Meet our Staff
Paula became Executive Director of MCM after several years as a community worker, developing housing for the homeless and rooming house population.
As director, Paula has accompanied MCM through many structural changes that included the creation of two Legal Clinics and a new area of intercultural and interfaith collaboration.
Paula has a Master's in Social Intervention from UQÀM, and was ordained a United Church minister in 2013. She is an accredited supervisor of social work and theology students, and has acted as an accreditor of national community ministries for the United Church of Canada.
Paula is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree (DMin) from the University of Toronto.
Anwar Alhjooj
Assistant Director &
Coordinator of Maa'n / Together
Trained as a lawyer in Italy and after practicing law in Israel, Anwar moved to Montreal and completed a Master's of Social Work at McGill University.
Since 2016, Anwar has been the coordinator of Maa'n-Ensemble, MCM's intercultural program, spearheading projects such as Women Weaving their Dreams, Catering Collective and Season-Saisons newcomer men's group.
Anwar's fluency in Arabic and Hebrew has facilitated interfaith relations and community building. In 2021, Anwar was named MCM Assistant Director.
Arwa joined MCM in 2019 as Outreach Coordinator in the Maa’n intercultural program.
With her background in the field of education, along with her personal experience, Arwa has helped establish a line of communication between refugees/newcomers and Canadians in multiple projects. In 2020, she organized over 10 in-person and online projects and is committed to community engagement.
Palestinian born, Arwa worked as a teacher in Saudi Arabia before coming to Canada. Arwa has a long history of advancing for equity, diversity and inclusion in the educational, arts and cultural sectors.
Olga Houde
Coordinator of the
Just Solutions & Roger Snelling
Legal Clinics
Olga began working at MCM in 2015 managing the Senior's Legal Clinic, and in 2016 was appointed coordinator of both the Just Solutions and Roger Snelling Seniors Legal Clinics.
In 2018, Olga established a partnership with a downtown shelter for women victims of domestic violence to provide staff training and individual interventions with the residents who were vulnerable migrants.
Olga's multi-cultural immigration background, as well as her mastery of several languages including Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian facilitate our work with the diverse population served by the clinics.
She has an educational background in political science, international studies, and law. She worked previously at the International Bureau for Children's Rights.
Louise has been working with vulnerable persons and migrants for over 10 years.
After completing her law degree in Europe, she worked for organizations like the UNHCR and the Red Cross. She then started working in immigration holding centers in France for a few years, helping migrants and asylum seekers with their legal proceedings and appeals.
Louise joined MCM in June 2017, where she continues to work as a legal caseworker for our Legal Clinics. She provides legal information in the field of refugee and humanitarian immigration law, and accompanies vulnerable migrants with their immigration files.
Louise is currently on maternity leave.
Anthony joined MCM in 2022 to replace Louise who is on maternity leave. He provides legal information and accompaniment to vulnerable migrants.
He has worked with vulnerable persons, migrants, and asylum seekers in several countries to help with their legal proceedings and appeals.
He has trained as a lawyer in France.
Peter holds a law degree from New York University and a Master's of Social Work from McGill. He has been working with marginalized people in various capacities at Montreal community organizations since 2012.
Peter was the Socio-legal Intervention Worker at the Committee to Aid Refugees (CAR) for one year before joining MCM in 2023. In his current capacity he collaborates closely with other MCM staff on both individual casework and collective advocacy.
In addition to his work with migrants and refugees, Peter is an organist and Director of Music at St. Philip's Anglican Church in Montreal West.
Muzhgan joined MCM in 2023 to work on a pilot project overseen by Just Solutions Legal Clinic. The pilot project is centered around creating a better understanding, and improving the situation of, migrants with a precarious status living in Québec.
She studied medicine, and holds an MSc from the University of Montréal in Global Health. She has experience as a researcher and is interested in the power of data in improving programs and policies, in particular for the most marginalized.
Muzhgan is able to assist migrants in Russian and Persian (Farsi, Dari and Tajik).
Rick Goldman began working as Supervising Lawyer of the Just Solutions Legal Clinic in 2005. This part-time position involves serving as a resource person for Clinic staff persons as well as students doing placements at the clinic.
Rick has worked as a lawyer in the community sector for more than 30 years. He has served as staff lawyer at several community groups.
Rick currently also works with Éducaloi, a non-profit organization that aims to explain the law to Quebecers in an understandable manner.
Paul worked for over 3 decades in the banking industry, many years as a branch manager. He then accompanied refugeed people and advocated for refugee rights as Executive Director of Action Réfugiés Montréal for over eight years.
An active member of Cedar Park United Church, Paul now supports our fundraising activities on a part-time basis.
Layla Omar
Office Manager
Layla started working with MCM in October of 2022. She is responsible for ensuring the day-to-day activities of the organization run smoothly. This consists of managing correspondence, the website, as well as fundraising and donations.
Layla is currently studying Biology and Professional Writing at Concordia University.
Our Board of Directors
MCM has a Board of 11 members who bring fresh perspectives and skills to guide the organization. They are from diverse backgrounds including members of the United Church of Canada, community representatives, as well as people who have benefited in the past from MCM programs.
Rev. Wendy Evans
Chair
Wendy Evans serves as board chair for Montreal City Mission. She is an ordained minister in The United Church of Canada and has an adjunct faculty role at United Theological College.
Wendy has served in a variety of global justice contexts over the years and is passionate about the ‘heart work’ of relationship building in the justice movement for all creation.
Royal Orr
Past Chair
Royal Orr is the former Chair of the Board of MCM and Chair of the Joint Grants Committee of the United Church of Canada Foundation and General Council.
He farms in Hatley, Quebec.
Nicole Ives
Nicole Ives is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, McGill University and Co-Founder of Indigenous Access McGill.
Dr. Ives’ areas of research include migration issues, particularly refugee resettlement, and Indigenous social work education and Indigenous social and educational policies.
Current research projects include post-secondary education experiences of Indigenous youth; Syrian refugee long-term health outcomes in Canada; integration experiences of refugee claimants in Quebec; and refugee children’s experiences of belonging in a recreational setting.
Logan Littlefield
Logan is a landscape architect and practices at a design firm in Montreal. He is a member of Saint James United Church which shares a close relationship with MCM.
Logan has lived and worked in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, the UK, Lebanon, and South Africa.
He is committed to social justice, the rights of the marginalized, faith-based community work, and ensuring the built and natural environment responds to the needs of a multicultural and multi-faith society.
Rev. Neil Whitehouse
Rev. Neil Whitehouse the minister of Westmount Park United Church, an immigrant from the United Kingdom, openly gay, and a Green and progressive Christian.
Kim Neverson
Kim was born and raised in Montreal, and is a member of St James United Church.
Her work has focused on supporting First Nations health and social services organizations in the areas of accreditation, continuous quality improvement and community health planning.
Having the opportunity to learn about Indigenous cultures, history and teachings has been an eye-opening and enriching experience. It has been a continuous learning journey that has contributed to her holistic worldview.
Her graduate studies on people-centered approaches to social development further strengthened her beliefs in the importance of community-led planning, and of nurturing inclusion, partnership, collaboration and respect every step of the way.
Masoud Nasiry
Masoud is a multilingual and multicultural person and describes himself as an open and honest person.
He has been living in Montreal since 2020, and currently works as a construction project coordinator at one of the biggest companies in Montreal. He is also an entrepreneur as he owns a small business where he provided work opportunities to other Montrealers and newcomers.
Masoud Is committed to defending human rights and has experience working with the United Nations on several humanitarian projects.
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