Cicely Blain

Cicely Belle Blain (they/them) is a Black, mixed, queer non-binary femme from London, United Kingdom now living on the lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people. Their ancestry is a mix of Gambian (Wolof), Jamaican and English.

Cicely Belle spent their formative years between London, the Netherlands, and a small Catholic village in France - each home presenting a pivotal opportunity for awakening and growth. Cicely Belle is descended from a long line of feminist educators and developed a passion for justice from a young age.

Cicely Belle is noted for founding Black Lives Matter Vancouver and subsequently being listed as one of Vancouver's 50 most powerful people by Vancouver Magazine twice, BC Business's 30 under 30, and one of Refinery29's Powerhouses of 2020.

Cicely Belle founded Bakau Consulting Inc. in 2018 and has grown the company to serve 1000’s of clients worldwide - their public speaking, equity consulting and literary prowess has impacted people in Canada, the USA, the UK, South Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Ecuador, Senegal, South Africa, Eswatini and many more.

Some of their most notable professional achievements include speaking at the United Nations Summit in Quito, Ecuador, developing an Intersectionality Toolkit for the City of Vancouver and presenting the keynote address for the 2020 graduating ceremony at the University of British Columbia, their alma mater.

Cicely Belle is also an instructor in Executive Leadership at Simon Fraser University, the Editorial Director of Ripple of Change Magazine and the author of Burning Sugar (Arsenal Pulp Press and VS Books, 2020). They are also a board member with the Tegan and Sara Foundation.

Burning Sugar was shortlisted for the 2021 Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and longlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Their debut book also garnered them spots at some of Canada's top literary festivals including Vancouver Writer's Festival, Word of the Street Toronto, FOLD and features in CBC Books, Autostraddle, Indigo and Essence Mag.

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