Our Staff
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Jennifer HollettExecutive DirectorJennifer has worked as the head of news and government at Twitter Canada and is the co-founder of the fact-checking Super PAC App, which debuted at number one in the App Store. As an award-winning host, reporter, and producer, she’s covered stories across Canada and around the world with CBC News, CTV News, and MuchMusic. Jennifer has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA with a specialization in journalism and communications from Concordia University. Fun fact: her first job after Concordia involved answering emails for Céline Dion. |
Editorial
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Jessica JohnsonEditor-in-ChiefJessica is an award-winning journalist who has worked with a range of North American publications, including the Globe and Mail, National Post, Saturday Night, Lucky, Elle, and The New Republic. |
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Carmine StarninoEditor-at-largeCarmine was one of the founding editors of Maisonneuve magazine and a senior editor at Reader’s Digest Canada. He has published eight books, including This Way Out (2009), which was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry, and two collections of literary essays. Leviathan (2016) is his most recent collection of poetry. He was a finalist for PWAC’s Editor of the Year in 2011. |
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Samia MadwarManaging EditorSamia previously worked at Up Here and Canadian Geographic magazines. In her spare time, she specializes in impromptu travel.
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Hamutal DotanSenior EditorPrior to joining The Walrus, Hamutal edited long-form features for the Globe and Mail, commented on politics for the CBC, and led an online magazine to become the first to win a National Magazine Award without ever having issued a print edition. |
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Harley RustadFeatures EditorHarley is the author of Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees (2018). He has written for the Globe and Mail, Outside, the Guardian, and Geographical. |
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Daniel ViolaActing Digital EditorPrevious to his work at The Walrus, Daniel was the editor-in-chief of Maisonneuve.
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Carine AbouseifFeatures EditorPrior to her work at The Walrus, Carine edited news and features for the Globe and Mail. Her writing has appeared in the Globe, Maisonneuve and This Magazine. She also taught professional writing at the University of Toronto Mississauga. |
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Nicole SchmidtAssociate EditorPrior to joining The Walrus, Nicole was an assistant editor at Toronto Life. She has written for Maclean’s, the National Post, Yahoo, and Vice. Her first job was working as a magician at a toy store. |
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Erin SylvesterHead of ResearchErin’s work has been published in the Ryerson Review of Journalism, Torontoist, and the Calgary Herald.
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Jonah BrunetCopy EditorBefore joining The Walrus, Jonah was a freelance writer, fact checker, and copy editor. Apart from The Walrus, he has contributed to Toronto Life, This Magazine, and the Toronto Star. |
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Ariella GarmaiseEditorial AssistantBefore joining The Walrus, Ariella worked at Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and as an editor at the McGill Tribune. |
Connor Garel: Cannonbury FellowLucy Uprichard: Chawkers FellowAllison Baker: Power Corporation of Canada Senior Editorial FellowAaliyah Dasoo: The Walrus Editorial FellowJason Herterich: TD Fellow on Disability and Inclusion |
Art
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Paul KimDesign DirectorPaul joined The Walrus in 2005, and was previously an art director at Canadian Dimension.
