Toronto Urban Fellows

Toronto Urban Fellows complete two six-month project assignments in two different divisions at the City of Toronto. These full-time, project-based professional development opportunities are enhanced by monthly Learning Series events that connect Urban Fellows with leaders at the City of Toronto and in the broader community. The program consists of:

Orientation and Project Matching

In the first week of the program, Urban Fellows learn about the host divisions and project assignments. Project matching – a mutual interview and selection process – is made to place Urban Fellows with a host division for a six-month assignment. Urban Fellows are matched based on their interest in the project, the skills and qualifications they bring to this particular assignment, and the professional development opportunity that the project offers. The project matching process is repeated half-way through the year to match Urban Fellows with their next six-month project rotation.

Program participants are not guaranteed a match with their top choice of assignment, and may be matched with any participating City division. Urban Fellows are often assigned to projects outside of their professional discipline. In this way, the Toronto Urban Fellows program allows for cross-pollination of professional expertise across the City of Toronto. It gives Urban Fellows an opportunity to step outside their comfort zones to gain new experiences, skills, and professional development opportunities.

Projects

The Toronto Urban Fellows program selects projects based on their strategic importance to the City, professional development value, and exposure opportunities for the Urban Fellow, among other criteria. Project assignments are overseen by experienced directors, managers or senior professionals within the Toronto Public Service.

Projects typically involve a combination of research, policy development, stakeholder consultation, project management, program delivery and evaluation, and/or business process review and re-engineering. To ensure project success, Urban Fellows must draw on their strong analytical, research, communication and interpersonal skills and be ready to ask and answer tough questions.

Learning Series

Urban Fellows participate in a year-long Learning Series that provides broader exposure to the City of Toronto’s governance system, administration and policy landscape. The Learning Series consists of seminars, workshops and tours. At these sessions, Urban Fellows meet with senior government officials, community champions, business leaders and academics who are passionate about Toronto and working hard to shape its future. Examples of Learning Series events held in recent cohorts included:

• Fiscal Environment for Cities with Dr. Enid Slack, Director, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance
• Indigenous Reconciliation at the City of Toronto with the Native Child and Family Services
• Governing in the Fishbowl: Perspective on Communications and Media Relations at the City of Toronto with Adrienne Batra (Toronto Sun) and Jeff Grey (Globe and Mail)
• Visioning for the Future: The role of public infrastructure in social city-building and tour of the RC Harris Water Treatment Plant

Benefits and salaries

Urban Fellows earn a taxable salary of approximately $81,593 and are eligible for health care benefits after completing six months of employment.

Urban Fellows are not guaranteed employment with the City of Toronto upon completion of the program. However, through the experience gained in the program, participants will be well-positioned to apply for relevant vacancies and are eligible for health care benefits after completing six months of employment.

Applications for the 2026-2027 cohort have closed. The program will begin in September 2026 and conclude in August 2027. Applications for 2027-2028 cohort will begin in spring 2027.

Committed to employment equity, the City of Toronto encourages applications from Indigenous people and equity deserving groups.

Recruitment process

Urban Fellows recruitment follows a three stage process:

• All candidates are required to submit a resume and cover letter that demonstrate their qualifications and potential to contribute to the Toronto Public Service.
• Following an evaluation of the resume submissions, select candidates will be asked to complete a written assessment.
• Following an evaluation of the written assignments, select candidates will be invited to a job interview.

Eligibility

• Applicants must have recently completed graduate level education, (within the past three years), at a Master’s level or greater, including LLB/JD.Internationally educated professionals are eligible and encouraged to apply.
• Applicants who are currently enrolled in a Masters, LLB, JD or PhD level program, will need to meet all academic criteria in order to be eligible to graduate before the Urban Fellows program begins.
• Individuals are encouraged to apply regardless of academic major, discipline or field of specialization. Academic and/or work experience in areas such as Finance, Accounting or Information and Technology is considered an asset but not necessary. Candidates with backgrounds in disciplines such as urban planning, public policy, public administration, international development, social work, engineering, political science, sociology, history, kinesiology, public health, environmental studies and landscape architecture have been accepted into the program.
• Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada for the duration of the program. If you are not a Canadian citizen, you must be a permanent resident of Canada or possess a valid open work permit for the duration of the program as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and regulations (SOR/2002-227).  Please note that the Toronto Urban Fellows Program does not meet the requirements of NAFTA appendix 1603.D.1 for an exempt work permit for applicants from the United States or Mexico.
• Applicants must meet the Key Qualifications described in the job posting.

