Project Directors
Heather Aldersey

Associate Professor and Queen’s National Scholar – School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, Canada Scientific Director – International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation (ICACBR), Queen’s University, Canada
Team Role:
Project Co-Director for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Queen’s University, Canada
Education:
- BA (International Studies/French); MS (Special Education);
- PhD (Interdisciplinary Studies)
Experience:
Dr. Aldersey’s research program focuses on the social construction of disability across cultures, support for people with disabilities and their families, public policy, family innovation, and family quality of life. Within this program, she has particularly focused on experiences of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in African contexts.
The ultimate goal of Dr. Aldersey’s scholarship is to draw upon local strengths and capabilities to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families globally.
Dr. Aldersey is the Interim Director of the International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation (ICACBR) at Queen’s University and, prior to the Ethiopia project, has worked with families and people with disabilities in Bangladesh, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania.
Contact information:
Email: hma@queensu.ca
Telephone: 1-613-533-6088
Molalign Belay Adugna (PhD)

Team Role:
Project Co-Director for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, University of Gondar, Ethiopia
Education:
- BA- Sociology and Social Anthropology with distinction, Addis Ababa University
- MA-Sociology of Health and Well-being, Addis Ababa University
- PhD-Rehabilitation Science, Queen’s University, Canada
Experience:
Dr. Molalign has 10+ years of teaching and administrative experience working for the University of Gondar in Ethiopia. Being born, raised, and educated in rural village of Ethiopia, he was engaged in farming activities and later local tour guiding until the completion of his university study. Dr. Molalign’s dissertation project is entitled ‘the Quest for Inclusion and Overcoming Stigma’ where he works with children with disabilities and their caregivers as well as policymakers and practitioners to inform disability awareness and inclusive education in Ethiopia.
He is the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellowship fellow who completed his public management and leadership at Bridgewater State University in USA. He is also the 2021 fellow of Stigma Research Training institute, Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Health, MD, US. Currently, Molalign is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and is the Director of the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Gondar. He also works for different local and international organizations as a volunteer trainer, guest speaker, and trustee.
Contact information:
Email: belay_molalign@yahoo.com |
Telephone: +251 913 245 800
Project Managers
Anushka Mzinganjira

Team Role:
Project Co-Manager for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Queen’s University
Education:
- Hons. B Sc. (Life Sciences)
- MSc. (Occupational Therapy)
Experience:
Ms. Mzinganjira is an Occupational Therapist with 10 years of clinical experience working with all age groups in community health settings. She has worked with adults with addiction issues in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and developed a program for individuals with workplace injuries who have chronic pain leading to high opioid use. She also helped develop and implement a program to support Ontario Pharmacy College registrants who require support for mental health and addiction issues.
Prior to her current role with Queen’s University’s International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation (ICACBR) as the Mastercard Foundation Ethiopia Project Co-Manager, Ms. Mzinganjira has worked to build occupational therapy programs in Ethiopia at the Amanual Hospital through the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration.
Contact information:
Email: mcfmanager@queensu.ca
Meseret Kassie (PhD)

Team Role:
Project Co-Manager for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Queen’s University
Education:
- BSc- Geography at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia
- MSc- Physical Geography and Environmental Studies at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
- PhD- Natural Resources and Life Sciences at BOKU, Vienna, Austria
Experience:
Dr. Meseret Kassie is a vibrant and dedicated senior staff at the University of Gondar. In her prior roles she was able to make a sizable impact by progressing the overall missions and vision of the University. She held high office previously as the Vice President of Business and Development of the University of Gondar and is an Assistant Professor of Natural Resource and Life Science.
Contact information:
Email: meseret.kassie@uog.edu.et or meseretkassie@gmail.com
Cell Phone: +251 912036874
Coordinators / Consultants
Dr Netsanet Hailu

Team Role:
OT Program Coordinator, Mastercard Foundation Project, University of Gondar
Education
- Medical doctor’s degree (University of Gondar)
- Assistant professor in Internal medicine (University of Gondar)
Experience:
Dr Netsanet Hailu is a medical doctor and Internist working in university of Gondar since April 2020 initially as an Academic General practitioner and soon joined her Internal Medicine specialty residency in 2021. Since April 2024, she have been serving as an Instructor and Internist, combining clinical expertise with a passion for teaching. In this role, she provides specialized medical care to patients while guiding medical students and residents through their clinical training. This dual role allows her to contribute to both patient care and the academic development of future healthcare professionals.
In her current role in the MasterCard Foundation program, she coordinate OT program development with queen’s and UOG faculty members and academic consultants and also facilitate and lead collaboration between Canadian and Ethiopian OT faculty members
Contact Information:
Email: nhailu24@gmail.com
Bekele A. Worku (PhD)
Team Role:
Faculty development and Alumni Coordinator, Mastercard Foundation Project, University of Gondar, Ethiopia
Education:
LLB in Laws, LLM in International Law, Ph.D. in International Disability Human Rights Law

