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Fellows

Fellows

Community

  • Fellow Year

We invite you to get to know the Alumni community.

 

Are you looking for our fellows ordered alphabetically? Click here

  • Tatheer
  • Ali

2020/2021 Fellow

Tatheer Ali is a policy analyst with a passion for multilateral engagement and global youth advocacy. She is a former Action Canada Fellow ‘20 and has held several positions in the Federal Government of Canada. Currently she works at the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the Strategic Policy and Planning Branch. Previously she has worked at the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Department of Finance, and the Privy Council Office, supporting initiatives related to Canada-US foreign and defence policy, the federal carbon pricing system, and annual immigration levels planning.

Tatheer is also on the Board of a local non-profit, Carty House, which provides transitional housing for women asylum seekers. She additionally led the Canadian Youth Delegation to the OECD 2018 Forum in Paris, France, and was a delegate with the Young Canadian Leaders Delegation to Germany in December 2018.

Tatheer holds a Masters of Science in Migration Studies from St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford and a Bachelors in Public Affairs and Policy Management from Carleton University.

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  • Jean-Sébastien
  • Blais

2020/2021 Fellow

Jean-Sébastien Blais has extensive experience in government and non-profit organizations. He is currently a policy analyst for the Yukon Housing Corporation where he contributes to strategic planning in relation to the supply of community housing. His leadership and expertise in the field of governance have resulted in appointments to several government boards and commissions in recent years, including the Yukon Human Rights Commission and the Yukon Liquor Corporation Board of Directors. He had the honour of serving on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada in 2016. Proud of his Francophone identity, Jean-Sébastien became involved in 2013 in the major issue surrounding French-language education in the Yukon. He has chaired the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon since 2015 and has held the position of second vice-president of the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones since 2019. His mandate led him to be at the heart of the construction of the Yukon’s first French-language secondary school and community centre in 2020.

Jean-Sébastien holds a bachelor’s degree in theology (Dominican University College, 2002) and a master’s degree in political science (Université Laval, 2008). His reflection on political issues leads him to speak at various international conferences from time to time. He had the honour of being invited to the “Democracy Beyond Election” conference organized by Bristol University in 2018.

Originally from Plessisville in Quebec, he currently resides in the Yukon with his anglophone and francophile wife and their three young children. He is an avid cyclist and an arts enthusiast.

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  • Gabrielle
  • Bouchard

2020/2021 Fellow

Gabrielle is an engineer, educator, and advocate for youth social mobility. Her experience has ranged from inspiring children to study science in Nunavut, to consulting at Deloitte, to creating an access strategy at the University of Oxford. Gabrielle is the creator of the YouTube series “Gabby on Government”, which explores Canadian civics in an accessible form.

Gabrielle earned an engineering degree from McMaster University. She was heavily engaged with engineering outreach in parallel to her studies, developing and executing programming for young people across Canada. Gabrielle also spent three years working as the inaugural Outreach Officer for the University of Oxford’s engineering department. Through this work she developed an appreciation of the institutional barriers many young people face outside of education in reaching their potential. Gabrielle now works to demystify our governmental institutions through her YouTube channel. She speaks in long-form about Canadian civics and issues of the day in a way that is entertaining and engaging. She invites Canadians to join her on her journey of learning the common language of government, current governmental structures, and how these structures can be shaped with care to build a society that works for people.

Gabrielle started her professional career at Deloitte after winning an interview at the Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference. Gabrielle currently works for Jacobs, a multinational engineering firm, and has been involved with projects including sewer rehabilitation, waterfront redevelopment, and transit operations.

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  • Chardaye
  • Bueckert

2020/2021 Fellow

Chardaye Bueckert currently works as a management consultant focused on creating social impact in the non-profit and public sectors. Chardaye enables non-profits to access consulting services free of charge as the lead for Deloitte’s pro-bono consulting initiative across British Columbia.

Recently, Chardaye spent six months within Deloitte Canada’s Corporate Responsibility office, where she helped grow Deloitte’s pro-bono advisory work across Canada. Previously, she supported public sector organizations to better serve vulnerable citizens through strategic and technology-focused initiatives.

