MIREMS is a team of people with a wide range of skills: writing and editing, multilingual translation, journalism, research and analysis, marketing and communications. We hire top talent multilingual professionals to our roster of consultants ready to track ethnic media (print, radio and TV stations in languages other than English and French) from Canada and abroad. We are always looking for bright talent and are currently accepting rolling applications for our Media Monitoring Consultant Roster. We are working towards having a large network of language specialists available for on-demand work
Andrés Machalski
President and Chairman of the Board hq@mirems.com Andrés Machalski was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina of Anglo-Polish parents, and came to Canada as a refugee in the late 1970s due to a constitutional aversion to military dictatorships. He is a UofT graduate in Linguistics and Fine Arts, an adventure that took him twelve years to complete while he worked as public relations professional in the book industry for the likes of Bantam Books, for whom he hosted Sophia Loren's first Toronto visit, as well as helping promote a collection of ethnic community histories sponsored by Canadian Heritage. The ethnic media relations forged during that period led to the foundation of Ethnomedia Monitor Services and the publication of a Canadian Ethnic Media Guide. Thirty-two years later that company is now MIREMS – Multilingual International Research and Ethnic Media Services, the only Government of Canada recognized ethnic media monitoring service. Andrés is a science fiction fan, a lapsed painter, sails a 24 foot sloop, rides a folding e-bike with 4 inch tires in Toronto and a chopper style e-trike in South Florida, where he hopes once again to spend winters. He has no intention of retiring any time soon. |
Silke Reichrath
Editor in Chief sre@certabon.com Silke joined MIREMS in May 2012. She speaks Spanish, German and French. Silke was born in Germany and came to Canada as an international student in 1993. She holds a BA in French and Spanish from the University of Calgary and an MA in International Affairs from Carleton University. She lives in Ottawa, is part of the management team and sends out the morning reports. Otherwise, her kids and cats keep her busy, and she enjoys occasional hiking and kayaking. |
Julia- Accounting Director
jwa@certabon.com |
Lucas de Oliveira Haag
lha@certabon.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-haag-68705130/ Lucas joined MIREMS in April 2014 and since then he’s been monitoring Portuguese language sources on a regular basis. He occasionally monitors sources in other languages such as French and Spanish. He’s a Brazilian born Canadian citizen with a Bachelor’s degree in BA and twelve years of language training experience. Language and culture are some of his passions and he feels very comfortable working in a diverse, multi-cultural team. In September 2017 Lucas accepted the challenge of taking charge of the HR department in our company and since then he’s always been a very proud member of this management team. Lucas has been married since 2010 and has one child. With his wife he started his story in Canada in 2012 and lived in Montreal until March 2019 when they moved to Vancouver. Like most Brazilians he is a big football fan (soccer is a North American creation), but his favorite sport is surfing. His favorite past-times include swimming, travelling and hanging out with his family and friends |
Blythe Irwin
bir@certabon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/blythe-irwin-27bb3839/
Blythe joined MIREMS in October 2015 as a Spanish media analyst and editor. In her current role as Sources Director, she oversees our extensive multilingual media list in over 30 languages as well as our team of 50 plus consultants. She also helps to manage the company's day-to-day operations and assist with sales and marketing. She speaks Spanish as a second language following 20 years of study, two university degrees in Spanish and study programs abroad in Spain, Mexico and Costa Rica.
Blythe was born in London, Ontario, grew up in Syracuse, NY and Columbus, OH before moving to Vancouver, BC to attend UBC. She’s also lived in St. Louis, MO as well as England. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Master of Arts in Translation Studies from the University of Portsmouth.
As a former varsity soccer player for UBC, Blythe enjoys other athletic activities such as snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking and going to the gym. She’s also been taking advanced choreography classes in hip hop and bellydance for the past 10 years at Harbour Dance Centre in downtown Vancouver. A triple citizen of Canada, Australia and the US, she loves travelling, languages and learning about other cultures. Her recent trips abroad include Spain, Belize and the Dominican Republic.
bir@certabon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/blythe-irwin-27bb3839/
Blythe joined MIREMS in October 2015 as a Spanish media analyst and editor. In her current role as Sources Director, she oversees our extensive multilingual media list in over 30 languages as well as our team of 50 plus consultants. She also helps to manage the company's day-to-day operations and assist with sales and marketing. She speaks Spanish as a second language following 20 years of study, two university degrees in Spanish and study programs abroad in Spain, Mexico and Costa Rica.
Blythe was born in London, Ontario, grew up in Syracuse, NY and Columbus, OH before moving to Vancouver, BC to attend UBC. She’s also lived in St. Louis, MO as well as England. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Master of Arts in Translation Studies from the University of Portsmouth.
