Advisor Profiles (OSSC)

Amina Yousaf

[Fall Term Only] Amina is a Doctoral candidate at OISE in the Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development. She is primarily interested in conducting research that will benefit racialized youth who may have experienced adverse events. More specifically, developing culturally relevant practices/interventions that have the potential to improve or act as buffers against poor outcomes such as mental health and education. Amina holds a Master of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education with a Specialization in Educational Policy. Amina is also an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) with qualifications to teach secondary school, and additional qualifications in First Nations, Metis and Inuit Studies, Science, Teaching English Language Learners, and Guidance/Career Education. Amina is also a current faculty member within the Faculty of Health & Society at UTSC and has taught at other colleges and universities across the past few years. She is happy to support students with academic writing, lesson/unit plan development, finding ways to embed culturally relevant pedagogy into your practice, presentation skills, and resume/cover letter support.

Christos Orfanidis

[Winter Term Only] Christos holds two master’s degrees in Sociology and is currently completing his PhD in Higher Education at OISE. He enjoys facilitating various aspects of student success, extending from academic skills and international experience to career planning and pedagogical preparation. Christos is equally eager to discuss with students who are focusing on becoming an impactful educational researcher and looking for opportunities to enhance their learning experience and the acquisition of necessary skills for success, as well as more professionally-oriented students, who would like to master applicable skills, in order to effectively apply their knowledge within school and/or other organizational settings, and make important decisions about subsequent study and/or career opportunities.

Claudio Jaramillo-Yanquepe

Claudio is a PhD candidate at OISE in the Languages & Literacies Education (LLE) program. He has been an English language teacher and TEFL teacher educator for 17 years at university level. He holds an MA in TEFL and participated in the Chilean English language curriculum and assessment policy design. His research interests focus on critical theory, anticolonial praxis, curriculum development, policy, and critical applied linguistics in urban school settings. His research explores how urban educational communities' learning and teaching trajectories reproduce narratives that conceal inequity and how these are justified. His current doctoral work is directed at unpacking the hidden curriculum of English language education in a secondary school. Claudio can assist international students with their language skills and other academic strategies like annotated bibliographies, visualization of information, use of citation tools, and paper, proposals and dissertation writing process. As an experienced teacher trainer, Claudio can also support students' needs on various pedagogical aspects of teaching, including lesson planning and reflective practice. Research-wise, Claudio can provide support on (visual) ethnographic strategies, discourse analysis, design of instruments, and use of NVIVO for qualitative analysis.

Diana M. Barrero

Diana is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning specializing in Women and Gender Studies. Her doctoral work draws from transnational feminist approaches to memorialization of violence in contexts of transitional justice. More specifically, her research examines how Colombian women use of textile-based narratives to visibilize their individual and collective demands for truth and justice.

Diana has over five years working as an educator in K-12, post-secondary and community settings. As an Associate Editor of Curriculum Inquiry, she has supported early career and established scholars to successful navigate the publication process, and published editorial articles that contribute to advancing critical, international curriculum studies scholarship. She has also worked with different faculty at OISE to collect and analyse qualitative data, write up reports, peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and present at academic conferences (e.g. AERA, CSSE, CIES), as well as facilitated professional development workshops (e.g. literature review, citation management software). She is well-suited to support professional and research-stream graduate students in their development of academic writing including course papers, comprehensive exams, research proposals, manuscripts, as well as academic presentations and lesson planning.

Elena Danilina

[Fall Term Only] Elena is a PhD student in Language & Literacies Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and a sessional English instructor at the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC) at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on second language learning and plurilingual practices for international students in English for Academic Purposes classes in Canadian higher education. Elena’s teaching experience in higher education spans over fifteen years in the UAE, Morocco, USA, and Canada. She is happy to support students with writing course papers and resume/cover letters, completing grant applications, and preparing oral presentations.

Fiona Purton

Fiona is a Doctoral candidate at OISE in the Department of Curriculum Teaching & Learning. Her research interests include pedagogies that bridge theory and practice in teacher education and foster in teacher candidates awareness of their responsibilities as Treaty partners. She is also interested in how we can make our educational institutions more equitable and welcoming to populations and people who have traditionally been excluded or made to feel like they do not belong. In the last two decades, she has worked as a middle school teacher, and as a research assistant. She is currently an instructor in the BEd program at Brock University and she has taught a number of courses at other BEd programs across the country. She can support you to develop strong lesson and unit plans that are in line with your personal pedagogical commitments and can provide feedback on reflective writing, and positionally or personal pedagogical statements. 

