructor. After returning to her job and completing a Masters in Computing and Information Systems, she left corporate life to care for her mother living in Jamaica with dementia for 12 years.
Now retired, Cleopatra focuses on her nine grandchildren but continues her journey of self-discovery. She seeks healing, justice, and fulfillment, driven by her experiences and her commitment to advocating for those, especially Black people, who continue to endure injustice throughout the world.
Kenyatta A
Kenyatta A is a soul activist dedicated to liberation and resistant practices centered around things that compromise true well-being, freedom, or humanity.
a student of the late zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, they spent nine years living, studying, and serving in monastic communities in france and new york state, where they trained in the art of mindful living and deep self-awareness alongside their monastic siblings.
in 2022, Kenyatta returned to their native Jamaica, driven by a deep desire to reconnect with their ancestral roots and give back to their hometown of Chapelton. this calling has led them to focus on the well-being of children in the community.
Kenyatta also works one-on-one with individuals in their liberation process, and supports various BIPOC communities online.
Michelle J. Buckle
As a doctoral candidate at the University of Alberta, Michelle J. Buckle brings her interests in arts-based research, dramatherapy, and exploring the experiences of homicide survivors affected by historical trauma to the Department of Secondary Education. With 20 years of experience as a psychologist and 29 years as a dramatherapist. Michelle runs a counselling and consulting practice in Alberta and Ontario. She specializes in using the arts, play, and somatic therapy to work with children, teens, adults, families, and groups both within institutions and unconventional learning spaces. As an educator and counsellor, Michelle uses the performing arts — embodied ways of being and knowing — to encourage students and clients to engage in new ways of learning and inquiry critically. Michelle further shares her passion for using storytelling and performance to inspire conflict transformation, community building, and creative solutions to social justice issues as a member of a local Playback Theatre group. (more about her work here)
Regine Laroche
Régine Laroche is the Founder of FeniksArise!, an online platform offering Self-Care & Inner Balance Programs for women aspiring to lead more fulfilling lives. Her passion for Living deeply and meaningfully has led her to Yoga, Meditation, Holistic Self-care, and Civic Action - both as practitioner and teacher/mentor.
She is an Architect, a Certified Advanced MBS Practitioner/Faculty with the Center for Mind-body Medicine (CMBM), a Certified Facilitator in the Community Resiliency Model (CRM®) of the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), a Peacebuilding & Conflict Transformation Facilitator, and a Certified Yoga Teacher.
She has been active in the fields of Personal Growth, Wellness, Environmental Advocacy, and Trauma /Stress management for over 20 years. (link: more about her work here)
Rose-Ann Buckley
Rose-ann Buckley was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, and raised in May Pen, where she developed a strong foundation of family values under the nurturing care of her grandmother from an early age. Rose-ann completed her high school education in Jamaica and began her journey in the insurance industry by enrolling in insurance college there. She later migrated to Canada at the age of 21, where she completed her studies and further honed her expertise in the field as an insurance underwriter.
With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Rose-ann has built a reputation for her professionalism and dedication. Beyond her successful career, she is a proud mother who raised two boys to adulthood, instilling in them the same values that guided her upbringing.
A passionate advocate for children, Rose-ann has also dedicated time to coaching youth soccer and basketball, cherishing the opportunity to inspire and mentor young athletes. She admires the honesty and authenticity of children and strives to embody those qualities in her life and work.
Rose-ann continues to pursue her passion for spiritual wellness and aspires to make a positive impact in and around her community through years of volunteering and fundraising for charitable organization such as Becel Ride4Heart, CIBC Run4Cure, United Way CN Tower ClimbUp to name a few.
Fun fact about Rose-ann, she loves the outdoors and can climb any tree that has a branch..