Team

Bio: Brian joined McGill as the Director of Global Engagement in 2020. Brian leads the unit and is responsible for the strategic vision for McGill’s global engagement and for clearly communicating that vision to McGill’s internal and external stakeholders, supporting the international components of McGill’s Strategic Academic Plan 2017-2022. The unit facilitates international agreements with partner institutions that have a university-wide benefit, encouraging research collaboration, revenue-generating opportunities, and international mobility. Support provided by the unit also contributes to advancing social accountability and social justice programs in a global context, including development programs and programs tied to sustainable development goals. Additionally, the global engagement unit capitalizes on the geographic expertise of its team to identify potential opportunities for expanded engagement and shares those opportunities with relevant Faculties and internal stakeholders.

Email: kalyna.kruczowyj [at] mcgill.ca

Bio: As Associate Director of the Global Engagement Unit, Kalyna implements the University’s global engagement strategy by facilitating university partnerships and other institutional agreements, guiding risk management, and supporting programs for displaced individuals. Following her graduation with a Bachelor of Arts (psychology and linguistics) from McGill, Kalyna developed an expertise on internationalization in higher education over a decade of work at diverse departments across the University. Kalyna has a particular interest in health and wellness (and syntax trees!).  Outside her work at McGill, she is active in volunteer and governance roles and is currently working on a project to promote cultural diversity through food. 

Email: Francesca is currently on leave. For the Americas, contact Houssam Eddine Beggas. For Africa and Europe, contact Alexandra Tselepi. 

Email: houssam.beggas [at] mcgill.ca

Bio: Houssam Eddine Beggas has worked as a Global Engagement Advisor with McGill University since December 2021, with a specialization in Asia, Middle East, and Oceania. Houssam comes from a communications background, with eight years of broadcast and journalism experience in Algeria. As a Fulbright Scholar from 2018-2020 at Seton Hall University, Houssam developed his research interests on the drivers of democratic change in the Middle East and North Africa and earned a Masters degree in Diplomacy and International Relations. Prior to this, he was a communications consultant with the World Bank in Algeria. Houssam was also the creator and lead anchor of El Djazairia TV’s “Pulse of the World,” a regional current events show, and worked as a sports news anchor with Numidia News, Stade News, and the online outlet Tout Sur l’Algerie. He earned his Bachelors in Interpretation and Translation from Constantine University in 2012, and a Master’s in Journalism and Communications from the Higher National School of Journalism of Algiers in 2016.  

Bio: Alexandra Tselepi joined Global Engagement in November 2022. As Global Engagement Advisor (Africa, Europe), Alexandra actively implements McGill’s global engagement strategy by facilitating collaboration and identifying ways to build synergies between internal and external stakeholders.

She first joined McGill University in 2016 where she took on the position of conference and event coordinator at the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, and in 2018 became part of the McGill Bicentennial Planning team where she developed and implemented projects related to McGill’s Bicentennial celebrations from September 2020 through October 2022. Before that she worked in events and communications positions in organisations in Greece and Canada. Alexandra holds a BA in Communications from the American College of Greece in Athens and an MA in International Events Management from the University of Brighton in the UK.

Bio: Annie Vos (she/her) has been with Global Engagement as its Administrator since November 2021. She joined McGill University in 2017 as the executive assistant to the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. 

Originally from Belgium, Annie lived and worked for years in the Middle East, specifically with Palestinian, Iraqi, and Syrian refugees via international non-profit and diplomatic organizations, including 10 years with the Vatican Embassy in Lebanon. Annie holds a bachelor in translation (Arabic, French, English, Italian). Following her pastoral care studies, she lived and worked in a refugee camp where she served end-of-life patients. 

On a personal level, she is passionate about human rights and equity and volunteers with Aids Community Care Montreal. She loves swimming, hiking, and biking. 

Email: eamon.toohey [at] mcgill.ca

Bio: Eamon Toohey has been an Office Assistant with Global Engagement since January 2021.  

Originally from the United States, Eamon earned his Master of Information Studies at McGill. He is keenly interested in how information is organised and preserved - a passion that finds frequent application supporting Global Engagement's broad portfolio of partnerships and agreements.  

Before working at McGill, he received his Master of Arts in English Literature from Concordia University.