The Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO) has welcomed two new leaders who will strengthen McMaster University’s commitment to equity, accessibility and sexual violence prevention and response across campus.

Rusan Lateef joined as associate director of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) on Sept. 15, and Paula Hearn was appointed associate director, Accessibility and Disability Inclusion on July 1.

“These new appointments reflect McMaster’s deep commitment to fostering a campus where everyone feels safe, included and supported,” says Barrington Walker, vice-provost, Equity and Inclusion.

“Paula and Rusan bring expertise and lived experience to their roles, and I am confident they will help us advance important work in accessibility, disability inclusion, and sexual violence prevention.”

Lateef joins McMaster with more than a decade of experience as a researcher and clinician specializing in sexual violence. She completed her PhD in Social Work at McGill University, where her research explored, through an intersectional lens, survivors’ experiences of shame and counselling, particularly among racially minoritized communities.

Most recently, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Université de Sherbrooke, studying campus sexual assault prevention programming.

Lateef also holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto. Her clinical work has included supporting survivors of sexual violence in an Indigenous health centre, as well as working with individuals in correctional and forensic mental health settings.

She also serves on the International Survivor-Centered Advisory Committee with The Exodus Road, a global non-profit combatting human trafficking.

“The richly diverse student population at McMaster makes it especially important that prevention and response initiatives are trauma-informed, inclusive, and informed by intersectionality,” Lateef says.

“I look forward to collaborating with students and colleagues to strengthen consent culture on campus and ensure every survivor feels seen and supported.”

At McMaster, Lateef will initially focus on developing education programs on healthy sexuality and sexual violence awareness, planning response initiatives, and strengthening student engagement with consent education.

Hearn brings more than 14 years of experience in the disability rights sector, working in both Canadian and international contexts.

She has served in a disability advisory role within the United Nations System Wide Evaluation Office, and in leadership roles with the International Disability Alliance and York University’s Disability Rights Promotion International project.

She holds a Master’s degree in Critical Disability Studies from York University and an undergraduate degree in International Development from the University of Guelph, along with additional professional certifications in equity, diversity and inclusion.

She also brings extensive knowledge of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Growing up in Burlington and working in Hamilton over the years, Hearn says McMaster has been an important institution in her life.

“McMaster feels like home to me, and I’m eager to contribute to creating a more accessible campus for our entire community,” she says.

“As a woman with a disability, I bring lived experience to this role and I am excited to work with campus partners to develop solutions that are sustainable and equitable.”

Hearn will focus on developing a comprehensive Accessibility and Disability Inclusion Strategic Framework and Action Plan, and in collaboration with campus partners she will support the preparations for the forthcoming Postsecondary Education Standards under the AODA.