Our Staff
Indigenous Rights & Environmental Justice
Zoe Craig-Sparrow, Director
Zoe Craig-Sparrow is a member of the Musqueam Indian Band and was born and raised on the reserve in Vancouver, BC. Currently leading JFG's work on Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice, she has been involved with Justice for Girls since she was 12 years old. She worked with JFG in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation as an intern before travelling to the United Nations with JFG to present a submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2012. Zoe has a Bachelors degree in Political Science from UBC, a Master's degree in human rights from the University of London (awarded with distinction) and is currently pursuing her PhD. Zoe is passionate about girls' and women’s rights and the environment, particularly how those relate to Indigenous communities. Zoe has been profiled by the Lieutenant Governor of BC as a champion for equality, by Drishti Magazine as an inspiring woman of diversity and inclusion, and by the University of London as a graduate of the MA program in Human Rights.
Advocacy & Policy
Sue Brown, Director
Sue Brown has a long history with JFG and is now leading the enhancement and expansion of our advocacy program. Sue began working as an advocate at JFG in 2008 and was on JFG's Board of Directors from 2016-2019. She completed her J.D. at UBC's Allard School of Law and was Called to the Bar in Ontario in August 2020 after clerking at the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Sue has an extensive background as an advocate and researcher, focusing on prisoners' rights, criminalization and police violence, with a particular focus on working with girls and young women in Canada and abroad. Sue has B.A.s in Political Studies (Trent University), Criminology (Wilfrid Laurier University), and a Masters in Criminology (Simon Fraser University).
Maggie Korolyk, Northern Advocacy & Research Lead
Maggie Korolyk is a member of the Takla Nation and has a strong passion for advocacy and helping others. Maggie has worked alongside her community to assist members with employment, training, and treatment opportunities. She is particularly drawn to supporting Indigenous young women and girls and has both created and hosted girls’ empowerment workshops in her home community to boost their wellbeing and confidence. Maggie first started at JFG as an Outreach Advocate, helping bring awareness to the barriers that girls, particularly Indigenous girls and girls in remote communities, face. She has now transitioned to her new role as the Northern Advocacy and Research Lead, where she is working to map, prevent, and address the violence that young women and girls face in northern communities.
Wamaitha Kinuthia, Urban Advocacy & Research Lead
Wamaitha Kinuthia is a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelors degree in Political Science and International Relations. Throughout her education, Wamaitha has developed a passion for social justice and is determined to help break down the systemic barriers that restrict the rights of women and girls globally. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, Wamaitha is committed to continuously learning from the communities around her in order to use her position to help amplify the voices of those most marginalized by colonial institutions. In her role, Wamaitha will lead a research and advocacy initiative in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver) to map, respond to, and prevent the spectrum of gender-based violence that girls experience.
Kennedy Strukoff, Advocate & Researcher
Kennedy Strukoff joins the team at JFG with her B.A. in Criminology, with a minor in Psychology, from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. While at KPU, Kennedy completed an Honours Thesis which focused on the gendered and structural factors that negatively affect women who interact with the B.C. welfare system. Kennedy previously worked as a legal advocate for women in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and assisted in growing the program and training the volunteer team. Kennedy will also be pursuing her Masters of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University this fall (2022). Her role at JFG includes supporting research and advocacy on the gender-based violence that girls face and enhancing access to civil justice for girls in response to all forms of violence and rights violations.
Zara Lee, Education Advocacy Lead
Zara Lee has traveled from Los Angeles to Toronto, and now to Vancouver, to advance educational equity and to combat gender-based violence against young women in our communities. She has a particular interest in supporting those navigating the child welfare system and working with young women to overcome the systemic injustices and barriers that they face. She played an essential role in developing the Youth Wellness Lab at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work while obtaining her master's in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto. Zara also served as an Advisory Board Member at the Child Welfare Political Action Committee. As the Education Advocacy Lead, Zara is working to promote systemic change within the education system to improve responses to gender-based violence.
Communications & Engagement
Savanah Norman, Director
Savanah Norman started as an intern with Justice for Girls at the age of 17. Since then, she has played a key role in developing and delivering public education workshops to medical students, educators, young women, students and funders. Savanah also played a central role in the development of our 2018 report, "A Space to Thrive", which details the current needs and recommendations of young women living in poverty in Vancouver. Savanah served on the Women's Advisory Committee of the City of Vancouver and was profiled by the BC Government as an inspiring young leader who is breaking down barriers, standing up for change, and fighting for equality. Currently, Savanah is leading JFG's communication and engagement strategy to advance and promote the organization's goals and messages to the public.
Brynn McKenna, Communications & Development Lead
Brynn McKenna, who is of Métis Indigenous ancestry, has grown up and lived in Vancouver, BC her whole life. She is currently studying Sociology at UBC, with hopes to one day pursue a career in Law. Brynn has been doing advocacy work from a young age and has a huge passion for fighting against social injustices and for helping others. In her role as Development and Communications Worker, Brynn is particularly interested in helping JFG grow and expand in an effort to help break down the societal barriers that allow inequality to persist for women and girls.
Administration
Effie Iacobazzi, Office Manager
Effie is a new member to JFG. She has had a long and well rounded career in the insurance industry, successfully leading several business teams and supporting various application systems. She attained a Chartered Insurance Professional designation while winning the Malcolm C. Simpson Memorial award for her high achievement with top marks. Effie has extensive project experience, including project management, product development, strategic analysis and process improvement. She is excited to be working with JFG, an organization which closely aligns to her personal values. Effie is looking forward to applying the wealth of her experience and abilities to support young women dealing with systemic issues that worsen the realities of homelessness.
