2011 Summer Internships
Interns
Penny Ma | YRITWC | Whitehorse, Yukon
Penelope is in her first year of law school at Queen’s University. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Society (with a theme in Environment, Health and Society) at Cornell University. She then completed her Master of Science in Integrated Water Resources Management at McGill University. Last summer, Penelope held an internship with Nature Connection, a partner organization of the SCBD, where she mapped a preliminary working watershed boundary for Rivière-à-l’Orme, created educational tools for students at the CEGEP level, and generated an Integrated Water Resources Management plan for the watershed. She is excited to intern with YRITWC this summer to pursue her passion for water issues from a legal perspective, and to learn more about Aboriginal land and water rights. In her spare time, Penelope loves to sing, dance, cook, play guitar, play piano, run, spend time outdoors, and to try new things.
Megan Strachan | YRITWC | Whitehorse, Yukon
Megan is a first year in the University of Toronto‘s combined Juris Doctor/Master’s of Global Affairs Program. She completed her undergraduate degree at York University in Political Science and International Studies with a Certificate in Law and Social Thought. Megan has interned abroad before with the African Youth Foundation in Germany, and worked for Ten Thousand Villages (a not for profit fair trade organization) throughout her undergrad. Megan furthered her interest in indigenous and environmental issues this year through her work with Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and the Indigenous Law Journal. She will be writing her Master’s thesis on the role of indigenous governance in the emerging new Arctic, and is excited to spend the summer working on water rights research with the YRITWC. In her spare time, she loves to rock climb, and when Megan’s not climbing she’s probably dancing.
Stephanie Cox | United Nations Development Program | Timor-Leste
Stephanie is in her first year of law at the University of Windsor and is excited about the opportunity to expand her knowledge of law and human rights through her internship with the UNDP Justice Systems Programme in Timor-Leste. Stephanie’s interest in human rights was ignited in 2004 when she became a Rotary Youth Exchange Student to Brazil. She completed her Honours Bachelors of Arts Degree in Social Justice and Peace Studies and Political Science. Her interest in poverty reduction and land reform led to her involvement in a community build in the rural mountains of the Dominican Republic in 2006. In 2008, Stephanie completed research on the effects of civil war and evaluated restorative justice projects in Guatemala. She is committed to community development with her involvement in the Windsor Law Community Legal Aid Clinic, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) and the Vagina Monologues.
Colin Cameron-Vendrig | United Nations Development Program | Timor-Leste
Colin is a first year law student at the University of Toronto. He is originally from Ottawa and completed his undergraduate degree in History at McGill University. Colin spent the summer of 2007 working for an entrepreneurship NGO in Lvov, Ukraine and the summer of 2008 interning at the national headquarters of AIESEC South Africa in Johannesburg. He is an avid snowboarder and nordic skier and is looking forward to spending the summer working for the UNDP in Timor-Leste.
Alison Brown | FIDA | Nairobi, Kenya
Alison Brown is a third year law student at the University of British Columbia. Alison’s previous volunteer experiences include working with the Vancouver’s Justice for Girls, the Privot Legal Society, and the WISH Drop-In Centre. In the fall, Alison will begin articling with the Department of Justice. She is thrilled to spend the summer working with FIDA-Kenya to promote women’s rights.
Melissa Lonn | ECPAT International | Bangkok, Thailand
Melissa is currently completing her first year of law school at Université de Montreal. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Science from McGill University, as well as a Master Degree in Social Work from McGill University. Melissa’s interest in human rights and the rule of law is longstanding, as she has worked as an intern for both the department of youth protection in Montreal and has interned on various occasions with McGill psychiatry. Melissa currently works in a center dedicated to advancing the understanding of cognitive disorders and has an enduring interest in connecting with both younger and older populations. Melissa has spent her summers working in an informal settlement in South Africa, where she provided caretaking and counseling to street children and orphans. She has also worked as a volunteer and instructor for the Israeli Red Cross where she provided first response care to civilians. Melissa looks forward to both contributing and learning from ECPAT and being engulfed in an environment dedicated to the same values and visions she holds.
Alex Bill | Beyond Borders | Ottawa, Ontario
Alex Bill is a first year law student at the University of New Brunswick. He completed his B.A. in Sociology at Memorial University in his hometown of St. John’s. Before entering law school, Alex worked with children in Newfoundland’s social services system. He has had the opportunity to travel and and teach English in South Korea. Alex has had a long interest in journalism and is also an executive member of the UNB International Law Society. When he has free time, Alex enjoys team sports, cooking and reading. He is looking forward to working with Beyond Borders.
