TD and The Walrus are pleased to announce the appointment of Aimee Louw as the TD Fellow on Disability and Inclusion. Thanks to generous support from TD, Aimee will assist The Walrus in exploring issues related to disability and inclusion across all of The Walrus platforms throughout 2020.
The TD Fellow on Disability and Inclusion will receive training in every aspect of The Walrus editorial process and will conduct an accessibility analysis of the organization and its platforms. The fellowship serves three purposes: it strengthens the capacity of The Walrus as an inclusive organization; it benefits readers by exposing them to more critical content related to disability and inclusion; and it removes barriers for a writer with a disability to working in the sector and gaining direct and relevant journalism experience.
The Walrus thanks TD, our national inclusion partner, for their meaningful commitment to a more inclusive tomorrow and their belief in The Walrus as a vehicle for change.
“I am absolutely thrilled to have been offered this fellowship and am looking forward to working with, and learning from, such an expert team! It is such an honour.”
—Aimee Louw, TD Fellow on Disability and Inclusion
Aimee has also been a contributor to The Walrus Talks. In 2017, she delivered her talk “The Future Is Accessible” in Whitehorse as part of The Walrus Talks National Tour: We Desire a Better Country. In 2019, she participated in The Walrus Talks Transportation at the Future Cities Canada Summit and delivered her talk “Design with the Most Marginalized People in Mind.”
“TD is committed to helping build a more inclusive tomorrow through its global corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment. We are proud to support this fellowship, which supports writers with disabilities build their careers while contributing to the learning journeys of institutions like The Walrus and TD. In working together, we can help create the conditions so emerging writers of all abilities can succeed in an ever-changing world.”
—Naki Osutei, Associate Vice President, Social Impact (Canada), TD Bank Group
Aimee Louw is a writer who combines her love of words with her passion for disability justice. She has contributed to CBC Radio, Canadaland, and Ricochet, and facilitates writing workshops. As a cofounding member of Accessibilize Montreal, she has collaboratively advocated for transit-policy change and advised organizations on accessibility practices. She was nominated by Hamilton Arts & Letters for Best New Poets for a poem in her book, Less Sweet than Chocolate or Concrete, which will be out this summer.
