16 i S S u e 2 , 2 0 1 2 • Q u e e n ’ S A l u M n i r e v i e W

A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T – ’ 6 0 s A N D ’ 0 0 s

In the shadow of his smileCan a bold new initiative that aims to foster leadership skills in young people

help to change them and the world for the better? bruce Alexander, Com’60, LLD’11, intends to find out.

B Y G E O R G I E B I N K S , A R T S C I ’ 7 5

What if you had the chance to bringtogether Canada’s best and bright-

est young people – not an establishedgroup, but up-and-comers, people whoyou felt could really make a difference inthe years to come?

Several years ago, Bruce Alexandercame up with the idea, and today the re-tired Toronto lawyer has created what maybe a world-changing – and definitely a life-changing – venture for a group of youngCanadian women. Alexander has dubbedthem “the Shadow Cabinet,” and they’re agroup of young people from a broad rangeof cultures and backgrounds. He has as-signed himself the task ofcultivating and mentoringthem in hopes they willthen strike out on theirown to help change theircommunities, society, andthe world.

Alexander comes to hislatest mentoring role with alifetime of experience inlaw, business, the publicsector, and volunteerism.To name just a few of hisaccomplishments, in addi-tion to earning his Com-merce undergrad degree atQueen’s and law degreefrom the U of T, this longtime member ofthe Queen’s University Board of Trusteesserved as an assistant deputy minister inthe Ontario government in both the Min-istry of Transportation and Communica-tions and the Ministry of Community andSocial Services. On the federal scene, dur-ing the negotiation of the CharlottetownAccord, he was Special Adviser to JoeClark, the then-Minister for Constitu-tional Affairs. Since 1999, Alexander hasbeen vice-chair of the Ontario WorkplaceSafety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal.He’s also a founding director of the John

Howard Society of Toronto and has beendeeply involved in mentoring young peo-ple especially through the CommunityFoundation set up by John Brooks, LLD’92,to provide scholarships to visible minorityyouths in Toronto.

It was with the latter organization thatAlexander felt the desire to take mentor-ship to another more strategic level. “Iwanted to work with kids who had lead-ership potential, not only in their owncommunities, but in the broader Cana-dian context,” he says. “I wanted to givethem the connections and confidence Ihad when I was their age to allow them to

achieve their potential.”So Alexander selected

four young women he feltwere compatible, whodemonstrated leadershippotential, and who showedan interest in public serv-ice. He then told themtheir job was to expand thegroup and to reach out toothers whom they felt metcertain criteria. “They hadto be comfortable with di-versity, work well withgroups, have an ambitionto change the world out-side of business, and

maybe make their careers in politics orNGOs,” he explains.

And that was how The Shadow Cabinet(TSC) was born.

As the original four added new mem-bers, the group soon grew to 15. Some arestudying medicine or law. Others are moreinterested in the social sciences. Alexanderwasn’t aiming at an all-female group, but itevolved that way. He’s now in the processof recruiting a second group comprisedof men.

The key components of TSC activitiesare mentorship, professional development,

networking, and building broader connec-tions. Not only does Alexander mentorand support the group’s members himself,but he gives them opportunities to meetwith distinguished and influential individ-uals who can also serve as mentors. So far,the group has met prominent Canadianssuch as former Prime Minister Joe Clark,former Speaker of the House Peter Mil-liken, Arts’68, and Senate Majority LeaderMarjory LeBreton (Con. – Cape Breton), toname a few. Members have attended Ques-tion Period in Parliament and toured theSupreme Court of Canada, taken etiquetteand career management seminars, and en-joyed theatre performances together.

Right now, the groups’ members all hailfrom Toronto and Ottawa, and that makesit possible for them to meet in person.Alexander says, “It’s created a network ofpeers. This group of 15 is becoming an im-portant thing in their lives, in terms ofchanging their lives.”

Safiah Chowdhury, Artsci’11, is onemember of the Shadow Cabinet. A Politi-cal Studies-Global Development major,she served as AMS president in 2010-2011– some 50 years after Bruce Alexander heldthe same job. That’s something that drewthe two together when they met at aQueen’s reunion. Safiah is effusive in herpraise of both the group and Alexander.“We’re all young and at different places inour careers,” she says, “yet we all share a vi-sion for improving our own community inour own way. Our cohesive bond is that weall know Bruce” – and clearly admire him.

