SFU 2021 Federal Election Expert Directory

Welcome to the SFU 2021 Federal Election Expert Directory. This directory is here to support media in finding and connecting with SFU experts during the election period and will be updated regularly to include new experts on topics of interest that may arise in the coming weeks. 

Experts are currently available to speak on the following topics:

• Communication
• Crime
• Business and Economy
• Environment & Climate Change 
• Health, Aging & COVID-19
• Politics (New experts added)

Communication

Ahmed Al-Rawi, assistant professor, communication, 778.782.3860; aalrawi@sfu.ca 
Expertise: social media, news and public communication

Peter Chow-White, professor, communication, 778.782.3383; peter_chow-white@sfu.ca 
Expertise: social media and its role in campaigns and voter awareness

Maite Taboada, professor, linguistics, 778.782.5585; mtaboada@sfu.ca
Expertise: fake news and misinformation, sentiment analysis, online comments, big data

Crime

Neil Boyd, professor, criminology, 778.782.3324; nboyd@sfu.ca 
Expertise: crime, Canadian narcotics legislation, homicide

Rob Gordon, professor, criminology, 604 418 6640; rgordon@sfu.ca 
Expertise: crime, policing, gangs, drugs, medical assistance in dying (MAiD)

Business and Economy

Hendrik Wolff, associate professor, economics, 778.782.4109; hendrik_wolff@sfu.ca 
Expertise: transportation, climate change, energy, air quality, mobility as a service

Andrey Pavlov, professor, business, 604.763.3696; apavlov@sfu.ca 
Expertise: real estate markets, housing affordability, BC and Canadian economy, interest rates, inflation

Steeve Mongrain, professor and associate chair, economics, 778.782.3547; mongrain@sfu.ca 
Expertise: taxation, welfare programs, unemployment insurance (*speaks French)

Robert Adamson, lecturer, business, 604.657.1213; radamson@sfu.ca
Expertise: political strategy and COVID-19 issues including vaccination mandates /vaccine passport, constitutional and climate change issues and international law and human rights

Environment and Climate Change

Shahin Dashtgard, associate professor, earth sciences, 778.782.5492; sdashtga@sfu.ca 
Expertise: natural gas, petroleum industries

Seth Klein, adjunct professor, urban studies, 604.836.2272; seth_klein@sfu.ca 
Expertise: climate emergency and climate policy

John Clague, professor emeritus, earth sciences, jclague@sfu.ca
Expertise: IPCC climate change report, climate change as a contributor to weather events

Kamyar Razavi, senior PhD candidate, communication, 604.715.5263, krazavi@sfu.ca
Expertise: How to tell a good climate change story; re-adapting journalism to engage on climate; solutions-oriented journalism

Ken Lertzman, professor emeritus, environmental management, kenneth_lertzman@sfu.ca 
Expertise: IPCC climate change report, climate impact on forests, fires and ecosystems

Brent Ward, professor, earth sciences, bcward@sfu.ca 
Expertise: climate change and the environment, earthquakes and landslides, IPCC climate change report

Zafar Adeel, professor, sustainable energy engineering, zadeel@sfu.ca
Expertise: global water security and management, climate change adaption and responses to the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), policy ramifications for water security

Health, Aging and COVID-19

Gloria Gutman, professor emeritus, gerontology, 604.767.2009; gutman@sfu.ca
Expertise: senior’s issues, from housing to health care

Andrew Sixsmith, professor, gerontology and scientific director, AGE-WELL, 778.782.5375; Sixsmith@sfu.ca
Expertise: quality of life for the aging population, technology solutions for healthy aging, aging policies and statistics

See also: Experts available on rising COVID-19 cases, vaccines and restrictions

Politics

Steven Weldon, professor, political science, 778.782.4995, sweldon@sfu.ca 
Expertise: campaigns, political parties, opinion polls, far right parties, politics of immigration and diversity

Mark Pickup, associate professor, political science, Mark_pickup@sfu.ca 
Expertise: political identities and decision-making, conditions of democratic responsiveness and accountability; polls and electoral outcomes 

Cara Camcastle, lecturer, political science, 778.887.5585; ccamcast@sfu.ca 
Expertise: Canadian politics, party ideologies and policies, election analysis

Anil (Andy) Hira, professor, political science, ahira@sfu.ca
Expertise: international relations, U.S. relations

Stewart Prest, lecturer, political science, 604.219.9309; stewart_prest@sfu.ca 
Expertise: Canadian politics, B.C. politics, Canadian political parties, democratic institutions and international affairs

Sanjay Jeram, senior lecturer, political science, 604.445.6790; sjeram@sfu.ca
Expertise: public opinion, ideologies, provincial political cultures, electoral strategy, immigration & diversity issues

Rémi Léger, professor, political science, rleger@sfu.ca
Expertise: official languages, Québec-Canada, federal-provincial relations (*Speaks French)

Nicolas Kenny, professor, history, 778.782.5815, nicolas_kenny@sfu.ca
Expertise: Canadian political history, BC politics, Quebec politics (*Speaks French)

Adelle Sium, dialogue and engagement coordinator, Strengthening Canadian Democracy, SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, adelle_sium@sfu.ca
Expertise: Can address the newly-launched Youthful Cities initiative, which works in partnership with the SFU Centre for Dialogue, and its analysis of the current election campaign’s lack of focus on youth

Looking for an expert on a different topic? Visit our Media Expert Directory. 

CONTACT

Braden McMillan, communications and marketing, 236.880.3459; bradenm@sfu.ca