The Canadian Association of Black Journalists exists to give rise to Black journalists.

Our Team

Meet the
relaunch team

Board of Directors

 
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Bryan Johnson

Black Boys Code Founder

Bryan R. Johnson is the founder and CEO of Black Boys Code.

Black Boys Code is a Canadian headquartered education organization that introduces Black Boys to the STEM disciplines with a focus on computer science.

Black Boys Code currently has chapters in ten Canadian cities (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Brampton, Hamilton, Windsor, Montreal, and Halifax) and a chapter in Atlanta, Ga..

Their vision to provide Black boys a grounding in digital literacy, skills they will need for future education pathways and careers in the digital economy. Before he founded Black Boys Code, Mr. Johnson worked in a variety of positions over the past 20 years with a primary focus on sales and technology, working for organizations such as United Parcel Service Canada, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, the Bank of Montreal and Aeroplan. He is an avid soccer player and traveller and has visited 32 countries so far. He lives in Vancouver, B.C.

Tayo Bero

Freelance Writer and Producer

Tayo is a freelance writer and radio producer. While finishing her undergrad degree at Ryerson University’s school of journalism, she got her start producing local news at CBC Toronto. Since then, she has continued to work in local news, and current affairs on a number of other CBC platforms. Tayo is also a culture writer, with work in publications like the Guardian, Teen Vogue, Chatelaine Magazine, Vice and more. Her work is focused on the intersections of feminism, migration, Blackness and the African diaspora.

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David Thurton

CBC Journalist

David Thurton is a National Reporter in CBC’s Parliamentary Bureau. He’s a mobile journalist or #MOJO. He reports for CBC News online, radio and television – comfortably gathering stories with his iPhone and laptop. He’s worked in six Canadian provinces and territories and spent over two years reporting for CBC News in Fort McMurray and Canada’s Arctic. He was born in Canada, but grew up in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Andray Domise

Andray Domise is a contributing editor to Maclean’s magazine, and regular op-ed writer with the Globe and Mail, Washington Post, and VICE. In his journalistic work, he is often called on to add cultural and historical perspective to stories of political, social, and cultural import. As a graduate history student and fellow at the Nathanson Centre, Andray is currently studying the history of slave revolts in the Caribbean, through the lens of labor and gender, in order to draw connections between colonial crimes against humanity and continued oppressions in the present day.

 

Executive Team

 
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Nadia Tchoumi

Executive Director

These days, you’ll find Nadia at Union Gospel Mission, managing media and communications as well as advocating for some of Vancouver's most vulnerable. Nadia spent 17 years as a broadcast journalist, travelling the country and working in markets from coast to coaat. She got her start at Rogers TV Peel as a reporter, anchor and talk show host. She’s also worked as a news writer for The Weather Network, writing weather-centric casts for a national audience. In 2010, Nadia joined the CBC, working as a multi-platform reporter and anchor in St. John’s, Calgary and Edmonton. She then moved on to spend 7 years at Global BC, where she worked as a videojournalist. She also spent six years as an editor and freelance writer for Planet Africa Magazine, a Toronto-based quarterly publication that celebrates the achievements of the black community across the diaspora. Nadia is also proud to be among the first graduates of the University of Guelph-Humber (2006). Off-camera, Nadia is active in her community as a mentor.

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Julie Sobowale

Western Director

After working as a sports journalist for several years, Julie Sobowale attended the Schulich School of Law to become a lawyer and completed her MBA from Dalhousie University. She worked as a freelance journalist for 10 years focused on legal affairs, technology, visual arts, entrepreneurship and business. Her clients included The Coast, Canadian Lawyer, the American Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association. She currently works as communications specialist for the Law Society for Saskatchewan.

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Dexter Brown

Director of Engagement

Dexter Brown is an associate producer at CBC News. He has also previously written for a number of other websites and magazines, including Yahoo, CPA Magazine and Post City Magazines. He started with CBC News in 2016 and with them covered some of the major stories that have defined our country and even the world. While there, he also worked with a number of programs, including investigative shows Marketplace and The Fifth Estate. Dexter graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2013 and was on the masthead of the Summer 2013 issue of the Ryerson Review of Journalism. He is currently based in Toronto, and when he’s not in the newsroom, he loves exploring the city he calls home. As a pop culture aficionado, he has a near encyclopedic knowledge about television, an expansive video game collection and an Apple Music library filled to the brim with guilty pleasures.

 

Advisors

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Sarah Glover

Social Media strategy at NBC Owned Television Stations

Sarah Glover is the manager of social media strategy at NBC Owned Television Stations and is based at 30 Rock in New York City. She’s worked at NBC10 Philadelphia, Philadelphia Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Glover served two historic terms as the 21st president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the largest organization in the United States for journalists of colour founded in 1975.

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Andrea Harry Bibbs

Director, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, WarnerMedia News and Sports

In this newly created role, Bibbs is responsible for driving the division’s diversity and inclusion strategy, core vision and internal and external programs by fostering relationships with senior leadership and employees across WMNS. In addition, she creates and cultivates strategic partnerships with external stakeholders, including industry and community organizations. She also develops programs and opportunities to generate awareness of the division’s efforts to build exposure and excitement among employees. Prior to this role, Bibbs, a sponsorship and communications leader with more than 20 years of expertise in integrated marketing/branded content, e-commerce and digital/social content development - served as Director of Ad Sales Integration for HLN, a division of CNN Worldwide. Bibbs graduated with a B.A. in radio and television from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She lives in Atlanta, GA., with her husband and two children.

Past President (immediate)

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Michelle Lynch

Board Advisor and Former CABJ President

Michelle Lynch is a former President of the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ) and most recently has been part of the CABJ transition and re-launch team since 2016. From 2008-2011, Michelle held the volunteer roles of vice-president, broadcast and president of the CABJ and was successful in welcoming the National Association of Black Journalists based in the United States to the first ever international board meeting in 2010. With over twenty years of communications and broadcasting experience with several leading organizations, her time in media at CBC and in particular Rogers, served to build, support and mentor young and upcoming journalists, many who are actively working in media in Toronto, across Canada and in the United States. While Michelle currently works in community relations in health care, she remains and active supporter of diversity in media from entry-level to leadership.