Activism is my rent for living on this planet – Alice Walker

I’ve called Ottawa home since 2003, but I am forever a Northerner. I was born in Sudbury, Ontario and spent most of my life moving around various parts of Northeastern Ontario where I landed in Ottawa for school.

Being a Northerner means I love winter, poutine and Frenglish. Sure sign of my Northern roots? When someone honks their car at me, I assume they’re just trying to say hello.

A certified bookworm as a child, my obsession with Harriet the Spy spawned my love of documenting people’s stories. You can also blame Harriet for my adoration of yellow coats.  

Awards

In 2013, I won Volunteer Ottawa's Best Volunteer in a Leading Role for my work to end violence against women in Ottawa.

In 2013, I received the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case. 

In 2011, I received the "Femmy Award" in recognition of my work to improve the status of women in the National Capital Region. 

Education

I have a BA (Hons) from Carleton University in Canadian Studies and Women's Studies (2007).

I have an MA in Canadian Studies from Carleton University (2013). My thesis was a qualitative analysis of the daily experiences of economically disadvantaged elderly women in rural and urban Ottawa. You can download my thesis here. 

Professional Life 

Public education  

• I developed and now manage draw-the-line.ca, a bystander intervention campaign created by the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC). 
• In 2011, I founded the Ottawa Chapter of Hollaback!, an international movement dedicated to addressing street harassment.

Advocacy

• I was the co-chair of the Ottawa Chapter of The Miss G__ Project, a campaign dedicated to getting Women’s and Gender Studies into the Ontario High School Curriculum. Oh, and WE WON.
• In 2007, I took on the (now infamous) task of opening a student-run, university funded sexual assault centre at Carleton University. The centre opened in September, 2013. 
• I sit on the board for the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada.
• In response to the anti-choice Motion 312 put forward by Stephen Woodworth in 2012, some friends and I started The Radical Handmaids, a pro-choice group that uses street theatre and satire to raise awareness about Parliamentary attacks on reproductive rights. We also wear really amazing hats.

Support Work

• Since 2006, I have been a support worker at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa (SASC). 

Journalism 

• I am the host of “The Third Wave”, a weekly feminist radio show on CHUO 89.1FM. It airs every Tuesday from 5-6pm EST. Not in Ottawa? You can stream it live here. 
• I do tons of freelance writing on the topics of rape culture, sexual violence, bystander intervention and social justice activism in Canada. 

When I’m not trying to solve all the world’s problems, I can be found cruising around in my ’74 VW Super Beetle, reading really depressing historical fiction or dancing to the worst techno you’ve ever heard.