This article is part of a series of Dialog stories profiling Black students, staff and alumni within the George Brown College community in recognition of Black History Month.

“One of the biggest challenges that people of colour face in their lives is the difficulty in realizing that they have a seat at the table and that it’s okay to have a seat at the table.”

Taiwo Lewis-Smith, a graduate from George Brown’s Communications Certificate program, who pivoted to a career in public service after working as a journalist in Toronto, tasked herself with overcoming this exact challenge. But she did not stop there.

“As a person of colour, you often feel imposter syndrome, and this is part of the work I’m doing now. You see people who have done so much and accomplished so many things, and yet they feel that they are not in a position to speak or share their story,” Lewis-Smith continued.

Lewis-Smith has worked in various public service roles for the Canadian government. In her current job as a senior special advisor for Indigenous Services Canada, she focuses on championing policies that empower people from different visible minority groups, she said.

It’s a job that requires investigating what systemic barriers look like and how to address them within the federal service, as well as working on policies that promote diversity and inclusion within different departments of the government. In her other roles as a government employee, she has worked as a manager for Briefings and Correspondence for Indigenous Services Canada, where she dealt with issues related to Indigenous communities and handled correspondence with the public on behalf of the government.

Prior to starting her career in public service in 2009, Lewis-Smith worked in different journalistic roles for 680 News run by Rogers Communications. Over a six-year period at Rogers Communications, she worked as a radio news anchor, reporter, editor and writer. She also worked for a local online television station as an associate for the evening news.

It was a very challenging time in 2008 due to the economic crisis, and it was at this time that Lewis-Smith made her career change.

“GBC helped me in my career transition,” she said.

Although Lewis-Smith has always loved writing as an academic and a journalist, she felt that writing in the corporate world required a different style of writing, and that’s where the Communications Certificate in GBC came into play, she said.

“The program was really great. I didn’t expect it to be as fulsome as it was. It touched on a lot of different areas and really shaped and shifted how I communicated.”

As a former journalist and public servant, Lewis-Smith has found that the most meaningful aspect of her work has been helping people find and shape their own unique stories, she said.

“Everybody has a story to share, and there are no small stories.”

She also believes that it is important to not wait for others to speak about issues that one faces in their own lives.

“I have met people who have helped me in amplifying my voice and given me the opportunity to speak. My biggest challenge was realizing that my voice had value.”

In her current role, she strives to help others realize the value of their own voices.

“Effective communication is really key, particularly when you’re trying to bridge the gaps related to promoting racial equality. If people know how they can help, they are willing. The point is to effectively communicate with them on how they can help.”

“As a public servant, it’s really important that you communicate with the public. People take the time to write in because they are concerned citizens and they feel engaged in the political process. It is important that we provide meaningful responses,” she said.

Empowering others through communication is what Lewis-Smith values most in her work.

“It’s not about what job you do, it’s about why you do it and what you do with it. Just doing a job is not the end goal. You ask yourself the question, why do you like what you are doing? It’s about understanding the seed of what you love,” she said.

“It’s not about the big flashy wins, it’s about the quiet wins you have on a day-to-day basis”