OUR FACILITATORS

Jill Chesley, MA

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Intercultural education
• People connector

PL work
Jill Chesley learned about Personal Leadership as a student in the Master of Arts in Intercultural Relations (MAIR) program in 2007. In 2008, she experienced PL again as a Fellow at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC). The next year, and for most of the following decade, Jill was a Coordinator of the Fellows Program at SIIC, where she supported Fellows in learning about PL and putting it to its best use.

Jill’s mission is to support organizations and individuals to be inclusive. She uses PL to identify organizational strategy, to support diversity and inclusion committees and employee resource networks, and to act as a consultant to employees and leaders.

Most recently, Jill has facilitated PL sessions at the City of Edmonton, where she is the Senior Diversity Inclusion Consultant. Personal Leadership has become a standard offering in the catalogue of courses at the City of Edmonton, and Jill facilitates general sessions as well as team-building sessions using Personal Leadership.

Other work
Jill loves connecting people. She is the founding chair of the Edmonton Business Diversity Network, whose mission is to advance and shape the diversity and inclusion environment in Edmonton by creating opportunities for learning and sharing. Jill also created a National Municipal Network of  Diversity and Inclusion Professionals whose members meet regularly to share successes and lessons learned. And she has led and participates in career mentorship programs.

Background
Jill was born and raised in Alberta, and is of Northern and Eastern European heritage.

She has over 20 years of experience working with members of diverse groups in the nonprofit, private, and municipal-government sectors.

She has traveled extensively, and has worked in the USA, Japan, Trinidad & Tobago, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Afghanistan. This international experience is the catalyst for her interest in intercultural, learning, and facilitating understanding between people.

Academic
Jill has an MA in Intercultural Relations from the University of the Pacific in California.
She is a Senior Facilitator in Personal Leadership, and a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

Other interests
Jill and her wife have two adorable pups that take up most of her spare time, but when she can, she loves to travel, hike, and garden.