As an organization dedicated to research on municipal finance and governance, the development of good public policy, and the strengthening of municipal public administration, IMFG strongly supports the Toronto Urban Fellows (TUF) program. The applicant demand for the program and the cadre of dynamic, dedicated and diverse fellows the TUF has welcomed, are testament to both a burgeoning interest in urban affairs and the capacity of the City to attract future leaders. We commend the City of Toronto and the innovative developers of the TUF program for having the vision and courage to launch and nurture a program that will pay great dividends in the years ahead.

Enid Slack, Director, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto

“Toronto Urban Fellows bring energy and innovative ways of thinking to the projects they tackle at the City of Toronto. They are enthusiastic, talented, and highly motivated professionals with skills that are transferable throughout our corporation. To date, Solid Waste Management Services has hosted seven Urban Fellows, many of whom went on to accept permanent, full-time roles at the City. The Toronto Urban Fellows program has been a strategic opportunity for our division to build its people-power by generating meaningful professional development opportunities on a range of innovative research, policy, and project management initiatives. If you’re ready to tackle unexpected challenges and contribute to projects with a real impact to the City, I strongly encourage you to apply to the Toronto Urban Fellows program.”

Carlyle Khan, Director, Infrastructure Development & Asset Management, Solid Waste Management Services

After finishing my PhD in Information Studies, I was looking for an opportunity to use my data analysis and research skills in new ways. I wanted to change careers, and was delighted to find exactly what I had been looking for in the TUF program. The program’s structure – rotating fellows through two divisions – helped me to learn about the various careers and projects at the City, while also making a contribution in my own work. I discovered a passion for both information management and operational data analysis, and have been able to develop and hone my skills in both areas. The TUF program provided me with great mentors, a broad and rich network of colleagues, and has given me immense pride in the contributions public servants make to programs and policies at the City of Toronto.

Lisa Quirke, QA Consultant, Toronto Water

Alice Ng

Alice is an interdisciplinary researcher and planning professional with a background in tenant advocacy and nearly a decade of experience in front-line service delivery. She graduated from Simon Fraser University, ranking among the top 35 students in the Sociology program, and later earned a Master of Science in Planning with a concentration in Social Planning and Policy through a funded fellowship awarded for academic excellence at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining the professionalized planning world, she lived in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside and became involved with local tenant groups providing support for those living in the neighbourhood’s oldest Single Room Occupancy Hotels. More recently, her work has focused on supporting tenants at risk of displacement due to transit-induced redevelopment, undertaking planning research for United Way Greater Toronto to identify prevention strategies for their flagship strategic initiative.  Alice is deeply committed to exploring how public institutions can meaningfully respond to systemic inequities, and as a Toronto Urban Fellow, she is looking forward to helping the development of policies and initiatives that advance more inclusive and equitable outcomes for Toronto residents.

Ananya Yadav

Ananya Yadav is a public policy professional passionate about building stronger communities through evidence-informed policy, meaningful public engagement, and cross-sector collaboration. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, where she was a Graduate Fellow with the Urban Policy Lab and won multiple case competitions, including proposals to advance Toronto’s TransformTO targets, and to enhance immigrant inclusion in the Canadian economy. Through the Fellowship, she completed a placement with the City of Toronto’s Financial Strategy and Policy team, leading comparative research and analysis on property tax structures across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, as well as analyzing Toronto’s performance against global cities using the World Council on City Data’s ISO standards. Her professional experience spans provincial and federal government, as well as community-engaged work in the post-secondary sector. At Ontario’s Ministry of Public and Business Service and Procurement, she advised the Minister’s Office on public appointments in the consumer protection sector and conducted research on business and not-for-profit audit regimes across Canada, while at McMaster University’s Office of Community Engagement she coordinated and facilitated public engagement initiatives, led community-based research on social procurement models, and developed a course on systems thinking and theories of change. At the City of Toronto, Ananya is excited about advancing collaborative, community-centred public policy and programs grounded in the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Daniela Mendoza

Daniela is a policy researcher and community builder who holds a Master of Arts in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Alberta. Her professional experience spans international, federal, and municipal government, including roles at the Embassy of Canada to Spain, Global Affairs Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and the Office of the Mayor of Edmonton, where she contributed to policy and research on issues ranging from international trade and critical minerals to housing and public spaces. Daniela’s passion for municipal government began as a Civic Youth Fellow with the City of Edmonton, where she saw firsthand how local governments can create more inclusive, connected, and resilient communities. Combined with her own experience as newcomer from Mexico, she was inspired to co-found Edmonton Latin Youth in early 2026, a community organization dedicated to fostering connection among Latin American young adults through culture, volunteer and leadership opportunities, reaching more than 160 participants to date. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, Daniela is excited to apply her research, stakeholder engagement and cross-government experience to advance the City’s long-term priorities and strengthen its connection with the diverse communities it serves.

