Robert Ermel
Director of Operations

Robert Ermel is the Director of Operations for the Manitoba Institute for Policy Research at the University of Manitoba. Prior to coming to the University of Manitoba, Mr. Ermel worked in senior leadership roles in the parliamentary, extra-parliamentary, and voluntary sectors. His experience allows him to communicate effectively with decision-makers and community leaders as well as across various management levels and disciplines.  Having reported to and served on numerous boards throughout his career, Mr. Ermel has extensive experience operating in governance models where high expectations of accountability are demanded. Mr. Ermel is a recognized expert in elections and election financing and has served as an international election observer. He has a MPA from the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

Dr. Andrea Rounce
Interim Academic Director

Dr. Andrea Rounce is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba and Associate Chair of the Joint Master of Public Administration Program. She teaches and researches in public administration, focusing on public sector governance (including government procurement, and horizontality, university governance); citizen engagement and public opinion; postsecondary education policy; policy analysis; survey research; writing in the public sector, and quantitative and qualitative research methodology. Emphasizing the need to bridge theory and practice, Andrea has worked with both provincial and federal governments and public servants on policy and governance issues.

Paul Vogt
Executive in Residence

Paul Vogt has served as Clerk of the Executive Council and Cabinet Secretary in the Manitoba Government since January 2005.  He is the formal head of the Civil Service and responsible for the Premier’s department (Executive Council) and Cabinet operations.  From 1999 to 2005, Vogt served as Policy Secretary to Cabinet, and from 1996 to 1999 he was the Research Director for the Opposition Caucus.  Prior to his work with the provincial government, Vogt taught politics, economics and philosophy at the Universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba (1990 – 1996).  He did his undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba (BA hons, 1983) and did graduate work at Oxford (MPhil, 1985) and Princeton University. 

Dr. Karine Levasseur
Public Policy section Editor for the
Manitoba Law Journal: Underneath the Golden Boy

Dr. Levasseur graduated with a PhD. in Public Policy from Carleton University in 2009. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba. Her research interests include state-civil society relations with a specific emphasis on how non-profit organizations and charities participate in the public policy process in Canada. She is the author of "In the name of charity: Institutional support and resistance for redefining the meaning of charity in Canada" that appeared in the June 2012 edition of Canadian Public Administration. This paper won the prestigious J. E. Hodgetts award for best article appearing in the 2012 volume of Canadian Public Administration. Other research interests include social policy, labour market policy, accountability and collaborative governance.
 
Prior to accepting a faculty position with the University of Manitoba, Dr. Levasseur was employed as a manager of a policy unit with the Province of Manitoba. Her responsibilities included managing research projects, developing and interpreting regulations, formulating policy responses and implementation. In addition, she also worked with advisory groups and provided policy and regulatory expertise.  She also has experience working with the Government of Canada specifically with Natural Resources Canada and Industry Canada.

Gillian Hanson
Communications and Outreach Officer

Gillian Hanson is the Communications and Outreach Officer for the Manitoba Institute for Policy Research. She has her B.A. Honours in Political Studies with a minor in Sociology from the University of Manitoba. While at the U of M, she was a Research Assistant for U2011- Understanding the Manitoba Provincial Election community cafe politique series and for the MIPR, a Teaching Assistant, the Vice President External of the Undergraduate Political Studies Students' Association, and the 2012 National Conference Director of the Canadian Political Science Students' Association (CPSSA). After her graduation in 2012, Gillian was an Intern with the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme. There she worked in a non-partisan capacity for an opposition and government backbench Member of Provincial Parliament.

Gillian has a broad range of research interests. In undergrad her focus was on international human rights, however through the OLIP internship, she has become particularly interested in provincial policies regarding mental health, transit, and municipalities. Bicameralism, concentration of power, the impact of public opinion on policy formation, and government (both Federal and Provincial) relations with Indigenous Peoples are other areas of interest.

Alexandra Allary
Communications and Outreach Officer

Alexandra Allary graduated from the University of Manitoba in May 2013 with an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.  In the summer of 2012, she received an Undergraduate Research Award to complete a research project regarding students’ and parents’ perceptions of post-secondary finances and its policy implications.  She began working at the Manitoba Institute for Policy Research (MIPR) in September 2013 and will be developing her prior research to publish a paper and create an online resource for post-secondary students to better prepare for their education.  She will also assist in planning and advertising outreach events and contribute to the publication of the Manitoba Policy Perspectives Journal.

Her areas of interest in public policy include post-secondary education, social welfare, environmental sustainability, and the how the public can be engaged in the development of policy. She hopes to be accepted to the Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program at the University of Victoria in Fall 2014. 

Alana Kernaghan
Research Assistant

Alana Kernaghan is an undergraduate student at the University of Manitoba in her last year of a double major in Political Studies and Psychology. She began working at the MIPR in April 2013 as a Research and Policy Assistant. She has been involved with the joint project between the MIPR and the Manitoba Law Journal: Underneath the Golden Boy, producing the inaugural public policy section. Tasks for this project included creating the Appendices that will be included at the end of the section, as well as synthesizing chart information from the provincial budgets and annual reports. She also integrated the MIPR website into the University of Manitoba system which will be completed by the end of the summer.

In the 2013/2014 academic year she will be the Social Coordinator for the Undergraduate Political Studies Students Association executive council. She also works on campus as at the Academic Learning Centre as a Study Skills Tutor. Her research interests include: immigration and immigration policy in Manitoba with regards to the Provincial Nominee Program; provincial and federal political economic policy, as well as many aspects of public policy and policy management. She hopes to be accepted to the Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program at the University of Manitoba upon graduation.

Kelly MacWilliam
Research Assistant

Kelly MacWilliam is currently in his fourth year of study, pursuing a B.A. with a double major in Political Studies and German. His job as a research assistant began in April 2013 where he supported various MIPR projects through completing literature reviews, transcribing interviews, assisting with outreach programs, and various other projects. Kelly will continue in this capacity with the MIPR until he graduates at the end of the 2014 winter term. Outside of school and work, Kelly is an active member of both the U of M German and Politics students’ community. Most recently, he acted as the National Director of Finance for the Canadian Political Science Student’s Association’s 2012/2013 Annual Conference.

Kelly’s research interests include: the role of NGOs in decision-making and policy-creation processes; federalism and overlapping jurisdictional and program responsibilities; and addressing the democratic deficit through increased citizen engagement in the policy process. After graduation, Kelly hopes to continue studying Politics and the German language through completing a Master’s Program in Germany. Alternatively, he is considering continuing his education through the Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program offered here at the U of M. He is looking forward to gaining valuable experience and knowledge working with the Institute.