Julie Erbland is a doctoral candidate at Ryerson University in the Policy Studies program and is currently working on research related to the intersection of youth justice and social policy. Her research interests include social inclusion/exclusion, the criminalization of youth, youth rights and citizenship and queer youth. She has extensive experience in developing and carrying out evaluations of youth programs. Julie has dedicated the past fifteen years to social work and policy analysis related to diverse and marginalized populations. Julie and her partner, Dawn, were one of 6 couples who launched the Equal Marriage Charter Challenge against the Government of Ontario.