Guest Speakers

Guest speakers include:

  • ​​Shannon Down, Executive Director and Lawyer, Waterloo Region Community Legal Services
  • Dr. Brian Doucet, Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor, School of Planning, University of Waterloo
  • Maribel Jagorin, Frontline Advocate Facing Renoviction in Kitchener
  • Michelle Knight, Eviction Prevention Peer Worker, Social Development Centre Waterloo Region
  • Dr. Laura Pin, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University
  • Megan Ruttan,​ Co-Founder of Waterloo Region ACORN ​
Click the (+) to the right of, or the speakers name
​to view additional speaker information..
Shannon Down
Executive Director & Lawyer at Waterloo Region Community Legal Services
Shannon Down is the Executive Director and a lawyer at Waterloo Region Community Legal Services.  Shannon has represented clients before various administrative tribunals as well before the Superior Court of Justice.  Shannon was co-counsel on The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Persons Unknown and to be Ascertained, 2023 ONSC 670, where WRCLS lawyers successfully argued that a proposed encampment eviction violated the S.7 Charter rights of the encampment residents. 
​Dr. Brian Doucet
Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor, School of Planning, University of Waterloo
Dr Doucet’s research examines housing, transportation and neighbourhood change. He uses a variety of research methods that render visible patterns, processes and experiences that do not normally show up in statistics. He currently leads five major SSHRC-funded research projects. Dr Doucet is the co-author of Streetcars and the Shifting Geographies of Toronto: a visual analysis of change (2022, University of Toronto Press), and the co-editor of the four volume book series Global Reflections on COVID-19 and Urban Inequalities (2021, Bristol University Press). Born and raised in Toronto, he resided in the Netherlands between 2004 – 2017, where he completed his PhD at Utrecht University in 2010.
Maribel Jagorin
Frontline advocate facing renoviction in kitchener
Maribel Jagorin, along with 10 other long-term tenants, is currently being threatened with displacement from her home at  267 Traynor Avenue apartment building in Kitchener due to renoviction. She is passionate in speaking about her personal experiences as she challenges renoviction and navigates the  process of fighting for her affordable housing. Also, as a proud member of ACORN Tenant Union, she shares her story with others to provide a better understanding of the impact of renoviction on individuals and communities. She hopes her advocacy of fighting for tenants rights may inspire others to get involved and join the fight against renoviction.
Michelle Knight
Eviction Prevention Peer Worker, Social Development Centre Waterloo Region
Hi, my name is Michelle Knight, my pronouns are she/her. I am an Eviction Prevention Peer Worker at the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region or SDC, as we call it. A little bit about me. I am many things to many people. I am a woman, I am a black woman, I am a black queer woman. I am a first generation Canadian. I am a tenant and I work two jobs. I am just like the communities of people I work hard to support. Who I am and where I come from directly impacts the work I do. Peer workers have lived experience, are passionate and compassionate people; who work
hard to help tenants understand their rights and responsibilities, fight for tenant protections and continue to strive to evoke change in the many interconnected systems and services in the community.

But how I see myself is what matters most to me. I spend my life trying to be the best person I can be, in everything I do. I work hard to make the world a little better every day and of being aware of how I move through life. I am an Eviction Prevention Peer Worker at the Social Development Centre and I love what I do.
Dr. Laura Pin
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University
My research examines how social inequality intersects with policy-governance regimes and how political scientists can use community engaged research to understand participation in public policy. I work in the areas of public budgeting, housing policy, and civic engagement.  I completed my PhD in political science at York University and did postdoctoral training at the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute at the University of Guelph.
Megan Ruttan
Co-founder, Waterloo Region ACORN
Meg Ruttan works at the intersection of climate and housing. Her family has been resisting eviction since 2017 and she has recently used her experiences to co-found the Waterloo Region chapter of ACORN.