Lwam Ghebrehariat is a psychiatrist and lawyer in Toronto. He is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada (Acting, 2003), the University of Alberta (BA Hons First Class, Philosophy, 2007), the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (JD, 2011), McMaster University medical school (MD, 2017), and the University of Toronto psychiatry residency program. As a student he received awards for his advocacy skills and was elected valedictorian of both his law school and medical school. He starred in “Homegrown” (Cate Frid, Aluna Theatre, Summerworks 2010), a play which garnered national media attention and got his face on the cover of the Toronto Sun, next to the words “terrorist” and “devil”. His performance in that play was recognized as an “Outstanding Performance” in NOW Magazine (August 2010). He received positive reviews for his one man stand up comedy show “Lwam is Eritrea’s Greatest Hockey Player” (Toronto Fringe Festival, 2014).
As a law student and lawyer, Lwam focused on social justice issues. He has acted for low-income and working class clients at Downtown Legal Services, the African Canadian Legal Clinic, and a prominent union-side labour law firm. He also worked as a criminal law duty counsel in the legal aid system. He currently practises law in association with Ambrosini Law.
He has also translated Eritrean and Ethiopian literature and folktales from Tigrinya to English, and helped to create a website to showcase the rich literature, history, and culture of Eritrea and Ethiopia: http://www.eritreanprintandoralculture.ca/.