Donny Persaud

Donny Persaud is a sociologist of technology and geographer with a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Cornell University. He brings more than a decade of experience leading multidisciplinary research projects aimed at the development of more equitable public transportation and information infrastructures. Donny seeks to make social-scientific insights about technology relevant to policy makers. He has worked with the International Astronomical Union to develop working guidelines at the United Nations’ Office of Outer Space Affairs, seeking to minimize the impacts of satellite internet constellations on astronomical research. Donny has presented his research findings to policy makers and legal experts, aiming to demonstrate the need for stronger environmental assessment protocols for emerging outer space technologies. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, Donny is excited to apply his interdisciplinary expertise and research skills to champion equitable, sustainable, and user-friendly public services for Torontonians.

Great Udochi

Great Udochi is a policy researcher with more than eight years of experience in policy analysis, mixed-methods research, and stakeholder engagement across academic, public-sector, and civil-society settings. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt, Germany. He has also completed the doctoral program of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research — The Migration-Mobility Nexus (nccr-on the move) and recently submitted his doctoral dissertation at the University of Neuchâtel, where his research examines the political, economic, and policy implications of mobility in a multilevel European context. Before joining the City of Toronto, he held research and policy roles with the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies, the Brussels School of Governance, the German Institute for Global and Area Studies, and Spaces for Change Nigeria, and interned with the German Federal Parliament. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, he brings interdisciplinary research expertise and a collaborative, evidence-based approach to public problem-solving in Toronto.

Joseph Banh

Joseph is a lover of cities and the transformative potential they hold as sites of innovation, experimentation, and collective worldbuilding for more just, equitable, and resilient futures. A specialist in human-centred design, design thinking, and innovation, he holds a Master of Arts in Communication & Culture from York & Toronto Metropolitan Universities where he researched urban art festivals and creative cities. More recently he completed a Master of Future Cities degree at the University of Waterloo exploring futures thinking and strategic foresight as essential capabilities for municipalities navigating today’s complex challenges. Prior to becoming an Urban Fellow Joseph collaborated with governments and stakeholders internationally as a cultural resources strategist and planner specializing in the SWANA region. This was followed by nine years as head of strategy and innovation for a private sector firm where he developed customer experience programs, and built and managed an innovation lab dedicated to exploring affect and emotion in customer experience design via digitally integrated multisensory experiences. Passionate about social justice, Joseph is a co-founder of the Toronto Chinatown Land Trust (TCLT), is co-chair of its anti-colonial committee, led its 客氣 “Hak Hei” (translated as Good Guest) program dedicated to Indigenous solidarity and reconciliation, and consults on its Solidarity Economy initiatives. He is truly honoured to be a Fellow and to contribute to building this incredible city.

Laraib Abrar

Laraib Abrar is a public health professional with years of experience in policy research, program evaluation, and stakeholder-informed analysis across federal, academic, and community-based settings. She holds a Master of Public Health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, specializing in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, and was recognized with the University’s Student Leadership Award and AccessAbility Letter Award for her ongoing contributions to advancing inclusion and accessibility. In her most recent role as a Policy Analyst with the Public Health Agency of Canada, she authored a policy brief examining the drivers of misinformation during the pandemic, identifying policy opportunities to strengthen Canada’s health security strategy within today’s digital landscape. Her extensive research portfolio includes national maternal and child health program evaluations, studies on accessible wayfinding technology for people with disabilities, and the use of patient-reported experience measures to improve healthcare delivery, reflecting a commitment to designing, refining, and assessing interventions through a health promotion lens. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, Laraib is excited to apply her expertise in public health research and policy to advance evidence-informed, community-centred solutions that foster a more equitable and inclusive Toronto.

