Staff

Ilona is the Co-creator and Managing Director of the Youth & Innovation Project at the University of Waterloo. She is an award-winning social innovator and a regular voice in the Canadian media advising business, civil society and government on how they can tap into the value and unique abilities of young people. She has extensive leadership and governance experience having co-founded several successful organizations. In 2004, she Co-founded Apathy is Boring, a non-partisan social enterprise that educates Canadian youth about democracy and encourages them to vote. Ilona is a PhD student in political science at the University of Waterloo, a speaker with the Speaker Spotlight agency and an Ashoka Fellow.

Twitter: @ilonadougherty

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Valentina Castillo Cifuentes is the Associate Director at the Youth & Innovation Project. She has extensive research experience in social impact measuring and youth program evaluation, as well as in grant-making and community engagement within the philanthropic sector. She is responsible for the development and management of internal and external partnerships with industry, government, civil society and academia, fundraising, business development and the management of day-to-day operations and supervision of the YouthInn staff team. Valentina holds a Master of Environmental Studies in Sustainability Management from the University of Waterloo and a Sociology degree from the Universidad Diego Portales in Chile.

Twitter:@Valcastillc

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Mariah is responsible for coordinating the Youth & Innovation Project’s day-to-day operations, financial management, fundraising, and research. She has previously held various roles in youth recreation and education settings and has also worked in an administrative role with the federal government’s Northern Contaminants Program. She has an Honours Bachelor of Public Health with a minor in Psychology from the University of Waterloo.

Morgan works to support the team by conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis, interviewing young people and community organizations, and documenting processes for future reference. She has previously done work in engaging youth patients in research which sparked her interest in youth advocacy and elevating youth voices to create a more inclusive health care system. She holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science (Nutrition) with an emphasis in dietetics and a minor in Marketing from the University of Guelph.

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Saranya Nemanathan is the Communications Assistant with the Youth & Innovation Project at the University of Waterloo. With a degree in Computer Science Engineering and a Postgraduate Certificate in Interactive Media Management, she combines technical expertise with creative skills in her role. She focuses on the knowledge mobilization of research findings to positively impact youth welfare. She is dedicated to user experience design, developing effective communication strategies, and fostering youth engagement. 

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Ebosetale Hope Isabu is a Research Assistant at the Youth & Innovation Project. She conducts and analyzes French-language interviews with young people to gather qualitative data on their workplace experiences. Her responsibilities include applying inductive and deductive coding methods, collaborating with team members to identify and refine key themes, translating research materials between English and French, and documenting research processes to ensure future replicability. She brings extensive experience in qualitative research, translation, and communications from her work with Young Volunteers for the Environment, OnlineFrenchEdu, ICLEI Canada, the University of Waterloo, and Women of Dignity International. Her research interests focus on youth engagement, sustainability, and inclusive communication across diverse cultural contexts. She holds a Master of Environmental Studies in Sustainability Management from the University of Waterloo, a Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Benin, and a Certificate in English–French Translation. 

Previous staff & research assistants: Elina Qureshi, Aleksandra Spasevski, Cate May Burton, Miha Alam (MDP), Martina Buchal, Yingying (Scarlett) Sheng (BES), Wen Tian (BES), Merry Ma (MSc.), Leah Feor (PhD Candidate), Odeeth Lara-Morales (PhD), Kelly Rao (PhD Student), Marina Melanidis (MSc.), Amy Howard (BES), Yuxin Gong (BES), Anushka Tadikonda, Karen Liu, Alessandra Aponte (PhD Candidate) and Israa Abou El Nour.

Special thanks to Christopher Paré for volunteering his time to support the project through communication advice and editing.