Director

Dr. Dantzler is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Faculty Advisor to the School of Cities at the University of Toronto - St. George (UofT). He is also a Research Affiliate with the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities at Case Western University. Prior to joining UofT, he held appointments in the Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State University and the Department of Sociology at Colorado College.

Research Manager

Dr. Cameron Khalfani Herman currently works as a Research Associate in the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology. He leads the qualitative study on social housing, neighbourhood change and residential mobility for the Housing Justice Lab. His teaching and research focus on understanding how marginalized groups experience and navigate social inequalities in urban environments. His published research explores topics such as Black artists’ responses to gentrification, housing activism within neoliberal governance, and Black masculinities in hip-hop culture. Dr. Herman recently completed an Arts Research with Communities of Color Fellowship awarded by the Social Science Research Council. Building on this ethnographic project, he is currently exploring how and why Black-led collectives create spaces for youth in urban communities. 

He earned his B.A. in African American Studies at Georgia State University, an M.A. in Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville, and his doctorate in Sociology at Michigan State University. In the Fall term of 2023, he taught SOC196: Stress and Health in Young Adulthood at the University of Toronto. In this first-year seminar course, students explored the systemic roots of social stressors and how young adults navigate these phenomena.   

Research Lab Assistant

Mohamed is an undergraduate student in the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology. He comes to the team with on-the-ground experience working with Afghan immigrants and refugees in his community to navigate the complexities of housing in Toronto. As a former policy analyst, he has conducted research on and written on a diverse range of topics including religious social movements in the Indian subcontinent, the intersection of pragmatist philosophies and populist politics in Turkey, and Canadian multiculturalism. 

Research Assistant

Marie-Aminata is a PhD researcher in the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology specializing in housing and migration policy. Her work notably focuses on analyzing and measuring the impact of housing policies on migrants’ experiences of settlement in France and beyond. She previously studied at the London School of Economics graduating with an MSc in International Migration and Public Policy. Beyond the academy, she collaborated with non-governmental organizations, including Minority Rights International and Ayyem Zamen, leveraging her expertise to conduct research and translate findings into actionable projects designed to support marginalized communities. Currently, she is a researcher on Professor Prentiss Dantzler’s project at the School of Cities which aims to better understand the relationship between residential mobility and neighbourhood change in Toronto.  

Research Assistant

Cesar is a PhD student in the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology. His research lies at the intersections of homelessness and substance abuse and how housing outcomes relate to health and immigration, particularly among the Philippine diaspora.   

Research Assistant

Khalil is a graduate researcher at the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology. He is also a former Transportation Engineer. Using novel quantitative methods, his research explores the relationship between digital and urban life. 

Research Assistant

Michelle Nadon Belanger (Mimi) is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on urban sociology, sociology of culture, and qualitative methods. Mimi is deeply motivated by the prospect of pursuing applied research and community work, and always strives to engage in critical inquiry and collaborative learning. Mimi received her BA and BMus from McGill University and MA from the University of Toronto. 

Research Assistant

Abigail, an Honours graduate in Sociology with a Minor in Spanish and a specialization in Migration and Ethnic Relations from Western University, is a skilled policy analyst at IRCC, focusing on Foreign Credential Recognition in Canada and international files. Her career includes significant roles as a research consultant with the Poverty Research Centre and Tajribati Research, where she specializes in Syrian refugee studies. Abigail's passion for housing research, combined with her extensive experience working with administrative datasets, supports her commitment to developing impactful housing projects with special attention to the intersection between housing and immigration in North America.