Our Team

ABOUT US

Meet the Team

Yasmine Ali

Youth Ambassador
Yasmin Ali is an Ethiopian-Italian and Eritrean grade 11 student at SATEC @ W.A. Porter C.I. She has a strong talent for dance and cheer, leading the SATEC Dance team for the second year in a row. In her free time, Yasmin enjoys exploring the city, shopping, and trying new things. Yasmin was first introduced to Peacebuilders as a participant in the Sister-to-Sister: A Healing Initiative Program, and continued to engage with the organization as she was drawn to the mission and values. She has a shared interest in youth empowerment and wanted to get involved in sharing her newfound knowledge with other young people. Over the summer of 2024, Yasmin worked with Peacebuilders as a Youth Animator, where she had the opportunity to become a trained Circle Keeper. Using these skills, Yasmin planned and facilitated restorative dialogue circles with youth across the City of Toronto; imparting the knowledge and value of restorative practices across communities. Now a Community Ambassador, Yasmin hopes to utilize her natural leadership skills to give youth more opportunities to share their experiences and gather with like minded people in a safe and welcoming environment. She hopes to bring the Sister to Sister Program to more spaces in Toronto and expand to encompass more topics of conversation.

Sephria Amo

Restorative Justice Coordinator
Sephria Amo is a first-generation Ghanaian Canadian from Scarborough, Ontario. Sephria completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Guelph Humber, earning an honours degree in Justice Studies and a diploma in Community and Justice Services. Sephria is also a recent graduate from Humber College’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) post graduate certificate program. Sephria has a genuine passion for social justice and community development which is reflected in her experience working with at-risk children and youth in marginalized communities. Prior to joining Peacebuilders, Sephria has worked and volunteered with many community organizations such as Toronto Community Housing, Jays Care Foundation, Springboard Services, Habitat for Humanity, and Pathways to Education. For leisure, Sephria loves to travel, listen to music, go on walks, and spend time with her friends!

Gabrielle (Gabby) C. Aquino

Manager, Youth Justice and Advocacy
Gabby Aquino is a Filipina settler who currently lives, loves and learns in what is now Scarborough within the Williams Treaty Territories, and Tkaronto, part of Treaty 13, on stolen Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat lands. She is a sister, daughter and granddaughter who is interested and committed to un/learning how to build and sustain other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for, in all her personal, professional and other capacities. Gabby is a recent graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, a York U alum with an undergraduate and graduate background in social sciences, and exists in different grassroots spaces. She aspires to thoughtfully use and leverage all the hats she wears, including her positionality as a future practitioner in the Canadian common law system, to build and sustain otherwise futures in deep relationship with and under the leadership of all those directly impacted. She remains grateful and indebted to all the people, places and things who have come before her, will come after her, and are with her now for continuing to help her in learning how to achieve all this.
Team

Zoe Barnes

Manager, Programs
Zoe is a recent graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), where she received a Bachelor of Social Work. She has a deep passion and love for working with youth, their families and communities across Toronto, and in this work, she aims to increase access to programs, services and opportunities that support communities’ ability to thrive. Her passion for youth and community engagement work is reflected by her experience in case management and risk assessment. Working from an anti-racist, anti-oppressive and all-around inclusive practice framework Zoe has been involved in youth mentorship programs as well as youth education and development programs; in these roles, she created and facilitated workshops for youth, tutored young students and connected youth with mentors to collaborate and bring about positive outcomes for everyone involved.

Meron Bayu

Coordinator, Programs
Born and raised in Scarborough, Meron is a dedicated advocate for youth equity in both her school and community. She has hosted and presented at numerous education-focused conferences, including the Toronto District School Board’s Youth Participatory Action Research Conference at York University. As the co-founder of a mentorship program for Black-identifying high school students and a lead organizer of Peacebuilders’ annual Sister 2 Sister Conference, she strives to create meaningful opportunities for youth empowerment. A first-generation Ethiopian-Canadian, Meron’s passion for her community has fostered her interest in foreign policy. She aspires to advocate for human rights in East Africa after completing her studies in Public Policy and International Relations at the University of Toronto. Meron hopes to use her role as a Youth Ambassador to foster connections and improve conflict resolution approaches in Scarborough schools, while enhancing youth experiences citywide.

Justin Bobb

Executive Director
jbobb@peacebuilders.ca Justin has been instrumental in defining both the vision and mission of organizations, working collaboratively with stakeholders and developing strategies, systems and structures to achieve outcomes related to inclusion and growth. Justin has a deep understanding of the challenges and dreams of Toronto’s most vulnerable and diverse young people and adolescents. He is familiar with Peacebuilders Leaders of Tomorrow Program which ran under his supervision during the 12 years he oversaw Programs and Operations at the MLSE Launchpad. Justin also has experience developing and expanding programs with schools and has a deep commitment to collaboration, co-creation, strengthening and expanding partnerships. He was the Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at MLSE, is a Board Member of Canada’s National Ballet School and most recently the Chief Operating Officer of Indus Community Services. We welcome Justin to the Peacebuilders Canada Team as he leads the organization towards programming growth, new initiatives and partnerships to support young people and adolescents 12 to 25.

