Spark: a centre for social research innovation connects researchers to the people, skills and tools needed to stand at the forefront of social research innovation.Through partnerships, training, and consultation, our mission is to engage with researchers and the community to expand methodological boundaries and harness the full power of social research to build a brighter world.
Spark Annual Reports
Download the Spark Annual Report for 2021-22 to get an overview of our year’s achievements and initiatives. This report covers our transition to a Core Research Platform at McMaster University, the development of new Social Research Certificates, and our unique educational programs like the ‘Identity in Research’ series. Learn about our collaborative efforts, community partnerships, and plans for the future in a clear, concise format. Gain insights into how Spark is contributing to advancements in social research and supporting the academic community.
Meet Our Team
Shannon Boss
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Shannon is a wordsmith who loves translating research findings into digestible pieces. As a trained philosopher whose dissertation on diet and health pushed the boundaries of traditional philosophical research methodology, they are excited to make research more widely accessible. They received their PhD in Philosophy from the University of Guelph in 2022 and have been working with the The/La Collaborative at Mac since. Outside of their professional life, they are an avid outdoor enthusiast and absolute bookworm
Shannon Boss
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Equity Burke
Communications Administrator & Spark Connections Lead
Equity is the queen of organization, coordination, and administration. Equity is also the research coordinator at the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging at McMaster and strives to build a brighter world through qualitative interdisciplinary research. Other than writing things in her agenda and using coloured sticky notes, Equity enjoys travelling such as Egypt, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Equity Burke
Communications Administrator & Spark Connections Lead
Ver-Se Denga
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Ver-Se is a champion at applying research methods to real-world problems. She is passionate about knowledge translation and is excited to be working with Spark to provide actionable research to community organisations. Outside of her work at Spark, Ver-Se is completing her PhD studies in psychology with a focus on human cognition and memory. She loves going to concerts and drinking bubble tea.
Ver-Se Denga
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Michelle Dion
Academic Director | Professor | Senator Wm. McMaster Chair in Gender & Methodology
Michelle is an expert in quantitative research design. She specializes in comparative political economy, comparative political behaviour, and research design and methodology. Michelle Dion is an award-winning Associate Professor of Political Science.
Michelle Dion
Academic Director | Professor | Senator Wm. McMaster Chair in Gender & Methodology
Evan Gravely
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Evan is a social researcher who specializes in working with community and social-purpose organizations to conduct high-quality research. While providing project support to Brighter Spark,he also manages the McMaster Research Shop – a co-curricular community-engaged research program. In his spare time, he enjoys introverted activities like reading, video games, and trail runs.
Evan Gravely
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Saud Haseeb
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Saud is a phenom at figuring out how to use complex data to tell cool stories. He is excited to work alongside an interdisciplinary team at Spark to learn how research can be used to create social change. In his spare time, he likes to volunteer, learn about cool sports statistics, and chase the elusive 30 minute 5k.
Saud Haseeb
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Lynn Holland
Administrative Officer & Communications Team
Lynn is a gregarious administrator navigating Spark events/administration. What makes her unique is her university experience and her understanding of the details, processes, and rules. She stays resilient, optimistic, determined, and humble where technology is concerned. She adopts a “I can do – just show me” attitude. She is continually gaining new skills/abilities from the larger group at Spark.
Lynn Holland
Administrative Officer & Communications Team
Sobia Khan
Information Technology Analyst
Sobia is a wizard at implementing innovative and optimal solutions to complex problems.
She is thrilled to research and develop automations.
She is a Graduate student McMaster University, pursuing her M. Engg in Systems & Technology (Automation & Smart Systems).
In her spare time, she likes to swim, cycle and learn to paint.
Jordan Lentinello
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Jordan is a darling of a community-based researcher and educator. Prior to her beginning her PhD, she has worked both internally in the university in various EDI-focused roles as well as within the non-profit sphere over the past several years. Her interdisciplinary research efforts/ supports have focused on topics ranging from ABR, child welfare, COVID-19 and social determinants of wellness, environmental racism, and EDI within higher education. In her spare time, she can be found with her headphones on indulging in her love of music.
Jordan Lentinello
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Chenfei (Alina) Li
Multimedia Specialist (Captioning)
Alina is the CAT at captioning high-quality photos and actively seeking ways to drive innovation for society. Her enthusiasm to make a positive impact on the world is truly inspiring. Balancing her schoolwork with her responsibilities, Alina is committed to achieving a harmonious work-study-life balance. To find inner peace, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and immersing herself in the beauty of nature after work.
Chenfei (Alina) Li
Multimedia Specialist (Captioning)
Lance Marwood
Marketing & Events Associate
Communications Team Lead
Lance is a wizard when it comes to communications, particularly with the written word. He is excited to be taking on the channels which Spark uses for broadcasting. He’s the President & Co-Founder of artist development agency V13 Promotions, Director of Communications at V13 Media, a vinyl enthusiast, and total nerd.
