Research Team

Craig Damian Smith, PhD
Co-Investigator & Founder of Pairity
Craig is a political scientist, the Associate Director of the Global Migration Lab at the Munk School Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Refugee Studies, York University. His research looks at the global politics of irregular migration and refugee integration.
Laura Derksen, PhD
Co-Investigator
Laura is a health economist at the Rotman School of Management and the University of Toronto Mississauga. Laura uses randomized controlled trials to study health seeking behaviour, information sharing and social networks.

Dana Kassem, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dana holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics. She is currently a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Mannheim, Germany. Her research focuses on impacts of climate change in developing countries, including migration issues associated with environmental factors.

Anja Kilibarda
Co-Investigator
Anja is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Columbia University, New York. Her work focuses on the psychology of intergroup attitudes, particularly interethnic attitudes and attitudes toward immigrants. Her work is supported by a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Aly Somani
Co-Investigator
Aly is a PhD student in economics at the University of Toronto. His current research explores the barriers to minority representation in local politics in the US. Prior to joining the PhD program, he worked as a quantitative analyst for an investment management firm.
Technical & Development Team

Gotam Bhardwaj, P. Eng.
Technical Lead
Gotam is a Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) with fifteen years of software project lifecycle experience, using many of today’s leading technology platforms. He has experience in the education, labour market, and cyber-security sectors, in addition to working with various volunteer and advocacy organizations.

Michael Gagnon, CPA, CMA
Business Lead
Mike brings over 15 years of insight from the technology field. Most recently, he spent 7 years as the Controller for Shopify, where he helped lead private financing rounds toward their wildly successful IPO in 2015. Mike is a graduate of Western University and is a designated CPA, CMA.
Advisory Team

Andrew Lusztyk
Programme Advisor
Andrew is the Co-Director of Together Project in Toronto, Canada – an organization which matches volunteers with resettled refugees. He specializes in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs that engage and activate communities to drive purposeful social impact. His work has often bridged the gap between the private, public, and social sectors, and has included projects across Europe, Africa, and North America.
Mirna El Sabbagh
Programme Advisor
Mirna is the General Manager of Stakeholder Engagement with COSTI Settlement Services. She works with volunteers, settlement organizations, donors, and government agencies to help refugee newcomers overcome settlement barriers. She has more than ten years of experience as a humanitarian and development practitioner, having held senior positions with the UN and British Council in Lebanon.
Julie Birkholz, PhD
Social Network Analysis Advisor
Julie is a Post-doctoral researcher at the Ghent University, Belgium. She specializes in quantitative social network analysis to systematically compare the effect of contexts, network structures and outcomes.