Courage, pride & being you: Emma Quinn, Agent of Change
August 31, 2026 – Defence Stories
Estimated read time – 2:29
Emma Quinn is a registered nurse and psychotherapist with 31 Canadian Forces Health Services Centre at CFB Borden, where she provides affirming mental health care and psychotherapy to 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadian Armed Forces members. As a co-author of The Nurses’ Guide to Psychotherapy (2025), she has also contributed to national nursing scholarships through her commitment to inclusive clinical practice. Her work brings together lived experience and professional expertise to foster psychological safety and help reduce barriers to care within the military.
In 2026, Emma was recognized with the Public Service Pride Network’s Agent of Change Award.
Each year, the Public Service Pride Awards recognize individuals and teams across the Government of Canada who demonstrate outstanding leadership in creating safer and more inclusive workplaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ employees. The Agent of Change Award specifically recognizes advocates and leaders working to eliminate systemic barriers and advance the inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities across the federal public service.
In recognition of this achievement, Emma shares the following reflection on courage, identity, and the importance of being fully oneself.
We are born into a world of variety and gifts of being. We are all born with power and courage and the responsibility to fully embrace power and courage as needed. We are also all born with a gift of perspective, the gift of perspective being one in which we know that who we are can contrast with what others readily see – and that none of us are alone in this.
We live in a world in which people both live who they know themselves to be and feel that they must live in accordance with the expectations of others, and I wish to address this short work to both these elements of being human.
It takes courage to be who you are, since we do live in a very human world, in which judgment can be rushed and can be harsh. It takes courage to face possible judgment, criticism, and assumption. Yet – when you can be you, in all the variety, uniqueness. and specialness that life has given you, these experiences can provide meaning and purpose like no other.
We have the power to be who we are, and it is courage that provides us the platform to embrace this power. The essence of courage is knowing that adversity can occur, yet the goal of courage is gaining what you do not yet have. Parts of ourselves which are unexpressed and unseen are like seeds of possibility and it is only when we allow such parts to grow into the light of the world will can we fully know the true elements of who we are.
To grow these seeds containing the amazing variety of being human, we not only need light but also, we need a supportive environment that is supportive of growth. Knowing the right season is important, as is knowing those in your life who can and will be supportive of allowing you to know fully who you are by allowing you to express and live fully the elements of who you are.
I must also reflect upon responsibility. Our world needs you and all the variety of who you are. When you blossom, the bouquet of our world is immensely enriched. It is only when you are being truly you can know the gifts of variety you were born with. To know yourself, to know what makes you uniquely you, can only be achieved with courageous being, since courage can have cost and, most importantly, immense possibility.