“I am a multi-racial cis-woman living in Vancouver, BC. I grew up in poverty and lived in more than 22 homes before the age of 12. I spent my early years in Montreal (I speak French) and my teenage years in downtown Toronto. My lived experiences profoundly shaped my career trajectory in human rights, with a deep commitment to service and social justice. My father is an immigrant to Canada from India and my mother is Inuk and Polish from Labrador. As a visibly brown woman who was raised Sikh and spent her summers in Sheshatshiu, Labrador, I hold many lenses that shape my worldview. I have witnessed and participated in restorative justice initiatives rooted in self-determination, which has contributed to my “out of the box” thinking about transformative justice, fairness, and accountability. I have been boxing (the sport) since I was in my early twenties, and boxing is an important outlet in my life. It has taught me about the importance of discipline, community, humility, and strength.
With a background in law, human rights, equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), I am confident that I would meaningfully contribute to the Board of Directors. My educational foundation includes a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from UCLA with a focus on international and comparative law, where I was the recipient of the Dean’s Tuition Fellowship Award, UCLA Law’s Public Interest Award and a post-graduate fellowship at Yale Law School. My Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Ottawa coupled with my Master of Arts (M.A.) in Sociology from the University of Guelph has equipped me with a strong interdisciplinary understanding of social justice issues. My professional experience includes serving as an Equity Advisor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the Faculty of Medicine (2023 – Present), where I provide strategic guidance on decolonization and anti-racism. Prior to my role at UBC, I was appointed by the Assistant Deputy Minister for a 2-year term (2021 – 2023) as an Independent Correctional Adjudicator for the 10 correctional centres in BC. As an independent and at arms-length decision maker, I presided over disciplinary hearings ensuring procedural fairness while considering the unique backgrounds of inmates, including Indigenous identity and mental health needs. I have also worked for the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth (RCY) in BC as an Investigator tasked with investigating the deaths and critical injuries of children and youth in government care. Since 2022, I have been a volunteer for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights as a short-term electoral observer in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in North Macedonia. I was Called to the Bar in Ontario (2020) and in British Columbia (2022).”
