A Story: Built on Connection, Driven by Belonging

Inclusive Concepts was founded by Inez Ashworth, a bold Brit-turned-Calgarian, proud recipient of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights’ Human Rights Champion Award, and a firm believer that inclusion isn’t just a value, it’s a way of being.

After years of working inside corporate systems, Inez saw the gap between good intentions and real impact when it came to equity and belonging. So she set out to build something different, a space where honesty, humour, and heart lead the way, and where people, especially those too often pushed to the margins, feel seen, heard, and valued.

This work is personal. It’s shaped by lived experience, messy conversations, and the kind of human connection that can’t be faked. Inez brings curiosity, empathy, and a wicked sense of humour to everything she does, because transformation doesn’t have to be boring or buzzwordy. It just has to be real.

Today, Inclusive Concepts partners with organizations across sectors to create psychologically safe, purpose-driven workplaces where people actually want to show up. Whether it’s through events, training, strategy, or just telling the hard truths with kindness, Inez helps leaders move beyond performative change and into something far more powerful: belonging that lasts.

Founder/Lead Inclusion Strategist
Culture shifter. Community builder. Belonging enthusiast.
Inez is your friendly neighborhood culture shaker, passionate people-connector, and proud believer that everyone deserves to feel like they belong, especially at work. From a young age, she’s been the one talking to strangers, standing up for the underdog, and proudly clashing colors because, well, why not?
As a white, neurodiverse immigrant with a couple of invisible disabilities, Inez knows all too well what it feels like to be on the outside looking in. That lived experience is exactly what drives her: to create spaces where no one has to shrink, pretend, or feel like they don’t fit.
She founded Inclusive Concepts to make inclusion practical, personal, and deeply human. Through advisory work, events, retreats, and real conversations, Inez helps organizations and communities move from "good intentions" to genuine connection, and build cultures that stick.
She’s a big fan of mentoring, messy conversations, and community-led solutions. And last year, she stepped out of her comfort zone (again) to share her immigration story alongside 30 fierce women who know what it means to start over, build belonging from scratch, and keep showing up.
Now based on Treaty 7 territory, Inez continues to live loud, laugh hard, and lead with heart. And yes, she’s probably still standing up to bullies and making friends with the new kid.

Operations Manager/Inclusion Specialist
Inclusion Strategist | Community Connector | Advocate for Belonging
Narissa Jessa is the kind of person who helps others feel seen the moment she walks into a room. As an Inclusion Strategist at Inclusive Concepts, she brings lived experience, deep empathy, and a fierce commitment to creating spaces where people can show up fully, as themselves.
A racialized, Muslim woman with an invisible disability and the daughter of immigrants, Narissa understands firsthand what it’s like to navigate spaces that weren’t built with you in mind. That’s why she’s devoted her career to helping organizations do better, by embedding belonging into the way they lead, communicate, and connect.
Narissa is known for making complex ideas feel approachable. She helps teams build inclusive practices that actually stick, through customized strategies, thought-provoking workshops, and good old-fashioned human conversation.
She’s also deeply rooted in community, regularly volunteering and championing small businesses. A lifelong learner and boundary pusher, Narissa thrives on new challenges and believes that every day is an opportunity to listen, grow, and build something better, together.
She proudly lives and works on Treaty 7 territory, where she continues her mission to help create workplaces and communities that feel like home, for everyone