Team Members

Rupaleem Bhuyan is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, where she teaches practice and social justice advocacy to future social workers. Since 1991, Rupaleem has been part of the anti-violence against women movement in North America, working in collaboration with indigenous, immigrant and refugee communities. 

Rhonda Hackett is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, University of Victoria. Her scholarship is focused on advancing understanding of the lived experiences and knowledge of African Caribbean peoples living in the lands currently known as Canada, including matters of family and community well-being.

Yasemin holds a Master of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health. She is a registered clinical counsellor in BC and has been working in child and youth mental health field for 8 years. Yasemin is passionate about equality, accessibility, inclusion and preventative work in child welfare and child and youth mental health.

Manvinder is currently an MSW student at the Factor-Inwentash faculty of social work. She is a community-based researcher whose work is centred on immigration, culture, colonialism, and health.

Dr. Mandeep Kaur Mucina is an Assistant Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. Mandeep has worked in the human services sector as a child and youth worker and social worker for 20 years. During this time she has worked as a child protection worker, violence against women counsellor and has been active in community engagement work with migrant families. 

Sandra is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical & Counselling Psychology. Capitalizing on her interest in diversity and inclusivity initiatives in the field of psychology, she is conducting research that investigates the mental health of cultural minorities. 

Rebecca is an MSW student at the Factor-Inwentash faculty of social work. She brings her background in social anthropology and an interest in migration to the Border(ing) Practices project.

- Sewsen Igbu, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
- Amira Abdel-Malek, University of Victoria School of Child and Youth Care
- Faith Villaneuva, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Bryn King joined the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work in July 2015 as an Assistant Professor. Bryn has recently founded a research collaborative at the FIFSW called the Youth Wellness Lab, which intends to bring together researchers, practitioners, and youth towards the goal of improving services and outcomes for young people across service sectors. 

Abigail Lash-Ballew (she/her) is a macro social worker and first-year doctoral student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Her research interests include participatory research on racism and racial disparities in child welfare and public health; racial/ethnic identity formation; social justice advocacy and ethics education; immigration and human rights. 

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