Our Staff

Jessica Johnson

Executive Editor and Creative Director

Jessica 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.
follow @ejessicajohnson on Twitter

Carmine Starnino

Editor-at-large

Carmine 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 Madwar

Managing Editor

Samia previously worked at Up Here and Canadian Geographic magazines. In her spare time, she specializes in impromptu travel.

Hamutal Dotan

Senior Editor

Prior 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.

Viviane Fairbank

Associate Editor

Viviane 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.

Harley Rustad (on leave)

Features Editor

Harley 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.

Daniel Viola

Features Editor

Previous to his work at The Walrus, Daniel was the editor-in-chief of Maisonneuve.

Carine Abouseif

Features Editor

Prior 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.
Follow @carineabouseif on Twitter

Tajja Isen

Digital Editor

Tajja 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.
Follow @tajjaisen on Twitter

Erin Sylvester

Head of Research

Erin’s work has been published in the Ryerson Review of Journalism, Torontoist, and the Calgary Herald.

Jonah Brunet

Copy Editor

Before 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.

Sean Young: Adventure Canada Fellow

Ariella Garmaise: Chawkers Fellow

Nicole Schmidt: Power Corporation of Canada Senior Fellow

JHR Editorial Fellow: Phoebe Sutherland

TD Fellow on Disability and Inclusion: Aimee Louw