Michelle Ehinlaiye is a part of the 2022 – 2023 class of the Master of International Public Policy at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She is a recent graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours role Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

During her time at Wilfrid Laurier, she developed a passion for justice and advocacy and decided to focus most of her research on human rights advocacy in economically disfranchised countries and how it is specifically affecting women. She hopes that throughout this masters program she will be able to explore and grow in her understanding of this topic within the broader context of Human Security while improving her research capabilities.

Michelle’s interest in social justice and human rights has led her to various opportunities within the legal field. Most recently, she worked for the legal team of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority aiding in the implementation of various policies regarding aviation, media, and international relations. Her passion for helping marginalized communities move further away from law and has found a home in new age media advocacy and the organization of peaceful protests in hopes of bringing awareness to overlooked communities that are dealing with systemic issues. Along with this, Michelle has recently begun volunteering at women’s shelter around the GTA in areas such as childcare and stewardship in order to aid in the provision of a safe environment for women.

Overall, Michelle believes that a persons voice and ability to advocate for themselves is their greatest weapon. Therefore, she aims to be the tool that sharpens that weapon for all those who are vulnerable to a broken system. Her experience within the social justice and legal field is what drove her towards her interest in policy development. While she may still seek a legal degree in international law after her time at the Balsillie School, her main goal is to expand her knowledge on the policy development process in order to create influential change that works to benefit all areas of society. Primarily, she would like to focus her career on policies that aid the development of stronger international human rights legislation that would lead to better outcomes of the sustainable goal of gender equality.