Andrés Machalski
President and Chairman of the Board Time with MIREMS and preceding similar ventures: 32 years Languages: Spanish 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 With MIREMS since May 2012 Languages: Spanish, German, French Silke Reichrath 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 Wan
Senior Chinese Consultant Other roles: Accounting Director, Treasurer, Client Service Director With MIREMS since 2011 Speaking Cantonese and Mandarin, Julia joined MIREMS in 2011 as a Chinese consultant. Julia holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, and was in med school abroad before taking a break. She is now the Accounting Director, Treasurer, and Client Service Director. She has two daughters and really enjoys swimming. She played percussion and piano back in high school, and now she’s trying to learn to play the guitar so she can play while her kids sing. |
Lucas de Oliveira Haag
Senior Portuguese Consultant With MIREMS since 2014 Besides monitoring Portuguese language sources, Lucas occasionally monitors sources in other languages such as French and Spanish. Born in Brazil, he is Canadian citizen with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and twelve years of experience in language teaching. Language and culture are some of his passions and he feels very comfortable working in a diverse, multi-cultural team. He currently lives in Vancouver and his favorite past-times include swimming, travelling and spending time with family and friends. |
Blythe Irwin
Senior Spanish Consultant Other roles: Sources and Marketing Director, Editor With MIREMS since 2015 In her current role as Sources Director, Blythe oversees MIREMS’ extensive multilingual media list in over 30 languages as well as a team of over 50 consultants. She also helps to manage the company's day-to-day operations and assists with sales and marketing. She speaks Spanish as a second language following 20 years of study, including two university degrees in Spanish and study abroad trips to Spain, Costa Rica and Mexico. Blythe was born in London, Ontario, and grew up in Syracuse, NY and Columbus, OH before moving to Vancouver, BC. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Master of Arts in Translation Studies with a specialization in Spanish from the University of Portsmouth. Having played competitive soccer through university, Blythe now enjoys reading and travelling, as well as various athletic activities such as dance classes, snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking BC’s mountains and going to the gym. |
Mohsen Zabihi
Senior Farsi Consultant Other roles: IT Director With MIREMS since 2016 Mohsen is a media consultant and has contributed to various projects. Speaking English, Farsi and Turkish, he has B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), as well as an Immigration Consultant diploma from CDI College. Mohsen currently lives in Toronto, Ont. He is a sport enthusiast and enjoys swimming, cycling and going to gym. Moreover, he enjoys travelling and exploring other countries. |
Kinga Romanska
Polish Consultant Other roles: Communications Director With MIREMS since 2018 Kinga was born and raised in Poland, her family moved to Germany when she was a teenager before then immigrating to Canada. She studied International Relations, European Studies and Business German at the University of Toronto. Kinga has 15 years experience in the financial industry with the focus on online initiatives and marketing, and is a former online strategy manager. She enjoys the flexibility of this job and loves the fact that it combines her interest in reading, culture, current affairs and Polish in particular. |
Emily Guccione
Senior Italian Consultant Other roles: Senior Editor With MIREMS since 1990 Emily currently works as an Italian language consultant, having previously monitored Portuguese and French sources. Currently living in Toronto, Emily holds a Bachelor’s degree in French Language. She plays the flute and badminton, and likes to contribute to Quora on subjects of her choice such as whether Canada is more British or American. |
Rashmi Sharma
Senior Punjabi and Hindi Consultant With MIREMS since 2010 Currently living in Beaumont, Alberta, Rashmi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and a Master’s degree in English Literature. She worked at one of the largest government-owned banks in India for 18 years and also worked for three years with Scotia Bank in Canada. In her free time, Rashmi enjoys travelling, listening to music, spending time with her family and friends, meditating and cooking. |
Soula Kokotinis
Senior Greek Consultant Other roles: Editor With MIREMS since 2013 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, spending time outdoors with her family and is looking forward to travelling again soon. |
Marina Bogdanova
Senior Russian Consultant With MIREMS since 2013 Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Marina holds a Master’s degree in English Language, Literature and Translation, obtaining the qualification of “Linguist, Teacher and Translator of English and Russian Languages” from the University of St. Petersburg. She is an experienced Russian as a Second Language instructor, as well as a Russian to English and English to Russian language translator. Marina has extensive linguistic, pedagogical and cross-cultural training. Besides monitoring Russian sources, she also does translations at the request of MIREMS’ clients. Currently living in McLean, Virginia in the United States, her personal interests include reading, learning about different cultures, art, travel and sports. |
Victoria Grando
Ukrainian Consultant With MIREMS since 2017 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
Bulgarian, Serbian and Croatian Consultant With MIREMS since 2017 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)
Russian and Latvian Consultant With MIREMS since 2017 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 working with a Latvian non-profit that aims to promote tolerance and cross-cultural communication. His hobbies include mountain biking and beach volleyball. |
Vivian Kwan
Chinese Consultant With MIREMS since 2018 Speaking Mandarin and Cantonese, Vivian currently lives in Edmonton. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and Psychology (2010-2015), as well as a Master’s degree in Public Health (2018-2021). She enjoys exploring new food joints in town and her hobbies include photography, reading, and going on scenic walks. |
Marielle Francisco
Tagalog Consultant Other roles: Social Media Coordinator With MIREMS since 2019 Marielle speaks Tagalog and monitors Filipino sources. Currently living in Toronto, she recently completed a Master of Arts in Psychology at Adler University. She has worked in the customer service and technology industry for nearly 10 years. In her free time, she loves to travel. She’s also a content creator who specializes in lifestyle and travel, primarily based on Instagram. She loves driving fast cars and eating pasta. |
Oleg Schindler
Russian Consultant With MIREMS since 2018 Oleg monitors Ukrainian and Russian sources but he’s also fluent in Hebrew. Currently living in Toronto, Oleg holds an MA in European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies from Carleton University, and has an Immigration Consultant Diploma from Anderson College. He works as a CEO at Schindler Consulting (content, web design and marketing services for immigration companies) and is building his own immigration practice. Earlier, he was very involved in Historical Reenactment (Medieval era) and published some dozen scholarly articles in Russian about Russian Medieval Armour. Oleg has also authored some articles in Ukrainian and Israeli newspapers on various political topics. |
Emamul Haque (Emam)
Bengali Consultant With MIREMS since 2019 Speaking Bengali, English, and Hindi, Emamul is a social entrepreneur and has a strong passion for community work. Emam currently lives in Toronto where he runs his online media and works for PACE, a non-profit organization. He has worked extensively in both government and non-government organizations. He served the United Nations for ten years, and his international experience includes working for the World Food Program (WFP) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as the head of advocacy. Emam holds a Master degree in Management of Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Policy Planning from the London School of Economics (LSE) in the UK. He also earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. |