Women Empowered
Joy Barnwell – Remembered for making a positive difference in the lives of immigrant women
BY PAUL JUNOR
Joy Barnwell will be remembered for her outstanding contributions and significant role that she played in the African Canadian community in the Greater Toronto Area. Her untimely death on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023, was the first homicide in the City of Toronto. There has been media coverage of the phenomenal work that Joy did over the years since she emigrated to Canada 51 years from the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the southern Caribbean.
If you take some time to research Joy, you will find that in her lifetime she was tremendously accomplished. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at the University of Waterloo. She was the owner and operator of J & B Consulting from January 2002 to February 2003. Here she provided consulting services to federally and provincially regulated organizations on change management and implementation strategies to integrate Diversity and Employment Equity principles into human resource policies and practice.
She subsequently moved to TELUS Mobility as a consultant on Diversity & Employment Equity from March 2003 to December 2005. In this capacity, she: developed, implemented and integrated a comprehensive diversity strategy and collaborated with human resources partners. She then worked at RBC as an advisor on Employment Equity & Workplace Accommodation. In this capacity, she was involved in the implementation and integration of RBC’s Canadian EE/Diversity and Workplace Accommodation, and collaborated with: key decision makers, assess readiness and adopted measures/ initiatives that align with business priorities.
Success was a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional concept for her. It involved: learning to navigate complex work environments, attracting and retaining highly motivated, passionate, results-driven, team-oriented individuals, while creating inclusive, and caring cultures that give each individual a sense of purpose and belonging. It was this inclusive understanding of success that she applied in her: presentations, workshops, and training to individuals and organizations across North America.
Joy built a solid reputation as a: transformation coach, speaker, and consultant on diversity and inclusion. Her mantra was, “Transforming yourself into Your Best Self.” As a dynamic speaker and thought leader, she utilized a variety of techniques in her delivery. Her utilization of intuitive intelligence and personal development enabled individuals and organizations to overcome limiting beliefs and heal from past trauma in order to achieve their aspirational goals. Joy has been involved in transformational coaching, educational programs on personal development, and social change, providing customized training to individuals as well as corporate organizations and government institutions.
Joy was a founding member of the Immigrant Women in Business (IWB) organization and represented St. Vincent in the Caribbean. Svetlana Ratnikova (Co-founder of IWB) describes the special person that Joy was. She states, “You know those people who, no matter what, you will call them and they’ll help; that is exactly the type of woman that Joy was. She helped with so many women who came to this country, because they needed to start a career, and she would help them attain a career in diversity and inclusion with the government, all in line with her work as a consultant for TELUS and for Royal Bank.”
Ratnikova recalled that Joy shared with her the challenges that she faced at home dealing with her son. Joy mentioned to her, “I mentor him; you know, I understand people. We are all going through challenges in our family. We have to be super patient and super compassionate and lead with love.”
Joy had a deep desire and passion to serve the underserved, particularly immigrant women because she was aware of the many: obstacles, barriers, and challenges they faced. Joy was supposed to be part of a youth empowerment initiative that was launched on Friday, January 27th, 2023, at Metro Hall in Toronto. A minute of silence was held in honour of the memories of Joy.
Ratnikova has fond recollections of Joy. She shares, “You know sometimes how people walk in a room, and they don’t need to say anything and you want to talk to them? So this is Joy. Joy is true joy.”
It is fitting that Joy will be the recipient of the Compassion Award from the IWB on March 8th, 2023, during an International Women’s Day Celebration in Toronto. The
IWB’s website describes the purpose and passions of what Joy symbolizes. It states, “Joy’s vision is to move and change things ‘in a big way’ by: inspiring others to perform the extraordinary, creating shared visions and goals, fostering participation in decision-making processes, providing intellectual stimulation and engaging diverse communities and building partnerships to achieve social change.”
There has been a memorial website that has been set up for Joy Barnwell as of January 19th, 2023, on https:https://everloved.com. In lieu of flowers, individuals can donate funds towards Marion House, which offers general counselling sessions and tangible support of survivors of domestic violence. Some of the tributes posted on January 27th include:
Chantale Francis
“Forever giving, forever caring, and forever forgiving. Joy, you are remembered as a trailblazer for those who need a voice. Rest in peace dear friend.”
Peggy, JC, Tony, and Jessica Cerqueira
“We are deeply saddened by the news of Joy. She had so much determination, commitment, and genuine goodness.”