Draft:Inez Elliston

Inez Elliston (1930-2017) was a Jamaican and Canadian activist and educator whose work focused on helping improve school curriculum to better accommodate immigrants and people from diverse cultural backgrounds. She won many awards for her work including the Order of Ontario in 2004.

Life
Elliston was born in Jamaica in 1930. She moved to Canada in 1969 and died in Toronto in 2017.

Education
Elliston completed a Bachelors of Arts degree at the University of the West Indies in 1961. She also received a Diploma in Education at London University in 1962 and a Masters of Education at Boston University in 1965. Lastly she did a Master of Education in 1972 and a PhD in 1976 at the University of Toronto. Elliston's PhD thesis was titled “On the Performance of Teachers in an Adult Learning Program in Jamaica”.

Work and organizations
Elliston's work focused on illuminating systemic injustice and bringing people together to find solutions. She also worked on making long term changes society to allow everyone to be able to participate fully regardless of their background.

Some of Elliston’s most notable work includes being the first coordinator of multiculturalism and race relations for the Scarborough Board of Education from 1988 to 1994. In this role she helped to develop policies designed to assist immigrant children in transitioning to the Canadian school system. She was also involved with multiple community organizations and was the president of the Canadian Council of Multicultural and Intercultural Education (CCMIE). She also served as the coordinator of an Adult Day School and Multicultural Center from 1978-82. Inez Elliston was also a Vice Principal of Continuing Education from 1986-90 and an Education Officer for the Ministry of Education and Training from 1994-1996.

She was also involved with multiple community organizations such as the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society for Key Women Educators, the Governing Council at University of Toronto, and the Canadian Federation of University Women, Canadian Association for Community Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto and the Project for the Advancement of Childhood Education.

Awards
Inez Elliston received many awards for her community work including:


 * 15 Year Volunteer Service Award from the Ministry of Citizenship in 1989
 * Outstanding Achievement Award from CCMIE in 1990
 * Outstanding Achievement Award from the Jamaican Canadian Association in 1996
 * Arbor Award from the University of Toronto for her volunteer work in 2003
 * Harry Jerome Award for community service in 2003
 * Order of Ontario in 2004
 * Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012

Lastly an award is given out annually by the Scarborough Board of Education in her name for multicultural work in education.