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Senior Advisor, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Nonprofit Management

 

Leo Nupolu Johnson is an experienced non profit executive, entrepreneur, human rights specialist, public speaker, and United Nations Fellow. As a teenager, he spent eight years in refugee camps in Ivory Coast and Ghana after fleeing from civil war in his native Liberia. In 2006, he resettled in Canada as a government-assisted refugee.

 

In 2007, Leo founded Empowerment Squared, a Canadian charity building a world where everyone is empowered with the tools and opportunities to thrive and contribute to society. This vision is achieved by empowering newcomer and marginalized youth and communities in Canada and across the world to succeed through mentorship, access to post-secondary education, information literacy, and sports and recreation. Under Leo’s leadership as Chief Empowerment Officer, the organization has assisted over 5000 youth and families. The organization is opening the groundbreaking Liberian Learning Center, which will house the first and only public library in the post-war Liberia. 

Leo Nupolu Johnson

Headshot of Leo Nupolu Johnson from the shoulders up smiling in a suit and tie.

Leo is active in Canada, Liberia, Ghana, and South Africa, and his expertise has been recognized for its impact all over the world. His specific expertise includes nonprofit management, international development, immigration and resettlement, fundraising and financial management. He has received the Reverence John C Holland Award for Youth Leadership and Excellence and the YMCA Peace Medal, been named one of the top 75 immigrants in Canada, and served as a guest lecturer for the University of Toronto’s Global Health course. He was recently awarded the World Citizenship Award by the City of Hamilton, the Gandhi Peace Award, the McMaster University Global Community Impact Award, Afroglobal TV's 2018 Visionary Award, and was selected as a United Nations Fellow for the International Decade for People of African Descent. 

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