Team

Gabriel is currently a master’s student in applied political studies at the Université de Sherbrooke. He has been a research assistant with the Chair for several months now. He is interested in issues related to nationalism, but also in the phenomenon of online radicalization. Having completed his internship with the Chair, he is delighted to continue his work with the organization.

Shawn Tse 謝兆龍 is a father, multidisciplinary artist, and community organizer living in amiskwacîwâskahikan/Edmonton. His practice centres around community engagement, social justice, and storytelling from underrepresented voices. He is an actor in Thirdspace Playback Theatre, co-founder of Aiya哎呀 which dreams of new futures for Chinatowns, video director at Fallout Media, and creator of the intergenerational cooking show, Seconds, Please!

Kathryn Urbaniak has been Program Manager of Project SOMEONE since 2014. Throughout the years, she oversaw the design and development of the Project SOMEONE portal and content. She also led various projects in the field of primary prevention, including the Massive Open Online Course titled ‘From Hate to Hope: Building Understanding and Resilience’. Additionally, Ms. Urbaniak has managed more than twenty public engagement events under the Project SOMEONE and Grimposium banners. She is an accomplished learning-experience designer, instructor and researcher with degrees in educational technology, information technology, and business. She has authored publications in the fields of online hate, online communities and education. Ms. Urbaniak has trained over 1,000 teachers in 40 countries and also acted as a Canadian advisory committee member on the development of the international standard ISO 29993 (education and learning services).

Lola is currently a Master’s student in Political Science at Université Laval. Since the beginning of her academic career, she has always shown a keen interest in technological issues and their impact on our political systems. She continues to discover new political visions around the world, which enriches her international experience. She hopes to pursue an international career in the political management of cyberspace.

Wynnpaul Varela is the coordinator of the Innovative Social Pedagogy project. Since arriving in Montreal in 2009, Wynnpaul has worked as freelance editor, researcher, and learning experience designer. Before that, he taught English in Japan for 15 years. He holds a PhD in Education with a focus on how music students practise their instruments.

Laurianne Veilleux is a student in applied political studies with a major in international relations at the Université de Sherbrooke. Her fields of interest are feminism, the rise of radicalization and the place of women on the political scene, from an international perspective. As part of her duties at the Chair, she currently holds a position as a research assistant and plans to continue her studies at graduate level.

Mathilde Vigneault is a third-year student in the International Relations program of the Université de Sherbrooke’s Bachelor of Applied Political Studies program. In the course of her studies, she has developed a keen interest in disinformation, particularly in relation to issues affecting ethnic minorities and climate change. As an intern at the Chair, she aims to acquire practical skills that will help her pursue her graduate studies.

Jason Wallin is Professor of Media and Youth Culture in Curriculum at the Faculty of Education of the University of Alberta. With over a decade of international field research about extreme music cultures and youth, Mr. Wallin created an opportunity to address problems of sexism, racism, and fascism related to the concerns of black metal producers and consumers. As part of Project SOMEONE, he coordinated and contributed (with Jessie L. Beier, University of Alberta) to the development of an anti-hate graphic novel based on youth interviews about personal experiences with hate and hate speech. The ‘anti-hate comic’ project was widely seen, having been exhibited around the world, profiled in numerous media interviews, and having comprised a visual centerpiece to UNESCO’s Summit on radicalization and extremism in Montréal.