Gabrielle Breton-Carbonneau

Gabrielle is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Social Justice Education also affiliated with the Centre de recherches en éducation franco-ontarienne (CREFO) at OISE/UT. She is a past recipient of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Fonds Québécois de Recherches sur la Société et la Culture du Québec (FQRSC) doctoral fellowship. Rooted in the fields of sociolinguistics and the anthropology of education, her ethnographic research focuses on francophone mobilities, and specifically looks at the making of Québécois citizens and “emergent francophones” in Quebec’s classe d’accueil program for new immigrant students to the province who do not yet speak French. With experience as an ESL and FSL elementary school teacher, she is fully bilingual and can advise students who require support in both English and French.  Gabrielle also has a strong qualitative research background and can support graduate students with writing preparation, resume and cover letter editing, thesis writing, conference presentations, manuscript preparation, the French-language proficiency exam preparation, as well as with general graduate-level academic writing.

Ghayas Shams

[Career Support Only] Ghayas holds an MEd Higher Education, Leadership, Higher & Adult Education (LHAE) from OISE. He is currently the OSSC (OISE Student Success Centre) and Careers Coordinator at OISE. Ghayas coordinates and manages the OSSC, advisors and all planning. He offers and plans career workshops, conferences and 1-on-1 career advising proving support to domestic and international OISE students. Ghayas is a student success specialist with 12+ years of industry experience and theoretical knowledge in student success, management, recruitment, events, and career advising. Book an appointment with Ghayas for any and all career needs: program choice, career options, resumes, CV’s, cover letters, and interviews.

Hoda Gharib

[Winter Term Only] Hoda is an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods researcher completing her doctoral studies in the Department of Social Justice Education. She has a strong passion for research, and loves to help others with writing about and conducting their own research. She has been involved in undergraduate and graduate research for over 11 years, and her current research uses a mixed-methods review and semi-structured interviews to explore the role of emotions, beliefs, and other motivational factors on activists decisions to engage in and maintain their activism.

She has been writing qualitative and quantitative research proposals and literature reviews since her early undergraduate years, and has received the OGS scholarship three times, authored three publications, competed in the finals of the Three-Minute Thesis competition, and given over 20 academic and community presentations and workshops. She is happy to advise her peers on formulating research questions, preparing research proposals, reviews, manuscripts, and scholarships, conducting qualitative analyses, and public speaking (conferences, 3-minute thesis, etc).

Jasmine Pham

Jasmine is a PhD student in the Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education studying Educational Leadership and Policy. She holds a BEd in Secondary Education from the University of Alberta and an MEd in Educational Leadership & Policy with a specialization in Comparative, International and Development Education from OISE. She is currently a member of OISE's Student Experience Committee and a mentor for OISE's mentorship program. She is also the Director of Public Relations for the University of Toronto's Chinese Graduate Student Association. She previously served as the Administrative Officer for the Comparative, International and Development Education Student Association. 

Having presented multiple papers at academic conferences such as the AERA and CSSE, Jasmine can support graduate students in academic writing, grant proposals as well as paper submissions for academic conferences. With a book chapter published and two forthcoming articles on the way, she can also help students with research articles and the publication process. Her research interests include English language education, teacher development, native-speakerism, international education policies, culturally responsive teaching, critical race theory, anti-racist education, and gender socialization.

Prior to pursuing her graduate studies, Jasmine taught English as a Foreign language for two years at Miyang Elementary School in Seoul, South Korea. Currently, Jasmine works part-time as an Academic Coach and supports Ontario students with weak executive functioning skills while completing her doctoral studies. As such, Jasmine can offer additional support for teacher candidates with lesson and unit planning.

Lucy El-Sherif

Lucy is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning and has completed the Collaborative Graduate Program in Ethnic and Pluralism Studies during her Ph.D., as well as the Comparative, International and Development Education Collaborative Program during her MA. An Arab Muslim immigrant to Canada, Lucy’s research looks at themes of citizenship, subjectivity, and cultural production, research for which she has held three Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) awards. Her work is interdisciplinary and sits at the intersection of education, cultural studies, and diaspora/transnational studies. She has broad experience coaching writing, having coached writing in the graduate class Writing: From Idea to Reality with Prof. Indigo Esmonde for a year, as well as working with English language learners within the Arabic-speaking community for many years. Her skills are best suited for support with course papers, research publications, comprehensive exams, award plans of study, habits of productive academic writing, and oral presentation preparation and practice. Lucy speaks fluent Arabic. She has published in Comparative and International Education/ Éducation Comparée et Internationale, Curriculum Inquiry, and Lateral: Journal of the Cultural Studies Association.

Michael Koslowski

Michael is a PhD candidate at OISE in the Languages & Literacies Education (LLE) program. He holds an MA in Applied Linguistics, and his research focuses on plurilingualism, the connections between languages, and the benefits of multilingual classrooms. With around 14 years of experience teaching English language learners in Canada, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and the Czech Republic, Michael can assist international students with their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Having also taught English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for a number of years at York University, Michael has a lot of experience helping students with researching, planning, outlining, drafting, editing, and formatting academic writing. Other areas of expertise include coaching students in oral presentations, interviews, and how to adjust to new educational cultures.

