Internships

BAH in International Relations and Philosophy (University of Toronto)

Victoria is entering her final year of Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, where she is majoring in international relations and philosophy.
As the Vice President of Public & University affairs at the University of Toronto Student Union—representing 39,000+ students—Victoria led the team to develop the inaugural student housing centre in providing legal counselling to address student homelessness and successfully lobbied the federal government to eliminate student loans’ interests.
She is a Laidlaw Scholar and has published an inter-disciplinary paper focused on the impact of anti-Asian racism on mental health public policies. Her interests align with advocating for mental health and human rights. She aspires to practice human rights law - protecting vulnerable populations against injustice.
Victoria is also the director of University of Toronto’s undergraduate mooting association.

BCom Marketing (University of British Columbia) BA Social Sciences and Humanities (Sciences Po Paris)

Cassandra is entering her final year of the JD/BCL program at McGill University in Montreal, where she is majoring in International Human Rights and Development.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Cassandra has worked to advance gender pay equity as a research assistant at the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and to overturn wrongful convictions as a caseworker for Innocence McGill. She was also a senior editor for the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law.

LLB (University of Makeni, Sierra Leone)

Prior to joining IHRDA, Sarifina served as an intern at several Law Firms in Sierra Leone, the most recent being Macauley, Bangura & Co. where she became acquainted with legal processes and proceedings, drafting, research and reporting. She was also a member of her University’s Law Clinic and provided several hours of legal and emotional support to victims. She is firm believer in women’s empowerment and was actively involved in women centered focus groups during her studies. Sarifina also has experience working at the Women’s Association for Victims’ Empowerment (WAVE), promoting the rights and participation of women and other vulnerable groups in the transitional justice process in The Gambia.

BA, Communications (Grand Canyon University, US)

Bernice holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications fromt the Grand Canyon University in Arizona, United States. Prior to joining IHRDA, Bernice was one of the photographers and graphic design students in her high school’s media team that created the school’s magazines and yearbook. She also previously participated in the annual Model United Nations simulation, and later co-founded a Model United Nations group franchise at the Dakar Academy School. At IHRDA, she assists in preparing documentation for the Sexual-and-Gender-Based Violence Database

Linda is a Legal Intern at IHRDA and has just completed her second year of the B.C.L./LL.B. program at McGill’s Faculty of Law. She is from Montreal and is currently a specialized senior editor for the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law, while being actively involved with the Legal Information Clinic at McGill as a volunteer.

Prior to her legal studies, she completed a DEC in natural sciences at John Abbott College, with a special focus on environmental sciences. Her academic background helped further her passion and interest for sustainable development, and she hopes to gain a better understanding of the intersection between human rights, development and environmental justice.

She speaks French, English and some Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, learning new languages and dancing.

Caroline holds a bachelor (BSc) in History and International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is currently studying Law at McGill University, completing a joint BCL/LLB degree. Her interest in human rights and international development was sparked during a field course in Nicaragua in college. During her time before university, she volunteered at the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Montreal where she was first introduced to the concept of transitional justice which she then studied more in-depth. She is one of the Spanish editors of InterGentes, the McGill journal of International Law and Legal Pluralism. With a wide range of work experience from freelance writing to teaching French, she is looking forward to her time at IHRDA to gain experience in human rights law. Travel is an important part of her life; she is eager to discover The Gambia.

Alimatou Demba is currently a student at Columbia University pursuing undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Human Rights. She became interested in Human Rights after interning at the American Bar Association: Rule of Law Initiative, where she conducted research on migrant trends from Sub-Saharan African countries to Europe through “the back way”. In addition to human rights and law, she has a strong interest in political organizing, research, and writing, demonstrated during her internship at the ABA Rule of Law Initiative as well as with her publications and personal blog. She also enjoys reading, especially those works of both fiction and nonfiction that do not traditionally appear in western curriculums.

Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in World Religions from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She has completed two years of study towards her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) and Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) at McGill’s bilingual (English and French) Faculty of Law. Sara has a strong interest in restorative justice, as well as advocating for women, children, and minority rights. She has gained legal experience through Pro Bono Students Canada by working as a legal intern at the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), a non-profit organization which defends the civil rights of those who have experienced gender, racial, or religious discrimination and profiling in Montreal. During her time off Sara enjoys travelling, dancing and being a ballet and hip-hop teacher to young children.

Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science & International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire. For four and a half years, she worked first as a Program Assistant and then as an Assistant Program Officer for the Africa Program at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington, D.C., where she managed grant-making programs to civil society organizations in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and The Gambia.

She is currently a Warren B. Rudman Fellow at the University of New Hampshire School of Law, where she has just completed her first year. She is interested in the intersection of social change and legal protections for human rights.

In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys running, reading, and playing with her new puppy, Kona.

Simi is pursuing her JD at Columbia Law School. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), with a minor in International Relations, and was awarded an ILR Global Scholar. She assisted in organizing the 2016 African Economic Forum at Columbia University and has previously worked with the International Labour Organization and the Cornell Law School Labor Clinic. She worked in Nigeria prior to law school, promoting the right to education for girls, through a non-profit she co-founded with seven others, Teach A Girl Nigeria. Her desire is to promote social and economic rights and sustainable development, and serve as a legal advocate for human rights victims. She speaks English and French, and is interested in photography and film.

Ngenarr-Yassin was a final year law student at the University of the Gambia and vice president of the Law Students’ Association. She is dedicated to service and volunteers for youth organizations such as Think Young Women, Blaque Magique and Fong4Life. She is passionate about criminal law and human rights especially minority, women’s and children’s rights, and hopes to pursue a career in the said fields.

Ngenarr was an intern at the U.S Embassy’s American Corner Banjul for a year and represented the University at the 24th All-African Human Rights Moot Court Competition in Zambia, 2015. She enjoys sing, reading and writing.

Fatou Bintou was a final year Law student at the University of The Gambia when she served as Intern in IHRDA from October 2014 to October 2015. She had graduated from West African International Sch0ol in 2009. Prior to joining IHRDA in 2014, she was a legal intern at the Ministry of Justice of The Gambia for a period of one year, the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies as well as a Private Chambers. She is passionate about women’s rights and wants to pursue a career in the human rights field.

In her free time she spends time with her family, surfs the internet and reads biographies, self-help books and African novels.

Anna is in her final year at the McGill Faculty of Law in Montreal, Canada, where she is specializing in International Human Rights and Development. Prior to her law studies, Anna studied at Brandeis University in Boston where she majored in International Relations and European Cultural Studies with minors in Economics and Politics. In line with her focus on international cooperation and, more specifically at the time, the European Union, she then worked with the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association in Brussels. Since arriving in Canada, Anna has worked with the Juridical Center for Artists in Montreal and the Labour Standards Office. She currently holds the position of Associate Editor at McGill’s New Journal of International Law & Legal Pluralism, Inter Gentes.