She says the women in the Cabinet allhave very different interests, but they sharea common purpose: to use their skills andtalents to improve their communities.“The Shadow Cabinet opens up possibili-ties to work together and share ideas. It’sthe kind of work that doesn’t get a lot ofpraise but it’s so crucial.”

Chowdhury remembers experiencing

one of the thingswe share, though

we’re all verydifferent, is our

desire to put ourtalents, skills, andenergy back into the community

and to provide forothers those

opportunities we’vebeen given.

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some challenges at Queen’s that stemmedfrom her Bengali race and her Muslimfaith. However, she was pleasantly sur-prised about the progressive views heldby politicians and others the group hasmet. “Based on my discussions, I find peo-ple who’ve been in power a lot moreamenable to the ideas I propose than myundergraduate counterparts were. It’s sur-prising, but reassuring.”

Chowdhury’s TSC friend Sarah Yun, anOxford grad now in second-year law stud-ies at the U of T, shares Chowdhury’s sen-timents. “Joe Clark really understood theminority perspective that we were bring-ing, and he wanted to talk to us about it,”she says. “I’ve been pleasantly surprisedthat everyone we have met has been soopen. I’ve also been surprised how thesepeople are happy to take our questionsand want to hear from us.” Clearly, Alexan-der has chosen their contacts as wisely ashe chose the Cabinet members.

Yun praises the diversity of TSC. “I thinkmost of us are first-generation or second-generation immigrants, but although we’revery close to our own cultures we’re verycommitted to Canadian culture and tolearning more about each other and sup-porting each other in our careers and lives.”

In fact, every member of the ShadowCabinet has a background very differentfrom the others. Alexander says he andhis initial recruits purposely set out to findadditional members who were first-gen-eration Canadians.

“We deliberately wanted to give them aleg up and to create for them the environ-ment of a third- or fourth-generationCanadian who has established networks,understands how things happen, has thebenefit of mentors and extended familywho have helped them with their careers.”

For Yun who grew up in the U.S. andmoved to Toronto in her high school years,the Shadow Cabinet has opened doors shemight never have stepped through other-wise. “I can’t even think of any way that I’dhave these opportunities to speak withpeople who have enjoyed such successfulcareers.” She includes Bruce Alexander inthat group. She says meeting him has beena life-changing experience. “Politics wasnot my first choice, but being exposed tosuch a wonderful mentor makes me thinkabout possibilities that hadn’t occurred tome,” she says.

Alexander has attempted to introducethe young women not only to powerfuland influential men, but also to women

who have overcome the odds to triumph intheir fields. Yun was very inspired by hermeeting with Mary Anne Chambers(Queen’s Executive Management’95), a for-mer Ontario MPP and cabinet minister andlater a business woman who has also beenactive as a volunteer. Yun says, “She was agreat person to have speak to us. We couldreally learn from her experiences.”

No less inspiring was Senator LeBre-ton, whom Yun says succeeded when thereweren’t as many opportunities for women.

Shadow Cabinet members have achance to keep in touch with the peoplethey’ve met. Yun says, “It’s not just a one-time meeting – I know I have potentialmentors out there.”

Not only do Shadow Cabinet membershave each other and a desire to be sup-portive as each strikes out on her own, butthere’s a yearning to do the same for others.

Says Yun, “One of the things we share,though we’re all very different, is our desireto put our talents, skills, and energy backinto the community and to provide forothers those opportunities we’ve beengiven. It’s almost a pay-it-forward situa-tion. We’re empowered by what Bruce hasgiven to us and we hope to do that for others as well.” B

Members of bruce Alexander’s Shadow Cabinet visited rideau Hall in February. Pictured above (l-r) are Hiwot Adhanom, Arsema berhane,Akosua Matthews, Felicia Mings, Jemy Joseph, Helena Shimeles, bruce Alexander, Com’60, LLD’11; Governor General david Johnston, law’66,

LLD’91; Sybil thompson, Sarah Yun, taisha lewis, netila demneri, Safiah Chowdhury, Artsci’11; viva dadwal, and khadra Ali.

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