Chardaye holds a Master’s degree focused in global affairs, obtained as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts focused in political science from Simon Fraser University. Chardaye has worked within the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and served as President of the Simon Fraser Student Society.

In her free time, Chardaye serves as Chairperson of a national non-profit and is a member of her local World Economic Forum Global Shapers Hub. She is also enthusiast about running, podcasts, and comedy.

Chardaye currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is proud to have been born and raised in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Pendant son temps libre, Mme Bueckert est présidente d’une organisation nationale à but non lucratif et membre de la plateforme locale de façonneurs du World Economic Forum. Elle est également passionnée de la course à pied, de balados et de comédies.

Mme Bueckert réside actuellement à Vancouver (Colombie-Britannique). Elle est fière d’être née et d’avoir été élevée à Medicine Hat, en Alberta.

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  • Phil
  • De Luna

2020/2021 Fellow

Phil De Luna currently serves as Program Director at the National Research Council of Canada where he leads a 7-year $57M collaborative research program to develop clean technologies to decarbonize Canada’s economy. He is a world-leading carbontech expert and has published 40 papers in high-impact journals such as Science and Nature on topics such as CO2 conversion, hydrogen production, and artificial intelligence for materials discovery. He was 1 of 10 finalists worldwide in the $20M Carbon XPRIZE where he co-founded CERT – a carbontech startup that converts CO2 into renewable chemicals.

De Luna holds a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Toronto, a MSc in Chemistry from the University of Ottawa, and a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Windsor. He is a 2019 Forbes Top 30 Under 30 – Energy, a GreenBiz Top 30 Under 30, a Governor General’s Gold Medalist, a 2020 Mission Innovation Champion for Canada, a Creative Destruction Lab Mentor, an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholar, a Massey College Junior Fellow, and a CIFAR Bio-Inspired Solar Energy Graduate Fellow.

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  • Fadi
  • Haddad

2020/2021 Fellow

Fadi Haddad is a proud Montrealer whose identity is intertwined with the City’s progressive, multilingual, and multicultural urban character. He is a licensed engineer, project manager and environmental professional with over a decade of federal public service experience in natural resources management and regional economic development. Driven by a commitment to the public interest, Fadi challenges traditional development approaches by bringing interdisciplinary perspectives in policymaking and co-creating strategies that foster inclusive, gender-sensitive and environmentally responsible outcomes.

Fadi serves as Senior Analyst, Policy and Programs at the federal regional economic development agency for Quebec. In his role, Fadi spearheaded an Agency-wide gender and diversity policy by clarifying responsibilities for 14 functional units, developing program guidance and impact assessments, and increasing staff awareness training from 2% in 2015 to 96% in 2019. By recently applying this gender lens in funding the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada from 2025 to 2029, he coordinated an Action Plan bringing governments and stakeholders together for the first time in the event’s history to make the sport more inclusive.

Before, Fadi was Policy Analyst at Natural Resources Canada responsible for environmental assessments and the regulatory review of major resource projects and the departmental lead for inclusive development in the Ring of Fire. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining from McGill University and is a Sir William Dawson Fellowship in Metallurgy recipient. Fadi holds a Project Management Certificate from the University of Toronto and, in his spare time, continues to broaden his policy perspective by pursuing coursework at Queen’s University. Born in Kuwait, Fadi lives with his husband in Montreal, and both enjoy fitness activities, travelling, and electronic music.

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  • Douglas
  • Judson

2020/2021 Fellow

Douglas W. Judson maintains a law and consultancy practice in Northwestern Ontario, where he serves on the municipal council of the Town of Fort Frances. Doug began his practice with a leading Canadian law firm. His experience also includes work with the in-house legal teams of two financial institutions, policy and research roles within the federal public service, and work on Indigenous economic development and justice programming in Treaty #3. Doug started his professional career on Parliament Hill, as an aide to two MPs. He has been involved with federal, provincial, and municipal election campaigns.

