About
Welcome to Own Your Power!
As an immigrant and racialized woman, I experienced firsthand, the trials of finding a teaching job worthy of my credentials, job loss, and the continuous struggle to break through barriers that seemed to block my path to success.
Amanda J Edwin
Hi, I am Amanda, thanks for visiting Own Your Power where my goal is to celebrate and empower racialized teachers. I have over 30 years of combined experience in elementary and adult education, and parenting education. Throughout this time, my passion for advocacy and empowerment of racialized teachers like me only grew with greater intensity.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” —Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
I have facilitated workshops for parenting groups which included topics such as Anger Management, The Role of the Parent, and Disciplining the Young Child, and staff development workshops that focused on improving teacher professionalism and effectiveness.
My advocacy did not stop there. A few years after immigrating to Canada, I felt more comfortable in my new environment to pick up where I left off in Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, I volunteer with the Caribbean Canadian Association of Waterloo Region actively serving on the Board of Directors for seven years now.
Being a part of this non-profit organization gives me first-hand insight into the systemic injustices faced by Blacks and other racialized members of the community, and gives me an opportunity to work alongside like-minded individuals to find ways to alleviate some of the issues.
As an immigrant and racialized woman, I experienced firsthand, the trials of finding a teaching job worthy of my credentials, job loss, and the continuous struggle to break through barriers that seemed to block my path to success. Besides my husband’s unwavering support, I pushed through the roadblocks out of pure need and resilience; my family’s existence and survival depended on that.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I began hosting weekly Facebook Lives entitled Breakthrough to Success which focused on resilience and empowerment. The videos can be viewed on my YouTube Channel. My goal is to celebrate and empower racialized teachers and fortify them with the motivation and strength they need to push through systemic barriers. Writing also became a medium to share my thoughts on the topics that I am passionate about, namely Education and Empowerment.
I invite you to follow, connect and share with me through any of my social media links below. I look forward to connecting with you.
