The Bell is a newsletter produced by members of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. This newsletter will provide short and accessible Op-Eds, interviews and briefings on pressing and emerging public policy challenges, both here in Canada and abroad. 

The Bell is also home to Bellwether, a podcast hosted and produced by the students of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. In this podcast, we talk to policymakers, public servants, academics, researchers, and practitioners to unpack complex policy topics. We created this podcast to have a platform that elevates student voices in discussions of emerging policy issues in Canada and abroad. 

Listed below is the team behind The Bell:

Editor-in-Chief:

Teodora Durca: Teodora is the Editor-in-Chief for The Bell as well as a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy. Teodora has a diverse academic and professional background, with experience in public affairs and lobbying for clean technology and energy clients, organizing political campaigns, as well as professional writing for nonprofits and foundations. Teodora is keen to apply her wide-ranging expertise to deliver multi-disciplinary, factual and engaging pieces at The Bell alongside her capable and talented team. Some of the key policy challenges Teodora is interested in reporting on at The Bell this year include environmental and energy policy, global affairs, Canadian politics and social justice. 

Bellwether Producer

Sean Celi: Sean is an MPP Candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and the Executive Producer of Bellwether. Sean is also an Assistant Editor at The Bell. With four years of experience in the federal public service, he is interested in public service transformation, Canada's immigration policy, and sustainable solutions to economic inequality.

Production Managers:

Jillian Hayden: Jillian is an MPP Candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and is currently on the Production Team at the Bell. Passionate about economic inclusion, she has conducted research with the Self-Employed Women's Association and the Centre Haïtien du Leadership et de l'Excellence through the Coady International Institute. She has worked in the areas of affordable finance structures, asset allocation and education accessibility and looks forward to enhancing her knowledge on foreign economic policy.

Maeve McGuire: Maeve is an MPP candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and a Production Manager at the Bell. With an academic background in political science, her interests include foreign policy and education innovation.

Assistant Editors:

Chloe Aboud: Chloe is a MPP candidate at the Max Bell School for Public Policy and an Assistant Editor at The Bell. She has a background in Economics and International Development Studies, and spent 2 years working in Mergers and Acquisitions advisory. Chloe is interested in public-private partnerships specifically for sustainable development, and education policy and innovation.

Sean Celi: Sean is an MPP Candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and an Assistant Editor at The Bell. Sean is also the Executive Producer of Bellwether. With four years of experience in the federal public service, he is interested in public service transformation, Canada's immigration policy, and sustainable solutions to economic inequality.

Anita Dernovici: Anita is an MPP candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and an Assistant Editor at The Bell. She is currently a Manager, Privacy Policy at Transport Canada, and has experience in various federal government departments and in a crown corporation in the Access to Information and Privacy field. As a pioneering female leader within the Government of Canada, Anita is resolute in advancing equity and impartiality within institutional frameworks. Amid the evolving global landscape driven by disruptive technologies such as generative AI and cryptocurrencies, she envisions a future founded on just principles, and safeguarding individual and collective well-being.

Soomin Han: Soomin is an MPP candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and an Assistant Editor at The Bell. With a background in leading advocacy efforts on domestic and international climate policies, Soomin brings expertise in environmental justice, climate finance, domestic social policies, and politics of international negotiations.

Colleen Keilty: Colleen is an MPP candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and an Assistant Editor at The Bell. With experience in the not-for-profit sector and the federal public service, Colleen is especially interested in advancing gender equality, as well as social and environmental justice. 

Michael Kynaston: Michael is from London, United Kingdom. He has worked as a Participation and Communities manager for Barking and Dagenham council in London, engaging directly with local residents, community partners and elected officials. Michael is passionate about education policy and has good experience of participation and engagement work, but is excited about being able to study such topics as global macroeconomics and budgeting and fiscal policy in all of their complexity.

Ian Lupton: Ian is a MPP candidate at the Max Bell School for Public Policy and an Assistant Editor at The Bell.  Ian has worked at various levels of government in Canada and the United States, in provincial, municipal and legislative environments.  Ian is interested in bilateral cooperation and divergence, urbanism and the public realm, and is passionate about reading and literacy.

Asha Sivarajah: Asha is an MPP candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and an Assistant Editor at The Bell. She previously coordinated the relaunch of award-winning foreign policy publication, Open Canada, and helped oversee its editorial operations. With a professional background in media, finance, and the non-profit sector, Asha is interested in exploring policy issues at the intersection of human rights, democratic reform, and data protection. 

Krystina Sorensen: Krystina, an aspiring MPP candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy, also holds the esteemed role of Assistant Editor at The Bell. With a strong academic foundation in Criminology and Psychology, she brings over three years of diverse experience gained in both the non-profit sector and the esteemed Federal Public Service. Krystina is passionate about championing human rights causes, promoting gender equality, and advocating for meaningful law and legislative reforms.

Social Media Managers:

Francis Kwesi Padi: Francis is a member of the Social Media team. He has a background in Development Planning. He is passionate about public policy, urban and regional planning, data science and project management. He intends to leverage his skills to develop data-driven policies and programs that address social and economic inequalities, promote sustainable development, and improve public service delivery.

Chief Editor:

Andrew Potter: is an associate professor (professional) at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and Editor-In-Chief at The Bell. A former journalist, between 2011 and 2016 Andrew Potter was managing editor and then Editor-in-Chief of the Ottawa Citizen, and from 2006 to 2011 he was a public affairs columnist for Maclean's Magazine. He is also a former Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. Potter is the author of The Authenticity Hoax: How We Get Lost Finding Ourselves, and the co-author, with Joseph Heath, of the best-selling book The Rebel Sell: Why the Culture Can't be Jammed.

If you have any feedback or would like to contribute to this newsletter, please send an email to maxbellnewsletter@gmail.com

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A newsletter about the complexity of making good public policy produced by members of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University.