She credits her special neighbours, who made them very welcome to “the strip,” for “getting [her] sucked into the community” and wanting to give back locally. Rotary was her choice of service club, and Toronto-Leaside in particular, because of the many local projects they support, especially in Thorncliffe. This club is relatively small, with only a few women members at this time and a number of members who are now retired but still interested in providing service. It surprised her when she joined that “being with like-minded individuals, friendships evolved even with these differences.”
Jennifer grew up in Thornhill, got her BA at York with a double major in philosophy and criminology. Her next stop was the University of Ottawa for law school. Although her father is French Canadian, her Japanese mother doesn’t speak French, and Jennifer isn’t bilingual, so her studies were in the English stream. She interned at the Family Law Information Centre where she really enjoyed being able “to do good and help people” as part of her job. Back in Toronto articling, she took up family law and civil litigation – the civil litigation just in case family law didn’t turn out to be her strong suit. But in fact, it did, and she now specializes in family law.
Come out to the Toronto Leaside Rotary Community Corn Roast on Sept. 16, 2018 to meet the local Rotary Club’s newest president.