Leili Yousefi

Leili Yousefi is a mixed-methods social researcher and policy professional with expertise in migration, inequality, program evaluation, and equity-informed service design. She holds a PhD and an MA in Sociology from McMaster University and brings an interdisciplinary perspective shaped by her studies in sociocultural studies, international relations, and software engineering, as well as her lived experience in Iran, Japan, and Canada. Leili has worked across academic, nonprofit, community-based, education, and policy research settings, collaborating with researchers, service providers, public-sector partners, and diverse communities. Her work has explored refugee resettlement, immigrant financial exclusion, labour market instability, and climate vulnerability, with a focus on turning complex research into practical and accessible insights. Through the Toronto Urban Fellows program, Leili looks forward to learning how a large and diverse city turns evidence and community knowledge into action, while contributing her curiosity, adaptability, and commitment to equitable public service.

Maia Kelly

Maia Kelly is a public health professional with interdisciplinary research experience spanning emergency preparedness, infectious disease epidemiology, climate resilience, and health equity. She holds a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences from Columbia University and an Honours Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from Dalhousie University. Prior to joining the Toronto Urban Fellows Program, Maia supported local and regional strategic planning, operational coordination, and all-hazards preparedness initiatives at NYC Health + Hospitals and the NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute. She has also worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) on dengue outbreak response and intervention evaluation projects in Mexico City and Honduras. As a First Nations researcher and member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Tyendinaga Territory, Maia has partnered with Indigenous communities on health research focused on environmental justice and advancing equitable health systems. As an Urban Fellow, she is excited to bring her analytical, collaborative, and community-driven approach to developing evidence-informed solutions that meaningfully improve the health and resilience of communities across Toronto.

Mary-Claire Ball

Mary-Claire is an award-winning child development, education, and educational neuroscience researcher, with 5 years of experience managing complex projects and a passion for knowledge translation. She holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education from the University of Toronto, an MA in Linguistics and Cognitive Science from the University of Delaware, and a BS in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University. Her research focuses on expanding science of learning evidence to include underrepresented populations. She also has experience evaluating educational programs, tools, and interventions with an emphasis on program design and implementation. This work has spanned diverse populations and contexts from refugee families in Toronto, to educators in Ontario schools, multilingual communities in West Africa, and finally, low-resource households in South Africa. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, Mary-Claire is eager to use her quantitative and qualitative research skills and knowledge translation experience to support inclusive, equitable, and evidence-based policies and programs that support the needs of Toronto’s diverse communities.

Meysoon Amin

Meysoon Amin is a Sudanese Canadian strategic policy and research professional whose work focuses on agricultural innovation, environmental sustainability, and public policy. She recently completed her PhD in Anthropology at Carleton University, where her research with the CGIAR/ICARDA Wheat Initiative explored agricultural governance, food systems, and women’s economic participation in Sudan. Prior to joining the City of Toronto, Meysoon served as an Economist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and a Policy Advisor at Global Affairs Canada, contributing to policy, economic, and strategic analyses in agriculture, environmental sustainability, food systems, and international development. Her experience spans government, academia, and international research. She has contributed to Canada’s Agricultural Climate Solutions Living Labs initiative, taught at Carleton University, and collaborated across sectors to translate complex evidence into practical, people-centred solutions. Passionate about sustainable cities and evidence-informed policymaking, Meysoon is excited to bring her collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to building a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient Toronto.

Pooja Dey

Pooja is a public health policy professional with over five years of experience in policy development, health systems research, and community engagement. She has a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Toronto, with a specialization in Public Health Policy. She has directly advised top public policy leaders, including the former Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Dr. Theresa Tam, in addressing Canada’s largest public health crises. Prior to joining the City of Toronto, Pooja has worked with the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, supporting policy and program development to improve access to culturally safe health care for 31 urban Indigenous communities across Ontario. With her experience serving both the federal and provincial governments, and her intersectional background spanning academia and the non-profit sector, she is passionate about elevating lived experiences and advancing evidence-based solutions to address health and social inequities. As a Toronto Urban Fellow and a lifelong resident of Toronto (Tkaronto, Treaty 13), she is committed to developing innovative, equity-driven policies and programs that support the City’s efforts in tackling Toronto’s complex urban issues.

