Exploring pathways to careers in migration and settlement in Canada

Elizabeth Kaminsky is a policy analyst in the Settlement and Integration Policy Branch of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Elizabeth works on labour market integration policy for newcomers to Canada and two regional immigration programs: the Atlantic Immigration Program and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. She has well-rounded operations and policy experience spanning over 15 years in the field of immigration and settlement at both the provincial and federal level. She has an MA in Immigration and Settlement Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University where she completed her major research paper on the evolution of advocacy in the Ontario immigrant settlement sector.

Priya Kumar’s research work combines network analysis with digital qualitative research methods to study online cultures and behaviours, with a focus on exploring the dynamic interplay between digital media communication technologies and society at large. Her current research interests sit at the intersection of data feminism, digital diasporas and online identity politics.

Prior to joining CERC Migration, Priya was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Toronto Metropolitan University Social Media Lab at the Ted Rogers School of Management, where she conducted research on violence against women on social media and worked on a SSHRC-funded research initiative to develop novel learning analytics for the social media age. Priya completed her PhD on global diaspora politics at SOAS, University of London. Her dissertation focused on global diaspora politics and studying online web-based representations of stateless diaspora communities, with regional emphasis on the Middle East and South Asia. In 2017, Priya was named a Digital Humanities Asia Fellow at Stanford University and completed a short-term residency funded by the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA). She was also a member of the Paris-based e-Diasporas Atlas project (Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme ICT Migrations program), first-runner up for best DH visualization/infographic for the Digital Humanities Awards 2012.

Berti Olinto’s research interests focus on refugees, transnationalism, diasporic communities and media. Berti joined CERC Migration as a researcher to support a multidisciplinary team in the project Strengthening the Capacities of Local Authorities in the Reception and Integration of Migrants and Refugees, promoted by the Department of Social Inclusion of the Organization of American States (OAS).  Currently, he coordinates the Fair Farm Work: A research initiative to improve employment conditions in agriculture in Southern Ontario, with the support of the Mariam Assefa Fund and CERC Migration. He has been a research assistant to CERC Migration's research collaborations with ACCES Employment and the Saskatchewan Association of Immigrant Settlement Integration Agencies (SAISIA). He has taught at the School of Social and Community Development at George Brown College in Toronto, and at the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, in Venezuela.

Natasha Rollings supports areas of youth programming, access to education, campaigns and resource development at FCJ Refugee Centre.  She is a registered Social Service Worker, with specialization in Immigration and Refugee Studies. A graduate of the University of Toronto and Seneca College, she has worked extensively in the fields of music education and social work, completing associate degrees in performance for violin and piano with the Royal Conservatory of Music. Her human rights-based internships and projects have included work in Morocco, Russia, India, Ecuador, Norway and Germany. Before joining FCJ Refugee Centre, she was the Women’s Resilience Program Facilitator for the Cross Cultural Learner Centre in London, Ontario.