Maria (she/her) is a Graphic Designer for YouthREX. She received her Bachelor of Design with honours from the YSDN Program at York University. As a designer, she focuses on thinking critically about the capacity that design has as a transformative tool to educate, empower, and inspire people, especially youth.

Outside of work, she enjoys illustrating, travelling, and hanging out with her dog Mango. Born in Colombia, Maria often likes to bring elements of her own culture into the work that she creates.

Latoya (she/her) is currently a BSW student in her final semester at York University, and a Social Service Worker from Humber College. Latoya has worked as a casual Support Worker at Community Living North Halton, supporting adults with developmental disabilities for two plus years, and enjoys her field placement position as a Residential Client Advocate, supporting women and children experiencing domestic violence and homelessness.

Outside of work and school, Latoya enjoys spending time with her family, spending time outdoors, taking long road trips, and cooking delicious meals.

Anne (she/her) holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto, an Addictions and Mental Health Graduate Certificate from Humber College, and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Her areas of interest include the social determinants of health, community development, healthy cities, and mental health programming.

Outside of work, Anne enjoys cheering for the Raptors, learning French, and going for lots of bike rides.

Kuir ë Garang is a postdoctoral fellow at YouthREX. He has over nine years working with immigrant youth within the two public board in Calgary where he worked with teachers and parents to help new immigrant students settle successfully in school. Kuir’s research, inspired by years interacting with immigrant parents and youth, focuses on institutional marginalization of African Canadians youth in Canadian institutions. His scholarly work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Social Epistemology, Child and Youth Services, Journal of Progressive and human Services, Critical and Radical Social Work, among others.

He has a PhD from York University, a master’s degree in cultural studies and philosophy from Athabasca University, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from McGill University.

In addition to his scholarly works, Kuir writes on Sudanese and South Sudanese politics and history in the context of oppression and marginalization. He is an avid reader, who believes in the value of self-education beyond formal knowledge production and consumption.

His fun activities are reading, writing, and watching detective and spy shows.

A youth coach who provides young people with the right knowledge and skills needed to lead better lives while contributing positively to the sustainable development of society.

Master of Arts in Comparative Literature & Arts, Brock University, Post Graduate certification in Public relations, York University (in view).

I am a wife, mother, writer,  and digital content creator who loves to dance to the beautiful afrobeat of West Africa. I speak English fluently and the Igbo language with a touch of French.

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Helen (she/her) is a Research Assistant at YouthREX. She graduated from York University with a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and currently studies at the University of Toronto in the Master of Social Work program.

Outside of work, Helen is involved in affordable housing committees and community environment/gardening initiatives. Also, she enjoys dance and jogging. Helen knows English, Cantonese, and French - she especially loves the French language!

Chantal (she/her) was a Research Assistant and completed a fellowship with YouthREX.

Her research interests include addressing anti-Black racism in academic, political, and health-based contexts. Chantal received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Medical Science from Western University and is a medical student at the University of Toronto.  

Chantal is passionate about her faith and how this intersects with social justice. Her hobbies include running, experimenting with coffee beverages, and spoiling her baby nephew.

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Jenny (she/her) is a Research Assistant at YouthREX. She is interested in how language intersects with social and cultural identity and hopes to work with the youth sector in the future. She is currently completing an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from York University.

During her free time, she volunteers with a variety of non-profit organizations, ranging from providing resources to those with disabilities, to raising awareness for mental health. She also enjoys learning languages, reading true crime novels, and consuming horror media.

Monica (she/her) supports YouthREX’s administrative functions in addition to research in the areas of social work field education and evaluation.

Monica holds an Honours Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Windsor and an Honours Bachelor's of Social Work degree from York University. She is currently pursuing a Joint Master of Social Work and Juris Doctor degree at the University of Windsor.

Outside of work, Monica actively volunteers with organizations that promote the protection of human rights. She is an avid horror and psychological fiction reader and a coffee connoisseur.

Rahma (she/her) is a PhD candidate at York University's School of Social Work. Her research examines surveillance and policing within public housing communities. Her areas of interest include neighbourhoods and housing, urban poverty/income polarization, youth development, social policy, race and policing, resiliency, and community surveillance.

Rahma has also worked in the non-profit sector for 14 years in youth engagement and settlement services for racialized newcomer Canadians, with a focus on Black women's health and wellbeing.

Sinthu (she/her) is a Research Assistant with YouthREX. Sinthu loves qualitative research (especially Institutional Ethnography) and has published her work in the British Journal of Social Work, Health & Social Work, and Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Policy, and Practice.

Sinthu is also a passionate social worker at the University Health Network’s Red Blood Cell Disorders clinic. Here, Sinthu applies social justice, human rights, and anti-oppressive frameworks to provide counselling and advocacy to people with sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and other hemoglobinopathies. She has practice interests in supporting people at the intersections of racism and ableism.

Outside of work, Sinthu enjoys learning how to play the guitar, reading books, and spending time with her friends and family. One of her most favourite pastimes is watching theatre and musicals.

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Clementine (she/her) is a Research Assistant at YouthREX. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Health Studies with a specialization in Health Management from York University. Clementine is excited about amplifying youth voice in research and evaluation and the possibilities of arts-based approaches.

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Daniel Kikulwe completed his PhD in Social Work at York University in 2014 where he is now teaching. The focus of his doctoral research was on the work and practices of racialized child welfare workers in providing services to families and children.

His area of academic interest is in child welfare practices and policies, as well as immigration. Other areas of research interests relate to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children and its applicability to the global south, as well as kinship care trends in Canada.

In the past, Daniel also has worked in child welfare, as a frontline staff and supervisor for 14 years. He has experience working with youth, families, and communities. His child welfare experiences have been both in Ontario and the Yukon.

Naomi Nichols is an Associate Professor (Sociology) and the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Community-Partnered Social Justice at Trent University.

Until August 2020, she was an Associate Professor (Education) at McGill University.

Naomi is the Principal Investigator for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Grant called, Data Justice: Fostering equitable data-led strategies to prevent, reduce and end youth homelessness, and another called, Building from Experience: Youth-led strategies for homelessness prevention and housing stabilization.

She is also a research theme lead (knowledge mobilization) for the SSHRC partnership grant: the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and a research theme lead (prevention) for the Networks of Centres of Excellence: Making the Shift: Youth Homelessness Solutions Impacts Accelerator.

Naomi's research activities and publications span the areas of social inequality; poverty; youth homelessness; youth justice; child welfare; education; “youth at risk;” youth mental health; higher education, research impact and community-academic research collaborations.

Neil Price is an educator, writer, and editor.

Neil is Executive Director at LogicalOutcomes, a not-for-profit consultancy that works to improve human services and social policy.

His writing has appeared in NOW Magazine, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Hazlitt, Studio Magazine, Canadian Art and The Conversation, among other publications. He was previously Reviews Editor at Humber Literary Review.

Neil’s doctoral research is focused on the experiences of Black people in colleges and universities.

Joey-Lynn Wabie is an Algonquin Anicinabe ikwe from Wolf Lake First Nation in Quebec. She is an assistant professor in Indigenous Social Work at Laurentian University located on Atikameksheng Anishnawbek territory (Sudbury, Ontario). Joey-Lynn works in communities at the grassroots level focusing on wellness, culture, and bringing people together. Her research interests are Indigenous youth's perspectives on Truth & Reconciliation, spiritual wellness/healing, and land-based teaching/learning.

Joey-Lynn takes the role of sister, auntie, cousin seriously and is dedicated to ensuring her culture and traditions are passed on through storytelling, ceremony, and the occasional latte.