Talking the talk with the skills to back it up

Canada marks Black History Month in February. You can visit our Black History Month webpage for more stories about Black people in our community, to learn about upcoming events and discussions, and to find cultural and educational resources put together by our Royal Roads community.

Learn more about Royal Roads’ Master of Arts in Tourism Management and Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communication programs.

When Lisa Wallace was younger, she used to avoid mentioning she was raised in Toronto’s Regent Park.

“I’ve been living my whole life trying not to perpetuate an ignorant stereotype,” says Wallace. “The assumption is you’re going to be a good-for-nothing.”

But the stereotype didn’t match her reality living in the public-housing neighbourhood. 

“There were so many good things that came out of that community, as well as positive, influential people who happened to live there.”

Growing up alongside immigrants from around the world also made her more globally minded, and sensitive to cultural difference. 

Now, Wallace says she is open about her roots. She aims to harness her lived experiences to inform the next chapter of her life.

Her goal is to be a workplace consultant, focused on diversity and inclusion, and her Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University has given her the theoretical and academic foundation to get there.

“Before I could talk up the wazoo, but I didn’t yet have the credibility to say ‘this is why what I am saying is valid’,” says Wallace. 

Many people enter RRU’s communication program to find a career in public affairs. Wallace did it to grow her personal skill set, recognizing that strong communication is an asset in any field.

She says the most influential course in her RRU program was Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures.

“It covered issues of hegemony, and how systemic issues affect race.”

“We need diversity and equity in the workplace, so all people have a voice to say ‘this is what I need’,” explains Wallace. “Then it is not an accommodation, it’s just standard. This is what I want to work toward: standard policies that are inclusive policies.” 

For Wallace, this work is personal.

During her 14-year career in the Canadian Armed Forces she saw policies slowly progress to be more inclusive, but some long-time employees had a hard time adapting.

“They were stuck in the mud in their personal mentality,” says Wallace. “They may be following policy by the book, but there was no integrity behind it.” 

She says leaving military life behind to enter the ‘civi world’ was a culture shock. It was tough to leave the security and benefits of the job behind, but it was the right choice. 

“It’s just a matter of saying ‘enough is enough’,” says Wallace, who says  her career was not progressing in the way she had hoped. 

Now her goal is to work within an organization to ensure the environment is healthy, positive and professional. 

Wallace graduated with her BAPC in fall 2023, and was recognized with an RRU Founders’ Award, which in part recognizes positive, proactive work in equity, diversity, inclusion and personal growth.

In December, she returned for her Master of Arts in Tourism Management . It builds on her prior experience in hospitality, and it’s the industry she hopes to work in again, this time as her own boss. 

“I want to be able to provide the understanding of how we can respect our differences, while at the same time acknowledging that we’re not that different.”