Advancing Equity in Academia: Oral History Interview 06 — Cameron Aitken
Honouring Legacy While Building Lambda’s Future: Cameron Aitken
Lambda Scholarship Foundation Canada’s 40th-anniversary oral history series continues with a conversation focused on continuity, renewal, and collective leadership.
While earlier interviews reflect on the Foundation’s origins and formative milestones, this installment turns to the work of guiding Lambda through recent disruption while positioning it for long-term growth.
The sixth interview features Cameron Aitken. (Cameron was the Foundation’s current president at the time of the interview; he is still with the board as Past President). Aitken reflects on his decision to join Lambda as a way of giving back to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and on the responsibility of stewarding an organization with a four-decade legacy. His account offers insight into the practical and strategic challenges of contemporary nonprofit leadership.
The conversation addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the shift to virtual governance and the pressures it placed on volunteer-led organizations. Aitken also discusses Lambda’s recent capacity-building investments, efforts to increase scholarship opportunities, and the Board’s focus on visibility, accountability, and sustainable growth.
Central to this interview is an examination of how Lambda is responding to systemic racism and expanding its commitment to diversity and inclusion within its awards and partnerships. Aitken emphasizes that leadership at Lambda is fundamentally collective—shaped by shared values, collaboration, and a long-term commitment to supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ learners across Canada.
This interview is part of a seven-episode series. One final conversation will be released soon, completing this 40th-anniversary reflection on Lambda’s history and future.
Donate now to empower 2SLGBTQIA+ and QTBIPOC youth by providing education, research opportunities, and lasting support.
About the Interviewer: Christopher DiRaddo
Christopher DiRaddo is the author of the novels The Family Way (2021), shortlisted for the F.G. Bressani Literary Prize, and The Geography of Pluto (2014). His essays and short stories have appeared in First Person Queer: Who We Are (So Far), Here & Now: An Anthology of Queer Italian-Canadian Writing, and The Globe and Mail. He has also written for several publications, including Elle Canada, XTRA magazine, and enRoute magazine, for which he won a National Magazine Award. In 2014, he created the Violet Hour Reading Series & Book Club, which has to date provided a platform for more than 300 LGBTQ writers in Canada to connect with new audiences. He lives in Montreal. Check out his website and subscribe to The Violet Letter: Your guide to LGBTQ+ lit in Montreal (and beyond).
