Lawyer, community leader, animal advocate, avid reader and devoted Liverpool Football Club fan, Arryn Ketter Mills brings curiosity, compassion and a commitment to service to everything she does. Arryn shares with Communications & Marketing Committee member Suzan Zilahi her journey to KBI and the passions that inspire her.
1. What brought you to Ottawa?
After growing up in Garson, a small community just on the outskirts of Sudbury, I moved to Montreal to pursue my studies at McGill University. My academic path began with an undergraduate focus in Russian and Slavic studies, which I later followed with more specialized training in both bioethics and law. Following my studies, I came to Ottawa in 2005 for work. For about a year, I commuted between Ottawa and Montreal because I wasn’t prepared to give up my Montreal apartment until I knew my position here was secure.
Once I had a contract, I realized I couldn’t keep commuting and made Ottawa home.
And I met my wife here, so I’d say Ottawa has worked out pretty well for me!
2. Tell us about your professional life.
I’m a lawyer and serve as Director of Operations and Senior Counsel for the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
It’s busy, but I find the work very rewarding. I particularly enjoy working with Parliamentarians.
I wish more people could see how well Parliamentarians actually work together when partisanship is set aside. The committee’s reports, findings and recommendations are based on consensus. Sometimes it takes a lot of thoughtful discussion to get there, but they do it because everyone recognizes how important the work is.
3. You also devote considerable time to KBI and the wider Jewish community. You are on the KBI Board, chair the Governance Committee and the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank Committee. What motivates you?
I’m a doer, first and foremost. There are talkers and there are doers—although my wife would probably say I can also talk paint off a wall!
But I’m happiest and most joyful when I’m doing something. It brings me great joy to give back to this community, which I’m extremely fond of.
The Ottawa Kosher Food Bank, for example, is an incredible program and it serves the entire Ottawa Jewish community, not just KBI members. With grocery prices and the overall cost of living continuing to rise, food insecurity is a very real issue for individuals and families in our community.
I also have to give a huge kol hakavod to the Congregation Beth Shalom of Ottawa Legacy Fund. Their incredibly generous donation allowed the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank to purchase additional refrigeration so that we can provide clients with fresh fruits and vegetables.
4. What makes KBI special to you?
I came to KBI in 2020 after I met Rabbi Zuker, who invited me to take a Hebrew class. Then she said, “Why don’t you stay for a service?” So I did.
KBI is a very special community. There are so many phenomenal people who give so much of themselves. We have longtime leaders and volunteers who have built extraordinary programs, alongside younger members bringing incredible energy.
It’s a privilege to be part of this community.
5. What’s something people may be surprised to learn about you?
I worked at a chimpanzee sanctuary, the Fauna Foundation, outside Montreal for about ten years. The chimpanzees had been used in biomedical research and were retired when the laboratory was sold.
That experience led me to become deeply involved in animal advocacy. I’ve been vegetarian since I was 16, I don’t wear leather, and I feel very strongly about the use of animals in research.
I believe there’s space in my heart for more than just humans—there’s space for compassion and advocacy on behalf of those who don’t have a voice.
When I retire, I fully expect animal advocacy to become a major part of my life again.
6. With such a busy life, how do you recharge?
Shabbat.
There are no phones, no television and no thinking about work. I read, I nap and I play with my dogs.
7. If you could have dinner with any Jewish figure, past or present, who would it be?
Leonard Cohen.
His music has been with me my entire life. I don’t really have memories of not listening to Leonard Cohen. There are albums and songs I associate with particular periods of my life because I listened to them endlessly.
But it goes beyond his music. He was a profound poet and author. His Book of Mercy is essentially a modern book of psalms, and it’s stunning.
As someone who reads Psalms regularly, I return to it again and again. Like the Psalms, you find different meanings depending on where you are in your life and what you’re experiencing.
Can you imagine having a conversation with Leonard Cohen over a meal?
8. And finally, when you’re not working, volunteering or reading, is there another passion competing for your attention?
Liverpool Football Club!
I watch at least three hours of football a week and faithfully follow the trials and tribulations of Liverpool.
When I was in London for work, I went to Golders Green (a suburban area in north-west London with a large Jewish community) looking for an LFC kippah. The shop had Liverpool and Arsenal, so I asked the shopkeeper if he had one for Tottenham because a friend of mine is a Tottenham supporter.
He just looked at me and said, “No.” I was very surprised since Tottenham is a London team, but I purchased the Liverpool one and occasionally you can see me wearing it in shul.