Esther Martinez听
Educator and Founder,鈥疪a铆ces鈥�听
BA鈥��21,鈥疌hildren, Childhood & Youth听

LA&PS听alumna听Esther Martinez听was named鈥痮ne of鈥�91亚色鈥檚 2026 Top 30 Alumni Under鈥�30, recognized among鈥痑 distinguished鈥痝roup of鈥痽oung leaders making a鈥痬eaningful鈥痠mpact鈥痑round鈥痶he world. In recognition of鈥痟er鈥痑chievement,鈥痺e connected with听Esther听to better鈥痷nderstand how鈥痟er鈥痚xperience as a鈥疌hildren, Childhood & Youth听graduate鈥痗ontributed to where鈥痵he is鈥痶oday.鈥�

1. What career did you dream of pursuing in听undergrad, and where did your professional path听actually take听you after graduation?鈥�听听
   I always dreamed of becoming a teacher and working with children, yet, during my studies I realized how big the field of education was and I did not have to follow the traditional classroom career. While at 91亚色, my combination of work and leadership experiences gave me the opportunity to work with students at the post-secondary level听and from there a new dream was born. With my love for learning, I returned to 91亚色 to complete my graduate studies and specialized in post-secondary education. After graduating I founded听Ra铆ces, an initiative that supports my Latino community by providing youth with resources and opportunities on career exploration, mentorship and more. I听wouldn't听say my path was linear!鈥�
2. In what ways have the network and connections you made during your studies鈥痟elped you in your career?听
   Making connections was听a very important听factor as I was navigating my studies and career pathway. It required me to get outside of my comfort zone and听participate听at events to meet new people and work in areas I never thought I would enjoy. I came to understand the importance of having a community, people you look up to and could听ask听questions about their own journeys. Many of these new connections turned into new job opportunities and exploring new areas in my career.鈥�
3. What advice do you have for first year鈥疞A&PS鈥痵tudents?听
   Enjoy your studies and get involved! I encourage you to get involved in clubs听and听student groups that might relate to an interest or where you can contribute your skills, apply to campus jobs and attend networking events. You never know who you will meet by making new connections - a lifelong friend, a mentor, opening doors to a new job or internship opportunity and more.鈥�

Read the full article to explore all LA&PS Top 30 Under 30 alumni recipients.听

LA&PS professors honoured at this year鈥檚 President鈥檚 Research Awards听

On Wednesday, May 6, 15 members of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) were recognized for their research excellence and transformative impact across multiple categories at 91亚色鈥檚 President鈥檚 Research Awards. The annual awards program celebrates the creativity and outstanding research contributions of 91亚色鈥檚 faculty members. 

The LA&PS recipients are: 

Book Awards, Literary and Artistic Achievements 
Desiree de Jesus 鈥� Exhibition on Black Girlhood in Canada, Toronto International Film Festival 

Major Grants 
Ann Kim 鈥� Project grant, Academy of Korean Studies, Strategic Research Institute Program 

Other Learned Societies, Fellowships and Awards 
Jimmy Huang 鈥� Fellowship, The institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 
Christina Sharpe 鈥� Killam Prize, National Research Council of Canada 

Outstanding Early Career Awards 
Eric Kennedy 鈥� Ontario Early Researcher Award, Government of Ontario 

President鈥檚 Research Excellence Award (PREA) 
Jimmy Huang - President鈥檚 Research Excellence Award 

Significant Knowledge Mobilization & Impact Awards 
Pat Armstrong - King Charles III Coronation Medal 
Peter Constantinou - King Charles III Coronation Medal 
Sheila Embleton - King Charles III Coronation Medal 
Natasha Henry-Dixon - King Charles III Coronation Medal 
Akolisa Ufodike - King Charles III Coronation Medal 

President鈥檚 Research Impact Award (PRIA) 
Kerry Kawakami 鈥� President鈥檚 Research Impact Award 

YRCs and CRCs and Distinguished Research Professors 
Aimi Hamraie 鈥� Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Technology, Society and Disability 
Ian Stedman 鈥� Tier 2 91亚色 Research Chair in Law, Policy and Personalized Healthcare 
Ola Mohammed 鈥� Tier 2 Research Chair in Black Sonic Cultures 

Explore the full list of this year鈥檚 President鈥檚 Research Award recipients from across 91亚色. 

