Meet Sarah Saeidpour, a Research Assistant and Interim Research Manager on the GEEC team. Sarah is in her first year of the Bachelor of Education program at York University, and holds a B.A. in Early Childhood Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Sarah has experience working in a variety of educational settings with children and families, such as in preschools with specialized programming for children with disabilities, elementary classrooms, and resource consultation.
As a registered early childhood educator, Sarah highly values inclusion and accessibility. She is always looking for ways to increase child and family engagement in education, and is passionate about compiling or creating resources that are relevant to each child’s/family’s individual needs and experiences. Sarah strives to follow and advocate for frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning, and hopes to create spaces where children and families feel a sense of belonging and community.
As a member of the GEEC team, Sarah is looking forward to gaining more insight into the world of research, and discovering new resources that are relevant to her practice and goals. Sarah is excited to build and share her passion for equity and accessibility in education throughout her participation on the team.
Meet Aalim Makani, Research Manager of the GEEC team. Aalim completed his Honours Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Toronto, Scarborough. He is currently a second-year M.A. student in the psychological science program at Toronto Metropolitan University. His research focuses on emotion and decision-making across the adult lifespan.
As a member of the GEEC research team, Aalim looks forward to experiential learning with research outside the realm of Psychology. He is excited to bring a unique perspective to enhance equity and hopes to bring about change from the ground up for children in marginalized communities.
Meet Rimsha Ahmad, a Project Manager on the GEEC team. Rimsha will be starting her Master of Education in Fall 2023, having recently completed the requirements for her B.E.d. in the concurrent education program with York/ Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), and graduated with a B.A. in Early Childhood Studies at TMU. As a teacher, Rimsha is passionate about making education accessible to children in marginalized communities.
Rimsha recently volunteered at Pathways to Education, an organization that aims to provide equitable education to students in low-income communities. She is also a volunteer at The Citizens Foundation, a registered charity that aims to provide educational opportunities for unprivileged children across the world. Rimsha is excited to combine her experience working in such organizations with her passion for equitable education.
Rimsha has practical experience working with children in K-6 school settings and has completed various practicums with the Toronto District School Board. Through her work in the GEEC research group, Rimsha is excited to bring forth her experiences in the education system to enhance equity for marginalized communities.
What has @GEECResearchTO at Toronto Metropolitan University (recently renamed, formerly Ryerson University) been up to since Summer 2022? We are conducting a rapid review of Ontario elementary school board equity initiatives and policies, with the goal of creating opportunities for knowledge mobilization. Stay tuned for updates.
Meet the GEEC Research Team:
Meet Monica Tang, a Research Project Manager on the GEEC team. Monica has a B.A. in History, B.Ed. and M.Ed. where her research focused on the model minority myth and how Asian Canadian students experience racism in the education system. She is also an OCT, currently working as an elementary occasional teacher with the Peel District School Board.
Monica is currently pursuing her PhD in Language, Culture and Teaching at York University where she is planning to extend her M.Ed. research.
As a member of the GEEC research team, Monica is excited to bring her experience in the education system and knowledge of equity in education. She looks forward to collaborating with educators and community members to facilitate knowledge exchange, and work towards improving educational opportunities for marginalized students.
Meet Rimsha Ahmad, a Research Assistant on the GEEC team. Rimsha is a recent graduate of the Early Childhood Studies program at Toronto Metropolitan University and currently completing the B.Ed. program at York University. As a teacher candidate, Rimsha is passionate about making education accessible to children.
Rimsha is currently volunteering at Pathways to Education, an organization that aims to provide equitable education to students in low-income communities. She is also a volunteer at The Citizen’s Foundation, a registered charity that aims to provide educational opportunities for unprivileged children across the world. Rimsha is excited to combine her experience working in such organizations with her passion for equitable education.
Rimsha has practical experience working with children in K-6 school settings, and is currently completing a practicum with the Toronto District School Board. Through her work in the GEEC research group, Rimsha is eager to be able to critically analyze the school board equity policies and initiatives.
Meet, Aalim Makani, Research Project Manager of the GEEC team. Aalim completed his Honours Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Toronto, Scarborough. He is currently a second-year M.A. student in the psychological science program at Toronto Metropolitan University. His research focuses on emotion and decision-making across the adult lifespan.
As a member of the GEEC research team, Aalim looks forward to experiential learning with research outside the realm of Psychology. He is excited to bring a unique perspective to enhance equity and hopes to bring about change from the ground up for children in marginalized communities.
