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WHO
WE ARE

TEAM MEMBERS.

Grace
McGrenere

Valeria
Vasilyeva

Sabrina
Guo

Deserae
Ball

Co-President

Grace McGrenere is an MSc student in the Environmental Sustainability program at the University of Ottawa. She has supported the implementation of the Clean Fuel Regulations at Environment and Climate Change Canada and serves as a Research Assistant for the Genome Canada-supported TRIA-For project, which explores solutions to the mountain pine beetle outbreak in Western Canada. Grace has also been involved in climate activism with Ecology Ottawa, sits on the GSAÉD Board of Directors representing the Institute of the Environment, and is a member of the University of Ottawa’s Sustainability Council. In the fall of 2025, she will be working with a not-for-profit organization in Australia on circular economy policy development. As the Co-President of OSPN, Grace intends to strengthen the link between science, technology, innovation, and policy through knowledge exchange and research-driven initiatives.

Co-President

Valeria Vasilyeva is an incoming MD-PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Medicine at the
University of Ottawa. Her PhD research in Microbiology and Immunology investigates the
mechanisms driving immune cell dysfunction in cancer. Valeria is Co-President of the Ottawa
Science Policy Network (OSPN), where she leads projects that amplify graduate student voices
in science policy and strengthen connections between students, researchers, and policymakers.
She previously served as OSPN’s Vice President of Events, organizing events for graduate
students to engage with science policy experts. Valeria has also been selected as a graduate
student representative at the 2024 and 2025 Bromley Memorial Lectures. Currently, Valeria also
holds the position of Graduate Fellow at the Institute of Science, Society and Policy at the
University of Ottawa.

VP Administration

Sabrina is an MSc student in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Human Molecular Genetics. Her research focuses on metastatic breast cancer, exploring the molecular basis of treatment resistance to help improve patient outcomes. Through her experiences in both research and healthcare settings, she developed a strong interest in how science is translated into policy and practice. She’s excited to be involved with OSPN and looks forward to learning more about how scientific research influences policy decisions.

VP External

Deserae is an MSc student at the University of Ottawa. Her research is focused on elucidating the regulation of dopamine receptor signaling activity through the formation of downstream protein complexes. She is passionate about finding ways to get more young scientists engaged with science policy as well as improving current graduate student funding in Canada through her role as the OSPN representative for Support Our Science. She is excited to work alongside policy makers and other stakeholders as well as learn more about how scientific research influences policy.

Alexa
D'Addario

Julia
Loftus

Layla
Elsakka

Colin
O'Dwyer

VP Social Media

Alexa has both a Master of Science and Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University and Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University). She has spent numerous years in the science policy circuit as well as in science communication, having attended and helped organize the prestigious ComSciCon Flagship workshops for her third year in a row now. Alexa is passionate about audience engagement and connecting scientists, policymakers and the public to ensure science is communicated most effectively to inform evidence-based policy.

VP Francophone

Julia is the VP Francophonie for OSPN. As representative, she is committed to promoting linguistic inclusivity and is at your disposal for requests regarding bilingualism and translation.

VP Events

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VP Events

Layla is an Honours BSc student in Biopharmaceutical Science at uOttawa. Her research utilizes bioinformatic tools to analyze transcriptomics and explore gene expression. Driven by the impact of science on society, she's interested in the ethical applications of genomic treatments, and how science policy can influence scientific research.

Aaya
Mahdi

Levi
Mitchell

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VP Finance

VP Technology

Levi is an MSc student at the University of Ottawa and a Junior Economist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. Previously a project lead with the DEVELOP program within NASA Applied Sciences and GIS contributor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. His research investigates the applications of remote sensing observations for ecological conservation and environmental economics. He is interested in how governments can enhance scientific engagement and further progress in research and innovation.

Past Executive Teams

 

2024-2025

  • Co-Presidents: Mercedes Rose & Stephen Holland

  • VP Events: Valeria Vasilyeva

  • VP Admin: Layla Elsakka

  • VP Social Media: Alexa D'Addario

  • VP EDI: Stephanie Musa

  • VP Technology: Wesley Chan 

  • General Executive: Thomas Bailey

​

2023-2024

  • Co-Presidents: Thomas Bailey & Sara El-Sahli 

  • VP External: Stephen Holland 

  • VP Internal: Nathaniel Noblett 

  • VP Francophone: Marcelle Mackenzie & Alyanna Popatia 

  • VP Social Media: Kaela O’Connor 

  • VP Admin: Christina Sannan 

  • VP Events: Sami Aftab Abdul 

  • VP Finance: Mercedes Rose 

  • VP Editing: Kadambari Vijay Sai 

  • VP Technology: Wesley Chan 

​

2022-2023

  • President: Sarah Laframboise

  • VP External: Sara El-Sahli 

  • VP Internal: Ben Nguyen 

  • VP Social Media: Kaela O’Connor 

  • VP Admin: Anh-Thu Dang

  • VP Technology: Thomas Bailey 

  • VP Francophonie: Zier Zhou 

  • VP Events: Nathaniel Noblett & Katherine Shaw

  • VP Finance: Mercedes Rose 

​

2021-2022 

  • President: Sarah Laframboise 

  • VP Admin: Anh-Thu Dang 

  • VP Internal/Marketing: Sara El-Sahli 

  • VP Communications: Nikki Ho & Kaela O’Connor 

  • VP Events: Olga Koppel

  • VP Finance: Garrett Fairman

  • VP Technology: Thomas Bailey 

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