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) has announced the recipients of the November 2025 SSHRC Connection Grants. Ten 91亚色 research projects received funding.

Congratulations to the researchers from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) whose innovative projects were selected. These projects span a wide range of disciplines and demonstrate the depth and diversity of research expertise within our Faculty.

The one-year Connection Grant funding will support key knowledge-mobilization activities including events, workshops and outreach initiatives that help strengthen the impact and reach of this important work.

Projects involving LA&PS researchers are listed below.

Converging and Conflicting Buddhist Legal Frames: Secular Governances and Buddhist Transgressions, led by Alicia Turner (associate professor, Department of Humanities, LA&PS) with co-applicant Benjamin Berger (professor, Osgoode Hall Law School), received $24,619.

The Relational Turn: Looking Back, Thinking Ahead, led by Ruth Buchanan听(professor, Osgoode Hall Law School) and co-led by听Annie Bunting听(professor, Department of Social Science, LA&PS) and the University of Toronto, received $20,096

Waste-work: race, caste, and labour in the new global politics of disposability, led by Shubhra Gururani (associate professor, Department of Anthropology, LA&PS), received $23,503.

Monstrous Intimacies at 15, led by Tiana Reid (assistant professor, Department of English, LA&PS), received $24,055.

Col猫re et Espoir autour de la Palestine : Perspectives d'artistes et de chercheur.es en sciences sociales, co-led by Nadia Hasan (assistant professor, School of Gender, Sexuality & Women鈥檚 Studies, LA&PS) with partners from Universit茅 Laval and Universit茅 du Qu茅bec 脿 Montr茅al, received $24,997.

Respite, Care, and Ethics for Cultural Workers: A Traveling Symposium, led by OCAD University and co-led by听Casey Mecija听(associate professor, Department of Communication & Media Studies), received $49,996.

De l'茅conomie politique postcapitaliste 脿 l'utopie 鈥� Rencontre entre recherche en sciences sociales et pratiques artistiques, led by Saint Paul University and co-led by听Audrey Laurin-Lamothe听(associate professor, Department of Social Science, LA&PS) and partners from Lund University, Universit茅 Laval, and Universit茅 du Qu茅bec en Outaouais, received $23,646.

Lusophone Studies Association Meeting, 鈥淰oices and Visions: Lusophone Communities in the Global Landscape,鈥� led by the University of British Columbia and co-led by Robert Kenedy (associate professor, Department of Sociology, LA&PS), received $24,375.

罢贸: Tewatia'tar貌:rok Taetewatia'tak茅hnha', led by the University of Toronto and co-led by Jeremy Green (assistant professor, Department of Humanities, LA&PS), received $50,000.

Read the full story in YFile.

Ten 91亚色 professors have received $700,000 in funding from the Academy of Korean Studies, an agency of the South Korean Ministry of Education, with eight recipients based in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS). The funding will support Korea in the World: Connecting Korea and Korean Diasporic Legacies, a new project which will focus on Korea and the Korean diaspora.

Leading the project is Associate Professor听Ann Kim听(Department of Sociology, LA&PS), alongside Associate Professor听Laam Hae听(Department of Politics, LA&PS), Associate Professor听Theresa Hyun听(Department of Humanities, LA&PS), Associate Professor听Mihyon Jeon听(Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, LA&PS), Associate Professor听Hong Kal听(Department of Visual Art and Art History, ), Associate Professor听Janice Kim听(Department of History, LA&PS), Professor听Thomas Klassen听(School of Public Policy & Administration, LA&PS), Associate Professor听Ahrong Lee听(Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, LA&PS), Professor听Regina Lee听(Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, ) and Professor听Hyun Ok Park听(Department of Sociology, LA&PS).

Read the full article in YFile.