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Meredith HoligroskiSenior DesignerMeredith has previously worked for the Globe and Mail and Toronto Life, and as a contributing designer on publications for the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and many others. |
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Natalie VinebergDesignerWhile Natalie was at McGill University, she was the creative director of the McGill Tribune. She is from Montreal and worked in chocolate stores for many years. |
Audience
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Bryan MaloneyDirector of Audience EngagementBryan has worked in book and magazine publishing for fourteen years. |
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Monita MohanMarketing ManagerMonita is a marketer by day and an entertainment writer by night. Previously, she was a copywriter at an ad agency working with brands like Microsoft and BlackBerry. She has also worked as a public relations professional at an international literature festival and a marketing writer at a Canadian nonprofit. She enjoys pop culture and is the TV/movies feature writer at Collider. |
Production
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Production DirectorMaria MusikkaMaria joined The Walrus in the fall of 2016. Her previous work experience includes Toronto Life, Fashion, Inside Entertainment and IAD. |
Events
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Andrea BoydDirector of Partnerships & SponsorshipsAndrea has worked in cultural sector fundraising, sponsorship, government relations, communications, and project management in the UK, Ireland, and Canada across a variety of cultural industries, including television and radio, music, and museums. |
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Cailin CooperHead of EventsCailin joined The Walrus in 2015. Previously, she worked on marketing, event coordination, and author programming at The Word On The Street Toronto, Canada’s largest book and magazine festival. |
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Emma Mackenzie HillierEvents ManagerEmma has worked in the performing arts for the past eight years as a producer and dramaturg with esteemed companies such as the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Nightswimming Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, and more. |
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Sheima Benembarek (on leave)Events ManagerSheima is a Moroccan Canadian freelance writer and publishing professional. She is a graduate of the Centennial College book, magazine, and electronic publishing program and has held various positions within the magazine sector. |
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Layla AhmadEvents ManagerLayla loves engaging audiences through different platforms in the arts-and-culture sector, including publishing, digital media, film festivals, and marketing. She has worked with the CBC, The Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, Second Story Press, and The Drake Hotel. |
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Alice Stratford-KurusEvents ManagerAlice enjoys bringing together diverse ideas and audiences. Her work in the cultural sector encompasses event management, fundraising, and community engagement at a range of organizations including the Gardiner Museum, Luminato, Seneca College, and Artscape. |
Digital
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Angela MisriDigital DirectorAn award-winning digital journalist who worked at the CBC for most of her career, Angela is also the author of the Portia Adams Adventure series, and Pickles vs. the Zombies (2019). She is also an instructor at Ryerson University. |
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Sheena RossiterSenior Digital ProducerSheena is an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and filmmaker. From 2013 to 2017, she was the Rio de Janeiro correspondent for Monocle magazine and a senior video journalist at DAZN. Before that, she was based in São Paulo, London, and Barcelona. Her audio and video work has been broadcast by the CBC, the BBC, and the New York Times, among others. She has produced various documentaries and podcasts, including 3 Siblings (2018). |
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Dmitry BeniaminovDigital ConsultantDmitry is a web guru and technology consultant specializing in digital transformation, technology education and all things web. |
Operations
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Karl PercyChief Financial OfficerKarl is a professional accountant (CPA-CGA) with over twenty-five years of experience in the media and entertainment sectors. |
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Tina Love ChoHead of Logistics and ProductionTina is a native Torontonian and an experienced tour manager who has travelled Canada with the Vinyl Cafe, Paul Brandt, and many more. |
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Jacqueline FaucherOffice ManagerJacqueline is captivated by all things writing—from proofreading to screenwriting. |
Development
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Laura LavieDevelopment DirectorLaura has been fundraising for a diverse range of nonprofits in the Middle East and Canada since 2005 and loves connecting individuals and organizations to causes they care about. Laura is formally trained in fine arts and completed her CFRE in 2017. She has led several fundraising efforts and campaigns at organizations including the Peres Center for Peace, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto, Child Development Institute, Luminato, and the Aga Khan Museum. |
The Walrus Lab
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Mihira LakshmanDirector of The Walrus LabMihira has more than a decade of experience at large and small companies in web, mobile, social media, television, radio, and print platforms. |
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Amirah El-Safty (on leave)Project ManagerAmirah has worked in almost every role imaginable at The Walrus. Her latest challenge has been growing The Walrus Lab to help financially support independent, fact-based journalism. She loves to garden and has a tiny dog named Paris. |
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Alana HamiltonProject ManagerBefore joining The Walrus, Alana worked on the agency side of the media sector for over a decade, with global brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola, and more. |
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Paul JaramilloAdvertising & Sales ManagerPaul has worked in the media sector for sixteen years, both on the agency side as the print buyer at the Procter & Gamble print agency of record, and on the sales side as a national account manager for Canadian Living, Elle Canada, and Style at Home. |
Emeritus
John Macfarlane
Editor Emeritus