Dr. Salima Bhimani

Dynamic educator, Transformational leader, Human experience expert, Social innovation Artist
The heart of social change is in the space between you and I. This is the call that inspires what I do. My inner fire to transform conditions of injustice has always illuminated that another way of being in relationship to one another and realizing our humanity is possible. After two decades of producing an expert tool box for doing this work and as a recognized “Woman who Inspires,” I founded Relational, a social enterprise and global institute that supports, companies, institutions and communities to achieve social justice, inclusion and equity as foundational to who they are and what they do. As a transformational leader and social entrepreneur I create pathways for new thinking, practices and relationships.

Relational builds off of 20 years of experience I have had as a dynamic educator, researcher, innovation expert, artist and consultant. What makes me powerful at what I do is the coalescing of my diverse background.

In this sense, I’ve been at the center of shaping diversity, equity and inclusion institutional policies and practices with a range of stakeholders in North America and Europe. Informing direct action and strategies for designing and implementing resources, institutional supports, team and leadership building and professional development have been key to my impact. I have had the privilege of shaping how institutional leaders design and envision all aspects of their diversity and inclusion goals. My work has received acclaim calling it “ground breaking.”

Becoming an expert in understanding human experience as a researcher has also been central to my story. This has included designing, leading and implementing out of the box research methods that are participatory and take into account stakeholder needs. Many of these projects have taken place in Canada, USA, Europe, South Asia and the Middle East addressing issues such as social exclusion, community development, racial barriers, civic participation, on-line social movements and gender justice. My research has been acknowledged for “excellence.”

As an educator and learning and growth advocate I have directly focused on the widest range of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice issues, publishing in a range of places like blogs, scholarly journals and magazines. It has been my honor to also teach and train youth and adults in formal and informal educational spaces such as in high schools, colleges and universities, and NGO’s in the USA, Canada and South Asia. My educational practice has been evaluated as “powerful, critical and positively impactful.”

Last but not least, with training in theatre and dance, I use cultural production to bring forward marginalized and untold stories, key to my modalities of shaping consciousness and creating outlets for exploration and change making. I have written and directed a range of theatre productions. Reviews on my past productions have stated responses such as, “human, touching and innovative.”

www.iamrelational.com