As a former varsity soccer player for UBC, Blythe enjoys other athletic activities such as snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking and going to the gym. She’s also been taking advanced choreography classes in hip hop and bellydance for the past 10 years at Harbour Dance Centre in downtown Vancouver. A triple citizen of Canada, Australia and the US, she loves travelling, languages and learning about other cultures. Her recent trips abroad include Spain, Belize and the Dominican Republic.
Kinga Romanska
kro@certabon.com Kinga has been working with MIREMS since October 2018 and monitors Polish sources. She speaks Polish, English, and a bit of German. She currently lives in Mississauga, Ont. with her husband, their twin girls, and their border collie dog. Kinga was born and raised in Poland. Her family moved to Germany when she was a teenager before immigrating to Canada. She studied International Relations, European Studies and Business German at the University of Toronto. She is a former online strategy manager turned work-from-home-mom to twins. Kinga has 15 years experience in the financial industry with the focus on online initiatives and marketing in various languages. She enjoys the flexibility of this job and loves that it combines her interest in reading, culture, current affairs and Polish in particular. She is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys exploring other countries. She loves to read and always had a dream of owning her own bookstore where she would drink tea and read books all day. She is now cultivating a love of reading in her two young daughters to expand their understanding of the world. |
Emily Guccione
egu@certabon.com Emily joined MIREMS in June 1990. She monitors Italian sources and used to monitor Portuguese and French sources in the past. Currently living in Toronto, Emily holds a Bachelor’s degree in French Language. She has one daughter and a dog and is planning to maybe get a turtle in the future. Emily plays the flute, plays badminton, and likes to contribute to Quora on her subjects of choice such as whether Canada is more British or American. |
Shailandar Sharma
ssh@certabon.com
Shailandar joined MIREMS in 2005. He speaks Hindi, Punjabi, English, Urdu, Gujarati and Marathi. He also monitors South Asian sources.
Shailandar currently lives in Brampton, Ont. with his wife, two grown up children and his parents. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and over 30 years of experience in industries. His interests include politics and news about society, spirituality, health, music and learning different subjects such as accounting, taxes, investments, insurance and computer security. Shailandar also helps people with filing their income tax returns.
ssh@certabon.com
Shailandar joined MIREMS in 2005. He speaks Hindi, Punjabi, English, Urdu, Gujarati and Marathi. He also monitors South Asian sources.
Shailandar currently lives in Brampton, Ont. with his wife, two grown up children and his parents. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and over 30 years of experience in industries. His interests include politics and news about society, spirituality, health, music and learning different subjects such as accounting, taxes, investments, insurance and computer security. Shailandar also helps people with filing their income tax returns.
Soula Kokotinis
sko@certabon.com Soula has been with MIREMS since 2013. She is our Greek consultant and is also on the editing team, editing our submissions five days a week. Soula is an ATIO certified translator from French and Greek into English and works for a variety of public and private sector clients. She used to work as a project manager in the financial services industry prior to focusing on translation. She is passionate about languages and holds an Honours BA in Translation and an MA in Translation Studies from York University. Soula enjoys reading and spending time outdoors with her husband and their three kids and is looking forward to travelling again soon. |
Rita Boghokian rbo@certabon.com Rita joined MIREMS in November 2013 as an Armenian consultant. She speaks French, English, Armenian and Arabic. Currently living in Montreal, Rita holds a D.E.S.S. in Journalism from the Université de Montréal. She has worked in communications in various municipal engineering projects and completed several internships, notably at La Presse. Rita has over five years of experience in communications, marketing, writing and journalism. She has produced several reports and documentaries, the most recent of which is entitled Arc en ciel. A finalist for the Lys Média award, Rita is a columnist for the program L'ethniclub. She is also a member of Young Professionals, which helps thousands of young women and men around the world through educational, cultural and social activities. In her free time Rita enjoys taking museum tours. |
Marina Bogdanova
mbo@certabon.com Marina Bogdanova comes from St. Petersburg, Russia. She holds a master’s degree in English Language, Literature and Translation with qualification of “Linguist, Teacher and Translator of English and Russian Languages” from University of St. Petersburg, Russia. Marina is an experienced Russian as a Second Language instructor, and Russian to English and English to Russian language translator. Marina has extensive linguistic, pedagogical and cross-cultural training. She has excellent Russian and English speaking, writing and reading skills and reading ability in Spanish. Marina has traveled throughout Russia, Europe and North America. Marina has been working with MIREMS since March 2013. She monitors, summarizes, and translates into English stories from Russian-Canadian media sources. She also does translations at the request of MIREMS clients. Marina was awarded a Scholarship from the President of the Russian Federation for excellent academic record. Her personal interests include reading, learning about different cultures, art, travel, sports. Marina, her husband Normand, an IT engineer, and their daughter Sophia live in McLean, Virginia (U.S.) |
