Lan Keenan

Background

About Lan Keenan

As a queer and disabled law student, I would love to participate in any and every opportunity where there is potential at enriching the lives of those within various communities at the intersection of law, race, poverty, gender, disability, and health. Please reach out if you have an opportunity where you would like me to attend or speak. My passion for advocacy largely comes from my work experiences within health, social, and education systems; which includes my role as a support worker for people with both intellectual and/or physical disabilities for various organizations over the past seven years. I have also worked in Early Childhood Initiatives to improve the quality of life of families with autistic children by providing 1 on 1 support and programming with toddlers on the spectrum. In this work, I was able to appreciate the struggles faced by individuals with disabilities and the barriers imposed by legislation, lack of government funding, flaws in policy implementation, and the legal influence on these respective areas. This work has provided me with valuable insight and a passion to correct injustices that have caused so much hardship for those in society with disabilities. Most recently, I have been researching the intersection between health and law, judicial decision-making, and disability rights. Many of the forthcoming publications to which I am a contributor, respond and demonstrate Canadian Racism towards Native Peoples and the Genocide targeting indigenous peoples who lived and continue to live within the imposed settler borders of Canada. I found myself in law school hoping that by approaching legal issues and policy concerns at the intersection of race, health, and disability, I would develop the skills and tools required to reduce the harm caused by unjust and unfair policies, legislation, and laws. As the Schulich School of Law’s Disability Alliance, I have been able to provide unique and essential services for disabled students within our law school. In the past few years, I have worked alongside Dr. Roland Chrisjohn as a teaching assistant, associate researcher, and contributor to our forthcoming book focused on the Indigenous Experience of Racism in Canada entitled:"And Indians Too!"