KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Isha Khan's journey to human rights CEO A VOICE, A PLATFORM, A PURPOSE:
BY KRISTIN MARAND
Isha Khan always knew that she wanted to use her voice to advocate for others. But like so many, she wasn’t always sure how. She took a meandering route into the world of human rights, but the spark of wanting to be of service to others in the fight against inequity lit her path forward. “From an early age, I knew – based on my personal experiences and those of people around me – that discrimination and ‘othering’ have terrible, long-lasting impacts,” she explains. “I wanted to help people who were being discriminated against find their voices and advocate alongside them for change.” The road to her current role as CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights started with an undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba and a law degree from the University of Victoria. She went on to practice labour and employment law in Calgary before moving back to her hometown of Winnipeg and pursuing an opportunity with United Way. She says that a chance conversation with another mother at her daughter's skating lesson moved her to orient her career more deliberately toward human rights when the woman mentioned the Manitoba Human Rights Commission was looking for a lead counsel.
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CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 15
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