Avelia Stewart

Avelia Stewart is currently the diversity and inclusion (D&I) lead at Western Financial Group. In that role, she is responsible for guiding Western’s multi-year diversity and inclusion strategy. Additionally, she lectures in the post-graduate programs at Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology (MITT). She has over 15 years of progressive experience in cultivating partnerships, leading highly effective teams, and delivering strategies to address workplace barriers and achieve cultural transformation through strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and strategy execution.

Avelia earned her master of arts in communication and culture and her bachelor of arts in journalism from Howard University in Washington, DC, and completed MBA courses at Vanderbilt University. She also has a post-graduate certificate in human resource management from the University of Manitoba and holds her Chartered Professional Human Resources (CPHR) and Society for Human Resource Management – Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) designations. 

She is experienced in the areas of strategy development, human resource management, D&I,  strategic communications, program management and project management. She is a people-centred but performance-driven leader who has worked across various industries in the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean and Canada. She is passionate about coaching, developing, and connecting early-career professionals with opportunities.