Graduate Fellows
Gabriel Barbosa, Graduate Fellow
Gabriel Barbosa is a Ph.D. student at the Western University in the Political Science Department. With an academic background in Geography and Urban and Regional Planning from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, Gabriel has worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) on the Board of Study and State Policies, Institutions and Democracy (DIEST) developing studies on Federalism and Interlocal cooperation in Latin America. His research interests include regional governance, intergovernmental relations, institutions, and public policy. Currently, Gabriel has been working on a comparative analysis of the political economy of natural resources exploration, focusing on Latin America and Canada. Gabriel has expertise in Brazilian inter-municipal consortiums, publishing papers and one book in the Portuguese language. One of his primary motivations is to build a methodology to improve comparative studies linking Latin and North America.
Desmond Oklikah Ofori, Graduate Fellow
Desmond Oklikah Ofori is an emerging scholar and a SSHRC doctoral fellow in the Department of Geography and Environment at Western University. His research integrates antiracist-feminist intersectionality, EDI-foci and Social Network Analysis (SNA) to better understand complex issues related to immigrants, housing, health, food (in)security among others. Desmond, through his works, aims to center, document and deconstruct the narratives and lived experiences of minoritized groups by highlighting urban inequalities and spatial injustices that impede lived realities, especially the “successful” integration of immigrants in Canada. Desmond holds a Master of Arts in History from the University of Guelph, Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, where he graduated as best student. His research has been published in diverse journals including the: Canadian Geographers; Journal of International Migration & Integration; and Gender, Place and culture. 
Jesse Sutton, Graduate Fellow
Jesse Sutton is currently a PhD Student in the Department of Geography and Environment at Western University. His research interests include regional economic resilience, global economic integration, and public policy. Jesse has a Master’s in Public Policy from Simon Fraser University and has a keen interest in regional and local economic development policies. He is currently working on several papers that focus on resilience policies and the resilience of Canadian regions to the 2008 financial crisis.
