February 13, 2026 Why Equity in the Diabetes Ecosystem isn't Optional, It’s Essential

It is Black History Month, and if you haven't read my LinkedIn newsletter, you may not know that Diabetes Canada recently welcomed Suelyn Knight, MEd, our inaugural Executive Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), to the organization. Professionally, Suelyn is a nationally recognized subject matter expert with more than 20 years of experience advancing IDEA across government, corporate, consulting and non-profit sectors. She has also been successful in building trust and meaningful partnerships with Black and racialized, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ and other equity-deserving communities. Personally, Suelyn is of Caribbean descent and has a parent living with diabetes, who has faced barriers to receiving culturally responsive care.

Sharing her vision

As we continue to transform our organization to more equitably serve communities, we are making meaningful investments internally with our staff and volunteers and externally with partners through our mission work. When you look at who makes up the four million people in Canada who live with diabetes—you quickly realize we can't improve quality of life for them without embracing IDEA at our core.

In our conversation, Suelyn shared her vision with our community of people living with diabetes, caregivers, healthcare providers, and advocates. Here's my first question for her:

Suelyn, what drew you to this role at Diabetes Canada?

The health charity space is incredibly ripe for conversations around inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.

We know diverse communities have a higher prevalence of diabetes and comorbidities. But research also shows these communities often face multiple-layered issues due to systemic inequities—they can't necessarily access culturally supportive foods, services, or healthcare providers who understand what they need in a way that's meaningful to them.

What excites me is that this role is both strategic and deeply human. It combines doing the work and understanding communities, making sure that as we think about creating a world free from the effects of diabetes, we're weaving diverse communities into how we do our business. It's about building capacity among our staff and volunteers to connect with each other—we're a microcosm of society. I want Diabetes Canada to be a place where everyone belongs, where we have inclusive leaders, equity in our policies and governance, and an equity lens running throughout our decision-making.

Want to hear more from Suelyn? Read the rest of our interview now.

Did you know?

Black history is inseparable from Canadian history and understanding how systemic inequities have shaped, and continue to shape, people's lives—including in health and access to care—matters for the work we do to create a world free of the effects of diabetes. To learn more about the impact, read In Her Own Words: My First Taste of Systemic Racism.