Team

Craig Damian Smith, PhD
Co-Founder, Executive Director & Principal Investigator
Craig earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, and leads Pairity’s programs. His research examines global migration governance, irregular migration, and refugee integration. He is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, and the Global Migration Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto.

Gotam Bhardwaj, P. Eng.
Co-Founder, Director of Engineering
Gotam is a Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) with 15 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.

Radboud Reijn
Co-Founder, Director of Operations & Europe Lead
Rad has over 15 years of experience in Public Affairs, and has established a broad network in EU Institutions, all levels of government, civil society, and the private sector. His work with Pairity involves building coalitions and driving policy change.
For further info about our work or to explore partnership opportunities, please reach out to Rad at rreijn@pairity.ca.

Salif Jaiteh, PhD
Data Science & Algorithm Lead
Salif earned his PhD in Political Science at Columbia University, New York. He conducts a variety of quantitative research in the Political Economy of Development. He helps lead Pairity’s algorithm and data science initiatives.

Laura Celeste, PhD
Quantitative Research Lead
Laura earned her PhD in Social and Cultural Psychology from the University of Leuven, Belgium. Her research focuses on the social inclusion and wellbeing of immigrants and equity deserving groups across Europe, the US, and Canada. She helps lead Pairity’s M&E frameworks, data collection, and reporting to stakeholders and the broader public.

Ahmed Ezzeldin Mohamed, PhD
Algorithm Engineer & Data Analyst
Ahmed earned his PhD in Political Science from Columbia University, New York. His research examines the intersection between politics, economics, and culture with a particular interest in policy-making processes. He helps implement Pairity’s matching systems and provides insights into matching data.

Evelyn Wainewright
Data Architect
Evelyn is the technical Co-Founder at Hyperscale (Toronto-based SaaS) and President at ENW Consulting (data consulting). She has spent her career in start-ups focused on building robust data teams and infrastructure. Evelyn holds a BSc (Mathematics) from Mount Allison University where she was a Loran Scholar, and an MSc (Mathematics) from the University of Ottawa where her thesis research focused on information security for quantum computers. Evelyn leads the design and build of the data architecture at Pairity.

Abdi Mohamed
Munk School Research Intern
Abdi is an economist pursuing a Master of Global Affairs at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, and supports Pairity’s research and evaluation. He has significant experience attained through lived experience and policy analysis with Canada’s IRCC. Abdi has worked with the Norwegian Refugee Council, Save The Children, and Windle Trust Kenya in crisis response and aid provision in the Dadaab refugee camp.
Advisors

Prof. Dr. Julie Birkholz, PhD
Assistant Professor

Anna Hogrebe
Communications Advisor

Mustafa Alio
Policy Advisor
Mustafa is the Co-Managing Director of R-SEAT, advocating for refugee inclusion in global policy-making. He was previously a co-founder and Managing Director of Jumpstart Refugee Talent, an organization devoted to the economic inclusion of refugees. He advises Pairity on policy development and inclusive design.
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. Co-Founder, Director of Finance 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. Andrew Lusztyk
Michael Gagnon, CPA, CMA