The Adaptagen Podcast is available on Spotify for all to hear, but if you listen at https://facilitate.toolsi.ca (it’s part of Toolsi Free) you can post your questions and comments and I will be sure to respond.
Tai Jacob and Cat have been part of an enormous project called Justice Trans. Over sushi with Tai a couple of years ago I was fascinated to hear about the facilitated community research process they were designing. It’s a very specific use of facilitated space, and one that comes with its own challenges and constraints. This podcast is brimming over with insight and tips into how to do community research in a way that is respectful, radical, and defensible.
This is the first time I’ve interviewed two people at once for the Adaptagen Podcast! I met Tai Jacob quite a few years ago, and just met Cat as we began this interview. It was a wonderful experience, not only to learn about the work they’ve dedicated themselves to, but also to experience the dynamic between them as colleagues and co-facilitators. Humble, quirky, self-possessed, brilliant and funny, they were both an absolute delight to interview. I can’t wait to hear what you think.
Cat is an emerging academic and artist weirdo, and established non-profit leader based in Regina, Treaty 4 territory, who strives to bring her dyke politics to work. Cat was previously the Development Director at JusticeTrans, the Programs and Operations Manager at UR Pride—a 2SLGBTQ+ non-profit in Regina, and was the Chair of TransSask—a non-profit organization with a mandate to provide supports for Two Spirit, trans and non-binary people in Saskatchewan. Cat is also a founding member of the Saskatchewan Trans Health Coalition, and a member of the Capacitor Advisory Council, which oversees a universal basic income pilot program for Two Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists and digital creators in Saskatchewan. Outside her work, Cat enjoys painting portraits of people she is in community with and creating Super-8 films documenting her queer family and life.
Tai Jacob is currently a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School. They are a Board Director at Mazon Canada, the national Jewish response to hunger that supports initiatives that educate Canadians and foster effective solutions to end hunger. Prior to this, they were the Executive Director at JusticeTrans, a national non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to justice for Two Spirit and trans people across Canada. Tai received her MA in Geography from McGill University in 2020, where she did research with trans and gender nonconforming refugees about their experiences with the Immigration and Refugee Board. He has over five years of experience working in advocacy for refugee and migrant justice, trans and queer liberation, anti-poverty work, and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion efforts at various organizations, companies, universities, and grassroots groups.
