Governance

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Metropolis International is incorporated as a nonprofit organization in Canada. An Executive Committee, nominated by the members, oversees the organization’s year-round activities. The committee consists of a chairperson, deputy chair, treasurer, clerk, nominating chair, and other committee chairs as determined by the group, along with at-large members to ensure balanced representation.

  • Anna Triandafyllidou is an internationally renowned sociologist and migration expert whose innovative interdisciplinary research influences debates and policies on migration and asylum; the management of cultural diversity, nationalism and identity; and the contemporary global challenges of migration and integration. She has held the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) since 2019 and recently was named Scientific Director of Bridging Divides, a new $98.6 million project funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF). 

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Violet Roumeliotis Headshot

  • Violet Roumeliotis CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), delivering inclusive human services across Australia and the Asia Pacific. SSI supports 67,000 people annually. A former Telstra Business Woman of the Year, Violet also contributes to national and state advisory boards focused on social justice, equality and systemic change. See her research on "Foundations For Belonging" lead by Tadgh here.

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  • Pablo Ceriani Cernadas is Professor of Migration & Human Rights and Director of the Specialization on Migration, Asylum and Human Rights (Universidad Nacional de Lanús, Argentina). He also teaches at the University of Buenos Aires, National University of San Martin in Argentina, and University Simón Bolivar. He is the Vice-chairperson of the United Nations Committee for the protection of the rights of migrants and their families (CMW), and co-leads the CMW initiative along the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on a joint general comment on guidelines for eradicating xenophobia. He has served as consultant for UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM and ILO offices in Latin America and Spain on migrants’ human rights. He is co-editor of the IOM 2026. World Migration Report.

Enrico Del Castello Headshot

  • Enrico del Castello has been actively involved with the Metropolis International Network since 2004. He is Honorary President and Founder of the Italian Canadian Youth Formation Center and the Ottawa Italian School. For many years, he was working in the Canadian Federal Government, holding the positions of: Senior Media Relations Officer in the Department of the Secretary of State; Press Attaché and Parliamentary Liaison to the Commissioner of Official Languages; Director of Research, Development and Outreach in the Diversity Management Branch of the Public Service Commission of Canada; and Director of the International Relations Coordination Office at the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. He has been awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal and the Cross of Knight to the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the King Charles Coronation Medal.

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Westy Egmont Headshot

  • Westy A. Egmont is Professor Emeritus of Global Practice, Boston College (MA, USA) and Founding Director of the Immigrant Integration Lab. He is currently President of the Association of New Americans. Formerly, he was President of the International Institute of New England, serving as a leader of immigrant services and refugee settlement for the region. He was also Co-Chair of Governor's Advisory Council for five governors and Founder of the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement (the first city immigrant affairs office in the US) and WBZ-TV (NBC) Producer and Host.  

Marta Pachocka Headshot

  • Marta Pachocka is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies of the Warsaw School of Economics. She is Co-coordinator of the Laboratory of Urban and Regional Migration Policies at the Centre of Migration Research of the University of Warsaw, and former Head of the Migration Policies Research Unit at CMR. She supports the European Commission Representation in Poland as an EU expert member of the Team Europe Direct Poland network. She is Vice-president of the Polish European Community Studies Association and the Board of the Research Committee RC46 “Migration and Citizenship” of the International Political Science Association.

    See her work here and here.

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Jon Simmons Headshot

  • Jon Simmons is the former Head of Immigration System Statistics and Refugee Analysis and Insight at the UK Home Office and Home Office Chief Statistician.  In a long career overseeing analysis within government, providing advice to Ministers, senior officials and the public, he has worked on migration and borders analysis at the Home Office for over 15 years, and previously led the teams working on crime and policing.  He works closely with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to provide advice on their migration products. His published works include: Indicators of Integration report (Home Office 2019); Review of Crime Statistics (Home Office 2000) and UN Handbook on Crime Victimisation surveys.

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  • Paul Spoonley is Distinguished Professor and former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University, New Zealand. He was also advisor to the Police Commissioner (2022-25) and Co-Director of the National Centre for Countering Violent Extremism (2022-23), an initiative of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. He has led major research programmes on immigration, diversity, social cohesion and inter-group relations and been extensively involved in policy development and evaluation, both in New Zealand internationally. He was awarded the Science and Technology Medal by the Royal Society in 2009 for cross-cultural understanding and in 2025 was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Honours list. 

    He is the author of 29 books, including: Welcome to Our World: Immigration and the Reshaping of New Zealand (2012), The New ‘New’ Zealand. Facing Demographic Disruption (2021) and Histories of Hate. Radical Right in Aotearoa/New Zealand (2023).

Mary Boatemaa Setrana Headshot

  • Mary Boatemaa Setrana is Associate Professor of Migration and Social Change and Director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana. She is also the IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Anglophone West Africa. Mary served as the lead facilitator for Botswana’s National Migration Policy. Formerly, she served as consultant for national migration policies in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Mary is a scientific committee member of CODESRIA. She has led international research projects supported by the European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (IAC)

The International Advisory Committee (IAC) sets the strategic direction of the network and provides guidance to the leadership team and conference organizers on their programs. The IAC includes both institutional and individual members from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America, as well as representatives from international migration organizations. These members bring diverse expertise from research, government, policy, and practice, offering national, regional, and global perspectives to guide the network’s governance and activities.