Verlyn Francis is the Principal Consultant at Isiko Dispute Resolution Consultants and specializes in the effect of culture or worldview on disputes. She previously practiced law in Toronto for 17 years. She holds a bachelor of laws from the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University and was called to the Ontario bar in 1997. She completed a master of laws in 2016, specializing in alternate dispute resolution, from the same institution. Verlyn is a certified adjudicator and a certified mediator.
Verlyn is a member of ADR Institute of Canada, and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators. She is also a member of the Ontario Bar Association and Toronto Lawyers Association, Women’s Law Association of Ontario, and Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. She has served on the boards of the Toronto Board of Trade and Toronto Community Foundation. She is past Chair of the Harry Jerome Scholarship Fund, and founding Chair of the Gold Key Awards of Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni Association. She has most recently sat on the Board of the Ontario Arts Council and was Chair of the Governance Committee. She has authored journal articles on culture and conflict, psychological support in truth and reconciliation commissions, and spoken on topics related to culture and conflict in clinical care, family and estate law to institutions, legal groups and the community.