Practitioners in Residence and Policy Fellows

Mr. Goffin was lead negotiator for Canada in renegotiation of the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health. Between 2020 and 2024 Mr. Goffin led development of the Canada Water Agency, responsible for improving freshwater management in Canada by providing leadership, effective collaboration federally, and improved coordination and collaboration with provinces, territories,, Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders and the public to proactively address national, and regional transboundary freshwater challenges and opportunities.

Mr. Goffin received his undergraduate training in environmental studies from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science degree in Geomorphology, also from the University of Toronto.

He was an executive and founder member of the Growing Food and Justice for All Initiative based in Milwaukee, USA; was an executive and founder member of the Community Food Security Coalition of North America; past Committee Member of Toronto Region and Conservation Authority Humber Watershed Alliance; and a member of the City of Toronto Food Policy Council. He is also presently a Board member of Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, and food policy consultant of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network.

Since 2019, Anan has managed Black Food Sovereignty Toronto. He is a food sovereignty community consultant with the City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism unit (CABR). Over his career, Mr. Lololi has done extensive community and policy work in the areas of equity, food justice, community food security, food sovereignty, social justice, and anti-racism, including training, community development, organizing and running equity/diversity management, community economic development, and youth leadership development programs. To date, he has personally worked with two urban farms as a farm manager, trained over 50 Black Farmers, animated over 100 community/backyard gardens, and engaged over 1,200 gardeners in Toronto in community garden animation and leadership training. Anan’s main body of work has recently focused on Black Food Sovereignty policy in Toronto.

At TMU she is the co-founder and co-instructor of the unique Women in the House program and she chairs the TRSM advisory board for the Centre for Labour Management Relations. A recipient of the Order of Canada, and an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Brock University, Nash shares her expertise in labour, democracy and gender equity.

In April 2016, Omidvar was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent senator representing Ontario. Senator Omidvar was the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology and served as Deputy Chair of the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector. She was also a Vice-President of the Canada-Germany Parliamentary Group.

Previously a Distinguished Visiting Professor at TMU, Senator founded the Global Diversity Exchange, a think-and-do tank on diversity, migration, and inclusion. Prior to this appointment, Senator Omidvar was the President of Maytree, where she played a lead role in local, national and international efforts to promote the integration of immigrants.

Senator Omidvar is co-author of Flight and Freedom: Stories of Escape to Canada (2015), an Open Book Toronto best book of 2015 and one of the Toronto Star's top five good reads from Word on the Street. She is also a contributor to The Harper Factor (2016) and co-editor of Five Good Ideas: Practical Strategies for Non-Profit Success (2011). Senator Omidvar received a Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, from Ryerson University in 2018.

Senator Omidvar was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2005 and became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011, with both honours recognizing her advocacy work on behalf of immigrants and devotion to reducing inequality in Canada. In 2014, she received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of  relations.

Senator Omidvar has also been recognized by Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, by being named as its Nation Builder of the Decade for Citizenship in 2010. She was named to the inaugural Global Diversity List sponsored by The Economist magazine in 2015, as one of the Top 10 Diversity Champions worldwide. In 2016, she also received Lifetime Achievement Awards from CivicAction and the Canadian Urban Institute, honouring her strong commitment to civic leadership and city building. In 2018, Senator Omidvar was named as one of the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award winners and in 2019 she received the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from Tufts University.

Appointment of a public policy leader to support affiliated graduate programs (PhD, MPPA) and new leadership development programming for institute of Democratic Leadership and Participation and Institute for Public Policy/Public Service Leadership.

Aretha Phillip is an accomplished public servant with more than 25 years of experience in community engagement, government relations, municipal management and partnership development.  She has a proven track record in developing innovative partnerships and collaborative programs and has brought that lens to her work as the City of Toronto’s Chief of Protocol and External Relations since 2020. She has led large scale initiatives across the City within Economic Development and Culture, Toronto Office of Partnerships, and the Public Appointment Secretariat.

Her career began at Queen's Park working for Honourable Bob Rae, former Premier of Ontario and the Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues where her love of public service began. These early experiences served as the foundation for her passion and understanding of the importance of government having strong relationships and engagement with the communities it serves and fostering civic pride and a sense of belonging with its residents.

She is also the former Co-Chair of the Toronto Public Service's first Black Staff Network championing the City's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation.

He sat on the federal government’s advisory committee on poverty reduction, was Research Director for the Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults and is a former Innovation Fellow at the Metcalf Foundation, a position he held for 14 years. He is former Chair of Ontario Soldiers’ Aid Commission, former volunteer with WoodGreen Community Services of Toronto, and is currently a volunteer with West Neighbourhood House. John served on the Board of Directors of the Daily Bread Food Bank and has been a policy advisor on food and poverty, and food security and seniors. He works with a number of grass roots advocacy groups including the Social Assistance Coalition of Scarborough and the ODSP Action Group. He has also published work on challenges facing immigrant seniors, ethno-racial housing displacement, disability policy, and Canada’s retirement income system from a social equity and justice perspective. He has taught courses on public policy to a wide range of students and community members including a long-standing series on low-income retirement planning at the Toronto Public Library.

John has published op-eds and articles in the Globe & Mail, National Post and the Toronto Star. He has written reviews for the Literary Review of Canada and numerous articles and reports for Ideas that Matter, the University of Toronto, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the C.D. Howe Institute, Realize, the Caledon Institute, the Wellesley Institute, The Toronto Dominion Financial Group, the Metcalf Foundation, the Ontario Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, Employment and Social Development Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Civic Action, Policy Options, Toronto.com and many others.