Akanksha, Co-Chair

Akanksha is currently a fourth year student at McMaster University. She is studying Justice Political Philosophy and the law with a minor in French and Sociology. She first got involved with Amnesty at 16 years old when she went to the Toronto Human Rights College. After that she co-founded her high school’s Amnesty club and began working as a national organizer. Akanksha first started her advocacy journey through the RCMP national youth advisory committee when she was 13 and then went on to raise awareness on children rights in Canada. Outside of school she likes to read, and go on walks.

Thomas Tri, Internal Communications & EDI Officer

Thomas Tri is a Master of Social Work student at York University committed to advancing human rights and social justice. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Social Work and minors in Global Development Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies. He serves in advisory roles with Plan International Canada and the Canadian Council of Young Feminists, contributing to national dialogues on gender equity and youth advocacy. Through volunteer and research positions, including work with the University of Calgary’s Disability and Sexuality Lab and The Immigrant Education Society’s Centre for Immigrant Research, he has supported community-based initiatives focused on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, disability justice, and migrant justice. Thomas aspires to build a career at the intersection of academia and activism. In his free time, he enjoys café-hopping, tuning into true crime podcasts, and exploring new hobbies.

Koko Sanginga, Strategy & Global Partnerships Officer

Koko is a writer, advocate and student completing a combined honours bachelor’s degree in Sociology (Research Specialist) and Political Science at McMaster University, Ontario. As a Congolese native raised across sub-Saharan Africa, Koko’s experience reflects and informs a Pan-African imagination. Her advocacy work has led her to Amnesty International Canada’s Youth Advisory board as the Strategy & Global Partnerships Officer, but it started with neighbourhood clean ups and student-led campaigns for the eradication of gender-based violence. This work has extended to Amnesty International McMaster, the campus chapter that Koko leads, aiming to raise the awareness of the local community to local, regional, and global human rights concerns.

As a writer, Koko has been featured in the African Leadership for Governance Journal (2022), Brittle Paper (2023), and African Arguments (2024). She is dedicated to spotlighting the experiences and concerns of young Africans on the continent and across the diaspora through her writing, particularly through her blog segment “Headlines from Home” that unpacks African news stories for a better global understanding. This comes from a deep recognition of the importance of human rights and civic education in combatting the global rise of authoritarianism.

Rojina Haji-Mahmoodzadeh, Strategy & Global Partnerships Officer

Hi! I’m Rojina (or you can call me Maria) and I’m currently a fourth year student at the University of Toronto studying neuroscience and biochemistry. I’ve been involved at Amnesty since 2021 as a national organizer. This is my second year on the NYAAC team and I’m so excited for everything we have planned!

Veda Chandra, Youth Engagement Officer

Veda Chandra is a North Indian student in her second year at the University of Ottawa, where she studies Conflict Studies and Human Rights. She has re-established Amnesty International uOttawa, where she currently serves as President, and is actively involved in media/communications activism, currently co-managing three Canadian Amnesty social media accounts. Veda also contributes to youth civic engagement more broadly as a current member of the Ottawa Youth Council and as part of the 2021–2022 cohort of the Youth Canadian Parliament.

Through her leadership, Veda has created spaces for students and youth to engage with pressing human rights issues both locally and globally. She is particularly interested in connecting her activism within Amnesty to her home country of India, where she is committed to confronting rising government authoritarianism and fascist movements. She is especially interested in how the power of the people can be used to confront political violence, defend dissent, and resist oppression. 

In this role, Veda aims to strengthen youth engagement within Amnesty by combining advocacy, creativity, and collaboration, decentralizing the movement and ensuring that young people of all ages across the country see themselves as essential actors in shaping a more just and democratic Canadian society. 

Darcy Eygun, Youth Engagement Officer

Darcy Eygun is an Honours Political Science student and researcher at Saint Mary’s University, focusing on human rights and global political economy. His academic work includes field research in Colombia, where he studied post-conflict memory and community-led truth initiatives, and in The Gambia, where he analyzed the politics of foreign aid and migration partnerships.

He has worked for three years with the Government of Canada in education through the Odyssey Program, supporting immigrant and newcomer students while contributing to curriculum development with the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial. Darcy has also collaborated with Fairtrade Canada on national advocacy campaigns promoting ethical consumption and global solidarity.  

His Honours thesis, Extracting Profit, Exporting Harm, examines how the Canadian government facilitates contentious Canadian mining operations in Ecuador as a case of state power undermining human rights. He is motivated by a commitment to solidarity, critical inquiry, and ensuring political institutions remain accountable to the people whose lives they shape. 

Hayley Yip, Digital Activism Officer

Hayley Yip is a passionate advocate for social justice and youth empowerment with a strong commitment to human rights. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from McGill University, and is currently working for Ottawa and as a legal and governance assistant in one of the BC health regulatory colleges. Hayley’s activism journey began in Hong Kong, where she witnessed the erosion of freedoms during the pro-democracy movement, inspiring her to advocate for human rights and youth empowerment. She has led advocacy efforts with provincial and federal NDP; HanVoice, advocating human rights for North Korean defectors. Beyond her work, Hayley finds joy in baking and playing the cello.

Annaliese Boim, Digital Activism Officer

Annaliese is a dedicated advocate with a strong passion for human rights and social justice. Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Health Science degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Calgary, her activism journey began during her international travels, where she witnessed many instances of gender inequality. This experience led to her commitment to creating change, inspiring her to join Amnesty International’s University of Calgary chapter to educate and empower students toward a positive global impact.

Now serving as the chapter’s President, Annaliese continues to inspire others to take action for human rights. In addition to her work with Amnesty, Annaliese has established a community-led health promotion program during a field school in rural Uganda and advocated for youth-informed policy recommendations to district ministers. Outside of her advocacy work, she enjoys teaching piano, singing with her choir, and travelling. 

Angelina Raina, Project Coordinator

Angelina Raina is a Kashmiri-Canadian who takes great pride in residing in amiskwacîwâskahikan, also known as Edmonton. Having grown up in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir, a “conflict-zone” as many would call it, Angel has cultivated a passion for empowering young people to speak up for human rights and justice as part of their learning. She studies political science, economics, and philosophy at the University of Alberta and is looking forward to working on her thesis on similar themes in upcoming years. Angel is passionate about dismantling structural racism through policy making while creating spaces for young people to work with policies, endeavours she works on as co-chair of the City of Edmonton Youth Council. Additionally, as Speaker of the University of Alberta Students’ Union, Angelina has had the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of people and hopes to continue to be humbled by the power of education and the kindness of community for many years to come.