Meet Krissy Bemister, a Research Project Manager leading GEEC’s Model Schools for Inner Cities Research Team. Krissy completed her Psychology B.A. degree in 2018. Her undergraduate thesis, along with her more recent Research Assistant experiences in two projects based out of OISE investigating reading interventions and full day kindergarten, solidified her passion for research methods and applications.
Krissy is now pursuing her M.A. in Psychology at Ryerson University, where she investigates face and emotion perception in infancy.
Krissy is enthused by the potential to contribute to real change at the ground level for children in marginalized communities through her work in the GEEC research group.
Krissy has also had practical experience working with children ages 3 to 18 in an educational program, as well as through her array of research experiences. She utilizes her research skills on the GEEC team and expands her knowledge about community-engaged research and qualitative methods.
Meet Dr. Sejal Patel, an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Studies, in the Faculty of Community Services at Ryerson University. With training in developmental psychology and education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Dr. Patel held Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategic Training and Peterborough K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation post-doctoral fellowships at the Centre for Research on Inner City Health at St. Michael’s Hospital. She is an Affiliate Scientist in the Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital.
Dr. Patel’s research investigates the effects of innovation in (1) service provision and education, and (2) the designed environment, on inequities in children’s educational success and well-being. Her research on educational success and well-being considers children’s physical, language, cognitive, social, and emotional development. As a community-engaged scholar, Dr. Patel pursues her professional goals by collaborating with community partners to carry out intervention research with marginalized populations to help reduce inner city disparities, and to mobilize knowledge to help inform local practice and public policy.
Here are Dr. Patel and the GEEC team’s current projects:
School redesign and neighbourhood redevelopment: A study of educational success, families, and equity (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council [SSHRC] funded, Primary Investigator)
Reducing inequities in children’s educational success and family well-being in marginalized communities through innovation in public education (SSHRC funded, Primary Investigator)
Full-day kindergarten: Longitudinal effects on children’s educational success and well-being (SSHRC funded, Co-Investigator)
Natalie Cummins is a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) with a Masters in Environmental Studies who has worked with the GEEC research team for six years. What excites her about this this collaborative research group is the opportunity to “contribute to research that aims to reduce inequities for children and families.” Currently, she is the Research Project Manager for the School redesign and neighbourhood redevelopment: A longitudinal study of educational success families and equity and Reducing inequities in children’s educational success and family well-being in marginalized communities through innovation in public education projects.
After completing her Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies at Ryerson University, Natalie worked at Ryerson University’s Gerrard Resource Centre (GRC), Canada’s only university-based family support program, to develop environmental programs for children and families. In the program families explore their local parks through stories, hikes, play and inquiry-based activities. Natalie is also currently a RECE, Family Supports in the EarlyON program at the GRC.
Natalie’s graduate community-based participatory research project titled Semilla: A Community-University Partnership for Environmental Education brought together the voices of community members, students and school staff in the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in Costa Rica to co-develop an environmental education resource and highlight promising practices in community-university collaboration. You can read more about Natalie’s work here.
In GEEC Research, Natalie has been an integral part of the team. Most recently, she worked with Dr. Sejal Patel on a paper published in the journal Improving Schools titled Student and Staff Social Dynamics and Transitions during School Redesign.
Meet Katherine Benvenuto, a Research Assistant on the GEEC team. Katherine studied Psychology at York University. She chose to study psychology because of her interest in mental health, which eventually led her to find her passion in research design, specifically research methods and data analysis. Katherine has worked with the City of Toronto’s Parks and Recreation department where she guided community residents in navigating school and community institutions, and find resources. Currently, Katherine works with the GEEC Research team as a Research Assistant.
In the GEEC team, Katherine is excited to combine her experience working in communities with her passion for research design. Katherine is interested in the use of innovative research methods in community-engaged research. “I strongly believe that individuals’ actual experiences and voice adds context and value to the research you are doing,” she says. Currently, Katherine is working with the team to analyze data collected in the Reducing inequities in children’s educational success and family well-being in marginalized communities through innovation in public education project. What she likes most about this type of research is that it isn’t only for an academic audience but also works to mobilize findings with communities and has the potential to impact community members’ daily lives.
Earlier this year at GEEC, Katherine assisted with the School redesign and neighbourhood redevelopment: A longitudinal study of education success and well-being project. What she learned from this study was the potential impact of the physical built environment on healthy child development and child and family services.
