Our Leadership

Wil is a mixed-race, settler Canadian living on the lands of the Between the Lakes Treaty (No. 3) in Hamilton, Ontario. He has spent over a decade at the intersection of sexual violence prevention education, research, and advocacy, working across social profit, secondary, and post-secondary settings. His practice is grounded in community relationships, intersectional feminism, anti-oppression, and critical pedagogy. Central to this work is engaging men and boys in violence prevention work by creating space for them to critically examine masculinity and building their capacity to actively contribute to a culture of consent.

Through his early career, Wil lived in England, Indonesia, and Costa Rica. Immersed in these diverse communities, Wil developed an intercultural lens that continues to shape his approach to everything from curriculum design to the yoga mat. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies in educational research at the Werklund School of Education (University of Calgary). Wil also has a consent-educating drag persona named Unita Assk.

A nationally recognized leader in the sector, Wil is the recipient of the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education’s 2023 Emerging Leadership Award and Courage to Act’s 2024 Campus Educator Award. He is actively involved in his community and has brought his expertise to associations, boards, and committees across the country, including:

• City of Hamilton’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee;

• City of Cambridge’s Farmer’s Market Advisory Committee;

• McMaster University’s Presidents Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community;

• Student Open Circles Board of Directors;

• Hamilton Take Back The Night Committee;

• Peel’s Regional Diversity Roundtable;

• Ontario University Sexual Violence Network;

• Ontario University and College Health Association;

• Courage to Act Foundation;

• Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education; and

• Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.

Wil believes in educating the mind, heart, and body, bringing a whole-person philosophy to his work. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher (200-hours) with Yoga Alliance and holds a BSc (Hons) in biology from McMaster University, a BEd from the University of Western Ontario, and a MA in peace education from the UN-mandated University for Peace.