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Team & Editorial Board
ZAINAB ABU ALROB
Founder and Lead Editor
Zainab is a SSHRC Fellow and PhD Candidate in Policy Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research examines the experiences of refugees with the Canadian legal system using an access to justice approach. She holds an MA in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo. Zainab is a researcher on the project, Balancing Security and Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Immigration Detention and Border Controls, examining the impact of border security measures on the rights of irregular migrants. She also works on an international project, PROTECT, assessing the right to international refugee protection in Canada. She is a member of the IMISCOE Standing Committee Methodological Approaches and Tools in Migration Research at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands and the International Public Policy Association (IPPA).
AMAL EL KORDI
Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Amal is an aspiring human rights lawyer with a passion for advocating for the rights of refugees, women, and children. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science, with a specialization in Global Citizenship from McMaster University. At present, Amal is a Project Coordinator at the Syrian Canadian Foundation where she assists in the outreach and delivery of programs aimed at supporting newcomers and refugees. Her commitment to human rights advocacy for marginalized groups led her to work on a policy proposal for the removal of tariff code taxes on menstrual products, which advanced as one of the top 15 prioritized policy resolutions at the National Liberal Convention in 2018. She currently volunteers on projects for the protection of children’s rights with non-profit organizations such as UNICEF. Her research interests include the human rights implications of securitizing migration, North-South relations, and the impact of COVID-19 on the trajectory of globalization and global citizenship.
YASMEEN ATASSI
Social Media Coordinator
Yasmeen is a first year law student at the University of Ottawa. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and History from the University of Toronto, St. George. Previously, Yasmeen has worked as the digital editor of Reading Muslims, a multi-disciplinary project that explores textuality in Islamic Studies. She has also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the student publication, Islam in the City. Through her legal education, Yasmeen hopes to contribute to research on labour and employment rights, especially for migrant workers across the globe.
JODI-ANN FRANCIS
Managing Editor, Labour Migration
Jodi is a PhD in Policy Studies Candidate at Toronto Metropolitan University. She came to Canada as an international student to complete an MA on the social, political and economic issues that international students face in Atlantic Canada; she further examined how these experiences shape their thoughts on where to settle in Canada. Her current study will take this a step further by analyzing immigration discourse from various levels - parliament, media, and the citizenry - in Atlantic Canada. Jodi’s education and experience are in elementary and post-secondary education, immigration consulting, campus engagement, and international-student affairs.
KARIMAH RAHMAN
Managing Editor, Identity Politics and Belonging
Karimah Rahman holds a BA with a major in Political Science and a minor in Southern Asian Studies from Concordia University, a MA in Political Science and a Graduate Diploma in Asian Studies at York University. Her Masters research specialized on the Muslim South Asian Diaspora in Trinidad and Guyana. Currently, Karimah is pursuing her PhD in Policy Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Immigration, Settlement and Diaspora Policy Stream. Her research focuses on the marginalization of Indo-Caribbeans (especially Muslims) and those in the Old South Asian Diaspora (especially the descendants of indentured labourers) by Mainland South Asians from an intersectional perspective within a predominantly Canadian context such as in the 2001 South Asian Heritage Act that Indo-Caribbeans can be attributed to lobbying/ grassroots mobilizing for but invisibilized in its implementation in South Asian Heritage Month. Karimah is a published spoken word artist and co-founder of the South Asian Diaspora Collective (SADC).
SOHAIL SHAHIDNIA
Managing Editor, Refugee Protection
Sohail Shahidnia is a doctoral student in Policy Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. He holds an MA in Criminology from University of Toronto. His experience as an international student has led him to volunteer on projects helping International students. He is currently a Research Assistant working on “International Immigration Policies and Exit Restrictions” with Professor Matthew Light at University of Toronto. Sohail is involved in many projects including a management position at Segal Immigration helping International students to successfully integrate into Canadian society. His research interests include experiences of international students in Canada, settlement and integration, discrimination and Canadian immigration policies, media and immigration, and permanent residency, citizenship, and sense of belonging.
Diana Colangelo
Peer-Reviewer
Diana is an aspiring communications and organizational development professional with experience working in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Above all, she is an avid believer in leaving things better than when they were found, which has defined her interest in philanthropic efforts to ameliorate a variety of social issues while positively impacting individual lives. Her passion lies in implementing creative and innovative solutions as an advocacy tool to better support marginalized people, while holding policy accountable in areas of the highest need. Diana holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo, where she also minored in French and Psychology, and specialized in Social Work and Individual Well-Being and Development. Further to this, she pursued a post-baccalaureate certificate from Toronto Metropolitan University in Public Administration and Leadership, and continues to seek out opportunities for professional development. Her most recent undertaking is a certificate in Italian from the University of Toronto, to better connect with her roots.
Join the Migration Initiative
Interested in joining our team? Email us at migrationinitiative@gmail.com
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