Board members share the goals of the clinic in serving the diverse legal needs of low income Hamiltonians. The Board is responsible to the community for the services provided by the clinic. The Board is also responsible to Legal Aid Ontario for the use of funding dollars.
If you are interested in serving on the board of the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, click here to read about the board member duties and responsibilities, and to submit an application.
Hina Saeed joined the HCLC Board of Directors in January 2015 and presently serves as Chair of the Board. Hina is an associate lawyer in the Hamilton office of Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP. Her practice involves all areas of employment, labour and human rights law. Hina received her Juris Doctor from the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor in 2013 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2014. Prior to attending law school,Hina received her Honours Bachelor in Arts and Science with a combined Honours degree in Religious Studies from McMaster University. Hina has been very passionate about social justice initiatives throughout her life. She has volunteered for various non-profit organizations including Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, Amnesty International, Children’s Aid Society, Big Brothers & Big Sisters (GoGirls Program) and Inasmuch House for Women in Crisis.
Simon works in Hamilton as an information technology consultant. He grew up on the mountain and studied computer engineering at McMaster University. He has worked or volunteered with not-for-profit organizations serving equity-seeking communities since 2007. This has included work with the Hamilton Trans Health Coalition, Building the Archives, Public Health (City of Hamilton), the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council, the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University, Information Hamilton, The (Original) Well, The 519 (Toronto), the Hamilton Positive Space Collaborative, the AIDS Network, and the Gender and Health Collaborative Curriculum project. Simon joined the Board of Directors in 2017 and sits on governance, fundraising, and ARAO committees. Reach him by email at simon _at_ hamiltonjustice.ca.
Kris Noakes is a citizen of the Anishinabek Nation, a member of Nipissing First Nation. She is a community advocate for Indigenous communities at the municipal, provincial, federal levels. She has served as both the Executive Director and President of The Indigenous Network Friendship Centre, building Indigenous services for the Peel and Halton regions for over a decade.
Kris has also volunteered supporting local initiatives through public appointments on equity, diversity and inclusion advisory committees with the City of Mississauga and the City of Brampton and the Museums of Mississauga Advisory Committee. Kris has also served as a member of the Region of Peel’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy Community Advisory Board (CAB), the First Nation, Métis and Inuit Advisory Circle for the Peel District School Board (PDSB), the Toronto Area Education Leads for the Aboriginal Education Office of Ministry of Education and a Director for Art Gallery of Mississauga.
She is currently focusing on access to justice initiatives through a federal appointment to the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Judicial Advisory Committee for the Greater Toronto Area. She is a member of the Indigenous Education Committee at the Brampton Court House and a member of Peel Dufferin Legal Aid’s Community Advisory Committee. Kris is a member of the Brampton Fire & Emergency Services Chief’s Community Engagement Panel, a member of the Board of Directors for the Centre Canadien pour L’Unité de la Famille and a member of Hamilton’s chapter of 100 Women Who Care.
A privacy manager passionate about data protection and privacy compliance, Kingsley is an IAPP-certified privacy professional with a background in operations, legal and corporate secretarial services and GRC (governance, risk management & compliance).
A graduate of Mohawk College, Hamilton, ON, with a PgD in global business management, Kingsley has a background as an internationally trained lawyer (and FLSC NCA Candidate) with extensive experience in a variety of in-house and external roles across technology/SaaS companies, insurance, regulated not-for-profits, finance, real estate, regulatory compliance, and oil & gas.
Kingsley is a bibliophile and lifelong learner interested in technology, privacy, AI, global trade, volunteering, and soccer. He is married with children.
Kelly Barker resides in Hamilton and is a lawyer and Ombudsperson. Kelly obtained her LL.B. from the University of New Brunswick and her LL.M. from the University of Ottawa. Following her call to the bar in 2009, Kelly started her legal career in policing and has since spent the majority of her career in child protection. Kelly began her position as University Ombudsperson for Brock University in February 2020.
David Quezada joined the Board of Directors in January 2021. He was born and raised in Chile and moved to Hamilton in 2017. David is the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Manager at the Burlington Public Library in Burlington.
David grew up during the time of the Chilean military dictatorship. His years in Chile and the social injustice he saw made an impact on him and he decided to study Human Rights law. Later he completed a Master’s degree in Conflict Transformation at the Centre for Justice and Peacebuilding in Virginia. He has been involved with diverse boards, committees, and non-profit organizations in Latin America, United States, and Canada.
His expertise is focused on restorative justice practices, psychosocial trauma/well-being, theories of reconciliation, and dignity.
Lisa is a professional regulation and workplace lawyer at GlickLaw, who has over a decade of governance and advocacy experience. Lisa completed a joint Juris Doctor/Master of International Affairs degree program in Ottawa in 2011. She then articled as a Judicial Law Clerk with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. Following her call to the Ontario Bar in 2012, Lisa practised labour/employment law, human rights and professional regulation in Toronto. Lisa eventually abandoned urban living for the mountains of Northern BC, where she worked as a criminal prosecutor for several years and volunteered as an elected Bencher for the Law Society of British Columbia.
In 2022, Lisa returned to Ontario with her family and made Hamilton her home. Lisa has always been involved in her community and feels privileged to be a volunteer member of the Board for the HCLC, focused on increasing access to justice in her community.
Holly is a dedicated and compassionate individual whose professional journey reflects a commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of others. As an employee for the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services, they have demonstrated a profound understanding of the challenges faced by children, youth, women, families, and individuals who need support and work tirelessly to advocate and support the well-being of their clients. With experience in shelters in Hamilton, Holly has firsthand knowledge of the complexities surrounding homelessness and the importance of creating safe spaces. Their time in long-term care and retirement settings showcases their dedication to providing care and support to the elderly. Additionally, Holly has volunteered on a suicide crisis helpline, showcasing a commitment to mental health and crisis intervention. Notably, they have contributed significantly to education initiatives focused on addressing LGBTQ+ issues and combating anti-Black racism, reflecting a deep commitment to fostering inclusivity and equality in various facets of society.
James (he/they) is a software professional working as a Solutions Architect in the social good, non profit, public sector and political spaces across Canada and the United States. Prior to beginning their career in software in 2022, they spent the better part of a decade in the charitable sector, working in the HIV prevention and support, Harm Reduction, and sexual health education space. They have been a resident of Hamilton for 16 years, and have a deep history of both professional and volunteer community activism and grassroots community organizing, with a particular interest in Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ community health, capacity building and building intersectional queer equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. James was a researcher in the McMaster University 2019 ‘Mapping the Void’ Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ Needs Assessment report which remains the gold standard and north star in Hamilton for Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ specific DEIB improvement, the recommendations of which have been adopted by dozens of local and civic institutions including the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Police Services. They have had roles across various community partnerships and initiatives including the Hamilton Trans Health Coalition and the Hamilton Queer and Trans Youth Collaborative, additionally they have served for two terms of council on the City of Hamilton’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, continue to provide freelance adult DEIB education in partnership with Intersecting: Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression Consultants, and continue to volunteer in a front-line capacity with local Harm Reduction programs and services.
James brings to their role a passion for data and its ability to tell compelling stories that build trust with an organization’s supporter network, and over the course of their software career has helped hundreds of non-profit and public-sector organizations adopt and implement solutions allowing organizations to maximize their impact, improve their capacity, and attract new funding and supporters. Their interests also include fundraising and event management, volunteer coordination, communications and media, and community-lead capacity building.
Our clinic is staffed by community legal workers, support staff, community development workers, lawyers, and volunteers.
