Marilyn P. Byers Joins the Ranks of Leading Professionals
Marilyn P. Byers has dedicated herself to educating the public, and coordinating programs to end discrimination and secure equal human rights
ONTARIO, CANADA, October 04, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marilyn P. Byers, Regional Director of PFLAG Canada and Vice President of PFLAG Canada-York Region, has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in raising awareness of equality for all and relating her discussion to the respective curriculum in each school she visits and to the various audiences attending her presentation, including government, corporations, churches and clubs.
Marilyn P. Byers believes that equality is nothing less than justice, freedom and opportunity for all. She is proud to be one of the founding members of PFLAG Canada-York Region. Ms. Byers believes that through education comes understanding and through understanding comes acceptance. As a result, she volunteered over 1500 hours in the year 2000, 1800 hours in the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 and still continues her volunteering even to this day.
In an effort to spur dialogue, offer hope and gain acceptance, Ms. Byers was instrumental in launching the first billboard campaign in Canada with the message 'Someone You Know and Love is Gay' in the spring of 2000. This billboard sign caused some controversy, which gave the results Marilyn aimed for: promotion of dialogue and education about the potentially violent consequences of 'hate speech.' An ongoing goal is to raise funds to have the billboard signs placed in other cities. The latest signs read: We Belong!
The challenges of PFLAG Canada-York Region are first money, and then volunteers. People come to PFLAG when their emotions are high and they have a problem dealing with their own lives. They attend meetings, have conversations, get comfortable and move on. PFLAG runs on the energy of people, unfortunately only a few seem to be the ones carrying the torch. PFLAG Canada and PFLAG Canada-York Region have been supported by grants from the government and the Ontario Trillium Foundation .
She attributes her success to her compassionate nature and involvement in education and being intentional about making a difference.. She became involved in activism because of her desire to make a difference in the LGBT community. It all started in 1994, soon after her son Kevin told her he is gay.
Ms. Byers holds a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Toronto, and she is a Landmark Education graduate. A professional speaker, she served as Chapter President of Toastmasters International. She has received letters of support from the York Region On Police Chief; ON's Assistant Deputy Attorney General; Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough, ON; and Mayfield Secondary School in Caledon, ON. In recognition of her efforts, Ms. Byers received the 2004 Outstanding Achievement Award for Volunteerism in Ontario from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration; a Certificate of Appreciation at the 2003 Anti-discrimination and Diversity Issues in Policing Forum held at Ontario Provincial Police College; a Certificate of Appreciation from The York Region Health Services, the Spirit of Community Award from the Municipality of York Region; the Community Service Award from the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto; and the 5 Year Ontario Volunteer Award from the Province of Ontario.
PFLAG Canada and PFLAG Canada-York Region's mission is to support and educate, to cope with an adverse society, to enlighten an ill-informed public, to end discrimination and to secure equal human rights. In her presentation "PROUD 2 B", Ms. Byers discusses sexual orientation and gender identity and the meaning of LGBT3IQ2.
For more information, visit http://www.pflagyork.ca.
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Ellen Campbell
Cambridge Who's Who
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