Dr. Michael Akladios

Founder and Executive Director

Michael earned his PhD in History from York University. A historian of Diaspora, Migration, and Ethnicity, his research focuses on Egypt’s migrants in North America and the global Middle East during the Cold War. His first book project, Ordinary Copts: Ecumenism, Activism, and Belonging in Cold War North American Cities, explores the lived experiences of Coptic Orthodox Christians as they navigated geopolitics, race, and religion in postwar North America. Michael is an Adjunct Professor in Historical Studies at the University of Toronto. He has published widely in academic and public-facing outlets, and recently co-edited a special issue, “Toward Critical Coptic Studies,” with Dr. Candace Lukasik for Exchange: Journal of Contemporary Christianities in Context, 54.1 (2025). You can follow him on Twitter @michaelakladios.

Dr. Leila Zonouzi

Editor

Leila holds a PhD in Global Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her dissertation research is a comparative diasporic study between Iran, Egypt, and Turkey, where she argues that the events following social movements that occurred in the 2010s in case countries have caused a new wave of mass migration from the MENA region to the Global North. You can follow her on Twitter @Leilazon.

Christin El-kholy

Social Media Manager

Christin is a bibliophile and journalism student from Scarborough, Canada, who left Cairo as a baby. This relationship to “home” has led to a lifelong investigation of diasporic identity, and a passionate interest in how a city is storied from the inside—and out. When she’s not embarking on a dérive (probably in pursuit of a donut), she’s likely convincing a friend to use the public library. You can follow her on Twitter @Chrysographer.

Stephanie Amin

Grants Writer

 Stephanie Amin is a former Egypt Migrations intern during the 2022 summer. She is an independent researcher and filmmaker. She holds a master’s degree in political sociology from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Amin has professional experience in research, film festival coordination, translation and enjoys writing and singing. Stephanie is interested in Coptic studies, cinema and gender studies. Her first short documentary film, “I Found My Love in Massara,” premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival’s 45th edition and has gone on to secure multiple prestigious recognitions.