IWD: Meet Carina Gabriele
This International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting USC alumni and long-serving staff whose experiences reflect the depth and evolution of our organization. From former student leaders who carried their USC experience into their careers and communities, to staff members who have supported students behind the scenes, their stories demonstrate the important role women have played, and continue to play, in shaping student leadership, advocacy, and campus life. Student-led spaces are often where confidence is built, voices are strengthened, and future leaders emerge. By spotlighting these experiences, we aim to celebrate contributions that have not always been equally visible and to acknowledge the impact women have had on the USC’s growth and direction over time.
Carina Gabriele served as the Student Programs Officer from 2018-2019. She is an education advocate, feminist, and policy specialist focused on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and currently serves as the Director of Policy to Canada’s Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism). We caught up with her to ask about her time with the USC:
Looking back, what are you most proud of from your time with the USC?
I am most proud of my team, and the vision we had for how to make Western a better place. When I was an executive, I worked with my team to create a program where we piloted offering free menstrual products in UCC washrooms. We did this to collect data, usage, and feedback from users to advocate to Western administration about the importance of the free provision of products in every washroom. Earlier this year I was back on campus after nearly 8 years, and found myself in a campus washroom in need of a menstrual product. I turned around and saw the product dispenser, stocked with free menstrual products. It was a really beautiful moment, to see something I started nearly a decade ago that women executives after me took up the mantle to continue to advocate for, and it resulted in such a tangible and positive change on campus.
Did your involvement with the USC open doors or lead you in a direction you didn’t expect?
Yes, during my year, I met many people who would inspire me and whom I would work with after leaving Western. I learned a lot about my interests, including my passion for governance and policy work, which played a significant role in the career I chose to pursue after leaving Western. USC allowed me to hone my skills and take risks in developing new programs and policies with unconditional support that I wouldn’t have received elsewhere, and offered the mentorship opportunities that shaped who I am today.
Were there other women through the USC, mentors, peers, leaders, who had a lasting impact on you?
Absolutely! I served my year alongside two phenomenal women on my executive, Andreea and Mikaela. They inspired me then with their tenacity, passion, and brilliance, and they still inspire me to this day. I’m so grateful to the USC for bringing us together. I also benefited greatly from the extremely supportive and generous mentorship of women around me, including those who work at the USC (hi Karla!).
What gives you hope when you think about the next generation of women leaders?
I have had the fortune of meeting many of the women who have served on the USC executive since my time at Western, and I am consistently in awe of how each of them bring their own passions and expertise to the organization, making it expand, grow, and adapt to evolving and diverse needs on campus. They’ve led with bold vision, compassion, empathy, and an efficiency that ensures good work gets done. Campus politics is challenging to navigate as young women— however, their leadership and what they’ve been able to accomplish gives me tremendous hope that more and more women will see themselves in this work, and put their name forward to be part of the USC and campus politics.
