Mentor Circles

Raphael Costa (PhD ’15), Director, Economic Development at City of Vaughan. Raphael leads initiatives in business retention and expansion, tourism, smart city development, and strategic projects. With over 15 years of experience in the non-profit, academic and municipal sectors, Raphael has helped communities develop and implement strategies, programs, and policies to enhance community potential. Raphael holds a Master's in Public Administration and a Doctorate, with a dissertation focused on community and economic development. He is currently involved with the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC), the Economic Developers’ Council of Ontario (EDCO), and has served as an expert in cluster development and social enterprise for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Benjamin Phelps (BA ‘20), Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada.

Benjamin Phelps holds a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Arts in Global Political Studies from York University and a Master of Public Administration in Policy Studies from Queen's University. As a trade commissioner at Global Affairs Canada, he oversees the Aerospace and Defence sector for Ontario, engaging with the local business and diplomatic community, preparing briefing materials for departmental executives and facilitating inbound and outbound diplomatic missions. In 2024, Benjamin completed a temporary assignment at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. In 2020, he served as a Laboratory Attendant with Public Health Ontario during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hasti Almasi (BA ’14, MPIA ’18), Policy Analysis Specialist, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Hasti is a public servant with the federal government of Canada, at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), on federal Indigenous housing policy. She has over 15 years of experience working with and for various underserved, equity-deserving groups. Hasti is a strong advocate for people who experience oppression at the hands of institutions and seeks to better these circumstances however she can. In her role with Indigenous housing at CMHC, Hasti has worked as part of the policy team that designs, proposes and implements national housing initiatives, co-created and developed with National Indigenous Organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Metis National Council, and with federal partners, Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.  She has worked in collaboration with Caribbean NGOs, UNDP Caribbean, UN Women Caribbean and the Government of Barbados, working on initiatives pertaining to the Millenium Development Goals for Small Island Developing States, and the Barbadian government's first national gender policy. Hasti holds a bilingual Master of Public and International Affairs from York University's Glendon Campus in Toronto and was a 2-year President of the Model United Nations at York during her undergraduate studies. She is a former refugee and was a First Generation university student in her family. 

Lauralyn Johnston (BES ’99, MES ’09), Senior Project Manager, Downtown East Justice Centre, City of Toronto

Lauralyn Johnston has worked for Vaughan, Aurora, Regina, Simcoe County and Toronto. Using good data and partnerships, she connects resources for socially sustainable solutions that inform public infrastructure investment and governance models. Her current project is supporting the creation of the Toronto Downtown East Justice Centre an innovative project between the Ministry of the Attorney General and the City of Toronto.