Part Time Faculty
Kane Faucher
| (PhD, Western) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: kfauche@uwo.ca |
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| Research Interests Information, Deleuze, Political Economy of Data, Propaganda, Semiotics |
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Kane Faucher initially specialized in metaphysics before shifting to information theory and political economy. He currently teaches in the Local Government Program in addition to several courses in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, and workshops for the AMCTO. His current specialization is communications, organizational behaviour, and strategic planning (particularly for small and rural municipalities) where he also works as a consultant. His most recent research activities include an upcoming book, Social Capital: Accumulation and Alienation (Westminster University Press) and a co-authored book on strategic planning to appear in 2018, The Cost of Doing Nothing (Municipal World Publishing). He is a managing editor of Semiotic Review, and during his spare time he enjoys going on fossil digs in search of trilobites.
Kate Graham
| (PhD, Western) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: kgraha@uwo.ca |
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| Research Interests Areas of Urban Politics |
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Kate Graham studies, teaches and writes about urban politics in Canada. She has more than a decade of experience working in local government, most recently as the Director, Community & Economic Innovation at the City of London where she was responsible for government relations, economic partnerships, culture and strategic initiatives. Her PhD research focused on the role and power of big city mayors in Canada (see: mayorsproject.ca).
Jesse Helmer
| (BA, Waterloo, MPA, Queen’s, PhD Candidate, Western) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: jhelmer@uwo.ca |
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| Research Interests Local Government, Public Policy, Urban Politics, Institutional Effects on Political Participation |
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Jesse is a PhD Candidate in political science at Western University, where his doctoral research focuses on the effects of institutions (rules, laws, norms) on the political participation of renters in urban politics (www.greatsuppression.ca). He is also a two-term city councillor in London, where he served for two years as deputy mayor (2018-2020). He has worked in the private, public and nonprofit sectors and was named one of London’s Top 20 Under 40 in 2019.
James Jenkins
| (MA, University of Texas at Austin) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: jjenki46@uwo.ca |
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James Jenkins is the owner of Ajijaak Solutions, a management consulting firm that specializes in governance and business development serving primarily municipalities and First Nations. He has served in various senior roles at Walpole Island First Nation including Chief Executive Officer, and he is a former Deputy Clerk at the City of Sarnia.
James holds an MA in History from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a Ford Foundation fellow. He has appeared in films about Indigenous history in Canada. James has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles about Indigenous participation in multi-agency partnerships.
Shanon Kalra-Ramjoo
| (MPA, York University, PMP) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: skalrara@uwo.ca |
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| Research Interests Evidence-based Decision Making, Data and Analytics, Program Management, Strategic Planning |
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Shanon Kalra-Ramjoo has a wide range of experience in provincial, regional, and local levels of government in various sectors including health, education, social assistance, public works, public health, and corporate strategy. Shanon is currently a Director of Parks, Forestry and Horticulture Operations and Business Excellence and Operational Performance at the City of Vaughan. Shanon has a degree in Public Policy and Administration from York University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Toronto.
Shanon has taught program evaluation and brings a passion for evidence-based decision making, data and analytics, program management and strategic planning. She is currently a member of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) and volunteers her time on various committees including York University’s Executive Advisory Board in the School of Public Policy and Administration and has volunteered on the Institute of Public Administration of Canada’s (IPAC) Toronto Regional Board of Directors.
Hina Kalyal
| (PhD, Western, PhD, NUST Business School, Pakistan) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: hkalyal@uwo.ca |
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| Research Interests Organizational change, Evidence-Based Policing, Organizational Commitment |
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Dr. Hina Jawaid Kalyal is a researcher in policing and organizational behavior. Her research mainly focuses on how planned organizational changes impact individual employees, particularly in police organizations where bureaucratic structures make it more challenging to implement such initiatives. Currently, Dr. Kalyal is working as a Research Planner Analyst with the London Police Service, London, Ontario.
