Andrea is a lawyer who lives in Ottawa with her family.  Andrea initially practiced law with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto, then moved to China from 1997 to 2000, where she helped Blakes establish one of the first Canadian law firm offices in Beijing. From 2001 to 2015, Andrea worked on international justice reform projects on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association, most recently as Director, International Initiatives.  In this role she oversaw a program which worked with a wide range of government and non-government justice system partners in countries in Asia, Africa and and Latin America, to strengthen and reform the local justice systems.

In 2015, Andrea received a shocking diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer.  Andrea was fortunate to have access to a new treatment, immunotherapy, and as a result, has a first-hand understanding of the importance of cancer research.  Andrea currently volunteers on advocacy, patient support/education and research initiatives with Lung Cancer Canada, the Canadian Cancer Survivors’ Network, the Ottawa Hospital, the Canadian Cancer Society and Merck Canada, among others.  She also serves on the boards of two recently-established non-profits focused on patient support, education and research for RET-driven cancers, RETpositive and the Happy Lungs Project.