Faculty Fellow | The Harriet Tubman Institute

Deborah Neill

rebsl — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:33:37 +0000

I am an Associate Professor of Modern European History at �첥��Ƶ in Toronto. I focus on the history of European imperialism in Africa, the history of the two World Wars, and the history of colonial medicine. My first book, Networks in Tropical Medicine: Internationalism, Colonialism, and the Rise of a Medical Specialty, was published by Stanford University Press in 2012.

I have two current projects: my manuscript-in-progress explores the expansion of the commodities and retail firm John Holt & Co (Liverpool) in non-British colonies (French Equatorial Africa, Spanish Equatorial Guinea, and German Kamerun) in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I am interested in the relationship of the company to foreign governments, the expansion of their regional trade in the Gulf of Guinea, and the experiences of their European and African employees.

My second project explores aspects of the First World War in Cameroun. I have articles in progress on African telegraphers, guides, and spies who assisted the British; the experiences of John Holt & Co. agents and traders during the war; and the way that John Holt & Co.'s business was impacted by the war and the aftermath, when the territory became a Mandate under the League of Nations, controlled by the British and French governments.

My teaching interests are broadly focused on the history of modern Europe and Imperialism since 1789 and includes colonialism, World Wars One and Two, the Holocaust, Modern Germany, Modern France, War, Revolution and Society in the 20th century, and Globalization.

Keywords: Colonial Capitalism, John Holt & Co. , Transnational Business, Rubber, Palm Oil, Western Africa

Muna-Udbi Ali

rebsl — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:27:39 +0000

Dr. Muna-Udbi A. Ali (she/they) is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environment and Urban Change (EUC), specializing in Black Studies in Geography and Environment, at �첥��Ƶ in Toronto, Canada. Before joining the faculty of EUC, Ali worked as an Assistant Professor at California State University San Marcos, and as a Visiting Faculty member at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Trained as an interdisciplinary scholar, her primary research covers diverse theoretical foci including Black studies, critical refugee and migration studies, critical race studies, Black feminist studies, Black geographies, transnational feminism, environmental justice, popular education, critical Muslim studies, public policy, critical pedagogy, and higher education studies. She has published several book chapters and scholarly articles in journals including The Black Scholar, Darkmatter, Reconsidering Development, and The Conversation, among others. Outside of academia, Ali is a community worker, curriculum and policy consultant, researcher, and anti-oppression educator. She has designed curricula and policies on gender-based violence, Afrocentric education, and anti-racist praxis. She has worked in education and curriculum development in Canada, United States, Kenya, and Somalia.

Keywords: Black Studies, Black geographies, Black feminist theories and methods, critical refugee studies, higher education studies, critical pedagogy, popular education, environmental justice, public policy, and surveillance studies.

Adeyemi Olusola

rebsl — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:00:04 +0000

Adeyemi Olusola is a hydrogeomorphologist whose research examines river processes and changing waterscapes using high-resolution in situ measurements, remote sensing, and machine learning. His work bridges field-based hydrogeomorphology with data-intensive methods to better understand how rivers respond to environmental change and human intervention. He currently serves as Theme 3 Lead for the International Association of Hydrological Sciences HELPING Initiative (Hydrology Engaging Local People IN one Global world) for the decade (2023 – 2033), where he contributes to advancing inclusive and community-engaged water science. He is also an active member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committees of both the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU) and the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

Keywords: Rivers, Human-Water Interactions, Decolonizing Hydrology

Michael Kalu

rebsl — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:29:34 +0000

Dr. Michael Kalu is an assistant professor of Rehabilitation Therapy in the School of Kinesiology and Health. His research spans a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach to mobility assessment, addressing prevention, improvement, and maintenance of mobility in older adults across Africa and Canada. He also explores the use of artificial intelligence and related technologies to enhance the quality of life for Black older adults, employing Afrocentric methodologies to advance social and health equity in Canada and Africa. Read more about his projects and how to get involved at /research/project/m4aginglab/.

Keywords: Mobility, Afrocentric, Health equity, Social equity, Technology and AI

Sylvia Esther Gyan

rebsl — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:47:22 +0000

Sylvia Esther Gyan (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Ghana and a visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology, �첥��Ƶ, with over a decade of experience in teaching and research. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses and actively mentors and supervises students. From December 2018 to November 2023, she was an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the College of Public Health, University of South Florida. In 2019, she was named an African Studies Association Carnegie Corporation of New York Scholar.

Sylvia’s research focuses on the Sociology of Health, with emphasis on adolescent sexual and reproductive health, maternal health, and child marriage. Her broader academic interests include Family Demography, Gender Studies, Climate Change, Ageing, and Migration. She has contributed to several notable projects, including serving as Co-Principal Investigator on "Utilising AI to Promote Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes for Adolescents with Disabilities in Ghana," funded by IDRC through the Infectious Disease Institute’s HASH program (Feb. 2023 – July 2024). She currently leads a project funded by the Horizons Institute Pump-prime Fund, University of Leeds, titled “Co-Creating Resilient Communities for Female Adolescent Migrants (‘Kayayei’) in Ghana.” This project integrates sociological methods and participatory visual art approaches to explore the lived experiences of girls under 16 who migrate from northern Ghana to Accra to work as head porters. Sylvia has also conducted research on sexual behaviours among older adults in Ghana, addressing a critical gap in global health literature. While most studies in this area originate from the Global North, her work brings much-needed focus to the sociocultural dynamics of ageing and sexuality in sub-Saharan Africa, a topic often considered taboo.

