For Young Drivers, By Young Drivers Canadian Youth Road Safety Council

Leila is currently completing her last semester of a B.Sc. in kinesiology at Dalhousie University. For six years, she has been a competitive swimming coach who teaches youth the skills to improve their performance and athlete wellness. Leila is passionate about community change and has volunteered as a residents’ association board member for many years. Through her work with the non-profit Strongest Families Institute, she has connected many communities and organizations throughout Canada to accessible mental health and wellness programs. Leila is excited to pursue a master’s degree in health promotion and recognizes that education and policies that reduce barriers greatly improve health and wellbeing.  

Leila is looking forward to connecting with Parachute professionals and collaborating with other youth on this council to promote youth road safety in Canada. In her free time, Leila enjoys trying new food, listening to podcasts and engaging in several artistic hobbies such as weaving.

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Justine Crevier is a 23-year-old student who is currently completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Université Laval, Quebec. She wants to continue her doctoral studies in psychology in order to obtain her doctorate and become a psychologist. Living with ADHD, she works hard to accomplish everyday tasks and believes that her neurodivergent background can allow her to help people from another angle.

Justine is in the process of setting up a university student association to find solutions to welcome and make higher education accessible to people with disabilities. She is enthusiastic about community change and has volunteered with many organizations in her city since starting high school. Justine is excited to work with other council members to promote road safety for youth across the country.

In her spare time, Justine enjoys watching crime documentaries, cooking, and being with her friends and family.

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Sarah is a student at Montreal’s Concordia University, looking to acquire her bachelor’s degree in social work. She is also studying women’s studies and First People studies as her minors. Sarah is a social introvert who wants to make a positive change to her society, particularly when it comes to the decolonization of Canada’s capitalist system for minority groups, women, the disabled and all othered groups. Sarah likes to make sure everyone is listened to and heard. As an empath, Sarah is always determined to get to the bottom of things, and she constantly questions everything to ensure it is in fact the right choice in her eyes. This can sometimes bring out the perfectionist in Sarah, a side of her that her neurodivergent self has yet to overlook, although most people describe Sarah as soft-spoken and compassionate.

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Aidan D’Souza is a student at Seneca College in Toronto. He has graduated from three public safety programs and has studied traffic enforcement investigations and road safety techniques. He is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program pursuing his degree. Aidan has worked with hundreds of youth through his role as an ambassador and mentor at Seneca College. He has consulted with UNICEF Canada, the City of Toronto Youth Council and the United Nations to share his experiences interacting with Canadian youth.

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Benjamin is a second-year undergraduate student, studying integrated mathematics and computer science virtually, at Ontario Tech University. He is also the Research Lead at Northern Shores Innovation Institute, and the Event Co-ordinator at STEM Fellowship. He is interested in the intersection of pure mathematics and theoretical computer science, in the form of logic.

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Janaya was born and raised in Saskatchewan. She grew up in a small community near Humboldt. Janaya moved to Saskatoon to continue her education after graduating high school in 2017. Janaya completed a BA in sociology from the University of Saskatchewan in April 2021. Presently, she is pursing a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Regina with a projected completion date of April 2023. Janaya is involved in a library project in Ghana, Africa and is passionate about working with people, social justice and community-based work. Some of Janaya’s pastimes include painting, dancing, basketball\ and spending time with family and friends.

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Originally from Red Deer, Alberta, Keana is a first-year student at the University of Calgary pursuing a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology. Her passions include playing sports (especially basketball), watching true crime documentaries, spending time working out and going on late night drives with a Tim Hortons Ice Capp in hand. In the future, Keana hopes to work with children in an athletic capacity although she is not sure of the career she will pursue as of yet!

Kayleigh is a fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce student at the University of Ottawa. Originally from Sudbury, Kayleigh moved to Ottawa to complete her post-secondary education after being accepted into the 2018-2019 cohort of the House of Commons Page Program. She is currently specializing in Human Resource Management and is the President of the Telfer Human Resources Association as well as a writer for Her Campus, a website focused on empowering college and university women across North America. Following graduation, Kayleigh hopes to pursue a Master of Science Management degree with a focus on mental health in the workplace, acquire her CHRP or CHRL designations and, eventually, work as an HR leader in the public sector.

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A high school senior from the GTA, Shiv Jhattu strives to spark change and lead worthwhile impact in various communities. Among many other things, Shiv is a member of the International Humanitarian Peel Youth Council Board of Directors, a youth-led organization aiming to raise awareness and funds for humanitarian issues. He is also a Participant Experience Co-ordinator at TOHacks, an organization committed to providing opportunities to motivated youth through many events, including an annual hackathon. Shiv looks forward to pursuing a career in the crossroads of business and veterinary medicine with the hopes of influencing a more equitable healthcare system for all individuals alike. Beyond his academic and professional endeavours, Shiv enjoys sports, listening to music as well as volunteering at a local veterinary hospital.

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Parsa is an energetic and curiosity-driven undergraduate student, studying sciences in British Columbia. When Parsa is not studying, he spends most of his time outdoors hiking, running, or biking. Parsa loves to play different sports (mainly soccer and kickboxing), listen to music and spend time with his friends. When Parsa is not outside, he enjoys watching different movies and shows. Two of Parsa’s favourite TV series are Seinfeld and The Simpsons. By joining the Canadian Youth Road Safety Council, Parsa hopes that he can help create a change to the education offered within schools in Canada regarding road safety. Parsa is excited to be a member of this team!

