IMFG's Past Fellowship Winners
Richard M. Bird Post-Doctoral Fellowship
2022-23 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2022-23 was Robert Stewart. Robert received a PhD in Economic Development Policy, from the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. His research focused on how municipal Green Investment Banks could help Canadian cities lower their emissions, and the ways private capital could provide Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing in the US and Canada.
2021-22 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2021-22 was Hsi-Chuan Wang. Hsi-Chuan received a Doctor of Sustainable Urbanism from Washington University in St. Louis. His research examined informal settlements in Accra, Ghana as well as a comparative look at housing and infrastructure provision in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Accra, Ghana.
2020-21 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2020-21 was Julie Mah. Julie has a a Ph.D. in Planning from the University of Toronto. Her research looked at affordable housing issues, evictions, gentrification and displacement, and equitable development approaches.
2019-20 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2019-20 was Nick Lombardo. His research examined how municipal governments deal with federal infrastructure projects, with a focus on Toronto’s Pearson Airport and MacMillan railway yard in the post war and contemporary periods.
2018-19 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2018-19 was Alejandra Reyes. Alejandra has a PhD in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research examined how policy making, at different levels, has fostered housing production and vacancy, as well as unregulated and speculative development, without effectively addressing the housing needs of the population.
2017-18 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2017-18 was Matthew Lesch. Matthew has a PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. His research examined public transit referenda in Los Angeles and Metro Vancouver.
2016-17 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2016-17 was Gustavo Carvalho. Gustavo has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto, an M.A. in International Relations from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and a law degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His research compared different climate financing instruments that can be applied by Toronto and other Canadian cities to help fund climate mitigation and climate adaptation projects.
2015-16 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2015-16 was Abigail Friendly. Abigail has a Ph.D. in Planning from the University of Toronto. Her dissertation was called “Implementing Progressive Planning in Brazil: Understanding the Gap between Rhetoric and Practice.”
2014-15 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral fellowship in 2014-15 was Bharat Punjabi. Bharat completed his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Western Ontario, in London. His dissertation was on “Canal Bureaucracy: Institutions and the Politics of Inter-sectoral Water Competition in the Mumbai Region.”
2013-14 Award Winner
The recipient of the IMFG Post-Doctoral Fellowship for 2013-14 was Zachary Spicer. Dr. Spicer received his Ph.D. in Political Science in 2013, from the University of Western Ontario, and his Master’s in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University. His research explored the use of inter-municipal agreements within metropolitan areas in Canada.
2012-13 Award Winner
The recipient of the Post-Doctoral Fellowship for 2012-13 was Kyle Hanniman. Kyle completed his Ph.D. and has an MA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focused on subnational borrowing.
2011-12 Award Winner
The IMFG Post-Doctoral Fellowship for 2011-12 was awarded to Aaron A. Moore. Dr. Moore received his Doctorate degree in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario in 2009. He extended his current research into city planners’ influence on planning policy and the politics of urban development.
IMFG Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance
2022-23 Award Winner
Kaela Sanborn-Hum was the recipient of the 2022-23 Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. She was a second year Geography Master of Arts student. Her research examined corporate investment in single-family housing through Oakland-based Roofstock and its strategy to introduce retail investors to the single-family rental market through proprietary technologies.
2021-22 Award Winner
Shervin Ghaem-Maghami was the recipient of the 2021-22 Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. His research centred on public participation in urban planning practice and newcomer relocation and settlement in the Greater Toronto Area.
2020-21 Award Winner
Devin Bissky Dziadyk was the recipient of the 2020-21 Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. His research focused on the incidence of the property tax, and tax schemes designed to improve the equity of property taxes.
2019-20 Award Winner
Michaela Pedersen-Macnab was the recipient of the 2019-20 Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. Her research compared the response strategies of Canadian cities to heat waves and evaluated the efficacy of short and long-term municipal heat response planning.
2018-19 Award Winner
Chibulu Luo was the recipient of the 2018-2019 Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. Her research examined the nexus between residential energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and spatial planning in rapidly growing sub-Saharan African cities.
2017-18 Award Winner
Vanessa van den Boogaard was the recipient of the 2017-2018 Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. Her research explored the incidence and implications of sub-national informal taxation in conflict-affected states.
2016-17 Award Winner
The IMFG Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2016-17 was awarded to Austin Zwick. He was a Ph.D. Candidate in Planning in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. His fellowship research analyzed how fracking has affected municipal governments' revenues and expenditures in the American Rust Belt.
2015-16 Award Winner
Zachary Lewsen was the recipient of IMFG’s Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance in 2015-16. He was a Master of Public Policy candidate at the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto. His research for IMFG focused on financial equalization in the Greater Detroit Area.
