A DEI consultant in British Columbia who stays for the repair.
I am Sally Martin, a certified DEI consultant and restorative justice facilitator based in Kamloops, British Columbia. My clients are organisations that are past wanting another awareness workshop. They are dealing with a complaint, a resignation, or a team that has quietly stopped speaking to each other.
Alongside that, I coach individuals rebuilding after a business stalled, a career flattened, or a life had to start over in a country that did not recognise the one before it.
Certified DEI Consultant · Restorative Justice Facilitator · Winner, BC Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Awards · Former Regional Consultant, United Nations, Eastern and Southern Africa · Founder, Valid Dreams Foundation · Two-time TELUS StoryHive producer · Ms. North America Ambassador 2026
My Story
Nairobi came first. I sold telephone cards in traffic. Eventually I was running an automotive dealership through two expansions. At the same time, I consulted regionally for the United Nations on gender equality and economic empowerment across Eastern and Southern Africa. That programming reached more than 400 women and young people.
Starting again in Canada
Then, in 2017, I came to Canada. None of it counted.
So I started over. Front desk. Night shifts. Street-level outreach with people experiencing homelessness. Within two years, however, I was managing community hubs for one of Alberta’s largest agencies at The Mustard Seed. The work covered homelessness, addictions, women’s empowerment and legal aid for incarcerated youth. Some of those hubs were close to shutting down. I steadied them, and then ran them right through the pandemic. After that I served as Senior Manager at Connective Support Society, and later worked with youth at risk at Axis Family Resources.
Choosing life
Somewhere in that rebuild, I found myself in a darkness I had no map for. What came out of it was a decision. I would choose life, out loud, and make the conversation easier for whoever comes next. That decision became a documentary, Black Light Unveiled: Choose Life, funded by TELUS StoryHive and released in 2025 on Channel 9, TELUS Optik TV.
I still value working directly with vulnerable people. It keeps me learning, and it makes me a better advocate.
Although I am considered an expert in this field, the work keeps evolving, and so do I. I am still learning and unlearning in the middle of it, and I think anyone doing this honestly would say the same.
Why organisations across British Columbia work with me
Most DEI training ends where the hard part begins. A room learns the vocabulary and everyone nods. Then, on an ordinary Tuesday morning, somebody says something that lands badly. The team reaches for a policy. However, policy can only tell you which rule was broken. It cannot put people back together.
A process for repair, not just a vocabulary
That is why I trained as a restorative justice facilitator as well as a DEI consultant. It is a combination you will rarely find in British Columbia. Because of it, I can hand your team an actual process for repair. The person harmed says what happened and what it cost, in their own words. The person responsible listens without defending, and then speaks to it. Together they agree in writing what repair looks like. Afterwards, I come back to check it happened.
I have also run organisations, not only advised them. So when I sit down with your leadership team, I have been on their side of the table.
Work with me: DEI consulting and restorative justice for organisations · Coaching for people starting again · Speaking and facilitation for your next event.
Recognition and community work
I founded the Valid Dreams Foundation in 2022, a Black-led BC organisation supporting women, youth and newcomer families in Kamloops. I was named a winner of the Breaking Barriers Award at British Columbia’s Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Awards, and I am honoured in Thompson Rivers University’s Black Individuals Making History in Kamloops exhibit, alongside my work founding Kamloops’ first Black Film Festival.
In 2025 the Foundation received the United Way Local Love Fund, which we used to host the Home Away from Home Cultural Christmas Dinner that December, a table for anyone in Kamloops spending the holidays far from the place they call home. You can see the full picture on my community work page.
I have produced two TELUS-funded productions. The documentary Black Light Unveiled: Choose Life was released in 2025 on Channel 9, TELUS Optik TV, and the podcast Fierce Colourful Conversation follows in September 2026 on the same channel. I also host Jenga on CFBX Radio.
Private screenings are available. I bring the documentary to organisations, schools and community groups and stay afterwards to open up the conversation about mental health. Get in touch to arrange one.
Media & Speaking Requests
I bring over 15 years of diverse experience in event coordination and hosting across corporate, non-profit, and community settings. Contact me today to discuss bookings for your next event, request an interview, or discuss collaboration opportunities.
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