Fiona Sampson Email & Phone Number

Fiona Sampson is a human rights lawyer with a PhD in women’s equality law who has dedicated her 20+ year career to seeking justice for society’s disadvantaged: disabled persons, refugees, and victims of violence. In 2010 she founded the equality effect, a Toronto-based charity that uses international human rights law to make girls/women’s rights real; a main area of focus for the equality effect is the protection of women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa from rape. As its CEO, she led her team to landmark victory in Kenya where the country’s High Court found the government guilty of failing to protect girls from rape. Fiona has been called one of the world’s “women revolutionaries” alongside notables that include Gloria Steinem, Hillary Clinton, and Isobel Coleman. In addition to her full-time role with the equality effect, Fiona recently completed a 7 year term as an appointed member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. An experienced litigation lawyer, she has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada representing various women’s NGOs in equality rights cases. Fiona has received many awards and much recognition for her human rights work; Fiona has been appointed an Ashoka Fellow, awarded the 2014 Distinction in International Affairs Award by the New York State Bar Association, named a YWCA 2015 “Woman of Distinction”, named one of Canada’s Top 25 Lawyers (Top 5 on the “World Stage”), and named one of 50 “Global Heroes” working to end violence against children, along with Queen Noor and Hillary Clinton, amongst others. In 2015 Fiona was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest honour a Canadian civilian can be awarded.

Listed skills include Legal Strategy, Equal Rights, Non Profit Leadership, Leadership, and 5 others.