Christian Whalen, BA, LLB, DEA, Public Trustee
Christian Whalen is a Fredericton based lawyer with over 30 years service with the Province of New Brunswick, as Legal Counsel to the Human Rights Commission, Ombuds’ Office and Child, Youth and Senior’s Advocate. He has served as a Board member with CANFASD, a national research network for Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, since 2018 and holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor with UNB Law, where he teaches and contributes as a researcher, in children’s rights, access to information law and privacy, human rights, disability rights, youth justice, and mental health law and services. He has been awarded the Child Rights Champion Award by the Canadian Coalition on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Canadian Bar Association’s national John Tait Award of excellence for public sector counsel. In September 2024 he was appointed for a five-year term as Public Trustee for New Brunswick.
Shannon Benjamin, BA, JD, Legal Counsel
Shannon Benjamin has been Legal Counsel for the Public Trustee of New Brunswick since January 2022. She has a Bachelor of Arts from St. Thomas University and a Juris Doctor from the University of New Brunswick. Outside of work, Shannon acts as the Co-Chair of the Queer Heritage Initiative of New Brunswick (QHINB) and enjoys crocheting, Pilates, and spending time with her spouse and three cats.