Founder, Lead Researcher & Consultant, RP Research & Consulting

Rosheeka (Ro) Parahoo is an interdisciplinary researcher, strategist, and equity consultant with a track record of driving change across some of Canada’s most complex systems including finance, philanthropy, education, arts and culture, and gender-based violence prevention. With experience spanning grassroots nonprofits to C-suite boardrooms, Ro is known for her ability to translate bold equity visions into clear, actionable strategies.

Ro’s PhD research examines how equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is carried out across corporate Canada, using the Canadian music industry as a lens into how organizations negotiate cultural identity, public expectations, and market pressures. Their work asks: How do we navigate the promises and limits of EDI within Canadian industries? And what does EDI look like at the intersection of Canadian identity, multicultural policy, and corporate influence? Through this research, they highlight why EDI efforts often stall or fall short within organizations and cultural institutions, revealing the structural and narrative conditions that shape corporate commitments to equity in Canada. Her academic background, combined with deep applied experience gives her a unique lens: one that is rigorously analytical, socially attuned, and unafraid to ask difficult questions.

Ro brings expertise in mixed-methods research, gender-based analysis (GBA+), strategic planning, and communications. She has led nationally funded research projects, advised foundations on grantmaking practices, supported corporate leaders navigating DEI backlash, and authored industry reports, op-eds, and toolkits that have shaped national conversations. Her clients include financial institutions, women’s organizations, national non-profits, and public agencies.

What sets Ro apart is her ability to hold complexity, bridging data and storytelling, policy and practice, urgency and care. They launched RP Research & Consulting to offer that balance to organizations seeking to move beyond checkbox equity work and toward meaningful, measurable change.