About Us

Efrat Arbel (she/her) is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia Allard School of Law. She holds a doctorate from Harvard Law School, and is called to the Bar of British Columbia. Her work focuses on Canadian immigration detention, refugee protection, and border governance. She has published widely in these fields. Her research has helped shaped law and policy in Canada, and has introduced creative tools to advance legal education and public engagement. Efrat has served as an expert witness in Canadian judicial proceedings, and has prepared independent research reports for government agencies. She has engaged in consultations with, among others, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), and Unites States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She has also appeared before committees of the House of Common and Senate, and undertakes pro bono litigation within her fields of research. She has a deep love of art and music, and cherishes time spent on adventures with her loved ones. Efrat is the creator of the Detention Stories project and graphic novel, Executive Producer of the Detention Stories film, and co-author of the report, Race and Racism in Canada’s Immigration Detention System.

Prasanna Balasundaram (he/him) is the Director of Downtown Legal Services, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s clinical legal education program in public interest advocacy. Called to the Ontario Bar in 2007, he works on complex immigration and refugee law matters, with a focus on constitutional, inadmissibility, exclusion, and national security cases. Prasanna is co-author of the report, Race and Racism in Canada’s Immigration Detention System.

Hanna Gros (she/her) is an immigration and refugee lawyer, as well as a researcher and human rights advocate. She previously worked at Human Rights Watch, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, where she authored 10 major reports on immigration detention, focusing mainly on mental health, families and children. She was instrumental in the #WelcomeToCanada campaign with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which successfully ended the use of provincial jails for immigration detention in Canada. Hanna was also a sole practitioner supporting migrants and refugee claimants in Canada, and she continues to work on refugee resettlement with a focus on survivors of torture and gender-based violence at the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture. Hanna is co-author of the report, Race and Racism in Canada’s Immigration Detention System.

Nana Yanful (she/her) is the founder of Yanful Law, where she assists clients with human rights issues and state accountability matters, and provides consulting and workplace investigation services, with a focus on anti-Black racism. With over 20 years of experience in community building, racial justice and equity work, she brings a deeply informed and values-driven approach to her legal practice. Nana is the former founding Legal Director at the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC). She played a crucial role at BLAC by developing the legal clinic’s test case litigation strategy and spearheading their first interventions. These interventions included a landmark decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario regarding anti-Black racism and sentencing, a Charter challenge that supported the rights of Black sex workers, a Coroner’s Inquest that shed light on systemic anti-Black racism present in immigration detention, policing, and healthcare settings, and a police discipline appeal that paved the way for future cases to consider systemic racism when assessing the reasonableness of a police officer’s use force. Nana has appeared before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, advocating for the rights of Black prisoners. She has also worked as a criminal defence lawyer and equity specialist, advising on and investigating human rights and health equity issues in healthcare and public health settings. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Community Service Award from the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, recognition as one of Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch, the Ontario Bar Association’s President’s Award and Lexpert’s Rising Star: Leading Lawyers under 40. Nana is proud to serve on the School Council at her children’s school and on Legal Aid Ontario’s Racialized Communities Advisory Committee. Nana is co-author of the report, Race and Racism in Canada’s Immigration Detention System.

Sara Lopez (she/her) was born in Mexico City, Mexico. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology. Sara worked a human rights activist in Mexico for many years, and has continued to engage in human rights work since arriving in Canada. She previously worked as Engagement and Intake Coordinator at the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture, and is presently working as Refugee Protection Coordinator at Kinbrace Refugee Society. Prior to this, she spent twenty years running her own therapy practice. She spent seven years running her own chocolate business, and seven years working in education. Sara has served as a volunteer with many local organizations, including the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, Inland Refugee Society, and New Hope Community Services. She previously collaborated with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International on the #WelcomeToCanada campaign, which successfully ended the use of provincial jails for immigration detention in Canada. Sara’s family has always been her strength. Injustice drives her crazy. That's why she has always gotten in trouble trying to advocate for others. Human rights have been part of her life since she was child. She is proud to be a human rights activist and proud to live in Canada as a Protected Person. She has always been very romantic with the idea that you can help people and save the world, but she never thought that by doing this, her life would change forever. Sara is a storyteller in the Detention Stories graphic novel and film.

Edward Madojemu (he/his) is a Technical Artist with a deep love for comics and a specialty in XR. Edward studied at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where he worked as a research assistant, studying various applications of XR at the Basically Good Media Lab. Having brought his skills to projects such as the acclaimed Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse, and Mescaform Hill: The Missing Five, in partnership with Meta, Edward’s work revolves around researching efficient and comfortable ways to independently create digital media. When he’s not doing that, he’s hard at work on projects that highlight Afrocentric experiences. Edward is creator of the Detention Stories Virtual Reality, and illustrator for the report, Race and Racism in Canada’s Immigration Detention System.

S. Priya Morley (she/her) is Director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the Bernstein Institute for Human Rights and Project Advisor of the Global Justice Clinic at the New York University School of Law. Priya leads academic, advocacy, and policy initiatives at the intersection of racial justice and critical approaches to international human rights, with a particular focus on migration, climate justice, and reparations. Before joining the Bernstein Institute, Priya was on the faculty at UCLA Law as Director of the International Human Rights Clinic and Racial Justice Policy Counsel at the Promise Institute for Human Rights. Priya is currently a PhD in Law candidate at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, with research interests at the intersections of race, gender, migration, and human rights. Priya is lead researcher for the report, Race and Racism in Canada’s Immigration Detention System.

Matthew J. R. Nielsen (he/his), known online as NuclearJackal, is a Welsh-Canadian comic artist. He’s fascinated by history, geography, and people’s stories, and explores these via his work. He has a BA (Hons) in Illustration, his art has been published in a variety of anthologies and newsletters, and he’s worked on comics for multiple clients, including Military History Visualized and Monstercat. He is currently working on a comic autobiography titled The Big Soup: Growing up Autistic that illustrates his lived-experiences with ASD. Matthew illustrated Yanmi and Ben’s stories in Detention Stories.

Noé Nishizawa (she/her) is a Japanese-Canadian voice artist, singer, and actor. Shaped by a life across cultures and languages, she brings a globally inspired voice with a deep love for storytelling. Based in Canada, Noe is a trained and versatile performer with experience across voice, music, movement, and character-driven performance. Some of her previous work includes video games Assassin’s Creed and Mech Warrior and audiobooks such as Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace and Cat’s Eye. Noé is voice and performance actor in the Detention Stories Virtual Reality.

Eve Salomons (they/them) is a comic artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Eve illustrated Sara’s story in Detention Stories.