In our fifth episode, of “From Campus to Career: Development Practitioners in Action,” we are in conversation with Rayna Sutherland.

Rayna Sutherland (she/her) is a current BCL/JD Candidate at the McGill Faculty of Law. She recently spent four years in Canadian Parliament and the federal government. She began as a Parliamentary Intern working with progressive Members of Parliament across party lines and ended as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. Prior to politics, she worked with grassroots social justice organizations including MVIWATA Manyara in Tanzania, Natural Justice in South Africa and Resource Africa’s global office. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and is an alumna of the International Development Studies (IDS) Co-op Program at the Scarborough Campus. Across law, politics, government and social justice work, the critical thinking skills and anti-oppressive lens of the IDS Program continue to serve her today.

Join us to learn about Rayna’s journey, from her international development work in grassroots social justice organizations to her career in Canadian politics, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. 

The Knowledge Equity Lab's Season 4, podcast series, "From Campus to Career" features conversations with some of the stellar alumni from University of Toronto’s International Development Studies Co-op program, uncovering the stories behind their careers in global development. From the classroom to the field, these conversations trace the choices, pivots, and passions that shaped their journeys and continue to inspire new ways of thinking about global and local development.