Doug maintains a busy volunteer presence in the community. He currently serves on the boards of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and the Northwest Community Legal Clinic, as President of the Rainy River District Law Association, and as Co-Chair of the Borderland Pride festival. He has previously served on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association’s sexual orientation and gender identity section, on the Law Society of Ontario’s Equity Advisory Group, as President of the Law Students’ Society of Ontario, and on the board of Start Proud, a non-profit serving LGBTQ2 students and young professionals.

Doug is a graduate of the JD/MBA program at Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business, and holds degrees in political science (BSocSc) and commerce (Hon. BCom) from the University of Ottawa. He has also studied at Lakehead University, the London School of Economics, Monash University (at Prato, Italy), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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  • John
  • Kimmel

2020/2021 Fellow

John Mansell Kimmel is a serial entrepreneur whose passion is giving back to his communities through Board work with a focus on entrepreneurship and employment. With two decades of Governance experience and broad experience as a nine-time Founder, John’s background from strategic operations, to enterprise IT architecture and infrastructure development, and to film, television, and interactive media production, John’s past endeavours serve him well as Founder and President of RevIQ where he develops tools, technology, and processes that inform and optimize data-driven customer experiences and predictive customer journey management.

As an American-born, Toronto-raised transplant to Prince Edward Island who has found his heart in Charlottetown, John is an advocate on PEI for solutions that improve education, fitness, entrepreneurial, and social outcomes with his participation in Boards including Pride PEI, Fusion Charlottetown, The Charlottetown Film Society, Videogames PEI, the Canadian Interactive Alliance, The ORDER of The Wallace McCain Institute, and with the PEI organizers of TechStars Startup Weekend. Outside of his work optimizing customer experiences at RevIQ for his clients, his passion projects include finding a permanent community enterprise to engage PEI’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community with a permanent venue, developing a speechtext-focused syntactic interpretation tool to permit synchronous fact-checking in political debates, and working with business owners across Atlantic Canada to harmonize the small business investor tax credits across the Greater Atlantic Area. When he’s not travelling internationally to visit global clients, John spends his time downhill skiing, sailing, or – when the weather isn’t cooperating – catching a retro flick at Charlottetown’s City Cinema.

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  • Dakota
  • Norris

2020/2021 Fellow

Dakota Norris is currently a Program Manager at Youth Climate Lab, where he works on engaging and supporting youth around the country in climate action, and a Combat Engineer in the Canadian Army Reserves. In the past, Dakota has researched various Indigenous topics related to economic development, youth engagement, and global strategy, and worked as a management consultant. Originally from Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Dakota is a member of the Gwich’in First Nation and recent graduate of the University of Saskatchewan with a B.Comm (Hons.) in Management.

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  • Melana
  • Roberts

2020/2021 Fellow

Melana is a community advocate and city builder working at the intersection of policy, politics and social justice. As a policy consultant, independent business owner and former political staff, she is committed to creating inclusive public policy that empowers communities to be the drivers of their own development.

Passionate about community-centred policy strategies, she joined Power Lab in 2019, where she supports knowledge translation and learning activities to build fair local economies. Concerned with equity focused policy, she worked at Toronto City Hall as a Political Staff in the office of Toronto’s former Poverty Reduction Advocate. As the lead staff on the Poverty Reduction file, she supported a variety of policy initiatives, including the 5-part Tackle Poverty TO public consultations and the launch of the Fare Pass Discount Program for low-income residents. Her previous work in the non-profit sector s panned a variety of areas, including, healthy public policy, public arts, community planning, housing and climate policy.

As Chair of Food Secure Canada and a member of the Toronto Food Policy Council, she has participated in several national and municipal food policy processes, including the development of Canada’s first national food policy. A strong proponent of youth leadership development, she served as Chair of the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council for several years, building the capacity of underrepresented youth to shape municipal policy decisions.

Recently named Canada’s Delegate for the 53rd UN Commission on Population and Development, she successfully shaped Canada’s position on food security and nutrition to prioritize the needs of food workers and Canada’s most food-insecure populations impacted by COVID-19. Melana is also a member of the municipal Food Communities Network Leaders Table, and an Advisor to the Global Agritecture Xchange.

