anita lal

She/Her
surrey

Anita Lal is a fourth-generation settler, born and raised on the traditional territories of Lhtako Dene and Semiahmoo, Katzie and Kwantlen First Nations. Her Biji, Thakuri Kaur Lal, instilled in her the Sikh values of seva, social justice and advocacy from a young age. 

These values fuel her work as the co-founder of the Poetic Justice Foundation, where she has been creating impactful and transformative programming, organizing, and activating the Panjabi community. Her approach is always inclusive, intersectional and critical; she draws attention to biases, inequalities and oppressive systems of casteism, racism and discrimination. Recently, her work has focused on creating space and dialogue around anti-casteism and the Dalit narrative.

Anita strongly believes in giving back to the community. She serves on Boards and Advisory Committees for the Province of BC’s Punjabi Canadian Legacy Project, South Asian Studies Institute at The University of the Fraser Valley, Seva Thrift Society and Women Transforming Cities. She is the Director of Operations and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Moving Forward Family Services and does consulting work for Royal Academy of Punjab.

She is inspired by Dr. Ambedkar’s words: Educate. Agitate. Organize.