Her expertise and research continue to inform and influence discussions on health, gender, and development both within Ghana and beyond. Her research has been published in high-quality international journals, including Current Sociology, Archives of Sexual Behaviour, and Journal of Biosocial Science.

Beyond academic scholarship, Sylvia is deeply committed to collaborative research that addresses pressing societal challenges. Her work frequently centres on women in vulnerable situations, to inform policies and interventions that enhance their well-being.

Keywords: Africa, Ghana, Adolescent, Health, Migration, Climate Change, HIV, Intimate Partner Violence, Gender

Syreeta Hector

rebsl — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 18:21:19 +0000

Syreeta Hector is a dance artist and educator in Toronto, Ontario. As a highly accomplished performer, she has worked for internationally recognized companies such as Adelheid Dance Projects, Danny Grossman Dance Company, Peggy Baker Dance Projects, and Toronto Dance Theatre. She is a proud graduate of The National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, and has achieved her Master of Arts in Dance from �첥��Ƶ.

Her solo work “Black Ballerina” focuses on the dualities within one’s identity, along with Syreeta’s blackness and indigeneity in relationship to classical ballet. As a work in progress the solo gained recognition at the SummerWorks Festival (2019) and won the Stratford Festival Lab Award for Research and Creation. This condensed version of the piece was also performed at the Citadel Dance Mix and received a Dora Mavor Moore nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Individual. Most recently, the full length version was live streamed through the online dance series “Citadel Live,” garnering record viewership. Due to the overwhelming response it was rebroadcast on the Harbourfront Centre streaming platform. This full length work is now touring live across Canada.

Syreeta has participated in the Creator’s in Residence Program at Canadian Stage, the Creative Encounters Residency Program at ProArteDanza, and the Artist in Residence Program at Luminato.

Most recently, Syreeta has been commissioned by Mocean Dance (Nova Scotia) and ProArteDanza (Ontario) to create ensemble works. She is also currently supported by the Concept to Realization Program at the Canada Council for the Arts to create a new work which will act as the second chapter in her “Black Ballerina” series.

Keywords: Black Canadian Studies, Dance, Performance, Ballet, Choreography

Minakshi Das

rebsl — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 20:36:20 +0000

Experienced educator, researcher and community development leader with 20 years of professional experience in Social and Public policy. I have been doing strategic policy and socio-economic research work since last fifteen years. My roles have focused extensively on social and human service issues, including health equity, violence prevention, indigenous health and ecology, governance, child rights and gender justice. I have been particularly interested in the development of strategic and tactical initiatives that address the factors of structural inequities impacting disadvantaged and marginalized populations. To this effect, I have led complex policy and data analyses to inform evidence based policy frameworks.
Excellent command over qualitative and mixed method research. Extensive global fieldwork experience with disadvantaged region and vulnerable communities.
Minakshi has working experience with London School of Economics and Political Science, U.K, �첥��Ƶ Canada, University of Toronto, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, DFID, and DANTB. She provides professional leadership to the Board of Directors on community development and well-being. Dr. Das develops strategies and action plans to meet organizational objectives, anticipates, analyzes and resolves problems. She has good command over digital fluency and considerable numbers of international and national publications are relevant credentials. Dr. Das possesses a certificate on conflict resolution and peace management.

Keywords: Global health governance, Health Equity, Environmental health and community engagement, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding

Zeyad El Nabolsy

rebsl — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 20:16:58 +0000

I specialize in the history of Africana philosophy with a focus on modern African philosophy. I have previously published on Amílcar Cabral’s philosophy of culture, methodological debates about racism and ideology in the historiography of philosophy, classical German philosophy (especially Kant and Hegel), Paulin Hountondji’s philosophy of science, modern African political and social philosophy (with a focus on African Marxism), and ancient Egyptian philosophy.

I am currently working on a comparative intellectual history of nineteenth African philosophy with a focus on James Africanus Beale Horton (in West Africa) and Rifa'a al-Tahtawi (in Egypt), in addition to a manuscript on Paulin Hountondji.

Keywords: African philosophy; African intellectual history; history of science in Africa

Gemechu Abeshu

rebsl — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 20:36:20 +0000

Dr. Gemechu Abeshu is a refugee and forced migration researcher currently employed as a postdoctoral fellow at �첥��Ƶ. He is presently a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellow seated in the Department of Sociology at �첥��Ƶ. He earned his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Bayreuth University (Germany) and an M.A. in Governance and Development Studies from Antwerp University (Belgium). His research interests include African Diaspora, forced displacements, racialized refugee integration, and non-state political power forms, the Horn of Africa.

Tamanisha J. John

rebsl — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 20:04:48 +0000

Dr. Tamanisha J. John is an Assistant Professor of Black Politics in the Department of Politics.

Prior to joining �첥��Ƶ's Department of Politics in July 2023, she was an Assistant Professor of International Political Economy at Clark Atlanta University's Mack H. Jones Department of Political Science. Dr. John studies Caribbean development, sovereignty and politics, as well as Canadian foreign policy, economic imperialism, financial exclusion, and corporate power. She has published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Class, Race and Corporate Power, the Review of Radical Political Economy, and Social and Economic Studies.

Tamanisha received her Ph.D. in 2021 from Florida International University, and her dissertation Canadian Banks and Imperialism in the English-Speaking Caribbean, won the 2022 Best Dissertation Award from the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA).

Keywords: Capitalism, Caribbean, Colonialism, Development, Underdevelopment