Date: October 17th, 2024
As we invest in our capacity to stop violence before it starts, we are growing our team at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence.
Meet Ziyana Kotadia, postdoctoral fellow Dr. Winta Ghidei, and Master of Social Work thesis student Veronika Elyk: from communications leadership to project management to research support, they are leveraging their skills to advance violence-prevention efforts in Alberta and beyond.
Ziyana Kotadia is joining our team as a Strategic Communications and Public Relations Specialist, where she will be driving knowledge mobilization projects focused on research findings, policy recommendations, and practice changes to prevent violence. Ziyana’s background in advocacy and public affairs informs her approach to gender justice communications, from her experience as the Chair of the Safe Campus Coalition to her work as Communications Coordinator for Young Diplomats of Canada’s delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Winta Ghidei is rejoining our team from maternity leave as a second-year Postdoctoral Associate, following her achievement as the inaugural recipient of the UCalgary Provost’s Postdoctoral Awards for Indigenous and Black Scholars. As the Research and Program Coordinator for the Shift Immigrant Hub, Dr. Ghidei’s work will focus on improving the employment outcomes of young newcomer women to protect against violence. She will be leading a research and evaluation plan to support the Hub, as well as overseeing the Hub’s day-to-day management and long-term sustainability. With 10+ years of experience advancing applied public health projects, Winta is passionate about supporting evaluation approaches to create safe workspaces for racialized women.
Veronika Elyk is a Master of Social Work thesis student at the University of Calgary, exploring the role of empathy in engaging men and boys in gender justice. Her thesis work will be supervised by Lana Wells, Shift’s Founder and Director, and she will concurrently provide research support for ongoing projects at Shift. Across grassroots organizing with Men Edmonton, her leadership work in scaling Next Gen Men, and co-creating a documentary on the evolution of masculinity in Canada, Veronika brings valuable insight into the importance of working with men and boys to advance a violence-free future.
Our priority at Shift is to move upstream of violence by evaluating and addressing root causes. Together, Winta, Veronika, and Ziyana are bringing their expertise in public health, gender norms, and feminist principles to advance this mission.
