Kareem El-Assal

OLIP Senior Research Fellow

In addition to advising OLIP on policy and research, Kareem El-Assal is the Principal of El-Assal Insights and Founder of Section 95. He has been active in the field of immigration since 2010, working for non-profits, the federal government, and in the private sector. His research covers issues such as the economic impact of immigration, international students, temporary foreign workers, entrepreneur and investor immigration, public opinion, and immigrant settlement services. Kareem has authored over 500 research reports and commentaries which have been cited by the likes of Canada's immigration minister, Parliament, the Senate, Statistics Canada, among others. He has been interviewed by various organizations for his immigration insights such as the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Global News, Forbes, Washington Post, New York Times, CTV, CBC, OECD, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group.

Nyamulola Kambanji

WOW Project Manager

Nyamulola holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and Electronic Commerce from the University of New Brunswick. She has 18 years combined experience working in banking, research and not for profits, both in Zambia and Canada. Her expertise includes community partnership development, program management, research, creative design and photography. During the last 7 years, she has worked on key government funded projects mandated to improving immigrant integration in Ottawa. In the last 3 years, she has worked as the lead for the Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW) initiative and played a critical role in its expansion and subsequent success. In addition, Nyamulola is a freelance photographer and her work is showcased in the photo exhibit “Faces and Stories of a Welcoming City” (2016 and 2017). She is also the founder of “Immigrants of Ottawa” a project that showcases the contributions and successes of new Canadians.  

Joycelyn Glover

Associate, OLIP Strategic Events

She’s has over fifteen years of international and local experience in the private, government and non-profit sectors. She has a strong interest and experience in social development and successful integration of members of a community. She’s the owner and CEO of Business Radiance, a one stop shop for communications, events and resource development. She specializes in writing effective and compelling content as well as organizes classy events to engage people, increase visibility, raise funds and celebrate causes. A remarkable donor and partner steward, raising over $100,000 through targeted communications and events

Jean-Pierre Niyitanga

Communications & Events Officer

Jean-Pierre has over 10 years of experience in the field of journalism and communication. Most recently, he worked with two national associations where he took charge of communications and marketing initiatives including developing and implementing communication strategies, content creation as well as social media management. An excellent communicator and avid storyteller, Jean-Pierre is fluently bilingual and a dedicated self-starter who can work both independently and as a member of a team. Jean-Pierre holds a master of Journalism from Carleton University.

Muna Osman

Researcher & Impact Analyst, Equity Ottawa

Muna is a research methodologist specializing in equity, inclusion, anti-racist approaches and broadly social and cross-cultural psychology. She has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Ottawa and has published in psychological journals on ethnocultural diversity, mental health, and youth civic engagement. With extensive theoretical and research experience in qualitative and quantitative methodology, she is passionate about the value of data and research in understanding and improving the lives of immigrants and racialized communities in Ottawa. She draws on her training in data analysis, visualization, and statistical techniques to answer timely questions about equity.

Moyo Aderemi

Partner Relations Officer

Moyo is a communications specialist with over 7 years of international experience, consulting for global brands in technology, finance, energy, manufacturing, and hospitality, as well as public charities and foundations with a focus on development in Africa. Her expertise is in strategic communications, stakeholder relations and program coordination. Prior to this, she worked in public relations and program management in arts and culture, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. She graduated from the University of York in the United Kingdom with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and brings a multi-faceted set of skills and unique experience to her passion for enhancing positive relations and support with immigrant-serving organizations.

Ayshan Mammadzada

Researcher

Ayshan Mammadzada is a PhD student at the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Prof. Luisa Veronis. Her research interests cover the areas of Environmentally Induced Forced Migration; Climate Migration and Global Governance in Canada, and Canadian Experiences for Immigrants and Newcomers in the Post-pandemic Context. She has also interest in conceptualizing skilled migrants’ resilience in Canada’s post-pandemic economy: a Comparative analysis of the role of gender, occupation, and place. Ayshan has more than 10 years’ work-related experience in local, regional and international projects as an environmental project/data manager, environmental and health program consultant, technical translator in Azerbaijani/English/Russian/Turkish languages with health, and environment specifications. She has also up to 6 years’ managerial and entrepreneurial experience and managed/coordinated donor-funded research projects and capacity-building initiatives, CER (Corporate Environmental Responsibility) and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) projects, including building partnerships with the government, private sector, donors, NGOs, and multilateral organizations.