Staff

Win Wahrer Director of Client Services

Win Wahrer is the founder of the Justice for Guy Paul Morin Committee, co-founder of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC), now Innocence Canada, and serves as the Director of Client Services.

Pam Glatt Director of Education

Pam Glatt manages our student programming and educational initiatives across the country, and she is so passionate about educating anyone and everyone on wrongful convictions.

Pam holds a JD, as well as a Master of Arts (Criminology/Sociology) and Bachelor of Arts (Criminology/Sociology) from the University of Western Ontario. Pam brings over a decade of experience teaching in the areas of criminology / criminal law. Prior to joining Innocence Canada Pam taught at a number of leading universities across the country including Simon Fraser University, University of Ottawa, University of Calgary, University of Western Ontario, and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson).

Mirette Shoeir Director of Operations

Mirette Shoeir has 9 years of experience working in the not-for-profit sector. As Director of Operations she is in charge of providing the infrastructure that allows the staff of Innocence Canada to do their jobs. In her previous role she was General Manager at the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres. She has also spent 4 years working in communications and fundraising for the arts before making the jump to more operation based roles. Mirette holds an MA from York University and a Bachelors of Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.

Pamela Zbarsky Legal Director

Pamela Zbarsky is the Legal Director at Innocence Canada. In this capacity, she manages the organization’s national case load, evaluating complex innocence claims for potential representation by the organization. She also leads the team of staff lawyers and students representing those innocent people across Canada in the pursuit of overturning their wrongful convictions.

Pamela, along with the Director of Education, leads a clinical education externship for University of Toronto law students and has acted as a clinical coordinator for the Innocence Project at Osgoode Hall Law School. She also regularly presents at law schools on the topic of wrongful convictions.

Before joining Innocence Canada, Pamela was the senior associate at a highly respected criminal defence firm in downtown Toronto. She successfully defended clients in a wide range of criminal cases, including homicides.

Pamela completed her L.L.M. with a specialization in criminal law and procedure at Osgoode Hall Law School. She obtained her J.D. from the University of Ottawa, graduating cum laude.

Pamela is deeply passionate about advocating for the wrongfully convicted.

Leandra Keren Staff Lawyer

Leandra (Lea) graduated from Queen’s Law in 2021. While there, Lea ran the university’s Sexual Violence and Bystander Awareness program; educating thousands of Queen’s University students on how to prevent, identify and respond to violence in their communities. Her experiences advocating for gender and transformative justice, along with her personal roots as a Jewish Latina, fostered Lea’s interest in human rights law. This passion was honed in her time working with the Queen’s Prison Law Clinic, where she provided legal advice, assistance and representation in matters relating to prison and parole.

After graduating, Lea went on to complete her articles with the John Howard Society of Canada, where she collaborated with Members of Parliament, lawyers, organizations, and those impacted by the prison system to advocate for the Charter rights of individuals incarcerated in federal penitentiaries. After completing her articles, Lea spent some time working in criminal defence before finding her way back to the not-for-profit sector, working with Innocence Canada. Lea is inspired and motivated by the resilience of those who have experienced the unimaginable injustice of being wrongly convicted. She is committed to using power-consciousness and empathy to critically examine and work within the criminal legal system to build a better, more just, world.

Stacey Seward Staff Lawyer

Stacey Seward fostered a passion for criminal defence and advocating for the wrongfully convicted during a year-long clinical placement with her law school’s Innocence Project. She was a Summer Fellow with Innocence Canada following her second year of law school, completed her articles with the organization after graduation and now works as a staff lawyer.

Stacey also holds a Bachelor of Journalism (honours) degree, with a combined honours in political science from the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A zealous researcher and storyteller with a love for the written word, she worked as a freelance print journalist for some time. Before university, she lived mainly in her hometown, St. John’s, Newfoundland, where she worked as a bartender and was involved in many creative and musical communities, ranging from punk rock to traditional folk music.

Coming from a background where resources are often scarce, public interest work is of the upmost importance to Stacey. She strongly believes that neither systemic issues, nor a lack of financial resources, should preclude anybody from obtaining meaningful justice. She is immensely grateful for the opportunity to do work that aligns with this maxim.

Rebecca Schwartz Staff Lawyer

Rebecca is a staff lawyer on the case team. She works closely with her colleagues to move files through the case management process. Her duties include processing new applications, gathering and reviewing case materials, conducting legal research, and looking for potential avenues of new and significant evidence. She’s committed to the pursuit of justice and is happy to be part of the IC team!

Chantal Larocque Articling Student

Chantal (she/her) recently obtained her Juris Doctor at the University of Alberta. Prior to law school, Chantal studied political science and women and gender studies at the University of Alberta, where she graduated with distinction.

The study of different types of oppression and imbalance of power in society spurred her interest in seeking a career in criminal law to help individuals when they face the power of the state. Chantal is thrilled to join the team at Innocence Canada.

A French Canadian herself, Chantal is also passionate about promoting linguistic rights and access to justice in both official languages. During law school, she was an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta (AJEFA), where she helped ensure the protection of Albertans’ linguistic rights. She also worked at the Alberta Court of King’s Bench as a bilingual law student, where she assisted lawyers and judges with French related matters.