Moyo Sogaolu
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Moyo is a marvel at transforming data into manageable pieces. She is an empirical research enthusiast passionate about using data to explore labour market issues. Moyo is working towards completing a Ph.D. in Economics, and when she is not analyzing data, you can find her volunteering or serving out various dishes from her kitchen.
Moyo Sogaolu
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Allison Van
Executive Director, Spark: a centre for social research innovation
Allison is a rockstar at using research methods to help find solutions for complex social problems. She is excited to be building Spark into a model for facilitating innovative, relevant social research. In her spare time, she is a meditation teacher, dancer, and fermenter of every vegetable known to man.
Allison Van
Executive Director, Spark: a centre for social research innovation
Lily Wang
Secure Empirical Analysis Lab (SEAL) Manager
Lily has a background in Physics and Computer Science and is passionate about data security, fair use and Research Data Management.
Lily Wang
Secure Empirical Analysis Lab (SEAL) Manager
Shannon Boss
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Shannon is a wordsmith who loves translating research findings into digestible pieces. As a trained philosopher whose dissertation on diet and health pushed the boundaries of traditional philosophical research methodology, they are excited to make research more widely accessible. They received their PhD in Philosophy from the University of Guelph in 2022 and have been working with the The/La Collaborative at Mac since. Outside of their professional life, they are an avid outdoor enthusiast and absolute bookworm
Shannon Boss
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Shannon is a wordsmith who loves translating research findings into digestible pieces. As a trained philosopher whose dissertation on diet and health pushed the boundaries of traditional philosophical research methodology, they are excited to make research more widely accessible. They received their PhD in Philosophy from the University of Guelph in 2022 and have been working with the The/La Collaborative at Mac since. Outside of their professional life, they are an avid outdoor enthusiast and absolute bookworm
Equity Burke
Communications Administrator & Spark Connections Lead
Equity is the queen of organization, coordination, and administration. Equity is also the research coordinator at the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging at McMaster and strives to build a brighter world through qualitative interdisciplinary research. Other than writing things in her agenda and using coloured sticky notes, Equity enjoys travelling such as Egypt, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Equity Burke
Communications Administrator & Spark Connections Lead
Equity is the queen of organization, coordination, and administration. Equity is also the research coordinator at the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging at McMaster and strives to build a brighter world through qualitative interdisciplinary research. Other than writing things in her agenda and using coloured sticky notes, Equity enjoys travelling such as Egypt, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Ver-Se Denga
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Ver-Se is a champion at applying research methods to real-world problems. She is passionate about knowledge translation and is excited to be working with Spark to provide actionable research to community organisations. Outside of her work at Spark, Ver-Se is completing her PhD studies in psychology with a focus on human cognition and memory. She loves going to concerts and drinking bubble tea.
Ver-Se Denga
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Ver-Se is a champion at applying research methods to real-world problems. She is passionate about knowledge translation and is excited to be working with Spark to provide actionable research to community organisations. Outside of her work at Spark, Ver-Se is completing her PhD studies in psychology with a focus on human cognition and memory. She loves going to concerts and drinking bubble tea.
Michelle Dion
Academic Director | Professor | Senator Wm. McMaster Chair in Gender & Methodology
Michelle is an expert in quantitative research design. She specializes in comparative political economy, comparative political behaviour, and research design and methodology. Michelle Dion is an award-winning Associate Professor of Political Science.
Michelle Dion
Academic Director | Professor | Senator Wm. McMaster Chair in Gender & Methodology
Michelle is an expert in quantitative research design. She specializes in comparative political economy, comparative political behaviour, and research design and methodology. Michelle Dion is an award-winning Associate Professor of Political Science.
Evan Gravely
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Evan is a social researcher who specializes in working with community and social-purpose organizations to conduct high-quality research. While providing project support to Brighter Spark,he also manages the McMaster Research Shop – a co-curricular community-engaged research program. In his spare time, he enjoys introverted activities like reading, video games, and trail runs.
Evan Gravely
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Evan is a social researcher who specializes in working with community and social-purpose organizations to conduct high-quality research. While providing project support to Brighter Spark,he also manages the McMaster Research Shop – a co-curricular community-engaged research program. In his spare time, he enjoys introverted activities like reading, video games, and trail runs.
Saud Haseeb
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Saud is a phenom at figuring out how to use complex data to tell cool stories. He is excited to work alongside an interdisciplinary team at Spark to learn how research can be used to create social change. In his spare time, he likes to volunteer, learn about cool sports statistics, and chase the elusive 30 minute 5k.
Saud Haseeb
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Saud is a phenom at figuring out how to use complex data to tell cool stories. He is excited to work alongside an interdisciplinary team at Spark to learn how research can be used to create social change. In his spare time, he likes to volunteer, learn about cool sports statistics, and chase the elusive 30 minute 5k.
Lynn Holland
Administrative Officer & Communications Team
Lynn is a gregarious administrator navigating Spark events/administration. What makes her unique is her university experience and her understanding of the details, processes, and rules. She stays resilient, optimistic, determined, and humble where technology is concerned. She adopts a “I can do – just show me” attitude. She is continually gaining new skills/abilities from the larger group at Spark.