Alison Halsall, associate professor in the Department of Humanities, has received the Honor Book Award in for . The award recognizes outstanding book-length contributions to children's literature scholarship and criticism. Halsall鈥檚 widely praised book is a monograph of comics that depict difficult experiences affecting young people, including the complexities of queer graphic memoirs and narratives of belonging, illness, disability and Indigenous experiences.听Pat Lawrence from听 said, 鈥淗alsall seeks to enrich comics scholarship by bringing to it a deep understanding of childhood鈥檚 many narrative and political entanglements鈥攁 task that is timely and compelling. The book provides a wealth of insights and opportunities to continue the conversation, and in this way, it can be the foundation for many fruitful investigations into children鈥檚 culture and graphic narrative to come.鈥�

Halsall received her PhD from 91亚色. Her research interests include arts and culture, children and youth, social justice narratives, comics and graphic narratives, LGBTQ+ and Taylor Swift.

Learn more about the book on the .

A total of nine researchers at 91亚色, including four from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), received over $223,000 in funding through the Black Research Seed Fund. The fund supports Black scholars focusing on Black experiences and on projects that challenge systemic barriers while redefining knowledge creation.

The four LA&PS recipients are:

Damilola Adebayo,听assistant professor, Department of History
Taming the Niger River: The Kainji Dam and Socioeconomic Development in Twentieth-Century West Africa

Desir茅e de Jesus, assistant professor, Department of Communication & Media Studies From Archive to Imagination: Building Canada鈥檚 Future with Black Histories

Ola Mohammed, assistant professor, Department of Humanities
From the Margins to the Major: The Insurgent Archive of Black Studies at 91亚色

Salewa Olawoye, associate professor, Department of Social Science
Money Demystified: An Inclusive Monetary Theory

Congratulations to the recipients on their success.

Read the full story in YFile.

Canada鈥檚 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has awarded $5,786,741 in federal funding to 91亚色 researchers as part of the Insight Grants program. The funding supports 34 projects and builds on an additional $1.7M in funding that 91亚色 researchers recently received through SSHRC Insight Development Grants, supporting scholars in the social sciences and humanities. Half of the funded projects are led by researchers from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), who are listed below.

Kelly Bergstrom, Department of Communication & Media Studies
Project: Platforming Leisure: Navigating worker experiences of labour and leisure in the digital platform economy 
Funding: $228,512 

Marie-Helene Budworth, School of Human Resource Management
Project: Diversity at work: Beyond a monoracial framework 
Funding: $85,155 

Natalie Coulter, Department of Communication & Media Studies
Project: Understanding Our Digital Futures: KidTech, AdTech and Branded Content in the DigiVerse 
Funding: $291,354 

Benjamin Kelly, Department of History
Project: The Politics of Repression in Ancient Rome: Discourses and Practices 
Funding: $82,358 

Anja Krstic, School of Human Resource Management
Project: Increasing gender equality: An examination of why and how gender roles influence men's parental leave-taking decisions 
Funding: $112,174 

Geoffrey P.J. Lawrence, Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
Project: Examining Generative Artificial Intelligence in Post-Secondary English for Academic Purpose (EAP) Programs 
Funding: $89,678 

Matthew A. Leisinger, Department of Philosophy
Project: Ralph Cudworth's Freewill Manuscripts 
Funding: $77,009 

Bernard V. Lightman, Department of Humanities
Project: The collected letters of John Tyndall (1820鈥�1893), influential Victorian scientist: editing and publishing volumes 18 to 21 
Funding: $88,785 

Muyang Li, Department of Sociology
Project: Shaping the Future of AI: Artificial Intelligence Governance in Global Dynamics 
Funding: $93,966 

Marcel Martel, Department of History
Project: Un nouveau spiritueux: le cognac, la mondialisation et la temp茅rance au Canada et aux 脡tats-Unis, 1870鈥�1933 
Funding: $61,204 

Antulio Rosales, Department of Social Science
Project: Crypto-bans versus crypto expansions: explaining variation in cryptocurrency mining prohibitions across global north and global south contexts 
Funding: $279,986 

Anoosheh Rostamkalaei, School of Administrative Studies
Project: Entrepreneurial outcomes and liability of poorness 
Funding: $73,299 

Fuminori Toyasaki, School of Administrative Studies
Project: Collaboration between Competitors in Product Innovation 
Funding: $179,390 

Antonella Valeo, Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
Project: Context Matters: A Study of Corrective Feedback in Adult Language Teaching and Learning 
Funding: $199,630 

Alexandra E. Widmer, Department of Anthropology
Project: Disability Matters: Kinship Networks, Integration and the Social Consequences of Medical Diagnoses in Vanuatu 
Funding: $121,317 

David Weitzner, School of Administrative Studies
Project: Humanistic Stakeholder Theory and a Minimalist Ethics Litmus Test for Firm Purpose 
Funding: $190,790 

Jelena Zikic, School of Human Resource Management
Project: Are alternative careers sustainable? Towards health and well-being of immigrants across Canada 
Funding: $201,095 

Congratulations to all grant recipients and their team of researchers.

