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The International Institute for Child Rights and Development

Staff & Board Members
Cheryl Heykoop - Project Officer
chiicrd@uvic.ca

As a member of the IICRD Child Protection Team, Cheryl is currently stationed in Timor Leste engaging with children to understand violence from their perspective and in the context of their lived reality.

Prior to this post she was in Sierra Leone reflecting on child participation in the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and engaged in a myriad of IICRD activities including, among others, CRED-PRO, Hear the Child, CPP, and a review on the role of child agency in the UN Study of Violence against Children.

Before joining IICRD, Cheryl completed an MSc. in Humanitarian Studies in the UK, and worked with Save the Children UK, Right To Play, the Liu Institute for Global Issues, and GuluWalk in the African context.

In her spare time you can find Cheryl traversing the mountains by bike in preparation for an upcoming trip across Canada to raise awareness about IICRD, or in the depths of the ocean putting her scuba diving skills to the test. In a nutshell, Cheryl is extremely happy to be part of the IICRD family, and is looking forward to further exploring child agency in the context of child protection in IICRD projects across the globe.

Simon Jackson

Simon founded the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition – the largest youth-run environmental organization in the world with a network of six million in 64 countries – at the age of 13.

His efforts, as Executive Director of the Youth Coalition, have helped create the framework to save the endangered bear and led to the production of a major Hollywood animated movie – The Spirit Bear, the first movie made to help save its namesake.

Simon is the Executive producer of the movie, in addition to sitting on numerous boards and acting as the Principal of Jackson Strategies, a consulting firm. He has received many honours for his work, including being named a “Hero for the Planet” by Time Magazine and being the focus of a CTV made-for-TV movie.

Dawn Cameron

Dawn has extensive background in nursing and has devoted much of her time over the years to volunteering in her local community and abroad.

She has participated as a member of the Board of Directors for the YMCA, Need Crisis Line, and currently sits on the Board for the Royal McPherson Theatre Society. She has also volunteered abroad for Poco a Poco – Medical Services and Surgical Teams in Guatemala, as well as Co-Chaired the Canadian Surgical Care for Children, bringing Guatemalan children to North America for surgeries.

Dawn’s passion for nursing is concentrated in pre and postnatal services.