Black History Month Panelists
Dennis Agbegha
BSC, MSC
Dennis Agbegha currently works as a Commercial Accounts Manager with BDC, a role he started in March 2021. Dennis joined BDC from ATB where he worked as a Business Banking Advisor and until most recently Senior Manager, Entrepreneurship. Prior to his banking career, Dennis was a Geoscientist with Exxonmobil, and before that he was a Production Geologist with Shell Upstream International in Nigeria. Outside of the office, Dennis enjoys volunteering for different organizations and also loves being a snow angel. Dennis holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology and Mining from the University of Jos, Nigeria as well as a Master of Science in Petroleum Geoscience from Imperial College London, UK.
Ada Adeleke-Kelani
MBA, CPA, CA, CLC, FCA
Ada Adeleke-Kelani, a past chair of CRIEC board, is a versatile Audit and Supply Chain professional who has worked in various industries and continents. She is a transformative leader, an inspirational speaker, an international trainer, and a certified leadership coach who specializes in career and life coaching. As the Brilliance Coach, her purpose in life is to help others discover and deploy their brilliance so they fulfill their purpose and reach their peak in life. She is passionate about people and leadership. Her ACE skills – ADAptability, Cultural competence, and Emotional intelligence – continually distinguish her.
She also serves as a volunteer with CRIEC, her church and her professional associations. She is also a board member for a not-for-profit organization and professional association.
So far, Ada has authored 5 books in the 101 Quips and Quotes Book Collection; she also inspires people through her YouTube channel “Quip Corner with Ada”.
Dr. Akin Oke,
MD, MBA, PMP, LSSBB
CEO of APTLYTiC Inc and Digital Transformation Business Partner at Vale.
Dr. Akin Oke, is an accomplished and curious medical professional with progressive management and leadership know-how in shepherding complex initiatives. A Management Executive with over two decades of cumulative experience, he has been instrumental in helping global organizations streamline business operations by establishing best practices that ensure highly effective strategic outcomes.
He is a father and husband who is passionate about people and building relationships. He loves to play basketball and travel. Over the course of his career, he has lived and worked in 5 different countries across 3 continents.”L
Angelah Senkeiyan Kusero,
M.ED (PSYC)
Angelah is a Kenyan-born Canadian Citizen who fiercely aspires to give back to a country that has given her so much. Canada and its citizens fuel her enthusiasm and passion for helping others identify their uniqueness and take control of their education, careers, and overall well-being.
As a driven, passionate Career Educator and Workforce Development Leader, she takes pride in educating and empowering clients to discover their unique value, tying it to a purposeful career that is meant for them! Currently, she is thriving as a permanent Workforce Development employee with Manpower AB, a company that takes pride in helping their clients win in the ever-changing world of work!
Angelah is currently making a difference one career at a time as the Workforce Development Manager – South (Calgary) Regions where she manages six of Manpower Alberta’s Workforce Development Programs including Cybersecurity for immigrants, FINtech, Training for Work, emPOWER – Women in Construction, TECHCareers, and Career Leap programs.
Angelah is always striving to do her best and is often described as hardworking, resilient, determined, and diplomatic. She is a self-directed woman who values inclusion, participatory development, children’s rights and voice, community resilience, and dynamic interrelationships (personal, cultural, and political). Angelah takes pride in bringing out the best in others; whether as a leader, supermom, neighbour, or a consoling friend, she is always addressing immediate concerns in the community, and ensuring that others also know the worth within them.
Angelah has a background in Law and is a Master of Educational Psychology graduate focusing on Human Relations. Active in the community, Angelah is an avid networker, community connector, and currently a Community Champion and Mentor at CRIEC, and a monthly guest speaker at the Women in Need Society. She formally volunteered at ISC as an employment coach, a language Bank interpreter, and has sat on the CLIP (Calgary Local Immigration Partnership) Employment advisory group, and the Prairie Centre for Excellence in Mentoring Working Groups to help improve newcomers’ experiences in Alberta.
As a lifelong educator, Angelah has also volunteered in Nova Scotia for the Children’s International Summer Villages(CISV), World University Service Canada(WUSC), the MSVU Women in House program, the Tri-Mentoring program, the UNICEF Campus Ambassador Program(UCAP), MSVU Right to Play and the Halifax Regional Police Youth Program where she volunteered for over 7 years, guiding , empowering, teaching and directing soon-to-be leaders of tomorrow in the community.
Angelah currently resides in Calgary, with her husband Chris and her two boys Tevin and Tristan.
Soba Adeniran
Director, Senior Commercial Markets
Soba has over 30 years of experience in Management Consulting and Financial Services. She has been with RBC for 16 years, starting her career in Small Business as an Account Manager in the Airdrie and surrounding markets. Seeking more challenges, she moved on to the Credit Analyst (now Financing Specialist) role in 2012. After 2 years, she realized that she missed the client interactions and accepted a role as a Diversified and Agriculture Account Manager in the Airdrie Market from 2014 to 2022 and was selected (as one of 8 in Alberta) to be a Director in the recently established Senior Commercial Markets in Calgary area.
Soba has a client-centric approach and serves her clients with empathy and passion. She has been recognized for her contributions, earning a spot at the 2020 RBC Performance Convention amongst several other awards over the years. Soba has risen to the One RBC strategic focus of the Bank and made great contributions to Partnering & Collaboration. She has mentored and coached new Commercial Account Managers and other colleagues along the way. Soba is actively involved in the Black Professional Network ERG in the Bank and actively serves in the Community through serving in her Church and also at various times on the Airdrie Economic Strategic Team. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Susannah Alleyne
HONS BA, J.D.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Counsel and the Equity Ombudsperson at the Law Society of Alberta
Susannah is a successful lawyer and mediator, and is passionate about equity, diversity, inclusion & anti-racism work. She currently serves as the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Counsel and the Equity Ombudsperson at the Law Society of Alberta. She was the founding & former President of the first Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL). She sits on several Canadian Bar Association committees, volunteers with the Association of Women Lawyers (AWL) and serves as a mentor to foreign-trained lawyers and students in the Black Law Students’ Association (BLSA).
A lover of words, Susannah is also a published poet with her most recent contributions in an anthology celebrating Black womxn (women) and non-binary voices, currently available on Amazon.