Our Staff
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Shelley AmbroseExecutive Director (outgoing)Shelley has been a newspaper reporter, a radio producer, a television producer, a producer of events large and small, a committed volunteer, and a lover of books, magazines, conversation, and Canada. In 2006, she joined The Walrus. In her spare time, she clips newspapers and makes lists. |
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Jennifer HollettExecutive Director (incoming)Jennifer 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 JohnsonExecutive Editor and Creative DirectorJessica 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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Viviane FairbankAssociate EditorViviane has written and fact-checked for Harper’s, NPR, TVO, Toronto Life, and Smithsonian, and she was nominated for best new writer at the 2017 National Magazine Awards. She also studies mathematics. |
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Harley Rustad (on leave)Features 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 ViolaFeatures 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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Tajja IsenDigital EditorTajja has written for BuzzFeed, Longreads, Literary Hub and various other publications. She is a co-editor of the forthcoming essay anthology House on Fire: Dispatches from a Climate-Changed World and a contributing editor at Catapult. She has also provided voices for dozens of cartoon characters. |
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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. |
Facebook Journalism Project Fellow: Nikky ManfrediCannonbury Fellow: Sophie WeilerRoss/Gordey Fellow: Abi HaywardJHR Editorial Fellow: Phoebe Sutherland |
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. |
Circulation
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Bryan MaloneyDirector of Audience EngagementBryan has worked in book and magazine publishing for fourteen years. |
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 Hillier (on leave)Events 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 BenembarekEvents ManagerSheima is a Moroccan Canadian Toronto-based freelance writer and publishing professional. She has held various positions within the magazine sector and previously worked as a book co-edition editor in Montreal. She has a graduate degree from Centennial College in book, magazine, and electronic publishing and is completing a University of King’s College MFA in creative nonfiction. |
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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, 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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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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Aimée IppersielDirector of Strategy & CommunicationAimée has worked in the cultural sector for twenty years, guiding renewal, growing audience, and strengthening organizational resilience. |
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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. |
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Hilary JohnstonManager of Donor StewardshipHilary is a musician turned arts administrator turned communicator. |
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Christina PapantoniouDevelopment OfficerChristina has worked in the non-profit sector for almost fifteen years, supporting museums, art galleries, and now The Walrus. |
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Alex LomaxMajor Gifts OfficerSince moving to Canada from the UK, Alex has been an environmental advocate, a Beavertails seller, a women’s rights advocate, and a general mover of people. When she isn’t putting her efforts into promoting another famous Canadian animal, The Walrus, Alex enjoys special interest magazines and staying indoors. |
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-SaftyProject 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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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