Léna Chardonnet
Class of 2023
Léna is a French student who obtained her bachelor’s degree at SciencesPo Strasbourg in political science and crossed the path of the MPIA program thanks to the dual master’s degree in Public & International Affairs offered in partnership between SciencesPo and the Glendon College. Passionate about the Asian world, she has completed an exchange semester with Tōyō University in Tokyo in 2021 and would like to orient her future profession around diplomacy, culture and Japan. She will complete her second year of a master’s degree at SciencesPo Strasbourg in International Negotiations and Expertise in September 2022, underpinning her training on the diplomatic challenges of the contemporary world.
Caleigh Aalders
Class of 2021
1st year MPIA student
Caleigh came to the MPIA program from the West Coast of Canada with a background of English Literature, Environmental Studies, history, and music. A lover of culture, she studied abroad as much as possible during her undergraduate degree with field courses in Peru and a yearlong exchange in Brussels. Caleigh feels very much at home in the interdisciplinary environment of Glendon’s MPIA program and appreciates the engaged and inquisitive students and faculty. She hopes to build on her experience with water policy and sustainable agriculture, and to develop a deeper understanding of foreign affairs and economic policy.
Hasti Almasi
Class of 2018
Title: (Former) Specialist, Policy Analysis (Housing Policy)
Company: (Former) Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Hasti’s experience with the federal government is a direct result of being in the MPIA program, of which she is a proud graduate. She began in the federal government at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation during the MPIA summer co-op in 2015 and progressed through the organization until 2021. The MPIA added a highly useful domestic lens to Hasti’s background in international development and as a result, she can speak to public policy work both locally and internationally. Hasti also has a background in leadership, management, coordination, research, communications, and public speaking. Her areas of interest are advocating for women and young girls, refugees/immigrants and holistic health. She was a First Generation university student in her family and is happy to share her experience navigating post-secondary/building a career with current students and new graduates. .
Claire Bigand
Class of 2018
Title: Arctic Officer for the Canadian International Arctic Centre
Company: Global Affairs, Oslo
Claire has developed a keen interest in Arctic research, Indigenous Peoples rights, innovation and international relations in the domain of public affairs. She believes that it is her role as a recent alumnus to spread bilingualism’s power to build bridges and to integrate what she learned into her everyday life. Watch Claire’s testimonial here!
Desiré Birukundi
Class of 2017
Title: Immigration Services Advisor
Company: Federal Government of Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Desiré is currently working as an immigration and settlement consultant in the Peel-Halton region and is grateful to the MPIA program and the Centre for Forced Migration Studies at York University as they helped him to be well equipped in the area of national and international regimes related to immigration and refugee problems in Canada and elsewhere in the world. The advanced seminar of the MPIA programme has been a highlight for him as he was able to successfully present an alternative public policy in relation to immigration and post-migration mental health problems of refugees in Ontario. The public problem analyst function that he developed during his three years in the MPIA program will be useful throughout his career in immigration and refugee policy. As a result, he is thankful to have the opportunity to be part of this program and is proud to represent as a Goodwill Ambassador.
Aletheia Delivré
Class of 2018
Title: Project Officer
Company: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning
Aletheia graduated from the Double-Degree MPIA programme at Glendon and IEP Strasbourg in 2018. She was offered a consultant position immediately following graduation at the UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning, based in Paris, where she had done an internship earlier in 2018 within the R&D team. Although she only started working as a full-time member on the R&D team a few months prior, she already had rare opportunities to participate in some very interesting things in the context of research on SDGs, education and cities. After months spent defining and revising research tools and our analytical framework, with a small team of experts, they launched a pilot on the field early December 2018 – her first official UNESCO mission to the north of France – with approval from UNESCO to take the programme international in 2019-2020. The official online launch was live in late December, on the UNESCO-IIEP web page, Twitter and LinkedIn. She is deeply grateful for the important role the double-degree MPIA programme with Strasbourg played in the opportunities that presented themselves both during and after her studies.
