Gabrielle Rekai, Lawyer

After earning a BA from The University of King’s College in Halifax, Gabrielle fostered a passion for social justice and advocacy work while pursuing a Masters of Education focusing on Disability Studies at the University of Toronto. The skills and passion that she developed during this broader study of systemic injustice led Gabrielle to Queen’s University Law School where she earned her law degree while working at the Queen's Prison Law Clinic throughout and graduated with course prize in clinical prison law. While at law school, Gabrielle also spent a summer volunteering with a legal clinic in Tijuana, Mexico providing legal advice and humanitarian support to refugees arriving at the U.S. border seeking asylum.

Gabrielle’s current practise focuses on family, prison, human rights, and immigration law. With a background in legal aid, promoting access to justice is foundational to Gabrielle's work. She prioritizes making the law as legible and navigable as possible to those impacted by it, and her experience includes providing public legal education and self-advocacy workshops in various settings in addition to representing individual clients.

A part-time musician, Gabrielle loves music, spending time with friends, enjoying restaurants and cafes, and outdoor adventures including hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiiing, and skijoring with her 9 year-old rescue husky, Joey.  New to Peterborough, her partner’s hometown, Gabrielle has loved getting to know the city, making new like-minded friends who are engaged with service to their community, and its proximity to her friends and family in Toronto as well as to picturesque natural settings to explore with her dog.