Dr. Kalyal has over 15 years of graduate and postgraduate teaching experience in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Canada and has also been involved in police training in Pakistan and Canada. She has also worked as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Justice, Leadership and Management, George Mason University, from 2012-13. Her grasp on quantitative and qualitative research methods and interdisciplinary research involving literature from public administration, business administration, sociology and policing lend a unique perspective to her research.
Jennifer Kirkham
| (MSc, Guelph) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: jenkirkham02@gmail.com |
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| Research Interests Local Government Management |
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Jennifer Kirkham has spent the majority of her career working in local government. In her position of Director of Community Programs and Strategies with the City of London she managed a diverse portfolio which included such services as Ontario Works, child care, homelessness, social research, community capacity building and funding. She currently operates her own company, Mischevious Cat Productions, which provides strategy and management consulting to local governments and nonprofit organizations and is a part-time instructor at King's University College and Western's Continuing Studies.
Stephanie Mackenzie-Smith
| (MPA, Western) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: smacke53@uwo.ca |
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| Research Interests Communication and Culture; with focus on social media and policy change. |
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Stephanie received her MPA in 2018 and was the recipient of the Allan O’Brien Academic Award in Public Administration for the graduating part-time student with the highest academic average. She also holds an undergraduate degree in journalism and is currently completing her PhD in Communication and Culture, where her research focuses on social media and policy change. Stephanie spent more than a decade in municipal management with York Regional Police as Supervisor of Strategic Communications, and as a member of the executive leadership team in the Town of Aurora. She now teaches at York University in the School of Public Policy and Administration and at Conestoga College in the Communications Department.
Nandini Syed
| (MPA, Western, CMM III, CPA, CMA) | |
| Position: Lecturer Email: nsyed29@uwo.ca |
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| Research Interests Sustainable, Strategic Financial Management, Climate Change Impact on Asset Management, Enterprise Risk Management |
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Nandini Syed is a dedicated public servant with a career spanning close to two decades serving both provincial and municipal government. She is currently employed at the Workers’ Safety Insurance Board (WSIB), the largest Crown agency in Ontario, as Vice President responsible for Strategic Sourcing and Vendor Services. Before joining the WSIB in 2023, she has held various progressive executive roles (Treasurer and CAO) during her sixteen-year tenure in local government serving multiple municipalities across the province of Ontario.
Nandini is passionate about diversity and inclusion and believes in the power of shared learning. “In a diverse and inclusive environment, everyone brings unique skills and perspectives, broadening our horizons. We learn from each other, improve our critical thinking skills, and become more empathetic.” She has recently been appointed to the City of London’s Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Community Advisory Committee (DIACAC). She is also an appointed member of the WSIB’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Council where her area of focus is “embracing neurodiversity at work.”
In addition to teaching Financial Management in the MPA program, she is also a faculty member at Seneca’s Public Administration Program (PAD), where she teaches municipal Finance, Law, and Governance. An enthusiastic educator, Nandini’s biggest achievement is her ability to teach complex and technical concepts in a way that makes learning approachable and fun.
Nandini has won multiple international awards for sustainable and strategic financial management including the prestigious GFOA award for budget. She served on multiple boards and committees including Ontario Municipal Insurance Exchange (OMEX) and Municipal Finance Officers Association of Ontario (MFOA). She obtained her undergraduate degree in Accounting and Economics from York University, and Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Western. She is a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA), and a Certified Municipal Manager (CMM III).
Dave Taylor
| (J.D., Law, MA, Public Admin, Western) | |
| Position: Lecturer, Lawyer Email: davidvtaylor@gmail.com |
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David Taylor is the Manager of Legal Services for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. He has ten years experience in the legal field and has spent the majority of his career as legal counsel for Ontario municipalities and related boards. He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree from the University of Ottawa, a Juris Doctor from Western and is a graduate of the Masters of Public Administration program at Western.
