Meet Our Team
Ali Beck, Cohort Leader, Returnity YYC Class of 2024 and 2025
Ali Beck is a lawyer with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Her practice focuses on financial services in the areas of banking and commercial lending transactions. Ali and her husband have two children: Axel, born in January 2022 and Isabella, born in December 2023. Having married a European, Ali enjoys traveling with her family and is excited for Isabella’s upcoming first international trip to Europe. Ali is looking forward to getting to know the Returnity YYC lawyer-parent community and planning some exciting events with the other Cohort Leaders.
Monica Evans, Cohort Leader, Returnity YYC Class of 2024 and 2025
Monica Evans is a family lawyer and mediator at Jennings Family Law in Calgary. Her practice focuses on the division of family property, child support, spousal support, and parenting arrangements.
Monica spends her time herding her three children - step-son (8), toddler born May 2022, and infant born January 2024. Monica was part of the original cohort of Returnity YYC with her first child and she is excited to continue grow the Returnity community.
Ashley Urch, Cohort Leader, Returnity Class of 2024
Ashley Urch is a business & energy law associate at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Ashley joined Returnity YYC as a cohort member following the birth of her son in September of 2023 and found the community to be a fantastic resource for a new parent and lawyer. She looks forward to continuing to get to know and help grow the Returnity YYC community.
Jillian Gamez, Returnity YEG cofounder, Class of 2024
Jillian Gamez is a trial lawyer at Kaz Law.
Sasha Lallouz, Returnity YEG cofounder, Class of 2024 (emeritus)
Sasha Lallouz is an associate at Bishop & McKenzie LLP. With the addition of her baby in 2023 to her growing family, Sasha is excited to co-pilot the Edmonton chapter of Returnity and connect with other new parents in the legal profession.
Allie Laurent, Cohort Leader, Returnity YYC Class of 2024 (emeritus)
Allie Laurent is a partner with McLennan Ross LLP’s Calgary office. She practices labour and employment with a focus on employment litigation, human rights disputes and the education sector. Allie has appeared at all levels of court in Alberta.
Allie and her husband welcomed their son Silas in March 2023. Silas is already a world traveller having visited Denmark, Hamburg, Amsterdam and Paris all before he was 4 months old. Allie hopes to carry on the work Kay has spearheaded in giving new law parents a place to connect.
Andrea MacLean, Cohort Leader, Returnity YYC Class of 2024 (emeritus)
Andrea MacLean is an associate at JSS Barristers. She has a varied civil litigation practice with a keen focus on defamation actions. Andrea completed law school at the University of Calgary.
Andrea is the mother of two wonderful daughters - born in October 2020 and February 2023. She is excited to help build a community of other lawyer-parents and share tips and tricks to help us all maintain our sanity in both our professional and home lives.
Kay She-Johnson, Founder, Returnity
Kay is Senior Legal Counsel at Flair Airlines. Prior to that, she was a corporate associate at Baker McKenzie in London, UK, working in their energy, mining and infrastructure group. She articled and started her legal career at Bennett Jones in Calgary.
Kay and her husband returned to Calgary while she was on maternity leave. Her happy and always-hungry son, Archer, was born in July 2022.
Kay founded Returnity YYC after finding herself lacking a support network as a new mom with continued ambitions to succeed in law, and was the first cohort leader (Class of 2023). She found inspiration for Returnity from similar programs in London. It has been a true joy for her to meet other lawyers who are navigating similar parenthood and return to work challenges, and expand Returnity to other cities.