Abdiazizi Hassan

Coordinator, Programs

Janae Hines

Public Interest Articling Fellow
Janae Hines is a graduate of the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and holds an undergraduate degree in Child and Youth Care from Toronto Metropolitan University. She has a strong background in youth engagement, having worked in after-school programs and community initiatives that support young people in developing life skills, building confidence, and navigating challenges. Her early work with children and youth sparked a passion for advocacy and social justice, leading her to pursue a legal career focused on creating supportive, equitable systems. Prior to joining Peacebuilders, Janae worked within the community legal clinic sector, where she supported clients in navigating legal processes and accessing resources to address their needs. Outside of work, Janae enjoys spending time with friends and family, binge-watching TV shows, and reading a good book.

Shahaddah Jack

Coordinator, Programs

Tina Malaty

Manager, Operations
tmalaty@peacebuilders.ca

Kawla Mohamed

Coordinator, Programs
kmohamed@peacebuilders.ca Kawla is a first generation Eritrean and Ethiopian-Canadian who grew up in Regent Park, Toronto, before moving to Scarborough. Kawla actively contributes to both communities in order to give back and positively affect people’s lives. Kawla, a minority Black student, has always felt out of place in her learning setting, and she is now enthusiastic about improving youth services in Toronto so that young people with similar identities feel accepted and wanted in educational places. In recent years, Kawla has co-founded and led the SATEC @ W. A. Porter’s Black Student Mentorship Program and the Peacebuilders Sister 2 Sister Conference. Kawla has presented topics on restorative justice, including her own research, at several conferences such as TDSB’s Youth Participatory Action Research Conference, and the Know Your Worth Conference. Kawla is a first-year Public Policy student at the University of Toronto who aspires to work in the legal field. She intends to learn more about restorative justice and youth activism as a Youth Ambassador at Peacebuilders in order to pursue her goal of being a community changemaker.

Lorna Richards

Director, Programs and Capacity Building
lrichards@peacebuilders.ca Lorna Richards has a Master’s Degree in Adult Education and is a part-time professor at Humber College in the Social Service Work program. She also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Science and additional qualifications and experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Training & Development, Human Resource, & Non-Profit Management and Anti-oppression training. Lorna’s leadership spans across many communities and organizations in the City of Toronto, where she has successfully led large scale Justice Diversion Projects which focused on restorative practices and community mediation-based services. She also has considerable experience and a proven track record in program design, development, implementation and evaluation. Whether working directly with youth, community residents or key stakeholders, Lorna incorporates a social justice, client-centered, Anti Black Racism/Anti-oppression approach to her work. Additionally, Lorna has a passion and experience with low income neighbourhoods working with the youth and families in issues that range from homelessness, education, community development and social recreation.

Laura Sardella

Youth Justice Lawyer and Director, Advocacy
Laura’s passion for social justice that led her to her role at Peacebuilders, a passion that grew from her volunteer work with stateless persons in the Dominican Republic. Through this work, Laura gained an appreciation for the importance of a responsive, equitable and accessible justice system. She later pursued her graduate research in this area, focusing on a justice system’s role in protecting and advancing international human rights and human development, and obtained her Master of Arts degree in Political Science from York University in 2009. After graduate school, Laura went on to obtain a law degree from the University of Windsor in 2012. She spent much of her time during law school volunteering at Windsor’s Community Legal Aid Clinic, providing legal assistance to low-income community members. She also volunteered at Justice for Children and Youth, a legal aid clinic in Toronto, where she came to understand the unique relationship between youth and the justice system in Toronto. This work helped direct her commitment to advocating for social justice toward youth in her own city. Before joining Peacebuilders, Laura practiced civil litigation at a personal injury firm in Toronto, where she advocated for the rights of injured people and people living with disabilities. In addition to her law degree and master’s degree, Laura holds an Honours BA in Political Science and History from the University of Western Ontario.

Board Members

Ava Arbuck

Director
Ava Arbuck is Counsel in the Litigation Group at McCarthy Tetrault LLP. She has a broad range of experience emanating from her background in criminal law, her experience before various administrative tribunals, her involvement in two public inquiries, and her work with the Ministry of the Attorney General involving reviews and research relating to a variety of criminal law issues including wrongful convictions. Currently, the focus of Ava’s practice is in the area of professional regulation.

Sammir Assaf

Director
Sammir Assaf is a wealth management executive with significant leadership experience in the investment industry and holds the Chartered Investment Management designation. Focusing on client relationship management, portfolio & risk management, and asset allocation for high net worth private clients and institutional clients.