Native to Toronto, she believes the future of Canada depends on building more equitable and inclusive cities, and has used art as a tool to tackle that mission. As a Curator and mentor she has led a number of youth-focused arts initiatives on themes of immigration, Reconciliation, and anti-Black racism to inform policy, including the Ward Museum’s Block By Block and the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Scratch and Mix Arts Exhibition.

Melana also holds leadership positions as Vice Chair of Cycle Toronto, a Director for Carrot Cache, and a proud member of the Toronto Black Food Sovereignty Initiative. A community organizer at heart, she has raised $5-7M annually for education and health initiatives abroad as the Director of Marketing, Media and Communications for the Aga Khan Foundation Canada’s World Partnership Walk; and has volunteered on community health projects in Guatemala, Guyana and Ecuador throughout her studies. Melana has a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Global Development Studies, with a certificate in International Studies from Queens University, and was the recipient of the Paavo & Aino Lukkari Human Rights Award for her Masters research in Development Studies from York University.

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  • Kharoll-Ann
  • Souffrant

2020/2021 Fellow

Born in Montreal and of Haitian origin, Kharoll-Ann Souffrant is a social worker and speaker. She is a doctoral student at the University of Ottawa and a Vanier scholarship recipient. Her thesis focuses on sexual violence experienced by black women in Quebec in connection with the #MoiAussi (#MeToo) movement of 2017 and #AgressionNonDénoncée (#BeenRapedNeverReported) movement of 2014. Kharoll-Ann holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work from McGill University and a college diploma in delinquency intervention techniques from the Collège Ahuntsic. She has worked as a volunteer, counsellor and social worker with populations with a variety of psychosocial difficulties as well as in the health and social services network.

In recent years, Kharoll-Ann has become particularly known for her activism against sexual violence against women and for promotion of mental health. She has been a sought after speaking since 2015. Kharoll-Ann is regularly called upon to participate in the media on themes related to her areas of expertise in both English and French.

For her commitment, Kharoll-Ann has received some twenty community and university awards including the Young Woman of Merit award from the Montreal YWCA, the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award and the Relève award from the Ordre des travailleurs sociaux du Québec. She was named one of the most distinguished personalities of 2016 by the Journal de Montréal and ELLE Québec magazine. Winner of Black History Month in 2020, Kharoll-Ann was included in a list of 100 black women to watch across the country published on the occasion of the Canada International Black Women Event.

Often described as a quiet force, Kharoll-Ann aspires to a career in teaching and university research in social work. Through each of her actions, she fervently wishes to embody the adult she needed when she was younger, for the greatest number of people.

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  • Helen
  • Tewolde

2020/2021 Fellow

Helen Tewolde is Director of Policy and Programs at The Law Foundation of Ontario. Established by statute in 1974, the Foundation funds millions of dollars of grants each year to non-profits and Legal Aid Ontario and is the sole foundation in Ontario with the mandate of improving access to justice. Prior to joining the Foundation, Helen was Senior Researcher and Manager at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). She has also held management positions at George Brown College, Council of Educators of Toronto, City of Toronto and United Way Toronto. She has over a decade of management experience designing, developing and delivering evidence-based and data-informed public programs, policy responses, and systemic change innovations in higher education and employment for Indigenous peoples and equity-seeking groups.

Alongside her efforts in Canada, Helen has worked in research consultancy and advisory capacities on a range of international development, humanitarian and peace and security issues. These include transitional justice and Track II diplomacy, education for development, and the role of diasporas in Canadian foreign policy. She has authored reports or supported research for organizations such as African Union, Mosaic Institute, Global Campaign for Education, Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation and United Nations University for Peace.

She attended McMaster University for Hons. B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science and OISE/UT for an M.A. in Theory and Policy Studies in comparative, international and development education. She holds a certificate in Executive Non-Profit Management from the Stanford University School of Business and is currently an LLM Candidate in Constitutional Law at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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