Lynn Holland
Administrative Officer & Communications Team
Lynn is a gregarious administrator navigating Spark events/administration. What makes her unique is her university experience and her understanding of the details, processes, and rules. She stays resilient, optimistic, determined, and humble where technology is concerned. She adopts a “I can do – just show me” attitude. She is continually gaining new skills/abilities from the larger group at Spark.
Sobia Khan
Information Technology Analyst
Sobia is a wizard at implementing innovative and optimal solutions to complex problems.
She is thrilled to research and develop automations.
She is a Graduate student McMaster University, pursuing her M. Engg in Systems & Technology (Automation & Smart Systems).
In her spare time, she likes to swim, cycle and learn to paint.
Sobia Khan
Information Technology Analyst
Sobia is a wizard at implementing innovative and optimal solutions to complex problems.
She is thrilled to research and develop automations.
She is a Graduate student McMaster University, pursuing her M. Engg in Systems & Technology (Automation & Smart Systems).
In her spare time, she likes to swim, cycle and learn to paint.
Jordan Lentinello
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Jordan is a darling of a community-based researcher and educator. Prior to her beginning her PhD, she has worked both internally in the university in various EDI-focused roles as well as within the non-profit sphere over the past several years. Her interdisciplinary research efforts/ supports have focused on topics ranging from ABR, child welfare, COVID-19 and social determinants of wellness, environmental racism, and EDI within higher education. In her spare time, she can be found with her headphones on indulging in her love of music.
Jordan Lentinello
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Jordan is a darling of a community-based researcher and educator. Prior to her beginning her PhD, she has worked both internally in the university in various EDI-focused roles as well as within the non-profit sphere over the past several years. Her interdisciplinary research efforts/ supports have focused on topics ranging from ABR, child welfare, COVID-19 and social determinants of wellness, environmental racism, and EDI within higher education. In her spare time, she can be found with her headphones on indulging in her love of music.
Chenfei (Alina) Li
Multimedia Specialist (Captioning)
Alina is the CAT at captioning high-quality photos and actively seeking ways to drive innovation for society. Her enthusiasm to make a positive impact on the world is truly inspiring. Balancing her schoolwork with her responsibilities, Alina is committed to achieving a harmonious work-study-life balance. To find inner peace, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and immersing herself in the beauty of nature after work.
Chenfei (Alina) Li
Multimedia Specialist (Captioning)
Alina is the CAT at captioning high-quality photos and actively seeking ways to drive innovation for society. Her enthusiasm to make a positive impact on the world is truly inspiring. Balancing her schoolwork with her responsibilities, Alina is committed to achieving a harmonious work-study-life balance. To find inner peace, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and immersing herself in the beauty of nature after work.
Lance Marwood
Marketing & Events Associate
Communications Team Lead
Lance is a wizard when it comes to communications, particularly with the written word. He is excited to be taking on the channels which Spark uses for broadcasting. He’s the President & Co-Founder of artist development agency V13 Promotions, Director of Communications at V13 Media, a vinyl enthusiast, and total nerd.
Lance Marwood
Marketing & Events Associate
Communications Team Lead
Lance is a wizard when it comes to communications, particularly with the written word. He is excited to be taking on the channels which Spark uses for broadcasting. He’s the President & Co-Founder of artist development agency V13 Promotions, Director of Communications at V13 Media, a vinyl enthusiast, and total nerd.
Moyo Sogaolu
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Moyo is a marvel at transforming data into manageable pieces. She is an empirical research enthusiast passionate about using data to explore labour market issues. Moyo is working towards completing a Ph.D. in Economics, and when she is not analyzing data, you can find her volunteering or serving out various dishes from her kitchen.
Moyo Sogaolu
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Moyo is a marvel at transforming data into manageable pieces. She is an empirical research enthusiast passionate about using data to explore labour market issues. Moyo is working towards completing a Ph.D. in Economics, and when she is not analyzing data, you can find her volunteering or serving out various dishes from her kitchen.
Allison Van
Executive Director, Spark: a centre for social research innovation
Allison is a rockstar at using research methods to help find solutions for complex social problems. She is excited to be building Spark into a model for facilitating innovative, relevant social research. In her spare time, she is a meditation teacher, dancer, and fermenter of every vegetable known to man.
Allison Van
Executive Director, Spark: a centre for social research innovation
Allison is a rockstar at using research methods to help find solutions for complex social problems. She is excited to be building Spark into a model for facilitating innovative, relevant social research. In her spare time, she is a meditation teacher, dancer, and fermenter of every vegetable known to man.
Lily Wang
Secure Empirical Analysis Lab (SEAL) Manager
Lily has a background in Physics and Computer Science and is passionate about data security, fair use and Research Data Management.
Lily Wang
Secure Empirical Analysis Lab (SEAL) Manager
Lily has a background in Physics and Computer Science and is passionate about data security, fair use and Research Data Management.