Our Team

Opiyo Oloya

Associate Vice-President of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

WSSB
Room 2120E
oloya@uwo.ca

Opiyo was born in Pamin-yai village, west of Gulu town in northern Uganda. He first attended post-secondary at St. Peter’s College, Tororo, Uganda where he studied History, Literature and Economics.

He later joined Makerere University in September 1979 to study political science. Heavily involved in reestablishing democracy in Uganda, he was elected president of Makerere University Student Guild in July 1980. On February 24, 1981 students protested on campus against rigged national elections. A crackdown of students by security forces, sent Opiyo and three colleagues into hiding. The four leaders fled to Kenya.

He was granted refugee status and arrived in Canada on June 7, 1981. The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) sponsored his undergraduate program at Queen’s University.

In Canada, he obtained a teaching degree at Queen’s and Master’s degree in education at the University of Ottawa. He taught briefly at Eight Mile Rock Secondary School in Freeport, Grand Bahama before returning to Canada in December 1988 to work as a teacher with the York Catholic District School Board.

He was later appointed vice principal in September 1999 and school principal in the spring of 2001. Finally, he was appointed Superintendent of Schools in November 2011

In September 2004, he enrolled at York University to carry research on child soldiers. He was awarded a PhD for his groundbreaking work on child warriors in Northern Uganda. He published Child to Soldier in 2013. Since 2010, he has worked alongside peacekeepers of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Somalia. His latest book, Black Hawks Rising, chronicles AMISOM’s successful war against terror. In 2012, York University awarded Dr. Oloya an honorary Doctorate of Law (LLD, honoris causa) for his humanitarian and social justice work in Africa. In June 2016, he was awarded Uganda Heroes Medal by H.E. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

He lives with his wife Emily and two young men, Oceng and Ogaba.

Lesley Oliver

EDI Specialist

WSSB
Room 2120D
lolive@uwo.ca

In addition to her role at the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Lesley is also a part time Faculty member with Fanshawe College and teaches Human Resources, Law & Leadership courses with the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business

She earned her Undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce degree from Guelph University. In 2020, she had completed her Master’s in Education, specializing in International Education through Western University as well as acquiring a Certificate in Learning and Development from Western University.

Lesley started her journey at Western over 9 years ago as the Manager of Staff & Faculty Relations with the Faculty of Science. She then joined the Equity & Human Rights Services team as the Diversity & Accessibility Coordinator, planning events, workshops & learning opportunities as well as coordinating the AODA compliance for Western. In 2021, Lesley joined the new Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion as an EDI Specialist.

Her duties as EDI Specialist involve supporting and leading EDI initiatives across campus, acting as a consultant for Wise Practices on EDI & Accessibility related matters and coordinating EDI-focused events through engaging with potential speakers, hosting workshops & training.

She is a mother of two amazing children and three rescue furbabies.  Lesley has lived in 7 different countries and speaks English and conversational Spanish.