Age 32
Whether he’s coaching young legal minds in moot court competitions or running a non-profit board meeting, Ashvin Singh believes in making one’s voice heard. “That’s been the overlap in my life: I’ve always really had a passion for advocacy and discourse.”
His job as a taxation lawyer and his many volunteer roles yield a packed schedule, but Singh carves out time for the things he believes make an impact: “I choose to kind of put my money where my mouth is and step up.” That attitude was something his immigrant parents instilled in him growing up, as he observed their involvement in countless community initiatives. “It taught me that it’s not enough to just go to work and come home and relax, you have to really grind in different directions if you want to make a difference and have a presence.”
That’s precisely what he’s done. At 19, Singh co-founded his first startup, followed by another in 2017. At 29, he was the youngest member on the Edmonton Police Commission, bringing his perspective as a person of colour and member of the LGBTQ2S+ community to crucial civic discussions. “I think that’s what our role should be. It’s not to be the biggest technical experts in policing, it’s to make sure that marginalized communities are being treated fairly.”
When it comes to challenging the status quo, Singh is fearless: “I’m always looking for better ways of doing things. It means a lot to me to innovate and disrupt systems that seem a little archaic to me.”
This article appears in the November 2021 issue of Edify
