Megan Sooah Webster is a passionate youth advocate whose work spans child protection, education equity, legal access, and justice reform. At the international Mind Matters Conference, she presented her 8000-word paper on psychopathy in youth, which was recognized with honours at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The research explored how the MAOA gene and childhood environment interact, challenging the idea of “born evil” and reframing traits in youth as challenges that can be redirected through understanding and intervention.
She has carried this work into action. As the first-ever Youth Advocate Leader of the Korea Child Abuse Prevention Association, she raised $5000 for five group homes caring for 1126 abused children, co-developed parent education seminars, and contributed to long-term reforms. In Vancouver, she co-founded NaloxAware and co-directed Dosed with Humanity, a documentary amplifying stories from the Downtown Eastside to break down the stigma surrounding addiction and homelessness. Partnering with Fraser Health Harm Reduction Department’s Regional Lead, she is working to advocate for transitional exit plans for people after completing treatment, addressing critical gaps left by the toxic drug supply crisis.
Megan also actively champions a campaign for the Menendez brothers under California AB 593. By organizing outreach booths in Vancouver, she helped push the petition beyond 121000 signatures and sparked public dialogue about how courts overlook abuse in sentencing. She also co-founded the EduCaring Club, mobilizing 133 students to fund earthquake-resistant schools in Indonesia ($2000) and run book drives for 8 underserved locations across Vancouver.
Megan’s impact reaches globally through the Korle Bu Neuroscience Foundation, where she assembled “Baby Boxes” that encouraged hospital births and promoted prenatal education to prevent spina bifida and hydrocephalus in West Africa. She has also continued to work as a teacher assistant for the children’s art therapy classes for the past three years, with even her own artwork on anti Indigenous racism exhibited at Surrey City Hall.
She continues to champion access to law through her school’s Mock Trials Club and Court Debate, a format she created to make legal education more approachable. What began in her elementary school library with a mock trial she wrote starring Pickle and Oreo has grown into a tournament that now engages students across Vancouver. Alongside this, she has earned more than 40 awards at Yale, Harvard, and UCLA while mentoring over 90 students as a paid trainer.
Overall, Megan continues to be dedicated to transforming how communities understand behaviour, reducing stigma, and strengthening systems so every child has a chance at living.