CFLS Welcomes Debra Parkes as Interim Director

We’re pleased to share that Professor Debra Parkes has stepped into the role of Interim Director of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies (CFLS). Professor Parkes will serve as Director until December 31, 2025, while Professor Régine Tremblay is on research leave. 

A scholar of constitutional and criminal law, with a particular focus on structural inequality and its manifestations in sentencing and punishment, Debra is no stranger to the CFLS. She holds the law school’s Chair in Feminist Legal Studies and served as Director of the Centre from 2017 to 2021. She was also a student at the law school when the Centre was first founded in 1997.

Debra remembers her student days well. “Attending CFLS lectures by scholars and lawyers helped me see the possibilities and challenges of seeking gender justice in and through law, and planted the seeds for my later academic career,” she says. 

Together with all faculty and students associated with the CFLS, Interim Director Debra Parkes invites you to our Feminist Tea Party welcome event on Tuesday, September 2 at 12:30 p.m. on the Allard Hall north patio, beside the reflection pond. And stay tuned for our Fall Speaker Series and other upcoming events. If you have ideas for CFLS activities or events, or you would like to join our email list, please reach out to cfls@allard.ubc.ca.