Experience:
After earning his bachelor’s degree in law From Addis Ababa University Dr. Bekele Worku served as a public prosecutor in Amhara Regional Justice Bureau for about 6 years. Then Dr. Worku Joined the School of Law in the University of Gondar and taught Law for about 8 years until he joined the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada to undertake his Ph.D. study in International Human Rights Law. Currently, he is teaching Law and serving as Faculty Development and Alumni Coordinator with the Mastercard Foundation Project at the University of Gondar.
As a Faculty Development and Alumni Coordinator, Dr. Worku assists Fellows and coordinates their affairs and activities in Ethiopia, and specifically at the University of Gondar.
Contact Information:
Email: Bekele.worku@queensu.ca or mcffdcoord@uog.edu.et
Fana Kinfe

Team Role:
Experiential Learning Coordinator, Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, University of Gondar
Education:
- BA, Economics, Bahirdar University
- MA, Leadership and Good Governance, Ethiopian Civil Service University
Experience:
Mrs. Fana Kinfe joined university of Gondar as Experiential Learning Coordinator for the Mastercard foundation scholars program. Previously she worked as senior consultant in Ethiopian Management Institute and has served as Trainer, Researcher and Consultant (2014-2018).
Since February 2018, Mrs. Fana serves as Experiential Learning Coordinator for the Mastercard foundation scholars program at University of Gondar. She is responsible for providing coordination and management of the CBR experiential learning for undergraduate scholarship program. Managing the CBR experiential learning and collaborating and communicating with appropriate bodies.
Contact Information:
Email:fanikins@gmail.com
Cell Phone: +251 918719536
Jennie Griffin

Team Role:
Program Coordinator, Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Queen’s University, Canada
Education:
- Hons. BA. (Sociology & Criminology)
- BEd. (Bachelor of Education)
Experience:
Mrs. Griffin holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA) in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) from Queen’s University. She began her teaching career in England before returning to Canada to teach in the Kingston area school board. She later transitioned to teaching English language learners at the Queen’s School of English. There, she developed and delivered tailored lessons for university-aged students from diverse cultural backgrounds, igniting her passion for working with adult learners and exploring different cultures and traditions.
For the past 4.5 years, Mrs. Griffin has served as the Student and Faculty Liaison for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. In this role, she gained extensive experience supporting Fellows, fostering faculty-student collaboration, and coordinating academic and cultural initiatives. Building on this foundation, she has now transitioned to the role of Program Coordinator, where she continues to support global collaboration and student success.
Contact information:
Email : mcfsfliaison@queensu.ca and mcfotcoord@queensu.ca
Phebe Palmer

Team Role:
Financial Coordinator for the MasterCard Foundation Project, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
Education:
Business Administration Diploma, MAFP certificate
Experience:
Phebe has been at Queen’s for over 5 years and worked in the Financial Services Department in her previous role.
Her role included working in Financial Reporting, General Accounting and Research Accounting where she gained experience in all aspects of accounting including financial statement and budget preparation & account reconciliations as well as knowledge of the various accounting systems at Queen’s including PeopleSoft, Fast, acQuire and ERS.
Phebe interacted with various departments across campus as well as students and Research PI’s and their assistants.
In her current role she looks forward to working with the University of Gondar team as well as supporting the students at Queen’s and working with the MasterCard Foundation Team.
Contact Information:
Dr. Mandeep Gabhi

Team Role
Research and Learning Coordinator, Mastercard Foundation Project, Queen’s University, Canada
Education
- BEIEd (Education)
- MA (Education)
- PhD (Education)
Experience
As an education policy analyst, researcher, and administrator, Dr. Mandeep Gabhi has dedicated over 12 years to various roles within K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions. Dr. Gabhi’s personal and professional experiences shaped her doctoral research, which explored the development of professional identity for teacher candidates from underrepresented communities in Canada, including racialized TCs, Indigenous TCs, TCs with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ TCs, immigrant TCs etc.
In her role as a Research Analyst with the Toronto District School Board, she played a pivotal role in program evaluation, data interpretation, and report writing for projects focused on school improvement. Key initiatives included the Student Census – 2023, the International Students Learning Experience, and exploring Educational Debt in Adolescent Literacy.
Dr. Gabhi is currently the Research and Learning Coordinator for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Queen’s University. In this role, she focuses on program monitoring, evaluation, and assessment to help achieve the knowledge mobilization objectives and support the Fellows in their research dissemination objectives.
Contact information
Email: mcfrlcoord@queensu.ca