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Meet the Panelists – AM

Ken Chatoor
Senior Researcher at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO)

Ken Chatoor works on research projects in the areas of equity of access and social mobility. He also supports the Essential Adult Skills Initiative, which assesses student skills in postsecondary institutions. Ken holds an MSc from McGill University, where he conducted research to develop new therapies for brain cancer. He previously participated in research on quality of life for individuals with complex disabilities. Prior to joining HEQCO he worked in biomedical engineering researching spine regeneration at Mount Sinai Hospital, while also assisting facilitation of a course on the impact of technological change on society, government and policy at the University of Toronto. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in Life Sciences, focusing on biology and geography.

Elizabeth Coulson
Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Education Studies, Language Studies

Elizabeth (Liz) Coulson is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Education Studies Minor program at UTM. For over a decade, she served as Secondary Practicum Coordinator in the initial Teacher Education Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education where she was appointed liaison to the Ministry of Education. She holds a PhD in Education from Western University in curriculum design and was a former elementary and secondary teacher in the Halton and Peel District school boards. Her research investigates instructional modalities pushing innovation in teaching and learning forward by launching a variety of culturally responsive social entrepreneurship projects. She is co-founder of UTM’s first supplemental education course and was recently appointed co-chair of the Dean’s experiential learning group designing several international experiential learning courses for UTM students in Southeast Asia, Europe and South America. 

Kelly Gallagher-Mackay
Associate Professor & Program Coordinator, Law and Society, Wilfrid Laurier University.

I received my law degree from the University of Victoria in 1996, a Master’s in Law from Osgoode Hall at York University in 2001, and a PhD in Educational Theory and Policy Studies from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto in 2011. I was a MITACS postdoctoral fellow in 2014.

I have worked in diverse roles that combine education, law and public policy. This includes serving as the Director of Research and Evaluation for the Future Skills Centre and Director of Research for People for Education, serving as the first Policy Counsel for the new government of Nunavut; a founder and Northern Director of Akitsiraq Law School in Iqaluit, Nunavut; working in a domestic violence family legal aid clinic in Brooklyn, New York.

I am the author of two books: Succeeding Together: Schools, Child Welfare and Uncertain Public Responsibility for Abused and Neglected Children (University of Toronto Press), and Pushing the Limits: How Schools Can Prepare Our Children Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges (Random House Canada, with Nancy Steinhauer). Pushing the Limits was shortlisted for the Donner Prize for the best Public Policy Book by a Canadian. I have also written over 40 articles and reports on diverse topics.

The main focus of my research is inequality, particularly in educational settings and involving children, youth and families. I’ve done research on schools and child welfare, “streaming” and systemic discrimination, the policy and data infrastructure required to understand equity of access to postsecondary education, and the connections between playground quality, health and poverty in Ontario.

A major focus for me right now is educational responses to the emergency of the pandemic on schooling.

https://www.wlu.ca/academics/faculties/faculty-of-liberal-arts/faculty-profiles/kelly-gallagher-mackay/index.html