Christine Mishra
Project Manager of START-Ed
Senior Coordinator of Academic Partnerships
PhD Student
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Christine is a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where her research focuses on the transferable skill development in Higher Education. She completed her masters at the University of Guelph in 2022, focusing on similar topics. Prior to graduate school she was a high school teacher in Regina, Saskatchewan for 7 years, and an Outdoor Educator for the Grand River Conservation Authority near Guelph. She has extensive volunteer board, committee, and event management experience.
Christine is the Project Manager for START-Ed, where she is responsible for financial management of the project, coordination of communication among the research team, Advisory Council, and with partners. She is also the senior coordinator of academic partners for the SSHRC partnership grant application which is the next phase of START-Ed’s work.. She has also contributed to the recent Apprenticeship reports as a research assistant.
Addison Kornel
Senior Partnership Coordinator for START-Ed
PhD Student
University of Guelph
Addison is a PhD student in the Sociology program at the University of Guelph. He earned his MA in Criminology in 2023 from the University of Windsor where he specialized in housing research. He completed a BAH in Sociology in 2021.
Addison’s role is Senior Partnership Coordinator, where he leverages his experience in project-building for non-profit organizations to foster meaningful partnership involvement in the project. Addison is currently studying home ownership in Canada. His research centres on the salience of the home ownership ideal among Canadians and the factors associated with it.
J Sparks
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
University of Guelph
Dr. Sparks is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Guelph with funding from the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT). Dr. Sparks has a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Toronto. Their research expertise include: first-generation students, transfer & student mobility, student services, post-secondary student parents, & family (parent) involvement in relation to student success. Dr. Sparks’ dissertation research has expanded scholarly understandings of the familial supports that contribute to student success in Ontario’s colleges. Dr. Sparks’ research on parent involvement in education is featured in the Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education, Renewal: A Journal for Waldorf Education, and in The Conversation. Dr. Sparks joined the START-Ed team in 2023.
Alexandra Pulchny
Research Associate
PhD
McMaster University
Alexandra Pulchny received her Ph.D. in Sociology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario (’25). Her research focuses on the factors associated with students’ support systems, sense of belonging, and transitions to post-secondary education (PSE), with a particular focus on addressing and removing barriers in access to PSE for underrepresented youth in Canada. She has contributed to a wide range of interdisciplinary research initiatives, including projects on student transitions to post-secondary education, after-school program evaluations, the impacts of research ethics processes on teaching and learning, and Indigenous education studies.
Alain Carlson
Research Assistant
PhD Candidate
Nipissing University
Alain is an Education PhD Candidate at Nipissing University. Alain’s doctoral research examines underemployment, knowledge/skills mismatch, and job satisfaction in Canadian university graduates through quantitative analysis of data from Statistics Canada’s National Graduates Survey and the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform. He is interested in establishing a better understanding of employment outcomes among disadvantaged and marginalized university graduates, and in determining how barriers can be addressed in order for these graduates to obtain employment outcomes commensurate with their knowledge, skills, and experience.
Anthony Moots
Research Assistant
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Doctor of Education (EdD) Student
Anthony completed his undergraduate degree in Physics and Computer Science at the University of Toronto, and then his Master of Business Administration at the Rotman School of Management. Anthony is a co-founder of a small software company in the residential construction industry. There, he manages operations across his team, focusing on inter- and intra-departmental processes. He has also spent time in the financial services sector in compliance and enterprise risk management.
Anthony’s research is on understanding students’ transition from education into the skilled trades workforce using demographic data analysis of the TDSB, PSIS and ELMLP datasets.
Nida Ansari
Research Assistant
MSc Student
University of Guelph
Nida is a BA Hons. graduate (Psychology/French Studies) and a current MSc student (Integrative Biology) at the University of Guelph. With interdisciplinary research interests in higher education, she has a passion for pedagogy, student/learner engagement, and eliminating educational barriers.
Within START-Ed, Nida investigates and analyzes secondary to postsecondary pathways and outcomes of non-traditional students using datasets provided by Statistics Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Nida’s master’s research otherwise investigates the current learning experiences of students in STEM and how those experiences inform students’ decision-making in their careers, especially as it relates to community engagement and involvement. Her research is funded through the Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC) and she is the 2024 recipient of the OCUFA Henry Mandelbaum Graduate Fellowship for Excellence in Social Sciences, Humanities, or Arts.
Paige Saunders
Indigenous Partner Liaison
MA Student
Univeristy of Guelph
Paige Saunders is a graduate student in the department of Sociology and Anthropology. She is in the Public Issues Anthropology stream with a specialization in Cultural Revitalization. Paige is currently working with the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation on Cultural Revitalization in their community. She uses Indigenous methodologies within her work.
Paige is mixed Cree-Métis on her father’s side, with heritage to Red River Manitoba, Batoche, Duck Lake and Marcelin Saskatchewan. She currently lives in Guelph, Ontario, on the treaty lands of the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation, Between the Lakes Treaty and the Dish with One Spoon covenant land.
Paige will be focusing on the Indigenous lens throughout this partnership. She will be working alongside different Indigenous organizations and partners to ensure they are being consulted and engaged throughout this project.
Anna Renee Henry
Research Assistant
MA Student
University of Guelph
Anna is an MA student in Sociology at the University of Guelph. In 2023, she completed a B.A. in Social Development Studies at the University of Waterloo, with Minors in Sociology and Psychology. She was the 2023 recipient of the Alumni Gold Medal for academic achievement, representing the Faculty of Arts. She is currently a member of two research teams, working with Dr. David Walters studying school-to-work transitions from higher education, and with Dr. Sharon Roberts in the Anthropomorphic Research Group. She is the co-author of two chapters in Furscience: A Decade of Psychological Research on the Furry Fandom (2023).
Her current research focuses on disability and stigma, particularly mental illness. Her master’s thesis will examine TikTok videos of people with OCD, with a view to understanding how they contribute to the discourse around disability, stigma, and the vital work of destigmatization. Her undergraduate thesis studied the relationship between undergraduate students’ formal education on OCD, their ability to recognize highly stigmatized subtypes of OCD, and the presence of stigmatizing attitudes surrounding it. She is currently working on a draft paper on that research to be submitted for peer-review.
Recent Researchers
Terry Yip
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Nipissing University
Trisha Einmann
PhD Candidate
University of Guelph
Emmanuel Rohn
PhD Student
University of Guelph
Emerson LaCroix
PhD Candidate
University of Waterloo
Yeana Kim
MA Student
University of Guelph
Donia Zeng
Undergraduate Student
University of Guelph
Alison Burns
MA Student
University of Guelph
Avery Beall
Research Affiliate
Nipissing University & Statistics Canada
