Maggie Perzyna has an LLB from Osgoode Hall, York University and an MA in Immigration & Settlement Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University (2020). Maggie's current research leverages her work experience in Toronto’s restaurant industry to study the impact of COVID-19 on newcomers working in hospitality. She is also the lead on the COVID-19 Immigration Policy Tracker project which has cataloged the federal government’s immigration policy innovations during the pandemic through an online database. With a passion for knowledge mobilization, Maggie has also co-lead a digital story-telling project called Migrant Lives in Pandemic Times and is the host of Borders & Belonging, a CERC Migration and openDemocracy podcast that aims to dispel myths about migration based on academic research.
Julian Van Dieken is a filmmaker, photographer and media producer based in Berlin, Germany. He shoots documentaries, produces educational videos and online courses. He has worked with, besides, and in front of the camera for over 15 years. He served as a digital storytelling trainer during the Migrant Lives in Pandemic Times project and has filmed, co-produced and edited numerous Migration Matters series, including a Massive Open Online Course called “Rethinking Us vs. Them: Integration and Diversity in Europe” which was a finalist for the Medea Award in 2018.