Commissioners

Sarah Elgazzar, Commissioner

Ms Sarah Elgazzar is a policy and communications professional, as well as an experienced civic organizer and trainer and is currently a senior affiliate advisor at Research for Impact in Singapore. Ms Elgazzar obtained her Masters in Public Policy (2017) from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, from which she graduated as Class Valedictorian with a special focus on impacts of trade liberalization on employment and inequality in Asia. Previously, Ms Elgazzar was a lecturer at the Cambridge Muslim College, Cambridge, United Kingdom, where she developed and delivered courses in areas such as Community Development and Effective Communications. She was also previously National Spokesperson and Regional Communications Director for The National Council of Canadian Muslims, in Montreal, where she led public communications campaigns as well as advised local and national institutions. Ms Elgazzar graduated from McGill University, Montreal, with a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Psychology and Middle Eastern Studies. She received the Scarlet Key Award for excellence in leadership and extracurricular contributions, including co-founding the first Muslim women’s centre in Montreal.

Aidan Johnson, Commissioner

Aidan Johnson is a staff lawyer at Niagara Community Legal Clinic, where they also serve as executive director. Mx Johnson provides representation at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. NCLC is a not-for-profit agency funded by Legal Aid Ontario. The clinic provides access to justice for poverty-affected people in the Region of Niagara.

Previously, Mx Johnson was a criminal defence staff lawyer for Legal Aid Ontario and a city councillor in Hamilton. They served in a quasi-judicial capacity as chair of the City of Hamilton Planning and Economic Development Committee, which adjudicates appealable land use and zoning decisions.

They hold a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago and were a Fulbright scholar.