Kira Davidson

Kira received her Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of Alberta in 2020. As a law student, Kira worked as a research assistant to two professors at the Faculty of Law, conducting research into topics of public international law and anti-corruption law. She also acted as co-chair of the Women's Law Forum Speaker Series Committee to coordinate the club's 2019/2020 installation of its annual symposium, and as a contributor to ReconciliACTION YEG, the Faculty of Law’s student-run blog on Indigenous rights and reconciliation in Canada.

After graduating from the University of Alberta, Kira earned her Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights with distinction from the University of Edinburgh. There, she interned with Engender, a Scottish feminist policy organization, writing her dissertation on the feminist value of the UK’s Human Rights Act during a time when the future of the Act was under review by the UK's Conservative government.

Prior to joining the Centre for Constitutional Studies in March 2025, Kira articled with the British Columbia Law Institute in Vancouver. She was called to the bar as a member of the Law Society of British Columbia in May 2024. In joining the Centre as its new Public Legal Education Coordinator, Kira is returning to her home province of Alberta and the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, where her legal research and educational career began.

Kira's constitutional interests are particularly focused on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and she is excited to lead the Centre's public initiatives teaching the public about their rights under this document. Outside of work, Kira is a keen reader and is partial to classic literature, political non-fiction, and poetry.

Julie Nguyen

Julie Nguyen is the Administrator for the Centre for Constitutional Studies (CCS). In this role, she is responsible for the day-to-day management of operations and finance at the CCS.

Previously, Julie worked at the Bank of Montreal, the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, AHS, and the University of Alberta (U of A). She has held positions within the U of A's Faculty of Medicine as both an accounting assistant and most recently as the Financial Coordinator with the Office of Rural and Regional Health, a role she held for over ten years.

In her spare time, Julie enjoys outdoor activities such as camping and snowboarding.

Richard Mailey

Dr Richard Mailey is the Director of the Centre for Constitutional Studies (CCS) at the University of Alberta. In his capacity as Director, Richard manages the Centre’s research and public education mandates. This includes serving as Managing Editor of the Centre’s two journals — the Review of Constitutional Studies and the Constitutional Forum — and coordinating research projects, public events, and academic conferences, among other things.

Richard received his LLB and LLM degrees from the University of Glasgow and completed his PhD at the University of Luxembourg in 2017. He joined the University of Alberta as a postdoc in 2018 before commencing work with the CCS as a Research Associate in 2020. During his time as a Research Associate, Richard produced a documentary podcast series, supervised the Centre’s summer student program, worked as an editor for the Centre’s two journals, and drafted a research report.

Richard has also taught a range of courses at the Universities of Glasgow, Luxembourg, Trier (Germany), and Alberta, including courses in Canadian constitutional law and legal philosophy. More recently, he has been teaching 1L constitutional law at the uAlberta Law Faculty.

Selected Publications:

“The Notwithstanding Clause and the People” (Forthcoming, National Journal of Constitutional Law).
“Deconstructing City of Toronto: Unwritten Constitutional Principles and Responsive Judicial Review” (2025) 34:1 Const Forum Const 55.
“‘We do not really know why this approach was taken’”: Explaining and Modifying the Supreme Court's Approach to the Indirect Horizontal Effect of Charter Rights” (2025) 33:4 Const Forum Const 67.
“Weaving Section 33 into the Charter Project: Citizen-Led Oversight as a Potential Way Out of the Legitimacy Conundrum” (2023) 33:3 Const Forum Const 53 (w/ Ian Peach).
“Softening Blunt Instruments: Michelman's Constitutional Essentials on the Horizontal Effect of Constitutional Rights” (15 October 2023) Balkinization (Blog).
“The Role of the Person in Modern Constitutional Law: How State-Inflicted Harms Become Personal” (2022) 87 Studies in Law, Politics and Society 73.
“Court-Packing in 2021: Pathways to Democratic Legitimacy” (2020) 44 Seattle University Law Review 35.
“An American Jurist in London: Bruce Ackerman’s Proposals for Constitutional Reform in the UK vs. Bruce Ackerman’s Constitutional Theory” (2020) 41 Liverpool Law Review 227.
“The Notwithstanding Clause and the New Populism” (2019) 28:4 Const Forum Const 9.
“Review: Andrew Arato, Post Sovereign Constitution Making: Learning and Legitimacy” (2017) 15:4 International Journal of Constitutional Law 1226.

Aleena Reitsma

Aleena Reitsma, M.S.W., J.D., completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta. Thereafter, she moved to Toronto to undertake a joint Masters of Social Work (MSW) and Juris Doctor (JD). Aleena articled with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto, and then served as a Legal Fellow and Assistant Field Officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ghana (UNHCR). Following her return to Canada, Aleena worked with Legal Aid Saskatchewan (LAS) in Meadow Lake where she indicates she gained a true appreciation for the importance of the Charter.

Aleena brings a wealth of experience and an abundance of enthusiasm to her position with the Centre. She looks forward to engaging with the faculty, the public, and to coordinating the Centre's many education projects.