2014-15 Award Winner
The IMFG Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2014-15 was awarded to Robert Scherf. Robert was a Master’s student at the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto. He was interested in investigating matters that impact the fiscal health of municipalities, where systemic problems are contributing to ongoing budgetary shortfalls, including the rising cost of emergency services.
2013-14 Award Winner
The IMFG Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2013-14 was awarded to Andrew Do. Andrew was a Master’s student in the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto. He was interested in investigating the impact of Toronto’s recent Open Data initiatives on Toronto’s municipal governance.
2012-13 Award Winner
The IMFG Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance was awarded to Jack Lucas. Jack was a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. In his doctoral research, Jack investigated the history of local special purpose bodies in Ontario with a focus on processes of institutional change.
2011-12 Award Winner
The IMFG Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2011-12 was awarded to Lesley Herstein. Lesley was doing her doctoral research in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto.
2010-11 Award Winner
The IMFG Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2010-11 was awarded to Cayley Burgess. Cayley was a Master's student at the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto.
The Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance
2022-23 Award Winner
Celia Wandio was awarded the 2022-23 Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. She was a second year Master of Science in Planning student at the University of Toronto. Her research considered how municipalities fund affordable housing programs that support the non-profit housing sector.
2021-22 Award Winner
Fernando Calderón Figueroa was awarded the 2021-22 Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. He is a PhD candidate at the Department of Sociology, University of Toronto. His research explored the relationship between trust and the built environment of neighbourhoods across Canadian municipalities.
2020-21 Award Winner
James Ankers was awarded the 2020-21 Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. He is a PhD student at the University of Toronto in the Department of Political Science.
2019-20 Award Winner
Noga Keidar was awarded the 2019-20 Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. She is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto.
2018-19 Award Winner
Kate Nelischer was awarded the Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2018-2019. She was a PhD student in Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto.
2017-18 Award Winner
Matthew Walshe was awarded the Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2017-2018. He was a PhD student in the Department of Economics, University of Toronto.
2016-17 Award Winner
The Blanche and Sandy van Ginkel Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2016-17 was awarded to Lauren Birch. She holds Master of Public Policy from the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto. Her research for IMFG focused on transit fare integration in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
2015-16 Award Winner
Jacqueline Peterson was the recipient of IMFG’s Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. She was a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science, University of Toronto.
2014-15 Award Winner
The Blanche and Sandy van Ginkel Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2014-15 was awarded to David Marshall. David was a Juris Doctor and Master’s student at the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto. He was interested in researching innovative ways of financing and building essential infrastructure for health and education, particularly through public-private partnerships.
2013-14 Award Winner
The Blanche and Sandy van Ginkel Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2013-14 was awarded to Daniella Davila Aquije. Daniella was a Master’s student in the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto.
2012-13 Award Winner
The Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2012-13 was awarded to Brenna Keatinge. Brenna was a PhD Candidate in the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto. Her research focused on the role of civic engagement in processes of municipal governance in Toronto by way of contentious land use cases brought to legal forums such as the Ontario Municipal Board and Toronto Licensing Tribunal.
2011-12 Award Winner
The Blanche and Sandy van Ginkel Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance for 2011-12 was awarded to Scott Sams. Scott was in his fourth year as a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto.
2010-11 Award Winner
The 2010-11 Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance was awarded to Gabriel Eidelman. Gabriel was a Ph.D. candidate in the collaborative program in Political Science and Environmental Studies.
2009-10 Award Winner
The 2009-10 inaugural Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship was awarded to Zack Taylor. Zack was a doctoral candidate in the department of Political Science, and a registered professional planner. His research focused on the post-war emergence of city-region governance and land use planning in Canada and the United States, with a focus on four cases: Toronto, Vancouver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Portland regions.
The Alan Broadbent Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance
2009-10 Award Winner
The 2009-10 Alan Broadbent Graduate Fellowship was awarded to Adam Found. Adam was a doctoral candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto. Adam’s resesarch focused on economies of scale in Ontario’s amalgamated municipalities.
2008-09 Award Winner
The 2008-09 winner of the Broadbent award was André Côté, a Master’s student with the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto. André’s research focused on the City of Toronto, a decade after amalgamation.His paper examined the maturity of the City, in terms of governance, service delivery, and leadership.
2007-08 Award Winner
The 2007-08 winner of the Broadbent award was Robert Ramsay, a doctoral candidate in the department of Geography at the University of Toronto. Robert’s research topic, “The City Takes to the Air,” focused on the planning, financing, and implementation of municipal wireless projects across North America, with a focus on Philadelphia and Toronto.
2006-07 Award Winner
The 2006-07 winner of the Broadbent award was Jen Nelles, a doctoral candidate in the department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Jen’s research explored the effectiveness of city-region governance, with a focus on lessons from regional governance in Germany.