Michael Ceccarelli

Director
Michael Ceccarelli is Executive Vice President of the Client Team at Waratah Capital Advisors. Michael is responsible for the management of high net worth individuals, foundation and institutional client accounts. Michael holds his Chartered Investment Manager designation and is registered as an Advising and Dealing Representative.

David D’Cruz

Treasurer
David is the Chief Financial Officer and Audit and Accounting Partner at Fuller Landau. Along with working with clients he also mentors managers and directors to help guide their professional development. As the pre-approved program leader for Fuller Landau with CPA Ontario. He has been a member of Fuller Landau’s management committee and is currently a member of multiple Fuller Landau teams.

Stephanie DiGiuseppe

Director
Stephanie DiGiuseppe is a partner at Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP. Her practice focuses on criminal, constitutional, and regulatory law, including professional discipline. She occasionally represents clients in select civil matters.

Judy Finlay

Director
Judy Finlay is an associate professor in the Faculty of Community Services has been faculty member in the School of Child and Youth Care since 2007. She is currently the co-chair and principal investigator of the Cross-Over Youth Project, which is designed to learn ways to interrupt the trajectory of youth in the care of the state from entering the youth justice system. Finlay’s current research (in which she is also the principal investigator) includes:Mamow Ki-ken-da-ma-win: Searching Together: Enhancing wellness through a partnership-based approach to child, family and community in First Nations in remote northern Ontario. She is a member of the Child and Family Services Review Board and Custody Review Board with the Social Justice Tribunal of Ontario. Finlay was the longest standing child and youth advocate in Canada and was Ontario’s chief advocate from 1991 to 2007. She has worked for more than three decades in the areas of child welfare and children's mental health. Finlay has participated in the development of children’s rights agendas, youth capacity building and leadership and community development in Mexico, Jamaica, Japan, Guatemala and Sierra Leone.

Geoffrey Goad

Director
Geoffrey Goad is a career investment professional at Leede Jones Gable Inc. Geoffrey is passionate about Peacebuilders and its restorative approach to challenging adolescent behaviour and conflict.

Brian Scully

Director
Justice Scully is a member of the Executive Committee of the Indigenous Youth-Centered Justice Project assisting distinct Indigenous communities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Nunavut and Nova Scotia as they implement unique culturally focused supports and outcomes, in their respective communities, for Indigenous young persons facing challenges in the youth justice and child welfare systems.

Gowtham Vijayakumaran

Director
Keneca is an associate at Blakes. Keneca’s practice covers a broad range of corporate and commercial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations and commercial transactions. Keneca serves as Peacebuilders’ Co-Chair

Keneca Pingue-Giles

Board Co-Chair
Gowtham Vijayakumaran is a child protection worker with the region of Halton. He is also a psychotherapist and has his own private practice called Humble Counselling. Gowtham has been working with children, adolescents and families for over a decade managing crisis, implementing policy, developing programs and providing hope. He has extensive experience working with people from diverse backgrounds in various settings including high conflict, behavioural, loss and crisis situations. His practice is informed by his work in the communities, criminal justice system, in-patient hospital, school board and child protection settings.

Miriam Henry

Director
Miriam Henry is an Assistant Crown Attorney who has dedicated her career to supporting better outcomes for justice-involved youth. She is one of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s leading experts on Youth Criminal Justice and has over two decades of prosecutorial experience, much of it as the Crown Team Lead at 311 Jarvis, Toronto’s dedicated Youth Court. She specializes in the intersection of Child Welfare and Youth Criminal Justice and spearheaded process transformation at Community Youth Court and Aboriginal Youth Court. She is currently the Crown Lead at the Toronto Northwest Justice Centre where she was instrumental in visioning and implementing a new and innovative community youth court premised on the co-location and integrated service delivery of justice, education, health and social services in partnership with community. Her significant contributions to youth justice have been widely acknowledged and she is the recipient of the Ontario Bar Association Criminal Award of Excellence for innovation in youth criminal justice; the Zenith Award for Women Advancing in Law; and the OCAA Rupert Ross Award for excellence in and commitment to social justice.

Eva Marszewski

Board Co-Chair
Eva E. Marszewski, O.Ont., L.S.M. is the Founder of Peacebuilders International (Canada), a Director on the Board and an Ashoka Fellow. A member of the Law Society of Ontario, formerly a litigator, arbitrator and mediator, the first non-practicing lawyer to become a recipient of the Law Society Medal, the recipient of the York University Bryden Life-time Achievement Award, Eva is focused on connecting the dots between the Toronto work of Peacebuilders with the Smart Justice Network of Canada and globally with the work of Catalyst 2030 to ensure meaningful progress by 2030 towards the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.