With Calgary Pride fast approaching, many organizations are wondering how they can support safer, more inclusive environments for their staff, clients and communities. Every organization and team is on their own journey toward more inclusive policies, practices and environments.

That’s where our Training Centre comes in – this team has trained over 75,000 professionals in its 15+ years of operation! We sat down with Gillian, the Training Centre’s Client Development Coordinator, to learn more about how our Training Centre team is meeting workplaces where they’re at and customizing offerings to maximize their ability to create safer environments for all.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role!    

I am from Saskatchewan and came to Calgary to study international relations. After my studies, I worked in a few different organizations and at various levels of government. I also did some consulting work, communications and other support roles. I eventually found my way to DEI consulting.

I landed at the Centre in 2025. I do client outreach, answer any questions people have about our offerings, get them booked and follow up afterwards. It helps organizations take steps to improve cultures to be more inclusive for 2SLGBTQ+ coworkers, clients and community.

What drew you to Centre for Sexuality?

Over my career, I have followed a trajectory of working with places that were increasingly more aligned with my own values. I also wanted to be somewhere that let me work directly with the community. I knew about the Centre, was aware of their long history in Calgary and knew they were doing great work. So when this job opportunity came up to work with people directly and act as a bridge to help folks advance on their learning journey, it felt like where I was supposed to go next.

What are some things that we do differently at the Centre than other places you’ve worked?

The Centre is very community oriented. We are great at listening to client needs, meeting people where they are and recognizing the human touch that is needed in these conversations. We also have over 50 years of experience facilitating and sharing information, so there is a really strong foundation in our approach that translates into how we deliver programs. Instead of a catch-all surface level approach, we are experts in specific areas and work in those areas really well.

We’re also approachable for smaller organizations and nonprofits. Bigger DEI organizations may focus more on the “big fish.” We have had lots of success with larger organizations here too, but we’re also able to work with nonprofits that have smaller budgets, or we sometimes receive grant funding that can lower the barriers for certain industries or rural locations.

Can you talk more about the flexibility in our Training Centre offerings?

Because we have a strong knowledge base in what we do and what we specialize in, we can easily adapt to different organizations, industries and settings. We make sure that scenarios, discussions, case studies and other workshop elements are applicable and helpful. If people can see themselves in the content, it’s easier for them to understand how this workshop can help them and how the content relates to their organization’s goals and objectives.

We get inquiries from organizations and professionals who are at very different places in their inclusion journey. How do we accommodate that and support those different stages?

We can support teams no matter what stage they’re at in their journey. Some are coming from a place where folks on their team have little to no knowledge about 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion and what that means in the workplace. Others have tons of resources, a 2SLGBTQ+ employee resource group, great policies in place and are doing a lot to advance inclusion in their workplace. Many are somewhere in between.

It’s part of my role to work with clients beforehand to clarify their team’s level of understanding, then we guide content and discussions to help participants get the most out of their work with us. Our facilitators have seen it all and we’re there to align with our clients’ goals, to get them to the next point in that journey and keep them moving forward.

Our offerings go beyond workshops. Can you tell us more about our audit and consulting services?

Through our audit and consulting services, we assess where an organization is at, identify areas of opportunity and then create action plans to help them achieve their 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion goals. We look at things like policies, culture, management perspectives, communications, all the different spheres of the workplace. Do they have inclusive policies and procedures? How could culture or work environment be improved? How could improvements be made for inclusion within the team, but also for clients, customers or patients?

After considering all these different indicators, we build a strategy and an action plan to advance the client’s journey. The benefit of the audit and consulting is being able to truly tailor solutions whereby organizations can choose the components that are going to be included. If you’ve already done a few workshops with us, we can add on other pieces; if you want only a document or a policy review or support in just one area, we can do that as well.

What has surprised you about working at the Centre?

You can never completely tell what to expect from a team when you join an organization, but I found out very quickly after joining. We had our AGM a few weeks after I started, where our CEO spoke about every single person individually on the team and what they bring to the organization. It was powerful and helped me see how my own role connects to the values and goals of the organization. That internal values alignment – the way that we practice what we’re suggesting to clients – is a big piece for me that I appreciated as it’s not necessarily a high priority at every organization!

What should potential clients know about us that might not come through when browsing our offerings online?

Our website makes it clear that we have been serving the Calgary community and beyond for since the 1970s and that we have continually adapted to meet changing community needs. But it doesn’t necessarily give a sense of the people who work here. We pride ourselves on being approachable. The topics can be intimidating for some teams, but we’re all just people! We’re a team of dedicated and values-based people that want to support clients in creating safer environments. That’s the foundation of all our offerings: supporting organizations in improving environments for their own teams and the people they serve.