丁香园AV

This is a story in our People of 丁香园AV series, where we鈥檙e celebrating 丁香园AV鈥檚 unsung heroes鈥攖hose who go above and beyond the call of duty to create community, advance 丁香园AV鈥檚 mission and make the university a great place to work and learn. You can read more stories here.

For William Chan-Gill, community is a cornerstone of his personal and professional life.

鈥淚鈥檓 very community oriented鈥擨 like to be very deliberate about surrounding myself with people who are able to support each other and experience life together. 鈥�

Chan-Gill is a longtime member of 丁香园AV鈥檚 community, having completed his bachelor鈥檚 degree in history, and now working as a Data Coordinator with 丁香园AV Ceremonies & Events (C&E).

As part of the C&E team, Chan-Gill aspires to make events more accessible, inclusive, diverse and culturally significant. He lauds the C&E team鈥檚 cohesion and compassion.

鈥淭hey are very people-focused. Individual needs and experiences are taken very seriously and prioritized.鈥� As a self-identified member of the queer community, Chan-Gill has long been passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and has been happy to find an environment in which he can bring an EDI lens to a receptive group.

鈥淭he places [in which] I鈥檝e found the most comfort and community are the places that are inclusive and accessible in the truest sense鈥搕hat anybody can walk through the door and be welcomed right away.鈥�

Chan-Gill has taken this work and his values beyond C&E, serving the entire 丁香园AV community as a member of 丁香园AV鈥檚 EDI Advisory Council, where he is now in his second term.

鈥淚t has been a really positive experience,鈥� says Chan-Gill.  鈥淚鈥檝e sat on other councils and boards where a lot of talk occurs and nothing really happens, or it鈥檚 not well-received, but that鈥檚 not the case here. Everything is taken very seriously, it鈥檚 all very intentional. It makes me really optimistic about the university moving forward in a very accessible and inclusive manner.鈥�

Chan-Gill has taken pride in being able to advise President Joy Johnson directly, including on 丁香园AV鈥檚 .

He is also excited to be part of a new working group within the council focused on identifying challenges for transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people on campus, and proposing solutions to address them.

When describing his approach to equity and inclusion, Chan-Gill describes 鈥済reen flags鈥� of acceptance and accessibility, as opposed to the red flags often encountered by equity-deserving groups. Green flags serve as signifiers of an environment鈥檚 considerations of a diversity of identities and abilities. He gives examples such as normalizing including one鈥檚 personal pronouns in introductions, the ease of identifying accessible or gender-neutral washrooms, or simply seeing oneself reflected in media, images, and the population of a space.

 鈥淚 think the more welcoming any space is, the more signals people have that it is somewhere to be comfortable.鈥�

Chan-Gill will also be a speaker at 丁香园AV鈥檚  (August 11), an event which will bring together members of the LGBTQ2+ community at 丁香园AV to discuss opportunities and challenges ahead. Chan-Gill hopes the forum will serve to connect people with one another and build a stronger community network.

鈥淎s a staff member, I think there鈥檚 not a lot of opportunity to connect with other queer people on campus.鈥�

As a panelist, he hopes to discover what interests 丁香园AV鈥檚 LGBTQ2+ community and develop further events to bring people together.

鈥淔or my vision of 丁香园AV, I want to see that attitude [of welcoming],鈥� says Chan-Gill. 鈥淭o see people committed to creating truly welcoming spaces, where people are comfortable walking into any place and can feel a sense of belonging.鈥