Jaimie Tax | Asia Foundation | Sri Lanka
Jaimie is completing her first year of law at McGill University and is looking forward to her internship with the Asia Foundation. After finishing a Bachelor of Commerce at Dalhousie University, Jaimie decided to explore her growing interest in International Development by moving to Asia. Jaimie worked with various micro finance institutions doing both research and fieldwork in Nepal and Bangladesh for almost two years. Having developed an extreme passion for development work, Jaimie realized the importance of human rights and good governance in the developing world. For these reasons she decided to pursue a degree in law, where she is looking to combine such legal tools with her knowledge of international development in order to become a better advocate for change.
Hannah Roskey | CEPIL | Accra, Ghana
Hannah is a second year law student at the University of Calgary. Before beginning her legal studies, Hannah obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies from McGill University. She has always been actively involved in volunteer programs, but her proudest accomplishment to-date is a 2007 project in Ukunda, Kenya through Toronto-based NGO Youth Challenge International. More recently, Hannah has volunteered with the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) through the Calgary chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada, and this year she helped to implement the “LEAF at Work” program for the first time in Calgary. Hannah is very excited to return to Africa this summer for her internship at CEPIL and to further explore her interest in human rights law.
Erika Heinrich | CEPIL | Accra, Ghana
Erika is currently completing her first year of law at the University of Alberta. Before attending law school she obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a minor in International Relations from McGill University. After graduation Erika worked as a CIDA intern in Tanzania, where her focus was on helping enable a women’s group to develop small business skills. More recently, she traveled extensively throughout India, Nepal, and Iran. Erika is interested in pursuing a career in international human rights law and is very excited to further her knowledge in that area while working with CEPIL this summer in Ghana.
Monica Lee | CLA-ACE | Ottawa, Ontario
Monica is a second year law student at the University of Ottawa. She is the current President of Canadian Lawyers Abroad Ottawa Student Chapters. She enjoys politics, human rights and social justice. Monica also likes to be actively involved in her community. She has volunteered with the Elizabeth Fry Society and also with the Children’s Aid Society. Prior to law school, Monica completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton University in Public Affairs. She also likes to cook, travel and learn languages.
JoAnne Barnum | Keewatin Legal Services Centre | Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
Jo is currently completing her first year of law at the University of British Columbia. While completing a joint honours degree in Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University, Jo spent time in South America working with various NGOs in community development and education. Through these experiences, Jo came to understand the role of law and policy in establishing equality. Jo is a member of the Indigenous Law Student Association, and is looking forward to building on her interest in aboriginal law this summer. While she has spent time abroad before, this will be Jo’s first adventure in the Canadian North. Jo loves sports, traveling and outdoor adventures, and is looking forward to exploring the wonders of Nunavut.
Jeanne Tremblay | Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik Legal Services | Iqaluit, Nunavut
Jeanne is currently completing her second year in the French Common Law program at the University of Ottawa. Prior to studying law, she earned an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science and a minor in Physics. As an undergraduate student, she spent her summers working on research with respect to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in war veterans, and travelling to remote First Nations communities across northern Canada to lead customized science programs to youth audiences. While in law school, she spent a summer travelling around Nunavut delivering scientific workshops to students from grades 1 to 11, and a weeklong health career camp in some communities. Jeanne enjoys travelling. Highlights of her trips include swimming in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, traditional caribou hunting in Arviat, Nunavut, climbing up Colorado’s highest peak, and swimming with seals in the Arctic Ocean under the midnight sun in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. In her free time, she enjoys jogging and playing soccer, oil painting and free hand drawing, playing the guitar and the piano.
Joan Christiansen | Law Society of Nunavut | Iqaluit, Nunavut
Joan is a JD-MBA student at York University, and has a passion for social justice and policy development. She holds an Honours degree in International Development Studies and Women’s Studies from McGill University, and during that time she founded the student group Women Without Borders to promote global gender issues. While interning at McGill’s Institute for Health and Social Policy, she built comparative legal research skills by assessing the compliance of UN-member states’ legislation to ILO standards on child labour. Last summer, she worked in the Philippines at the Human Rights Center of Ateneo de Manila Law School on children’s rights initiatives. Having grown up in North Vancouver, Joan loves the outdoors and she is excited to explore Canada’s Arctic and learn more about governance issues at the Law Society of Nunavut.
Comments on this entry are closed.