Rebecca Raj

Rebecca Raj is a public health researcher with over six years of experience in applied health research, program evaluation, data analysis, and project management. She holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto, and is particularly interested in making research more equitable, accessible and responsive to the needs of diverse communities and decision-makers. Her interest in health equity and evidence-informed research began in high school, when she supported the delivery of health promotion activities for the South Asian Diabetes Prevention Program – an experience that introduced her to the importance of culturally relevant and community-informed health initiatives. After earning her Bachelor of Science from the University of Waterloo, she worked at Women’s College Hospital, supporting hereditary cancer research involving individuals with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, and has continued to advance her interest in women’s health through recent work related to osteoporosis, fracture prevention, and medication use at the University of Toronto. Through her work supporting the evaluation of Ontario’s Fracture Screening and Prevention Program, Rebecca has collaborated with the Ontario Osteoporosis Strategy, ICES, researchers and program partners to help design methodologically rigorous studies and translate research findings into accessible knowledge products –a skill she honed while contributing to knowledge synthesis and translation work with the Knowledge Translation team at Unity Health. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, she is excited to apply her research, analytical and stakeholder-engagement skills to advance equitable, evidence-informed policies that improve access, opportunity and well-being for Toronto’s diverse communities.

Shyam Gathatharan

Shyam Gathatharan is a research and policy professional with over five years of experience advancing evidence-informed approaches to equitable public policy and community health. He holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from the University of Waterloo, where he completed an Honours Thesis examining the spread of COVID-19 misinformation among Canadian adolescents. Throughout his career, Shyam has contributed to research and policy initiatives across organizations, including the University of Toronto, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), with a focus on health equity, mental health, vaccine confidence, and cardiovascular disease. Shyam was recognized by the Canadian Public Health Association for Excellence in Knowledge Translation, reflecting his passion for the intersection of research and graphic design. Guided by both professional and lived experience, he is committed to addressing systemic barriers and ensuring public policy reflects the diverse needs of the communities it serves. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, Shyam hopes to collaborate across City divisions to develop inclusive, evidence-informed solutions that strengthen community outcomes.

Tékel Gabriel

Tékel Gabriel is a social worker and community-engaged researcher whose work connects frontline practice, applied research, and strategic policy work to advance equitable social systems. Most recently, at Surrey Place, she led a community-engaged equity research project that strengthened strategic priorities around culturally responsive care, race-based data collection, and community partnerships. Previously, with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, she contributed to the Five-Year Review of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) and led a dedicated project integrating trauma-informed approaches into the review process. Grounded in her lived experience and professional practice, Tékel is passionate about translating community knowledge into evidence-informed policy. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and teaches as a faculty member at George Brown Polytechnic. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, she is excited to leverage her research, policy analysis, and systems-change experience to support equitable, responsive public services across the City she calls home.

Young Luk

Young is a public policy professional with experience in urban policy development and municipal governance. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and earned the 2026 Best Capstone Paper Award for his paper on activating Toronto’s park spaces during the winter season. His previous work includes developing a governance framework at the Toronto Police Service Board, and supporting the operation and implementation of the Church Street Pedestrianization Pilot Project. As a fellow at the Munk School’s Urban Policy Lab (UPL), Young has also developed policy recommendations to modernize the City of Toronto’s Natural Ice Rinks Program and broader winter strategy. He has contributed to student engagement with urban policy at the University of Toronto as the lead organizer for the Lab’s 2026 case competition, where graduate students from across the University developed recommendations for the World Cup’s legacy in Toronto. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, Young is committed to contributing his skills and experiences to improve the effectiveness and equity of Toronto’s policies and services.

Zahra Entezami

Zahra is an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in computational social science, AI-assisted research, and mixed-methods analysis, with a Master of Professional Communication from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and an MBA. Her research experience spans media literacy, social media influence, labour inequality in the creative industries, explanatory journalism, and language and stance analysis for knowledge mobilization, alongside experience applying research and strategic communication in the nonprofit sector. Zahra has contributed to several projects during her research that improve transparency, accessibility, and access to information, including the development of a web application supporting evidence synthesis, a municipal issue-tracking tool, and the automation of journalism content coding. Committed to equity, she designed and teaches a workshop on text mining and AI-assisted research methods through TMU’s Library Collaboratory to make emerging technologies more accessible to community members. Through her volunteer experience facilitating the City of Toronto’s BudgetTO 2026 consultations, she has developed a strong interest in affordability, mobility, equity, and inclusive urban development. As a Toronto Urban Fellow, Zahra is passionate about bringing her skills and experience to support transparent, equitable policy development in the city.