Meet Level's New Environmental Justice Program Manager, Deniz Yilmaz!

Dear Friends of Level,

We are excited to announce the appointment of our new Environmental Justice Program Manager, Deniz Yilmaz, effective October 30, 2023.

Deniz holds a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Environmental Politics from the University of Toronto. She also completed law school at the University of Toronto where she received the Royal Society of Canada’s Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella Award for her commitment to social justice. Before pursuing law school, Deniz conducted research on the social and environmental impacts of mining in her home country Mongolia. This research project opened her eyes to global land defense struggles and she was greatly inspired by those who were advocating for the health of their land and communities. 

During law school, Deniz worked in various community organizations including as a caseworker at Downtown Legal Services, court support worker at the Barbra Schlifer Clinic, and senior editor of the Indigenous Law Journal. She was also a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Law, where she applied a transformative justice lens to seek alternatives to incarceration for animal cruelty crimes. 

Her work in family law and environmental justice taught her the impact interpersonal relationships can have - as they have the potential to cause harm but also to heal. Deniz believes that environmental justice requires building good relationships, those that people have with one another and with nature. She hopes to apply her knowledge and experiences to deliver accessible and empowering programming. 

Outside of work, Deniz enjoys painting, writing, and crafting. 

We are confident that Deniz's passion and expertise in environmental justice will create important and effective programming that will address the urgent need for climate action in the legal sector. We look forward to her leadership.

Level's team, Board and I will continue to support Deniz during her orientation to Level and welcome you to reach out if you have any questions.

Please also feel free to join us in welcoming Deniz to our team - deniz@leveljustice.org.

Sincerely,

Shelan Markus