Miscia Sullivan is the recipient of the 2020 Tate Herbert Memorial Post-Secondary Award.
Miscia is entering her third year at Osgoode Hall Law School. She was selected as an Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN) Fellow for the 2019-2020 academic school year. OJEN Fellows are selected for their demonstrated commitment to improving access to justice. Miscia delivered outstanding and innovative programs to high school students including a workshop she developed in collaboration with another Fellow, Amanda Cutinha, on Safety and Sexting.
Previously, while a Bachelor of Social Work student at Ryerson University, she completed a placement at Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO). After graduation, she was hired as a full-time staff member at CLEO. Since OJEN and CLEO share office space, Miscia became a familiar face around the OJEN office. Miscia frequently took the initiative to learn about OJEN and became involved in a number of programs. At OJEN, she coordinated and co-facilitated mock trial programs for youth and collaborated with justice sector volunteers to provide legal information on police powers to at-risk youth.
Outside of OJEN, Miscia has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to public legal education and a strong passion for working with youth from marginalized communities. She has volunteered with Egale Youth OUTreach Centre, a mental health support centre for street involved LGBTQ youth. She also completed a placement at YouthAction Northern Ireland.
In law school, Miscia completed a placement at the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She also volunteered with the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic where she advocated for women experiencing domestic violence by helping clients navigate the family law court system. She also volunteered with Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS)’ Court Experience Project where she led groups of secondary schools to tour the criminal courts.
Miscia is currently summering with a criminal law firm and plans to practice criminal defence in the future.
The Tate Herbert Memorial Post-Secondary Award recognizes a post-secondary student volunteer who has exceeded expectations and made a significant contribution to OJEN’s justice education initiatives.
This annual award was established in memory of an exceptional young man who lost his life to cancer in 2013 at the age of 20. Tate was studying Law and Society at Wilfrid Laurier University. His passion for justice brought him to a co-op placement at the Barrie office of Legal Aid Ontario. Tate loved both law and education, and OJEN is honoured to administer an award commemorating his life.