Pierre Rossi pro@certabon.com Pierre joined MIREMS in December 2014 and he monitors Italian and Haitian (French) sources. Currently living in Montreal, Pierre holds a BA and an MA in Political Science (UBC) and a Baccalauréat par cumul in journalism and translation (Université de Montréal). In his free time, he likes to dabble in Venetian, English, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. He enjoys reading (especially whodunnits and history books), walking (in and around the mountains) and cycling (skirting Montreal’s potholes). |
Victoria Grando
vik@certabon.com Victoria became part of MIREMS in September 2017 as a Ukrainian consultant. She is married and has one son. Born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, Victoria graduated from the Kyiv Humanitarian Institute and holds a Degree in Early Childhood Music Education. Currently living in Victoria, BC, she is working as an Office Administrator and holds the position of Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Canadian Cultural Society of Vancouver Island. She is also the current First Vice President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Provincial Council of BC. In her free time, Victoria likes to be with her family. |
Filip Merdinian
fme@certabon.com Filip has been part of MIREMS since 2017. His focus is on monitoring Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian and Ukrainian sources. A native of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where he currently resides with his family, Filip holds an MA in Applied Translation Studies, but his interests lie in current affairs and international relations. He has been involved in volunteer work for Human Rights Watch in the past. His current leisure pursuits include sports and travelling. |
Aleksandrs Sisovs (Aleks)
asi@certabon.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandr-shishov-b9b50767/ Aleks joined MIREMS in May 2017 and since then he’s been monitoring Russian and Latvian sources. He used to have a basic knowledge of French, but it has gradually worn off since high school. Currently living in Riga, Latvia, Aleks holds an MA in Political Science from Central European University. He previously worked at an educational institution in Latvia that provided holistic non-subject specific extracurricular education for school children. He has also been engaged in a Latvian non-profit that aimed to promote tolerance and cross-cultural communication. His hobbies include mountain biking and beach volleyball. He is unfortunately quite impaired when it comes to performing arts, but he was seriously into street art previously and holds a primary professional degree in illustration. |
Alice Valsecchi
ava@certabon.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-valsecchi-a882a1a4/ Alice joined MIREMS in May 2018. She used to monitor Italian sources, occasionally Spanish, but she has mostly been an editor (since September 2018). Currently living in Ottawa, Alice has a BA from Italy in translation and interpretation and her working languages are English and Russian. She also holds an MA in European, Russian and Eurasian studies from Carleton University in Ottawa (Intl affairs, political science). She was an Italian language instructor for the CAF and now is a program officer in an NGO that works on international justice, rule of law, governance programs with judiciaries of developing countries. She is working on getting a CAPM (Certified associate in Project Management) certification with the Project Management Institute. Alice enjoys hiking, cycling, doing yoga, and skiing. She is working on setting up a women's bicycle group called "Women on Wheels" (short: WOW). It would be for leisure group rides but also for raising money and donating items to local women organizations (shelters, crisis hotlines, etc) |
Marielle Francisco
mfa@certabon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariellefrancisco/
https://www.marielleef.com
Marielle started working for MIREMS in April of 2019 as a Media Consultant and since then she has acquired the role of Social Media Coordinator, while assisting the Marketing Team with outreach initiatives. She speaks Tagalog and monitors Filipino sources.
Currently living in Toronto, she recently completed an Honours Bachelor of Science in Mental Health Studies from the University of Toronto and has just started a Master of Arts in Psychology at Adler University. She’s worked in the customer service and technology industry for nearly 10 years, so when she joined MIREMS in the online media industry, it was something entirely new for her. Since then, she’s gone fully remote - working full time for a social media management company online and she will be completing her Master’s degree online as well.
In her free time, she loves to travel. She’s also an Influencer/Blogger that specializes in lifestyle and travel content, primarily based on Instagram. She loves driving fast cars and eating pasta.
mfa@certabon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariellefrancisco/
https://www.marielleef.com
Marielle started working for MIREMS in April of 2019 as a Media Consultant and since then she has acquired the role of Social Media Coordinator, while assisting the Marketing Team with outreach initiatives. She speaks Tagalog and monitors Filipino sources.
Currently living in Toronto, she recently completed an Honours Bachelor of Science in Mental Health Studies from the University of Toronto and has just started a Master of Arts in Psychology at Adler University. She’s worked in the customer service and technology industry for nearly 10 years, so when she joined MIREMS in the online media industry, it was something entirely new for her. Since then, she’s gone fully remote - working full time for a social media management company online and she will be completing her Master’s degree online as well.
In her free time, she loves to travel. She’s also an Influencer/Blogger that specializes in lifestyle and travel content, primarily based on Instagram. She loves driving fast cars and eating pasta.