What are your interests and what do you enjoy doing the most?

• Writing
• Collecting stamps
• Cooking
• Volunteering
• Singing
• Dancing

List any special training you have had (music, art, drama, dance, etc.)

• Classical violinist
• Music theory/conducting
• Dance (tango, swing, hip hop, belly dancing, bollywood)
• Sculpture (abstract and figurative)
• Singing (choral and jazz)

In what sports, if any, have you participated?

• Running
• Figure Skating

Name one person, other than your parents, who has had the most influence on your life. Why?

Professor Dennis Smyth

What is your proudest personal accomplishment (other than participating in this pageant)?

I travelled to disaster zones all over India including drought and flood affected villages to collect data on the well-being of low-caste women and children. Getting access to the data was incredibly difficult for so many reasons but we managed to come together as a team to figure it out and determine what was really going on in the ground. We wrote a courageous report and had many fights in order to advocate for telling the truth. UNICEF India published the report in late 2011. People still reference that seminal report today.

What is the most interesting or unique thing that has ever happened to you and/or what is the most interesting thing about you?

Well well well, being a diplomat and international development professional I have had many adventures all over the world. The most interesting thing that ever happened to me was discovering that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is nothing like how we think it is in the West. I did not even want to go to that country but my colleague at UNDP insisted that I do my work on climate change in person. He was right. I learned so much. It was the adventure of a lifetime to work on COP16 and to discover a whole new world.

What is your career ambition and what are you doing or plan to do to accomplish that goal?

I like this question. Here’s the thing…I have been working in my field on and off for 18 years. My first international development project in the field was 2007 in Kenya. I have had the privilege of travelling all over the world to help people. I fight poverty and have a good time doing it. I am so grateful to have seen the places that other people will never see, to meet people from every walk of life, to make friends all over the world, and to save lives. It might sound crazy and I do not have the actual numbers but I know in my heart that my work in mobile hospitals in rural Kenya, in HIV/AIDS testing clinics in Kenya, and gathering data on low caste women and children in disaster zones of India has indeed saved lives.

What would be your “dream job” in life?

I guess I have it already. I am really fortunate to have done most of the things I dreamed of doing as a child. When I was in grade 6 I printed out the info for UN internships. I was 11 at the time. By the time I was 23, that dream had come true. I had wanted to compete in a pageant and I was a Runner-Up for Miss Canada Globe in 2008 (and that was my first ever pageant!). I have helped compose music. I have met almost every arts leader in Canada that I have hoped to meet and our conversations are published on the Salon West TO YouTube channel. I have 20 publications to my name. I’m not sure what else I am hoping for professionally. If I really reflect on that I guess the missing piece is that I want more authority so I can lead teams effectively, job security, and those oh so elusive health benefits. Please hire me! Haha

Describe where you were raised and what your childhood was like.

This always surprises people but I am born and raised in Toronto. For real! I am the “OG” as the kids say. I was born at Mt. Sinai on University like every other millennial in the city. We really do exist! It’s not just a city of transplants and newcomers.

I grew up in a really lovely neighbourhood in Etobicoke. There were lush green parks and we were pretty close to the lake. When I was growing up we didn’t have cellphones, the internet, or the dreaded social media. It was wonderful. I believe that on some level, I am part of the last generation to have had a real childhood.

I remember that back in the day after my snack or after dinner (if it was still light out) I would ride my bike around the neighbourhood and just pick up the other kids along the way. Goodness knows what we got up to. Mischief and adventures for sure. We had no phones. Our parents had no idea where we were. There were only three rules to follow, which we regularly broke. In the park, stay in front of the playground so we can be seen from the street and our parents’ houses; don’t go down to the creek alone, and to come back before dark. To our credit we made it back home before dark most of the time. The other rules? Oh man, we broke those all the time.

List any interesting or unusual jobs you may have had.

When I finished my second graduate degree my brain was fried. I was mentally exhausted after completing my thesis. There was no gas left in the tank, but I needed money. I saw a post on Kijiji looking for people who had dance skills. I read it and thought “Hey that’s totally me”. I applied for the mysterious job that was posted by a marketing firm.

Well it turns out that the employer was the Dairy Farmers of Canada and the job? Well…

I got the job.

What was the job?

I was Mookie, Canada’s favourite dairy cow! I was a mascot at the CNE with two Master’s degrees.

And I’ll tell ya, I learned more in that job than possibly any job I have ever had to this day. What a trip!

List any volunteering you have done.

I volunteer all the time! That’s a good thing, but also a bad thing. It’s nice to polish off my halo, but I think I need to practice saying “no” to charitable causes. Haha. I won’t go into all of my volunteer work but these days I consistently volunteer for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Jean Augustine Centre For Young Women’s Empowerment. I also teach skating lessons for pennies on the dollar to anyone who wants to learn.

What is your most unusual talent?

I’m a marksman.

Where is the most interesting place you have been to?

Hmmmm interesting question about interesting places. This is really hard because I think there is something interesting about most places. Rome is really fascinating. From an arts, food, architecture, musical, and religious perspective, Rome has got it all. There is also so much more to that place than meets the eye.

What do you hope to be doing in ten years?

I hope to be married with children and to have finally gotten a tenured position at a university since I had finally finished my phD.

Is there anything you would like to add that we haven’t asked?

One ripple can shake the whole ocean so go ahead and change the world.
The spirit of Drake is with us.
Be Nike. Just do it.