Malika Dhanani (she/her/hers) - Executive Director
Malika holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and a Baccalaureate of Applied Science in Child, Youth, and Family from the University of Guelph. Malika is passionate about policy analysis and has engaged in policy work on youth homelessness and housing in Canada, national home care, and childcare in Ontario. In her spare time, Malika enjoys listening to music and singing her way through life. She is an avid reader and a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers trope. She has recently been working on her photography skills and loves spending time outdoors. (Fun fact: Malika has been going camping every summer since the age of two!)
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Octavia Andrade-Dixon (she/her/hers) – Research & Policy Analyst
Octavia holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography and Portuguese from the University of Toronto. While she has always had a passion for education, Octavia became aware of the importance of student politics and advocacy as a director on UofT’s Student Union (UTSU). Since graduating during the pandemic Octavia has worked in the research field- most recently at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario where she was introduced to the post-secondary research and policy sector. In her spare time Octavia is enjoys biking, reading books from the library (support public libraries!), and finding fun ways to maintain her Portuguese (mostly through music and bad reality tv).
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Tiffany Li Wu (she/hers) – Operations & Communications Coordinator
Tiffany holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Global Development Studies and Politics Students from Queen's University. She loves hosting events and handle all things communications and operations at OUSA. This work looks different every day, whether it is running advocacy campaigns online, coming up with itineraries for conferences, learning to design publications for print and web, or coordinating media interviews with Ontario's brightest student leaders. She love meeting and connecting with people from all walks of life and have wealth of experience in student government. If you are a student at one of OUSA's 9 member – then Tiffany thinks you to consider writing for our student blog!
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Ananya Gupta (she/her/hers) - Research and Policy Analyst
Ananya holds a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Delhi. Ananya is passionate about Social Justice Education and has worked as an educator, and a researcher in K-12, post-secondary, and non-profit settings. She has engaged in research and policy work around student mental health, culturally relevant student support and experiential learning in the post-secondary space. In her spare time, Ananya loves cooking for her friends and family as she believes that food brings people together! She is also a high-altitude mountaineer and loves all things outdoorsy.
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Avina Li (she/her) - Communications Assistant
Avina Li is in her 3rd year of Medical Sciences at Western, specializing in One Health. She came into this position at OUSA to combine her interests in student advocacy and graphic design. Avina would love to become more involved in the discussions around undergraduate education in Ontario, and to spread awareness and spark conversations on topics that affect all students. In particular, she believes in affordable education for all, and that cost should never be a barrier to receiving good quality education.
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