ARC-NL Co-Chairs

Sobia Shaikh

Sobia Shaheen Shaikh is a faculty member at the School of Social Work at Memorial University in St. John’s. She is a social work educator, antiracist-feminist activist, researcher, mother and writer. As a community-engaged researcher, Sobia’s work focuses on supporting antiracist and social justice praxes. Sobia continues to learn from activists and artists of diverse backgrounds. As an activist, she sits on several boards and committees. Most notably, she co-chairs the Anti-Racism Coalition of NL (ARC-NL) and the Addressing Islamophobia in NL project, where she is often sought for her expertise on anti-racism and equity work in the province and nationally. As well, Sobia is a creative writer, and a founding member of The Quilted Collective of Racialized NL Writers and of the BIPOC Creators Collective.

Jenne Nolan

Jenne Nolan (she/her/elle) is a white settler, living in Ktaqmkuk with her partner and a cat with very sharp claws. She grew up in Tiohtià:ke. She’s just a human who is always looking for ways to work with others to end racism. ARC-NL was founded to address the mess that racial capitalism has made of our communities and to give us an apparatus that will help us push for social justice. What does this work look like? It starts with - Land Back. It starts with - Full Immigration Status for All. It starts with - Prison Abolition. It starts with - Decriminalizing Sex Work. It starts with - Addressing Transphobia and Islamophobia. It starts with – Transformative Justice. Jenne is a slow reader but there are three books that she can’t stop thinking about; Policing Black Lives – by Robyn Maynard, Border & Rule – by Harsha Walia, and We Do This ‘Till We Free Us – by Mariame Kaba. Don’t bring any of these books up around her or you will be stuck talking for hours.