Sana Abuleil

Sana is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education, focusing specifically on Educational Leadership & Policy (ELP). She completed her Master of Teaching in 2019 at OISE in intermediate/senior education, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Professional Writing from the University of Waterloo, as well. Her research explores refugee education in particular, emphasizing academic achievement gaps, issues in pedagogy, social integration, and assimilation. Sana has a strong background in technical/academic writing and research, and can support students with course papers and resumes/cover letters. She is also happy to assist teacher trainees with lesson plans, mock lessons, unit plans, and assessment tools. Sana speaks fluent Arabic. 

Stacy Alexandra Costa

Stacy is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning with a Collaboration with Engineering education. In this role, she researches advancing online Knowledge Work within Education innovation to understand students' misconceptions, idea trajectories, and students' use of Collaborative Annotation within online communities. Her Master's degree work focused on mathematics education and elementary students and can assist OISE students whose focus relates to these areas. Expertise in STEM-related questions and instructional planning. She is a past recipient of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).

As a professional public speaker, she has presented to various groups (Menza, Toronto Public Library, University of Toronto, Ted Talk Speaker). She has presented to a wide range of audiences - young children to senior administrative staff for a wide range of presentation experience needs. She has extensive experience producing manuscripts, has published extensively in journals and has edited for several publications and conferences. She can help assist students in various writing stages and for a wide variety of assignment expectations.

Susan He

Susan is a Doctoral student in the Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education studying Higher Education with a collaborative specialization in Educational Policy. She previously completed her Master of Education in Higher Education and Master of Teaching at OISE. Her research and professional work experiences focus on student development and the professionalization of practitioners within post-secondary student affairs. Susan has designed many research projects at the university, contributing to the assessment and measurement of postsecondary education outcomes. She can support students with academic presentations, designing surveys, research proposals, course assignment preparation, conference proposals, and research papers. Additionally, she offers professional supports in career exploration, resume and cover letters.  

Ty Walkland

Ty is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning (CTL) whose SSHRC-funded dissertation research explores critical and holistic approaches to school-based drug education. Before pursuing full-time graduate studies, Ty taught secondary English, Social Science, and Special Education for the Simcoe County District School Board. He still teaches high school occasionally and continues to lead workshops across the province that support education workers to meet the needs of diverse youth and families. As a lead research assistant for Addressing Injustices, a critical practitioner research project that involves students and teachers co-creating social justice curriculum, Ty has presented numerous papers at international conferences, co-authored academic journal articles and book chapters, and developed curriculum for youth and teachers. He can support students as they prepare academic presentations and publications, comprehensive exams and theses, course projects, and professional portfolios for teaching and academic job markets.

Velta Douglas

Velta is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning. Her research interests include: Environmental Education, critical literacy, Indigenous content and epistemologies at the high school level, social justice education, and practitioner inquiry. She is OCT certified and taught English, Social Studies and Science in high schools in New Brunswick and Nunavik. She also has experience teaching ESL to elementary students in South Korea and Paraguay. As well, she has extensive experience coaching and supporting writers develop planning and accountability measure to overcome resistance and emotional barriers. With expertise as an assistant journal editor and reviewer, she can support students with journal articles, conference proposals, comprehensive exams and research proposals. Additionally, she can offer support to students on resume/cover letters.

Wenyangzi Shi

Wenyangzi is a Doctoral student in the Language & Literacies Education (LLE) program at OISE. Her research interests include language teacher identity (trans)formation, teacher education, translanguaging, and multilingualism. Before her doctoral study, she taught English, primarily for academic purposes, to students speaking English as an additional language (EAL) in China and Canada. Therefore, she can support EAL international students who need support in academic paper writing, proposal preparation, presentation, and reading. She is a past recipient of the Waldorf Schools Scholarship for Evidence-based Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) doctoral fellowship, and Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). In addition, she also had professional experience mentoring international students who needed help in career planning and preparation. Specifically, she can offer support in career exploration, resume and cover letter writing, and interviews. She speaks English, Mandarin, and Japanese.

Ximena Martinez Trabucco

Ximena is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Social Justice Education and in the Environmental Collaborative Specialization. Ximena has extensively worked in intercultural and multicultural spaces, with minoritized and marginalized population. Her research addresses the coloniality of environmentalism and the representation of indigenous peoples within it. Part of her work in the area of education relate to play, learning and emotions. Her scholarship is informed by anti-racism values and holds a decolonial approach. Ximena has a strong background in qualitative research methodologies with emphasis on ethnographic techniques. As an experienced classroom teacher, Ximena is great helping to shape and organize ideas for assignments and research purposes. Ximena is an international graduate student. She speaks English and Spanish and is also happy to respond questions related to health care, childcare, university resources, OISE graduate students administrative matters and doubts about living in Toronto.