Melissa Kelly is a Senior Research Associate with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration and Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Melissa’s research reflects her strong commitment to fostering welcoming and inclusive communities. Since 2022 she has been the Director of Beyond the Metropolis, a research initiative that aims to identify and compare the factors influencing immigrant retention in small and medium-sized cities in rural and remote parts of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Melissa holds a PhD in Social and Economic Geography from Uppsala University in Sweden and her work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and books. She has contributed significantly to policy development and programming for the Government of Canada and has also advised organizations such as Welcoming America and the EU Commission.