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advisory board
Meet the Advisory Board
The Advisory Board is an independent committee of women lawyers whose mandate is to provide non-binding recommendations to the Board of Directors. The Advisory Board lends their valued advice, knowledge and expertise to the Board of Directors on various issues and topics.Delee Fromm
Delee Fromm is a lawyer, psychologist and author and has taught and coached for 30 years. As a former partner at a large Bay Street law firm, she practised commercial real estate for 17 years. Prior to her career in law she was a neuropsychologist and now, as a consultant, she provides services to international law firms, corporations, banks, and governments. She is a coach with the LSUC and a guest lecturer at several universities including Ryerson University, the University of Western Ontario, York University and the University of Toronto, including both Rotman School of Management and the Faculty of Law. She has contributed content for Lexis Practice Advisor Canada. She is the author of two books – Advance Your Legal Career: Essential Skills for Success published by LexisNexis Canada and Understanding Gender at Work: How to Use, Lose and Expose Blind Spots for Career Success. For more information about her, and to read her blogs, please go to www.deleefrommconsulting.com and her profile on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/deleefromm. Shanin Lott
Shanin Lott is Managing Director, Talent and Professional Resources. She is responsible for leading the overarching talent management strategy and overseeing all people functions as they relate to lawyers, law clerks, students and business services professionals. This is a diverse role requiring legal, human resources, organizational development and people management expertise. Shanin is responsible for developing talent programs to align with broader firm strategic plans. She works closely with practice group heads and firm senior leaders to develop innovative recruitment strategies to attract, retain and advance the best people and to create a diverse and inclusive firm culture. Prior to this role Shanin was a lawyer practicing Corporate Commercial Litigation in the Toronto office. She then spent several years practicing law in New York City where she specialized in complex criminal and civil white-collar defense and securities litigation. Shanin leads the engagement strategy and diversity initiatives. The firm has been rated as one of Canada’s 50 Best Employers (Aon Hewitt) for the last 7 years and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers (Mediacorp Canada) for four of the last five. Shanin frequently gives interviews on a range of Talent, HR and Diversity topics including to Lexpert Magazine, The Lawyers Weekly and the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion. She is also a frequent speaker, including recently speaking on unconscious bias at the Women Legal Conference in May 2016, American Bar Association’s Women in M&A Task Force Meeting in April 2016, at the Conference Board of Canada in October 2015 and at the Catalyst Awards Conference in New York City in March 2015. Shanin was honoured with the 2014 Zenith Award for her people-management strategy, commitment to diversity, and the advancement of women. In 2013, Shanin was named one of Profiles in Diversity Journal’s “Women Worth Watching”, recognizing her advancement of diversity and inclusion principles through strategies and initiatives promoted in business and the community. Gina AlexandrisFor over 20 years, Gina has been inspiring and supporting individuals and organizations to strategically define their hopes and achieve their goals. As the Senior Program Director of Ryerson’s Law Practice Program, Gina is responsible for the development, implementation and general management of the new innovative transition year training program for licensing Candidates in Ontario. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring academic excellence and the quality of service and program delivery for participants, and outreach to hundreds of contributing members of the legal profession. Gina has also been actively involved with the development of Ryerson’s proposal for its new innovative law school. With a passion for adult education, leadership and diversity, she completed her Masters of Education in 2012 and received her Coaching Certification in 2017. Gina developed and directed the award-winning Internationally Trained Lawyers Program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and spent more than 12 years with Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, first as Director of Career Services, followed by nine years as the Assistant Dean of Student Services. Between 2013 and 2014, Gina was the Director, Strategic Planning and Knowledge Management for the Legal Services Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario. Following her graduation from Osgoode Hall Law School, Gina began her legal career practicing family law and civil litigation in Toronto, Canada. | Wendi LockeWendi Locke is a partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP in its Business Law Group in Toronto. She advises on a broad range of corporate and securities law matters, including corporate governance and compliance issues. Wendi regularly acts on both public and private offerings of equity and debt securities in Canada, with an emphasis on initial public offerings, medium term note programs and the issuance of capital trust securities by financial institutions. She frequently acts on behalf of Canadian issuers in connection with cross border securities offerings into jurisdictions such as the United States and United Kingdom. Wendi is also an instructor for the advanced securities law programs offered by the University of Western Ontario and University of Windsor law schools. Wendi received her BA (Public Administration) from the University of Western Ontario in 1995, her B.Comm. (Hons.) from the University of Windsor in 1997 and her combined MBA/LLB from the University of Windsor in 2000. She was called to the Ontario bar in 2002. Victoria B. WilsonVictoria Wilson received her LL.B from Dalhousie University. She worked at Blake Cassels & Graydon as a student and McMillan LLP as an associate before moving in-house to Bank of Montreal where she supports the Global Markets line of business specializing in derivatives. Adrian WalrathAdrian Walrath obtained her J.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 2010 and graduated from the University of Victoria in 2006 with a B.A. (Honours) in Political Science. In law school, Adrian was Chair of the Community Outreach Committee. Adrian then summered and articled with Cassels Brock and Blackwell LLP. Following her call to the Ontario bar in 2011, she became corporate counsel for a private company. Adrian then joined the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC) in 2012. Her areas of expertise include securities law, financial regulatory matters and US and international tax. Adrian was previously a member of the YWL Board of Directors from 2012-2014 as corporate secretary and co-director of events. She is also involved in local women’s charities, including supporting the Red Door shelter. Sasha TotenSasha Toten is currently AVP, Managing Counsel, Board Governance & Assistant Corporate Secretary (Acting) at Sun Life. She obtained her J.D. from the University of Ottawa in 2013 and graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2008 with a B.A. in Political Science and History. While in law school, Sasha co-founded the uOttawa chapter of the Women’s Legal Mentorship Program to help women develop a support system throughout their legal careers from the classroom to their careers and beyond. Prior to her current role, Sasha practiced corporate law at Minden Gross LLP and was previously a director on the board of Young Women in Law from 2015-2021. Anastasia-Maria HountalasAnastasia-Maria Hountalas is a lawyer at Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, where she advises and represents clients in all aspects of professional regulation. She prosecutes a wide range of disciplinary and regulatory offences. Anastasia-Maria also assists clients on appeal and regularly appears before the Divisional Court and Court of Appeal. Anastasia-Maria speaks about professional regulation at the Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation (CNAR), SML Online Learning Series and other professional education conferences. She served on the Board of Directors of Young Women in Law as President and currently sits on the Advisory Board. Prior to joining the firm, Anastasia-Maria summered and articled in the litigation department of a leading national law firm, with a focus on health law. Anastasia-Maria is proficient in French. Anastasia-Maria completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History at McGill University and obtained her law degree from Queen’s University. |