Emerging Scholars

Jordan Arnold is a Master of Strategic Studies Candidate with the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. His  thesis is focused on International Humanitarian Law and LGBTQ+ people in conflict zones. Jordan’s research interests also include Russian disinformation on LGBTQ+ people and its security implications. Jordan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies with a focus on international security and conflict. His past experiences include attending field school at the NATO Defence College and attending the UN Defence and Peacekeeping ministerial in Vancouver as a youth delegate. He has also volunteered extensively with the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence studies and the Canadian International Council.

Joe Byram is in his first year of the LL.M. program in the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Political Science and a Juris Doctor from the University of Alberta and is a part-time practicing lawyer. Joe’s thesis research focuses on the philosophical underpinnings of free expression and how law should approach free expression issues. His CANIS research examines the Supreme Court of Canada’s approach to the regulation of disinformation under section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Both his thesis and his CANIS project are supervised by Dr. Emily Laidlaw.

Patrick Cooper-Takada is a Master’s Candidate with the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. His primary research areas are the US Security Policy, Special Operations Forces, intelligence programs, and arms proliferation. He has a background in social research, including program validation for gang-intervention and at-risk youth. Patrick received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 2017, and has continued to research his areas of interest since. He is beginning to perform more research into supply chains and demographics, as a way to gain a better understanding of the rapidly changing global order.

Darlington Etaje is Ph.D. candidate in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. His research is focusing on designing a physics-based drilling simulator. He has created the PhiDrillsim app – an innovation for oil and gas drilling research that aims to replicate real life operations in a virtual environment to visualize and detect drilling problems and validate ongoing research. During the pandemic Darlington initiated two humanitarian projects: Disease Risk Analysis App (DiRAP) and Online Offline Education (OOE). Darlington’s overall purpose is to be a leader who is guided by three core values: Humility, Integrity, and Excellence. In the nearest future, Darlington sees himself as a global resource for sustainable technologies and genuine philanthropy.

Joelle French is currently a Graduate Student in the Master of Public Policy Program (MPP) at the University of Calgary (Class of 2022). Previous education includes a Bachelor of Arts Honors Degree in Political Science from St. Francis Xavier University (Class of 2017) and a Juris Doctor from the University of Saskatchewan (Class of 2021). Her research interests focus on the intersection of international trade, human rights and climate change. After completing her MPP degree, Joelle is hoping to move into the legal field, as an Articling Student, with a focus on corporate commercial and environmental law.

Marianne Grenier is a Master of Strategic Studies with the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. Her main research areas are the prevention of nuclear terrorism, international security regimes, and cyber threats regarding critical infrastructure. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sécurité et études policières from the Université de Montréal. She received a SSHRC scholarship to pursue her thesis research on a treaties comparison to prevent nuclear terrorism. She is particularly interested in studying new and evolving security challenges resulting from emerging technologies.

Kyle McCreanor is a Master of Strategic Studies Candidate with the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He is focusing his research on social media as the threat narrative.

Olaitan Oyekunle is an internationally trained lawyer from Nigeria and an LL.M. candidate at the University of Calgary. His research with CANIS focuses on incorporation of Indigenous traditional knowledge in the Canadian Defence Strategy in the Arctic. As an LL.M. candidate, his thesis examines Indigenous rights and climate change vis-à-vis the quest to establishing “the right to a healthy environment” in Canada. Prior to relocating to Canada in 2021, he practiced law for 4 years in Nigeria, where he established a niche in incisive legal research and analysis, as well as the practice of Energy and Natural Resources Law. He is a two-time recipient of The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law (Formerly Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation) scholarship, a recipient of the Canadian Energy Law Foundation (CELF) Scholarship, as well as a recipient of 2021 CANIS scholarship.

Jacqueline Peressini is a Master of Strategic Studies Candidate with the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the Sovietization of the Baltics, Russian national identity, and Russian foreign policy. Previously, Ms. Peressini completed her Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of Calgary where she developed a strong interest in totalitarian regimes and Eastern Europe, and spent two years living and working in Vilnius, Lithuania before returning to Canada. In the pursuit of advancing her knowledge of Russian foreign policy, Ms. Peressini is completing her final semester at Charles University in Prague, Czechia.

Perry Peterson’s main interest is in better decision through improved organization and access to the world’s geographical information. As a PhD student in Geomatics Engineering, he is recasting spatial analysis as a communication problem thus away from the complex process-based analysis of that requires substantial intermediary assistance. His vision for a natural discovery-based medium – a Digital Earth – that even children can use has been awarded the prestigious Alexander Graham Bell Scholarship. Perry believes that Digital Earth must go beyond mere transmittal of factual quantitative measurements if it is to evoke the empathy and actions required to overcome some of humanities most significant challenges.

Roberto Salegio is a recent Graduate of the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, where he earned his Master’s of Strategic Studies in early 2022. He previously earned a Bachelor’s of Arts, Honours History from Carleton University in 2018, and during these studies worked as a Student Analyst for multiple departments of the Government of Canada. He has also worked as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the University of Calgary, and as a Research Consultant for private organizations. His research interests include Canadian foreign and defence policy, public safety, and historical commemoration.”

Davina Shanti is a Master of Strategic Studies Candidate with the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary and Vice President – Relations of the Strategic Studies Students’ Consortium. Her research focus is on extremism within institutions, particularly the presence of right-wing extremism in the military. Ms. Shanti received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University in Criminology, along with a certificate in police studies. She previously worked with the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) and the Canadian International Council Vancouver branch as an executive board member.

Takumi Shibaike is a Postdoctoral Associate in the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. His research examines how nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) shape our understanding of “important” issues in global governance. His work has appeared in academic journals, such as Global Environmental Politics, Global Society, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Takumi’s current projects include understanding how Canadian news media report defense procurement issues and investigating how NGOs construct climate change discourse at UN conferences. Before starting at the University of Calgary, Takumi was a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto and an LL.B. from Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan.