Dr. David Walters
Project Director
University of Guelph
Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Dr. Walters has extensive leadership experience in a variety of roles, including key administrative and managerial responsibilities on collaborative projects involving academic and non-academic research. He has held lead roles in coordinating research activities, managing budgets, and supervising staff and team members. Dr. Walters is also currently working with ONCAT as PI on a project that is funding the data linkages for this partnership.
As Project Director and Principal Investigator, Dr. Walters is responsible for the overall leadership of the partnership, including overseeing the direction of all research activities, managing administrative and knowledge mobilization activities, and acting as lead consultant to the research team and partners.
Dr. David Zarifa
Co-Investigator
Nipissing University
Professor of Sociology Director of Nipissing University’s Research Data Centre
Canada Research Chair in Life Course Transitions in Northern and Rural Communities (Tier 2)
Dr. Zarifa has extensive leadership, mentorship, training, partnership building, and large-scale project management experiences with various stakeholders. Dr. Zarifa has published on topics related to postsecondary access, educational choices, school-work transitions, labour market outcomes, student achievement, adult literacy and skills, and Canada’s brain drain. He has worked extensively in partnerships using a number of Statistics Canada’s surveys, including the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP).
As co-investigator, Dr. Zarifa will play an active role in all stages of the research process, including the training and mentorship of graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows, data analysis, and knowledge exchange.
Dr. Gillian Parekh
Co-Investigator
York University
Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education
Canada Research Chair in Disability Studies in Education (Tier 2).
Dr. Parekh’s research explores barriers to access in education and the ways in which current schooling practices and policies limit opportunities, particularly for students with disabilities. She has published in journals across the fields of education, disability studies, sociology, and policy. Dr. Parekh has also worked as a researcher and research coordinator at the TDSB, contributing to her extensive experience managing, coordinating, and collaborating on large-scale, multi-sectoral, and mixed methods research projects in both academic and applied research environments. Her experience as a co-investigator on a SSHRC Partnership Grant, expertise in policy research, and her relationships with current partners on this project will be an asset to this partnership.
As co-investigator, Dr. Parekh will play a lead role in designing methodological and theoretical approaches that address issues of disability, programming, and education/employment access.
Dr. Rob Brown
Co-Investigator
York University
Adjunct Professor of Education
Dr. Brown brings expertise in survey design and data analysis to this project. He has an extensive background in education research, including 28 years’ experience with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB)’s Research and Development department where he was the principal investigator of the TDSB grade nine cohort dataset that is the basis for the analysis for this project. Dr. Brown retired from the TDSB in 2019.
Dr. Brown will analyze the postsecondary and labour market pathways of the TDSB grade nine cohorts after the data are linked to the ELMLP. Dr. Brown will also play a central role in expanding the scope of the partnership to non-academic partners, particularly Ontario school boards with which he has established and long-standing professional relationships.
Dr. Scott Davies
Co-Investigator
University of Toronto – Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Professor of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education
Canada Research Chair in Data, Equity, and Policy in Education (Tier 1)
Dr. Davies has expertise working with partners on research relating to educational inequalities, student achievement trajectories, and evaluating educational interventions. He has extensive experience in a variety of research initiatives involving data linking and partnering with educational organizations. Dr. Davies has been the Primary and Co-investigator for two SSHRC grants that involved an eight-year partnership with Ontario’s Ministry of Education, and he has been Primary Investigator for a SSHRC RDI grant that involved a lengthy partnership with the Educational Quality Assurance Office (EQAO). In a current pilot project, Dr. Davies linked TDSB and University of Toronto data to track the outcomes of students from grade 9 through university graduation. He is currently contracted with ONCAT to extend that data sharing partnership to include all of Toronto’s school boards and postsecondary institutions.
Dr. Davies will participate in research and knowledge mobilization activities, and his previous partnership experience will be utilized to help coordinate and expand the current partnership.
Dr. Karen Robson
Co-Investigator
McMaster University
Associate Professor in Sociology at McMaster University
Ontario Research Chair in Academic Achievement and At-Risk Youth
Dr. Robson’s research explores transitions to postsecondary education with a focus on barriers experienced by marginalized and historically underrepresented students. She has published books on research methods, statistics, and sociology of education, and she has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles across the fields of education and sociology.
Dr. Robson has worked collaboratively with several partner organizations on this project and will be actively involved in many activities on this PDG, including data analyses, partner collaboration and recruitment, knowledge mobilization, and student training.
