CRIC Diversity & Inclusion Committee
The CRIC Diversity and Inclusion Committee was established to ensure our industry represents the diversity of Canada both in our workforce and in the insights it delivers.
The objectives of the CRIC Diversity & Inclusion Committee include:
- Developing programs that eliminate barriers to entry/advancement and enhance the diversity of research, analytics and insights workforce at all levels
- Developing guidance to help our industry eliminate bias from research and analytics
- Educating the industry on the issues through communications and events
- Advising the CRIC Standards Committee on new standards that will support the elimination of bias from research
- Supporting social research that identifies solutions and monitor progress
- Identifying opportunities to partner with related Canadian and Global diversity & inclusion initiatives
Lisa Wright – Chair
Vice President, Strategy and Business Development
Canadian Viewpoint
With over 25 years of market research experience, Lisa has a wealth of knowledge and insights, having worked with leading brands and sectors of Retail, CPG, Financial, Telecommunications and Automotive. Her primary focus has been exceeding expectations in customer service delivery and overall customer experience.
In August of 2015, Lisa won the Dale Carnegie Innovation Award. Dale Carnegie is one of the world’s leading human resources and management consulting organizations.
Lisa is chairwoman of the CRIC Diversity and Inclusion Committee, ESOMAR corporate member, Insights Association member and is an active volunteer, offering her expertise to various community organizations.
Raymond Armstrong
Director, Panel Management
Quest Mindshare
Raymond is committed to issues of equity, diversity and inclusivity within the market research field. Life experience navigating the educational and professional pathways into the market research sector ignited Raymond’s interest in addressing existing equity barriers. Having held senior data management and operations positions, Raymond gained additional insight into the industry’s challenges. Raymond hopes to see progress in inclusivity, representation and the creation of a more diverse workforce within the profession.
Joining CRIC’s Diversity and Inclusion Thought Leadership Council was a perfect opportunity to make just and equitable change as part of a collective. Raymond holds a degree from Western University in London, Ontario.
Laarni Paras
Director of Human Intelligence
Edelman Canada
Laarni is passionate about equity and human rights and the role of inclusion in research and innovation. She is part of Edelman DXI’s DE&I committee. She also co-founded the DE&I team at SW&A, where she helped develop their DEI strategic plan to ensure that the company’s processes from recruitment to research practices are more inclusive and equitable. Before market research, Laarni worked in community-based research that helped develop programs for newcomer women and women with disabilities. She designed and conducted anti-oppression training for organizations to better serve their communities by addressing their intersectional needs.
She is currently a board member with Insights in Color and has previously held volunteer roles with the University of Toronto’s Research Ethics Board and Women In Research (WIRE). Laarni is a recipient of the 2021 GRIT Future Honorees Award and a finalist for Women in Research 2020 Diversity Champion for her work in DE&I in research.
Max Skudra
Director, Research and Innovation
Creative Fire
Max served on the working committee that developed the Indigenous trade chapter for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for Global Affairs Canada, is a member of the Canadian Project Consultative Committee for the OECD.
Vijay Wadhawan
Vice President, Health and Wellness
Environics Research
Working in the healthcare space, Vijay has been an advocate for the importance of diversity in research as healthcare is an area where having a nuanced understandings of individuals and their interactions with the healthcare system allows his clients to better optimize solutions and the approaches to health issues Canadians face.
Vijay is a first generation Canadian with parents who immigrated to Nova Scotia from India and is also an active member in the LGTBQIA+ Community sitting on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP). Vijay brings the experience of navigating an intersectional identity to the CRIC Board and will use his experience in helping CRIC and its members identify ways to achieve diversity and inclusion goals and increase awareness on the importance of Diversity and Inclusion in research.
Donald Williams
Analytics Consultant
Over the past 15 years, Don has led diverse teams and is committed to fostering an inclusive environment. He believes the workplace should foster collaboration and fairness and, as a member of CRIC’s Diversity & Inclusion committee, he looks forward to helping business across our industry develop more inclusive practices.