Passionate about putting a legal lens on social problems particularly around aboriginal law, she joined UOIT 2010 and formed the Negotiating Justice Research Group with faculty colleagues.  Participating in an exchange program in Bangladesh through the organization Canada World Youth sparked her international interest in social justice. She began studying Canada’s Indigenous population and the impoverished conditions on reserves drew parallels to those in Bangladesh. Dr. Ariss completed her Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, and earned her Bachelor of Laws at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, participating in the Parkdale Community Legal Services Intensive Program. She later completed her Master of Laws in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University in Kingston and her Doctor of Juridical Science in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.