How Active Citizenship Connects Us All

Rochelle Ivri
Canadian Citizenship Judge
Manager of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Mohawk College

Judge Rochelle Ivri is 1 of 8 Citizenship Judges in Canada and is currently assigned to the Greater Ontario Area which includes Hamilton, Niagara, Kitchener, Windsor and London. She is the Manager of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Mohawk College after having served as 9 years as faculty in the paralegal program. She is also an adjunct professor at Queen’s University Law School, and co-author of Tribunal Practice and Procedure (Emond Publishing). Rochelle has a degree in Criminology from the University of Windsor, and a post-graduate certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from York University.

Rochelle served as a board member on the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library Board for 8 years and was a publicly appointed member of the Council of the College of Midwives of Ontario, where she also served for 8 years, 2 of which involved being on the Executive Board. Additionally, Rochelle was a member of the Discipline, Appeal, and Review Committee of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (now the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants).

Judge Ivri is deeply committed to community engagement and involvement, serving on various boards and committees in the past and present, while continuing to lend her knowledge and expertise to advance the needs of the community. She was awarded a Woman Who Rocks Award for Hamilton in 2019 and, in 2020 she was awarded the Leading Women, Leading Girls, Building Community Award for her work in Kitchener Centre. In 2021, Judge Ivri received the Lincoln Alexander Award from the Law Society of Ontario making her the first ever paralegal to receive this recognition in the awards’ nearly 20-year history. In 2022, Judge Ivri was named one of 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women for 2022, she was given the Rev. John C. Holland Award of Merit by the Hamilton Black History Council and was also recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Black Women to Watch of 2022 by CIBWE. Last November, Judge Ivri was the recipient of the Community Impact Award from the Women in Niagara Council of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce and most recently was named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Canadians for 2023-2024 by AfroGlobal Television.

She is passionate about human rights, the Charter, and encouraging active citizenship and civic engagement to make communities thrive. She and her husband, Eldean, have 4 children.