Read the full story in YFile.

Canada鈥檚 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has awarded $1.7 million in federal funding to 91亚色 researchers as part of the Insight Development Grants program. The program will provide funding for projects lasting up to two years, supporting a broad range of topics and disciplines as researchers investigate key societal challenges. A number of applicants from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies received funding for their projects, including:

Gemechu Abeshu, Department of Sociology 
Project: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Refugees Resettled in Canada through the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot鈥� 
贵耻苍诲颈苍驳:鈥�$62,498鈥�

Kelly Bergstrom, Department of Communication & Media Studies 
Project: Context Collisions and Critical Events: Investigating the True Crime Convention Circuit鈥� 
Funding: 鈥�$73,181鈥� 

Sheetala Bhat, Department of English 
Project: Long-distance Gods: Hindu Nationalism and the South Asian Diasporas in Canada鈥� 
Funding: $65,433鈥� 

Sarah Blake, Department of Humanities 
Project: Technologies of Beauty and Enslaved Practitioners in the Graeco-Roman World鈥� 
贵耻苍诲颈苍驳:鈥�$67,215

Zeyad El Nabolsy, Department of Philosophy 
Project: Theories of Education in Nineteenth-Century African Philosophy鈥� 
贵耻苍诲颈苍驳:鈥�$46,414鈥�

Denielle Elliott, Department of Anthropology, Department of Social Science 
Project: Cinematic Minds: Exploring brain injuries through science fiction horror film鈥� 
贵耻苍诲颈苍驳:鈥�$74,995

Ida Ferrara, Department of Economics 
Project: Advancing Gender Diversity in Leadership Positions: An Integrated Multidisciplinary Approach鈥� 
Funding: $60,720

Benjamin Kelly, Department of History 
Project: Space and Power in the Flavian Palace: 3D Digital Visualisations as Tools for Historical Research鈥� 
贵耻苍诲颈苍驳:鈥�$69,030鈥�

Sunwoo Lee, School of Administrative Studies 
Project: Retirement Planning for Low-Income Households in Canada鈥� 
Funding: $48,547鈥�

Sudeshna Maitra, Department of Economics鈥� 
Project: More Skilled Jobs or Subsidized Education? A Micro-to-Macro Approach to Evaluate Anti-Poverty Policy in India鈥� 
贵耻苍诲颈苍驳:鈥�$71,508鈥�

Margaret O鈥橞rien, Department of Philosophy 
Project: Disagreement, Standing, and Politics鈥� 
Funding: $43,751

Jacqueline Petropoulos, Department of English鈥� 
Project: Reanimating the Moderns: Canadian Adaptations of World Drama鈥� 
Funding: $65,820

Leila Pourtavaf, Department of History 
Project: From Gulistan to Lalezar: The Urban Life and Afterlife of Slavery in Tehran鈥� 
贵耻苍诲颈苍驳:鈥�$57,461鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Nicholas Taylor, Department of Communication & Media Studies鈥� 
Project: Building Good Relations鈥� 
Funding: $56,215

Natasha Tusikov, Department of Social Science
Project: Governance Challenges of Digital-Contraceptive Apps鈥� 
Funding: $74,918

Jun Zhao, Department of Economics鈥� 
Project: The Evaluation of Minority Preference Programs in Canada鈥� 
Funding: $53,823鈥� 

Jelena Zikic, School of Human Resource Management鈥� 
Project: How remote workers of an extreme type cope with the 鈥榗onnectivity paradox鈥�? From nomadic to lonely work lives鈥� 
Funding: $63,253

Congratulations to all LA&PS applicants and their team of researchers.

Read the full story in YFile.