What it’s like to work at Level: Hear from our Social Justice Program Manager
My name is Fatima Ahmed and I work at Level Justice as the Social Justice Program Manager. I started working at Level in June of 2022. At the time, I had just left legal practice and was looking for a change. When I joined, I felt instantly at ease due to the fantastic team spirit at the organization. My co-workers were incredibly welcoming and eased me into the ebb and flow of the workplace with a lot of patience. They were always open to discussions and suggestions. I felt comfortable enough to ask questions yet inspired enough to take the initiative immediately. There was open communication that I was very grateful for, and it continues to this day.
Fatima and the team at our Facing Resistance Speaker Series event in Vancouver, BC, in March of 2024.
What I love most about working at this organization is the dedication everyone shares to the cause of access to justice. My colleagues are genuinely motivated to make a difference in the Canadian justice system, something I often felt is lacking in the legal sector. Working with like-minded people towards a common goal felt like a very refreshing and welcome change. Our core team is relatively small, and as such, we are each other’s support at work, where everyone is available to help in any way that they can. This provides each team member, as well as the collective, with the proper support to succeed. This also ensures that we can keep the organization, which spans countless facilitators, law students, and volunteers, across the country, functioning successfully.
Fatima with Level's board members at our annual board meeting dinner in Toronto, ON, in April of 2024.
In the two years I have been with Level, I have had the opportunity to grow my professional skills in ways I never thought possible. I have traveled the country to visit law schools in multiple provinces, worked with and championed the education of dozens of law students, and worked closely with youths from marginalized communities. A highlight for me was launching our Black Youth Justice Program. BYJP is a new justice education program which I was able to create, develop, establish, and execute in 2022. Getting to create and manage a program on my own (with the help and support of the Level team, of course) was highly fulfilling. Watching the program go from an idea to reality within a few months was incredibly gratifying. I am proud of the work Level Justice has accomplished so far and look forward to adding a new member to the team to continue introducing equitable measures to the Canadian legal system.
If you want to join the team, you can apply to be our new Environmental Justice Program Manager. For more information, please see here.