Zoe Craig-Sparrow, Director
Zoe Craig-Sparrow is a member of the Musqueam Indian Band and was born and raised on the reserve in Vancouver, BC. Currently leading JFG's work on Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice, she has been involved with Justice for Girls since she was 12 years old. She worked with JFG in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation as an intern before travelling to the United Nations with JFG to present a submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2012. Zoe has a Bachelors degree in Political Science from UBC, a Master's degree in human rights from the University of London (awarded with distinction) and is currently pursuing her PhD. Zoe is passionate about girls' and women’s rights and the environment, particularly how those relate to Indigenous communities. Zoe has been profiled by the Lieutenant Governor of BC as a champion for equality, by Drishti Magazine as an inspiring woman of diversity and inclusion, and by the University of London as a graduate of the MA program in Human Rights.
Advocacy & Policy
Sue Brown, Director
Sue Brown has a long history with JFG and is now leading the enhancement and expansion of our advocacy program. Sue began working as an advocate at JFG in 2008 and was on JFG's Board of Directors from 2016-2019. She completed her J.D. at UBC's Allard School of Law and was Called to the Bar in Ontario in August 2020 after clerking at the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Sue has an extensive background as an advocate and researcher, focusing on prisoners' rights, criminalization and police violence, with a particular focus on working with girls and young women in Canada and abroad. Sue has B.A.s in Political Studies (Trent University), Criminology (Wilfrid Laurier University), and a Masters in Criminology (Simon Fraser University).
Maggie Korolyk, Northern Advocacy & Research Lead
Maggie Korolyk is a member of the Takla Nation and has a strong passion for advocacy and helping others. Maggie has worked alongside her community to assist members with employment, training, and treatment opportunities. She is particularly drawn to supporting Indigenous young women and girls and has both created and hosted girls’ empowerment workshops in her home community to boost their wellbeing and confidence. Maggie first started at JFG as an Outreach Advocate, helping bring awareness to the barriers that girls, particularly Indigenous girls and girls in remote communities, face. She has now transitioned to her new role as the Northern Advocacy and Research Lead, where she is working to map, prevent, and address the violence that young women and girls face in northern communities.
Wamaitha Kinuthia, Urban Advocacy & Research Lead
Wamaitha Kinuthia is a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelors degree in Political Science and International Relations. Throughout her education, Wamaitha has developed a passion for social justice and is determined to help break down the systemic barriers that restrict the rights of women and girls globally. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, Wamaitha is committed to continuously learning from the communities around her in order to use her position to help amplify the voices of those most marginalized by colonial institutions. In her role, Wamaitha will lead a research and advocacy initiative in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver) to map, respond to, and prevent the spectrum of gender-based violence that girls experience.
Kennedy Strukoff, Advocate & Researcher
Kennedy Strukoff joins the team at JFG with her B.A. in Criminology, with a minor in Psychology, from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. While at KPU, Kennedy completed an Honours Thesis which focused on the gendered and structural factors that negatively affect women who interact with the B.C. welfare system. Kennedy previously worked as a legal advocate for women in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and assisted in growing the program and training the volunteer team. Kennedy will also be pursuing her Masters of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University this fall (2022). Her role at JFG includes supporting research and advocacy on the gender-based violence that girls face and enhancing access to civil justice for girls in response to all forms of violence and rights violations.
Zara Lee, Education Advocacy Lead
Zara Lee has traveled from Los Angeles to Toronto, and now to Vancouver, to advance educational equity and to combat gender-based violence against young women in our communities. She has a particular interest in supporting those navigating the child welfare system and working with young women to overcome the systemic injustices and barriers that they face. She played an essential role in developing the Youth Wellness Lab at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work while obtaining her master's in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto. Zara also served as an Advisory Board Member at the Child Welfare Political Action Committee. As the Education Advocacy Lead, Zara is working to promote systemic change within the education system to improve responses to gender-based violence.
Communications & Engagement
Savanah Norman, Director
Savanah Norman started as an intern with Justice for Girls at the age of 17. Since then, she has played a key role in developing and delivering public education workshops to medical students, educators, young women, students and funders. Savanah also played a central role in the development of our 2018 report, "A Space to Thrive", which details the current needs and recommendations of young women living in poverty in Vancouver. Savanah served on the Women's Advisory Committee of the City of Vancouver and was profiled by the BC Government as an inspiring young leader who is breaking down barriers, standing up for change, and fighting for equality. Currently, Savanah is leading JFG's communication and engagement strategy to advance and promote the organization's goals and messages to the public.
Brynn McKenna, Communications & Development Lead
Brynn McKenna, who is of Métis Indigenous ancestry, has grown up and lived in Vancouver, BC her whole life. She is currently studying Sociology at UBC, with hopes to one day pursue a career in Law. Brynn has been doing advocacy work from a young age and has a huge passion for fighting against social injustices and for helping others. In her role as Development and Communications Worker, Brynn is particularly interested in helping JFG grow and expand in an effort to help break down the societal barriers that allow inequality to persist for women and girls.
Administration
Effie Iacobazzi, Office Manager
Effie is a new member to JFG. She has had a long and well rounded career in the insurance industry, successfully leading several business teams and supporting various application systems. She attained a Chartered Insurance Professional designation while winning the Malcolm C. Simpson Memorial award for her high achievement with top marks. Effie has extensive project experience, including project management, product development, strategic analysis and process improvement. She is excited to be working with JFG, an organization which closely aligns to her personal values. Effie is looking forward to applying the wealth of her experience and abilities to support young women dealing with systemic issues that worsen the realities of homelessness.
