Cheyanne Ratnam's passion for equity, social innovation, and developing inclusive spaces shines through her current roles. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Ontario Children's Advancement Coalition, a Member of the Equity and Inclusion Council of the Children's Aid Foundation of Canada, a Child Welfare Equitable Standards Evaluation Model Research Assistant, and an Associate at the KOJO Institute, among other noteworthy positions.
Her impact in the community and on various councils is a testament to her dedication and passion in her field. She is the provincial rep on the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates, the provincial representative on the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates, the Board Vice President of Youth in Care Canada, an Advisor Board Member of Spotlight: Child Welfare, a collaborative journalism project, an Ambassador and Youth in Transition Working Group Member for the Children's Aid Foundation of Canada, and the list of community engagement initiatives continues, demonstrating Cheyanne's incredible passion.
As a social entrepreneur, she has dedicated much of her life and expertise to child welfare, homelessness, and equity issues. Her life experiences spanning various identities and histories have sparked much of her life's work. An example of this outstanding dedication is her partnership with the Government of Ontario to develop a new framework for youth transitions in the province from child welfare.
She also co-founded a project that mobilized young people from the Global South to build coordinated systems. In this project, she recruited young people without status in Canada, among other statuses. This was the first project to host and facilitate a cross-sectoral forum bringing together various sectors such as education, government, health and mental health, youth justice, child welfare, immigration, and others to focus on newcomer young people in Toronto. An advisory board with 12+ youth-serving organizations in Toronto was also recruited, which Cheyanne led.
Her previous work included serving as the second vice chair for two terms on the Board of the largest Child Welfare organization in North America as a Project Coordinator of "A Way Home Toronto," a cross-sectoral strategy to prevent, reduce, and end youth homelessness in Toronto, and was an Impact Manager (Youth in Care Portfolio) in the philanthropic sector, investing millions to yield impact.
Cheyanne was recognized in 2017 by the United Way of Greater Toronto and York Region as "women who inspire" for International Women's Day, was approached by Tamil Culture for a spotlight, received York University's Bryden Alumni award under "One to Watch" in 2016, and has been a go-to subject matter commentator on issues relating to youth homelessness and child welfare for various notable mediums including The Toronto Star, TVO's The Agenda, and CBC.
With her expertise in her field, Cheyanne has accomplished many incredible feats, such as being recruited to contribute to a book for professionals titled Mental Health and Addictions Interventions for Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Practical Strategies for Front-Line Providers.
Experience at Centennial
Cheyanne notes that all of her work and post-secondary experiences would not have been possible without starting at Centennial. During her time at the college, she was Chief Electoral Officer—Board of Governors, CCSAI Elections Coordinator, Learning Resource Center—Let's Talk Facilitator, Liaison and Recruitment Department Representative, and Cooperative Education and Employment Services Peer Employment Advisor. She also coordinated a group of students in the Social Service Worker program for Habitat for Humanity Build Day.
Having exited the child welfare system, where she grew up in group homes, she explains that she did not have a lot of hope—something many young people growing up in the system can feel. While pursuing a different program at another school, she ultimately decided to withdraw and pursue the Social Service Worker program at Centennial, which she says is where she felt she could thrive.
She shares that the college catapulted her into going above and beyond in her placements and into wanting to continue her education after graduating. She notes that without Centennial, she wouldn't have envisioned herself pursuing higher education, including a PhD, in the future.