Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah
is a first-generation Ghanaian-Canadian cisgender queer woman who is dedicated to the liberation of all her communities. She is currently the Executive Director of the
Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity
and based in Ottawa. Debbie has deep roots in program and project management, gender-based analysis, feminist foreign policy and international affairs. She completed her graduate school studies in International Affairs, specializing in International Development Policy at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (Carleton University).
She has worked at Global Affairs Canada as a policy analyst responsible for strategic advice on child protection, gender equality and broader sexual and gender-based violence issues, with a particular focus on adolescent girls and the girl child. Prior to CCGSD, she was Campaign and Outreach Officer at Oxfam Canada, responsible for developing public engagement strategies to advance gender justice. She has also been a Board member and Chair of several organizations, including the Platform and Harmony House Women’s Shelter. Debbie is currently Co-Chair of Dignity Network Canada’s Advocacy and Government Relations Working Group and she is also involved in assisting coordination globally around opposition to the anti-LGBTIQ bill in the Ghanaian parliament.
