Dr. Michael Akladios is an Egyptian-Canadian historian and migration researcher with more than a decade of experience in postsecondary education, program development, and community engagement. His research focuses on Egyptian and Coptic migration to North America, with broader interests in oral history, diaspora studies, identity formation, and minority belonging. Michael is committed to democratizing access to historical knowledge by translating complex research into accessible education, public programs, publications, exhibitions, and community-based projects.

Michael earned his Ph.D. in History from York University and has taught across postsecondary and secondary institutions, including the University of Toronto, Mount Allison University, York University, Sheridan College, and Philopateer Christian College. His teaching combines historical research with experiential and public-facing learning, helping students connect the past to contemporary social and global questions through digital projects, community-based assignments, and other forms of applied historical inquiry.

Michael is also the Founder and Executive Director of Egypt Migrations, a public-history initiative documenting the experiences of Egyptians in North America. Under his leadership, the organization has secured more than $100,000 in grants and donor support, developed partnerships with universities, archives, museums, and community organizations in Canada and internationally, and supervised emerging researchers through internship and placement programs. This work helped establish the world’s first and only archival collection dedicated to Egyptian migration to North America, developed as a digital-first collection with physical holdings at York University’s Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections.

His research draws on extensive oral history and archival work in Canada, the United States, and Egypt. His first book, Ordinary Copts: Ecumenism, Activism, and Belonging in North American Cities, is under contract with McGill-Queen’s University Press and examines the postwar migration of Coptic Orthodox Christians and the ways ordinary migrants built social, spiritual, and communal lives between home and host societies. His second book, Egyptian Americans, is forthcoming with Bloomsbury Academic and traces the history, culture, and community life of Egyptians in the United States. His scholarship has appeared in Histoire sociale / Social History, The Routledge Handbook on Middle Eastern Diasporas, and other academic venues. As a public-facing scholar, he has written editorials for platforms including Active History, Mada Masr, Public Orthodoxy, and The New Arab.

Committed to heritage, justice, and public education, Michael also serves as the Vice President of The Coptic Museum of Canada and as an Executive Board Member of Rowayat Literary Journal, contributing to strategic planning, cultural programming, community engagement, and institutional partnerships.