Shad Athabasca

Program Directors

Hannah Macdonald-Kermode

Accessibility Advisor

Hannah (she/her) is as new to Shad as ShadAnywhere! She is so excited to be a part of the expanding Shad network as someone who has dedicated her career to the removal of barriers that restrict access to and success in study. She started on the path to increasing equality of educational opportunities as an Accessibility Advisor, working diligently to provide access to students experiencing barriers to education due to the impact of a disability. She also undertook the position of coordinator for the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship at Athabasca University, facilitating the research and community engagement of international research interns on their first trip to Canada.

Being surrounded by community and creativity is how she aims to spend her spare time. She is a long-standing volunteer for the non-profit Winnifred Stewart Association and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival – the latter of which she finds is the only acceptable time of year to stop listening to or playing music herself. Hannah also loves learning a new language and hopes to use those skills in her next adventure around the globe.

Mikaela Polad

National Programs Manager

Mikaela (she/her) began working with Shad Canada in 2020 and jumped right into the online programming world. She played integral roles in both the Shad2020 and Shad2021 programs and is excited to be a part of the incredible ShadAnywhere program with Athabasca University.

Mikaela has an BA in Modern Languages (double majoring in French and Spanish) from Laurentian University and a postgraduate degree in Sport Business Management. Her unique combined degrees led her to work in high performance sport for numerous years including the Olympics, Paralympics, and Commonwealth Games where she has attended 5 major multi-sport games. Mikaela also volunteers with CISV, an international youth based organization empowering youth to be global leaders.

When she’s not at Shad, Mikaela spends time with her power tools renovating her home, picking up her passport to travel the world, or throwing the ball for a game of catch with her dog Atlas.