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Arianne is studying medicine at Université de Montréal. She is passionate about advocacy, public health, and health promotion. This led her to co-found a youth-led, grassroots teen vaping prevention campaign that aims to spread awareness about the harms of e-cigarettes to high schoolers across Quebec. Arianne understands the importance of community engagement and enjoys sharing her experiences in medicine and research to inspire youth to pursue their goals. She believes in empowering youth to drive social movements and address health challenges in Canada. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling, hiking and keeping up with current events! Arianne is thrilled to join the Canadian Youth Road Safety Council to advance road safety on a national level.

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Max is a Grade 10 student from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Max believes that cities should be built for people first, then cars, just like cities in the Netherlands. These cities are safe, accessible and appealing to walk, cycle, or take public transit in. These are cities where cars are treated as guests and are not needed to travel within them. Max is currently interning with the Winnipeg Trails Association, an organization with a vision to establish sustainable transport, where Max assists with proposed infrastructure drafts. Max also participates in Bike Winnipeg advocacy meetings to learn and support the challenges of addressing his city’s lack of proper bicycle infrastructure. Fun facts about Max: He has planted more than 400 trees and he enjoys nature.

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Kendra Osa is currently in Grade 10 at Sir Winston Churchill secondary school in St. Catharines, Ontario. Kendra loves being active, meeting new people and is passionate about making changes in things she believes in. Kendra loves reading books and is a part of the youth advisory council at her local public library. Kendra loves tennis and is a part of the St. Catharines Tennis Alliance. She advocates for gender equity in sports through her participation in the Fast and Female youth advisory council. She came to Canada in 2018 from Jakarta, Indonesia. After experience subtle discrimination when she and her family first came to Canada, she took on an active role in her school’s equity committee. Other passions of Kenda’s include coding, math, rowing and being a part of her school’s robotic team.

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Hermela is in her first year of study at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Because of the pandemic, Hermela has waited a painfully long time to get her driver’s licence and, over that time, she has learned quite a bit about road safety that she would love to share with the Canadian Youth Road Safety Council. It’s her goal to make the roads safer for youth because it is also something she hopes for herself whenever she drives. 

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Driven by the prospect of making sustainable change in the transportation industry, Emily is pursuing a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Her work with McElhanney’s Traffic and Road Safety Division has fostered a particular interest in complete streets – a philosophy centred on safe and accessible transportation for all users. Lying at the intersection of her dedication to helping others and her technical knowledge in traffic engineering, Emily is excited to be a member of the Canadian Youth Road Safety Council as an advocate for safe and sustainable transportation. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking local mountains and exploring Vancouver’s food scene with her friends and family.

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Ethan Simpson is a student at the University of Alberta. He is currently in the process of obtaining his biochemistry undergraduate degree with hopes of later continuing onto medical school. An interesting part about Ethan is his love for the arts, specifically the visual arts. Ethan is fascinated by the stories that can be told through one image. Ethan is extremely passionate in finding ways to directly or indirectly help others, which is what brought Ethan to the Canadian Youth Road Safety Council and why he aspires to become a medical practitioner. Ethan is looking forward to being able to make a difference within the Canadian youth society.

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Hannah is a student at St. Francis Xavier University. One of Hannah’s favourite things to do is to go for a drive on her own or with friends, so road safety is something that is important to her. Hannah wants to help empower youth to have the skills and knowledge they need to be safe and make positive decisions when they are behind the wheel. Feel free to reach out to Hannah on social media if you want to know more about her or what she is up to on the Canadian Youth Road Safety Council!

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Utkarsh Sood is in his third year of Brock University’s Medical Science Program. Over the last few years, he has been a part of numerous committees and organizations that have worked toward a singular goal with the help of like-minded peers. Utkarsh is honoured to be working with this team of intellectual and overall great people to make the roads a safer place for everyone. Utkarsh loves anime and is a total foodie. He can’t wait to meet and work with the council. Feel free to reach out to Utkarsh if you have any questions or would like to chat!

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Hanna is a second-year student at the University of British Columbia. She is currently studying kinesiology as a precursor to future studies in medicine or physiotherapy. Hanna loves sports and the outdoors. Hanna also likes to travel locally for fun, either by biking, walking or driving, and she is excited to have the opportunity to make these methods of travel safer for other individuals across Canada. Hanna is looking forward to incorporating the change that she and the rest of this council will be working toward, and she is grateful to be able contribute to the growing impact of the youth community. Hanna also loves candied salmon.

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Yuan Yi, or Anny, is a 17-year-old follower of Jesus and is currently studying in Quebec. She was born in China and first breathed Canadian air when she was three years old. Aside from being a food lover, Anny really enjoys music and arts. Sports also play a big part in her life. Anny has been a competitive figure skater for more than 10 years and is still in love with this exquisite sport. Anny is an avid learner and loves to acquire new skills and knowledge. Serving and caring for people are also a great passion of Anny’s as she aspires to become a great doctor in the future!

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