Jennifer Reynolds, Com’13, is always leading the charge towards making the 2SLGBTQ+ community feel welcome – whether it is on the sports field, in an office, or at Queen’s University.
The former Queen’s varsity triathlete served five years as the Canadian board co-chair of the You Can Play Project, an organization focused on the safety and inclusion of all sports participants, including 2SLGBTQ+ athletes, coaches and fans.
Reynolds is also one of the founders of the Queen’s Queer Alumni Chapter (QQAC), which fosters a supportive community and builds strong connections among 2SLGBTQ+ students, alumni, faculty and staff.
After years of volunteering in the field of equity, diversity and inclusion, it is now her full-time job. She started her career 10 years ago as an accountant with KPMG, and today she is the vice-president of equity, diversity and inclusion with CPA Ontario. She is leading the charge to promote inclusion among the more than 100,000 chartered professional accountants (CPAs) and 21,000 students in Ontario.
“I’ve finally been able to take my passion and make it a profession,” says Reynolds.
She wished there was more support for queer students when she was studying at Queen’s. It’s one of the reasons that drove her to help establish the queer alumni chapter in 2020, along with Stacy Kelly, Artsci’93, Nichola Burnside-Marshall, Artsci’19, MPA’20, and Gage Benyon, Artsci’19.
“People do not always feel they belong,” says Reynolds. “As alumni, we play an important role in supporting queer students and making the Queen’s community a more inclusive place for all.”
Her work supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ community began as a volunteer, but those experiences eventually led to her first paid EDI job.
In 2020, Reynolds was working as a corporate strategy and planning manager with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the parent company that owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MLS’s Toronto FC, and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. After the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, MLSE wanted to increase its involvement addressing systemic racism and advancing social justice.
“I put up my hand and said, ‘Look, I have a strong résumé of doing this off the side of my desk and through volunteer work. I have the skill set of strategy and finance so I can bring those two worlds (EDI and corporate strategy) together,’” says Reynolds, who stepped into the new role of MLSE’s senior manager of equity, diversity and inclusion. “That was the big step in terms of advocating for myself and putting my decades’ worth of experience to work and getting paid to do it.”
One of her proudest career achievements was getting MLSE to become an official sponsor of Pride Toronto and walking in the Pride Parade with players and executives such as Maple Leaf’s president, Brendan Shanahan, and former general manager Kyle Dubas.
In 2022, she decided to return to her accounting roots and work for CPA Ontario. As a CPA herself, “I couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect fit,” says Reynolds, as the role pairs her accounting background with her EDI expertise as she works to address systemic barriers that prevent equity-deserving groups from entering the profession.
“I’m proud to play a role in supporting people to be their true, authentic selves while fostering an environment where everyone can thrive,” says Reynolds.
