University of Calgary

Abdie Kazemipur is professor of sociology and Chair of Ethnic Studies at the University of Calgary. He is also the Academic Director of Prairie Regional Research Data Centre, and the past president of Canadian Sociological Association (2021-22). Previously, he held the Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Culture Change and Immigration at Memorial University, and the University Scholar Chair at University of Lethbridge. He received his BA and MA in sociology from University of Tehran (Iran) and his Ph.D. from University of Manitoba (Canada). Kazemipur has authored 12 books and many journal articles and book chapters on his two principal research areas – socio-cultural trends in Iran, and socio-economic experiences of immigrants in Canada – writing in both English and Farsi. He received several recognitions for his works, including the John Porter Award (2015) from Canadian Sociological Association for his book, The Muslim Question in Canada (UBCP, 2014); the Book of the Year Award (2024) from Canadian Society for the Study of Religion for his book, Sacred as Secular: Secularization Under Theocracy in Iran (2022); and Honorable Mention for Louis Wirth Best Article Award (2024) from American Sociological Association for his article, Homo-Emigraturus vs. Anti-Emigraturus (2023, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies); and the Canadian National Metropolis Researcher Award (2018). For more information on his works, visit: www.abdiekazemipur.com.

Saint Mary’s University

Min-Jung Kwak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Saint Mary’s University. She is an economic and social geographer with broad research interests in ethnicity, race, gender and migration. She has conducted research projects on international education industry, ethnic economies, and transnational education migrant family experiences. More recently, her research foci include the cross-border dynamics of education migration and the accessibility and transnational dimension of immigrant healthcare services. She is co-editor of the book entitled Outward and Upward Mobilities: International Students in Canada, Their Families, and Structuring Institutions (University of Toronto Press 2019). Over the last twenty years, Dr. Kwak has worked with various immigrant groups in major Canadian cities (e.g., Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax) and of the groups, she has developed significant research partnerships with Korean-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian communities.

University of Regina

Henry Chow is a Professor and Graduate Program Co-ordinator in the Department of Sociology and Social Studies at the University of Regina. Professor Chow obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1997. Prior to his appointment at the University of Regina, he taught at the University of Calgary in Alberta (1997-1999) and Trent University in Ontario (1996). From 1999-2011, he served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Sociology at Calgary.

Professor Chow’s primary teaching and research interests are in the areas of immigration and multiculturalism, immigrant and refugee settlement, criminology and criminal justice, social gerontology, the sociology of education, the sociology of religion, quantitative analysis, and survey research methods. His publications appear in  His peer-reviewed publications appear in Alberta Journal of Educational Research, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Canadian Ethnic Studies, Canadian Journal of Criminology, Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Death Studies, Ethnicity and Health, Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, International Journal of Academic Research in Education, International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education, International  Journal of Research in Sociology and Anthropology, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Journal of Identity and Migration Studies, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Journal of Penal Law and Criminology, Journal of Population and Social Studies, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, Prairie Forum, Social Indicators Research, and Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal.

Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

Dr. Shibao Guo is Professor at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. Over the past twenty years as a transnational academic and scholar, Dr. Guo has developed research expertise in the areas of transnational migration, diaspora studies, Chinese immigrants in Canada, ethnic and race relations, and comparative and international education. Dr. Guo’s research has been funded by a number of organizations, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada; International Organization for Migration; and Education International. He has numerous publications including books, journal articles, and book chapters. His latest books include: Decolonising lifelong learning in the context of transnational migration (Routledge, 2020), Immigration, racial and ethnic studies in 150 years of Canada: Retrospects and prospects  (Brill|Sense, 2018). Currently he serves as co-editor of Canadian Ethnic Studies and two book series for Brill|Sense  Publishers: Transnational Migration and Education and Spotlight on China. He is also past president of the Comparative  and International Education Society of Canada (CIESC).

University of Lethbridge

Hamid Akbury is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge.  Prior to joining the University of Lethbridge, he obtained a Ph.D. (2022) and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023) at the University of Calgary.  In addition, he worked as an Analyst for Statistics Canada’s Prairie Regional Data Centre.  His teaching and research interests are in the areas of sociology of migration, ethnicity and racialization, research methods, and masculinities.  He has taught several courses related to these areas at the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge, and his publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals.  Hamid Akbary is currently completing a book manuscript on the socio-economic outcomes and gender identity reconstruction of Afghan migrants in Canada (UBC Press), and he is also the Principal investigator of a SSHRC-funded research project, which examines the role of racial biases in Canadian immigration policies and the public perception of refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

University of Alberta

Yasmeen Abu-Laban is Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta.  Her research interests centre on the Canadian and comparative dimensions of ethnic and gender politics;  immigration policies and politics; multiculturalism, human rights and anti-racism; as well as surveillance and border control.   Her recent books include (with Ethel Tungohan and Christina Gabriel) Containing Diversity:  Canada and the Politics of Immigration in the 21st Century (University of Toronto Press, 2023), and (with Abigail B. Bakan) Israel, Palestine and the Politics of Race (Bloomsbury/IB Tauris, 2020).  She is also co-editor (with Alain-G. Gagnon and Arjun Tremblay) of a book inspired by the 50th anniversary of Canadian multiculturalism entitled Assessing Multiculturalism in Global Comparative Perspective:  A New Politics of Diversity for the Twenty-First Century? (Routledge, 2023).  Her research articles have appeared in numerous journals including Race and Class, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and Canadian Ethnic Studies.  She serves on the editorial board of Canadian Ethnic Studies and also served on the former Canadian Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee in the Department of Canadian Heritage.  Since attending her first meetings of the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association in 1991 in Winnipeg, she has regularly attended CESA conferences.  She has sought to bring insights from the Canadian Ethnic Studies tradition to the discipline of Political Science working to create a new and vibrant section on “Race Ethnicity, Indigenous Peoples and Politics” in the Canadian Political Science Association in 2009, as well as serving as founding chair of Research Committee 46 on Migration and Citizenship in the International Political Science Association in 2018.  She has organized numerous conferences, including the 2012 meetings of the Canadian Political Science Association, held at the University of Alberta.  She has also served as President of the Canadian Political Science Association (2016-2017) and Vice-President of the International Political Science Association (2018-2021).