Julia Domaradzki
Class of 2020
2nd year MPIA student
Julia obtained her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and French with a minor in Spanish from the University of Calgary in 2017. She enjoyed the multidisciplinary nature of her degree which allowed her to study abroad in France and Spain and to pursue a practical internship in Washington D.C. Her love of travel and living in new places led her to work as a Bilingual Cabin Crew Member for WestJet for over two years. She is currently in her second year of the MPIA program and is thrilled to be part of a program that combines her interests in international affairs and diplomacy as well as topics of social justice in Canada. Julia completed her Co-Op placement at the Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and served as the Director of Internal Affairs for the Public and International Affairs Student Association over the past year.
Christine Ebrahim
Class of 2018
Title: Communications Officer
Company: Canada Gazette – Public Services and Procurement Canada
Christine obtained her Masters in Public and International Affairs at Glendon in June 2018. Her research focused on the failure of diplomacy in Syria since 2011. Before starting her Master’s degree, she worked as a Canadian Diplomat for the Department of Global Affairs. She is passionate about the Middle East and is currently working for the official newspaper of the Government of Canada (The Canada Gazette).
Michelle Gallant
Class of 2011
Title: Senior Policy Advisor
Company: Ontario Public Service, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Species Conservation Policy Branch, Species at Risk and Biodiversity Protection Section
Michelle takes great pride and appreciation in being a public servant and for having the privilege to be immersed daily in the deliberation, development, and advancement of public policy to resolve environmental challenges and support government mandates. Michelle is a former journalist and graduated from the MPIA as a member of the 2011 class. Michelle is active in her local community, including as co-founder of a citizen’s group called ‘Reimagine Peterborough’ that advocates for improved public engagement and policy outcomes in Peterborough’s Official Plan review, and in supporting women becoming involved in politics. In 2018, Michelle was a recipient of the Peterborough-Kawartha Women’s Leadership Award presented by then-Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Maryam Monsef.
Michelle Hudon
Class of 2018
Title: External Relations Officer
Company: Ministry of National Defense
Michelle started the MPIA program in 2016 after having completed her Bachelors Degree at Queen’s University in French Studies and Commerce. During her Master’s Degree she spent one semester abroad at SciencesPo Strasbourg. She had the opportunity to complete her co-op term at Defense Research Development Canada and was fortunate enough to be bridge into a full-time position after graduation. She is currently enjoying living in the nation’s capital and exploring what Ottawa has to offer.
Allison O’Neil
Class of 2019
Title: Jr Policy Officer
Company: Indigenous Services Canada
Allison graduated from the MPIA program in 2021. She wrote a Major Research Paper entitled ‘From Apology toward Reconciliation? Federal Policy Discourse about Services for Indigenous Children in Canada, 2008–2020, and she received the prestigious Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and CGS-M for her research projects in the MPIA. Before starting at Glendon, she worked for two years at the Kyoto City Board of Education in Japan as a language teacher. She completed her bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the University of British Columbia in 2015.
Erin Paquette
Class of 2016
Title: Project Coordinator, Policy & Strategic Research Department
Company: Legal Aid Ontario
Erin graduated form the MPIA in 2016. Over the course of her second year at Glendon, she had the opportunity to study abroad at SciencesPo in Paris. After graduating, she began working for Legal Aid Ontario, an organization funded by the Ministry of Justice. Through her work, she has had the chance to work on projects touching on varying fields of law. She uses her analytical abilities to summarize facts, legal arguments and grant applications. She is consistently using the political knowledge acquired throughout the MPIA program; such as policies that affect First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. In addition, she is able to use her analytical skills, communication and project coordination competencies acquired through the weekly Capstone seminar at Glendon.
Davide Sacchetta
Class of 2021
1st year MPIA student
Davide obtained a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Economics from Roma Tre University, in Italy, his country of origin. Subsequently, he emigrated to Canada, where before starting his master’s degree in Public and International Affairs, he worked as a camera operator and video editor. His areas of interest include climate change, social equality and migration. He speaks Italian, English and French, loves exploring new cultures and ideas, and believes that diversity is a source of strength and inspiration. In his free time, he likes to go running and take photos.
Rajmeet Virk
Class of 2019
Title: Health Policy Analyst
Company: Métis Nation British Columbia
Rajmeet obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, French and Communications at Simon Fraser University in 2017. Before starting her Master’s degree, she worked at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for two years in various positions. Her areas of interest include gender equality and diversity, as well as human rights and humanitarian intervention. She is grateful for the opportunities the MPIA program provides – most notably the class trip to the UNGA in New York – and she am excited to see what opportunities may come post-graduation!
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