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PROFILE A lawyer with a vision Dawn Devoe's work at World Vision Canada helps communities around the world. By Vawn Himmelsbach For as long as she can remember, Dawn Devoe wanted to be a lawyer. And while she initially landed a job at a high- profile oil company, she's now running the legal department for a global not-for- profit organization. Devoe hit the ground running when she joined World Vision Canada, which provides relief to areas affected by conflict or natural disasters. "I had been a child sponsor for several years and had knowl- edge of the organization — and faith that it was having an impact on children's lives on a global scale," says Devoe. She started off on a six-month contract, not knowing exactly what she was getting herself into. Forty-eight hours after she started the job, a catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti. "I saw firsthand what this organiza- tion is really all about," says Devoe, now general counsel for World Vision Canada. "There was an energy that filled the build- ing during that time — there were people working around the clock committed to ensuring that people in Haiti were getting some relief . . . I developed a deep con- nection with the organization and fell in love with it." While World Vision provides relief during emergencies, the goal is to work in those communities to help them become self-sustaining, which could take 12 to 15 years. So in November, Devoe travelled to Ethiopia (where she also sponsors a child) to see firsthand what front-line workers were facing in the field. In one community she visited, World Vision had been on the ground for five years; originally, women and children had to walk miles to get fresh, clean water, and sometimes it wasn't available. Now, there are a dozen wells in the community, and little shops have popped up around the wells, generating local commerce. "I'm a mother — it hits you hard when mothers say, 'We now have hope because we have 36 • AUGUST 2011 INHOUSE