BDRB Panel 3 - Biographies
Breaking Down Racial Barriers
Panel #3 - August 17,2021
Panelist Biographies
Tamara Steele (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island)
Executive Director, Black Cultural Society of PEI
@tsteele8131
Born in Halifax, Tamara grew up between the Nova Scotian communities of Cole Harbour, East Preston, and Upper Hammonds Plains. Tamara has lived on the Island since 1999 when she began studies in music at the University of Prince Edward Island. After graduating from UPEI, she subsequently began and maintained a 13-year career as an arts administrator at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery.
Tamara has spent the last 20+ years watching the population of Charlottetown grow and observing the concurrent growing need for community supports. This led her to the role of President of the Board of Directors for the grassroots organization, Black Cultural Society of Prince Edward Island (BCSPEI), in 2019. Since beginning her work with BCSPEI, Tamara has developed a passion for community engagement and for building up and advocating for PEI’s Black community. Under her leadership, BCSPEI has been able to raise its profile both locally and nationally. On behalf of BCSPEI, Tamara organized and led a Black Lives Matter March in Charlottetown – the largest protest rally in PEI history; has secured not-for-profit status, office space, and multi-year operational funding for the organization; and helped to develop an anti-Racism Policy advisor position within the provincial government. Her work with BCSPEI led Tamara to be named by Chatelaine as one of “33 Black Canadians Making Change Now” in the magazine’s September 2020 issue. Tamara has recently made the transition to Executive Director of BCSPEI and is excited to be able to devote her full-time attention to the organization’s work.
In addition to her work with BCSPEI, Tamara currently serves as a board member for the Island Fringe Festival; Women’s Network PEI; Music PEI; is the Board Chair for Art in the Open, Charlottetown’s annual, outdoor, public art festival; and has two decades worth of contributions to PEI's local music scene as a singer, trombone player, and, most recently, bass player, with many bands of varying genres.
Kyah Sparks (Halifax, NS)
CBC News, Nova Scotia
@kyahsparks
Kyah Sparks is a reporter/editor with CBC Nova Scotia. Born and raised in East Preston, N.S., she has worked in television and digital news in Halifax.
Farai Gwasira (aka King Sway) (St. John's, Newfoundland)
Artist
@fvrrie
Producer, Sound Engineer & Recording Arti
Dwayne DJ Slim Marcial (Saint John, NB)
@realdjslim @musikizthemotive @5ive06ixmedia
Dwayne (DJ $lim) Marcial is an artist manager at Musik Iz The Motive Entertainment based in Saint John, NB. He is equipped to do many different things in the industry from management, promotion & marketing, sync placements, talent bookings, and artists development. He is a graduate of NBCC from the radio studies program and tv and video production program with an extensive background working in both fields. He has worked in all departments in radio and for companies such as Stingray, MBS, Bell, and Pattison. In tv and film, he has worked at NBC Studios, Rogers TV, and on classic indie films like the BET classic Blue Hill Avenue.
Keonté Beals (Halifax, NS)
Artist
@keontebeals
Keonté Beals is a multi-award winning artist/singer-songwriter/entrepreneur/author from North Preston Nova Scotia. This R&B powerhouse continues to break down barriers and solidify his brand here on the East Coast & Atlantic Canada through is musical and entrepreneurial projects.
