Ikem Opara is the Director of National Learning Partnerships at the Rideau Hall foundation where he leads the design and delivery of the organization’s commitment to advancing access to learning opportunities for all, across Canada. He has spent the last 20 years engaging public and private sector partners in Canada, Tanzania, Kenya and Cuba, to build relationships and strengthen connections across national, linguistic, cultural and other borders. Following roles at Pathways to Education, Canada World Youth, and Canadian Jesuits International over the years, Ikem subsequently led Ontario Trillium Foundation’s strategy, grant-making and capacity building work with a focus on inclusion, and improved outcomes for Black and Indigenous youth. Ikem lives with his partner and their two extremely curious children in Pickering, Ontario, the home of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island.