Stiles’ full senior leadership team ready to win more for Ontario

QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles welcomes Angela Daeun Bae as her Director of Tour and the final member of her experienced senior leadership team at the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition, ready to support her and the Ontario NDP Caucus and win more for Ontario.

Daeun Bae is an accomplished organizer, and most recently served as the Director of Community Outreach for Mayor Olivia Chow’s by-election campaign. For seven years, she worked with Councillor Joe Cressy, and led his office’s coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic when Cressy was the Chair of the Board of Health.

Stiles' diverse and energetic team includes seasoned campaigners with backgrounds in labour, municipal governance, education, and the public, private, and non-for-profit sectors.

• Gregory Denton, Chief of Staff
• Stephanie Nakitsas, Principal Secretary to the Leader
• Dave Clark, Senior Advisor to the Leader
• Marzian Alam, Director of Research
• Jasmine Attfield, Director of Legislative Affairs
• Angela Daeun Bae, Director of Tour
• Samiha Rayeda, Director of Outreach & External Relations
• Jason Wagar, Director of Communications
• Nivine Zaher, Director of Human Resources & Operations

During her campaign for Leader, Stiles committed to an open hiring process for Director-level positions at Queen’s Park. With Bae, Stiles’ senior leadership team is complete.

“We've assembled an incredible team and hit the ground running,” Stiles said. “Our team has already brought new energy and inventive ideas as we fight for better for Ontarians, hold Ford’s Conservatives to account, and get ready for a winning campaign for government in 2026.”

Stiles took office as the Leader of the Official Opposition on February 4, just as the winter Legislative session began. She and her team have worked closely with the whole NDP Caucus to propose fresh new solutions to the challenges that Ontarians are facing right now, welcomed a new member to the Official Opposition Caucus, and connected with Ontarians across the province.

Bios

Greg Denton, Chief of Staff

Denton served as Stiles’ Executive Assistant since her election to Queen’s Park in 2018 and has been working for New Democrat politicians since 2007, starting at the NDP’s federal caucus at the House of Commons during Jack Layton’s leadership. Denton has worked for NDP MPs Nathan Cullen, Megan Leslie and Peggy Nash, and on successful campaigns in Ontario, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Alberta.

Stephanie Nakitsas, Principal Secretary to the Leader

Born in Ottawa and raised in Brampton, Nakitsas most recently worked as Campaign Coordinator at CUPE Ontario and is the former Chief of Staff to Toronto City Councillor Mike Layton. She has also worked as a campaign director in several municipal and federal campaigns, as a college teacher and was a co-founder of the Urban Worker Project to advocate for freelance, contract and other precarious workers.

Dave Clark, Senior Advisor to the Leader

Clark is an experienced organizer and strategist, having built winning campaigns across Canada and in the UK. He's helped elect progressive candidates in Brampton, Scarborough, Toronto, Surrey and Calgary, and worked as a director on Jagmeet Singh's federal NDP leadership campaign. Clark has previously worked with MPP Doly Begum as her Executive Assistant and with Toronto City Councillor Joe Cressy, before transitioning to campaign director at progressive advertising agency Point Blank. In the UK, Clark was an organizer for the Labour Party and helped organize two general elections, including Sadiq Khan's historic win for Mayor of London.

Marzian Alam, Director of Research

Alam joins the Senior Leadership team after two years as a researcher with the Ontario NDP Caucus, focussing on health, seniors, long-term care, mental health and addictions. Before joining the Caucus, she spent years involved in progressive political organizing in the United States. That experience includes her founding Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress along with community organizers from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign for Congress. Alam also facilitated mutual aid for survivors of sexual violence at the beginning of pandemic. Alam has a Masters in Public Health Policy with a focus on health equity and human rights.

Jasmine Attfield, Director of Legislative Affairs

A lawyer with a focus on public law and legal research, Attfield works closely with the Official Opposition House Team to coordinate the Caucus’ legislative agenda and strategy. A graduate of the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto, she is passionate about justice law reform. Before joining Legislative Affairs, Attfield served as a staff member and strategist for a few members of the Ontario NDP Caucus.

Angela Daeun Bae, Director of Tour

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Daeun Bae was the Operations Manager for Toronto City Councillor Joe Cressy for seven years. With Cressy as the Chair of the Board of Health, she was instrumental in the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, she served as the Director of Community Outreach for Olivia Chow’s successful mayoral campaign and was the Director of Tour and Outreach for Stiles’ leadership campaign.

Samiha Rayeda, Director of Outreach & External Relations

Originally from Bangladesh, Rayeda grew up in Windsor and Toronto’s Regent Park before moving to Ottawa to study at Carleton University. Rayeda is a dedicated organizer, with 10+ years of experience in the student movement, migrant justice and other grassroots organizing campaigns. She has worked with MPP Joel Harden, and managed multiple NDP and progressive campaigns in Ottawa, most recently managing Catherine McKenney’s trailblazing mayoral campaign in Ottawa.

Jason Wagar, Director of Communications

Wagar is a veteran of progressive federal, provincial and municipal campaigns in Toronto. Born and raised in Kingston, he most recently led communications for a provincial public sector union. Prior to working in the labour movement, he was a fundraiser and communicator in the non-profit sector, having held senior roles at TIFF, the Georgian Bay Land Trust, and the Toronto Foundation. He holds a Masters of Science in Charity Marketing & Fundraising from City, University of London.

Nivine Zaher, Director of Human Resources & Operations

Hailing from Norfolk County, Zaher is a skilled human resources professional with experience working in public administration and governance. Before joining the Ontario NDP Caucus in September 2022, she worked in HR with Norfolk County and the City of Brantford as well as progressive social service agencies. A graduate of Dalhousie University and Mohawk College, Zaher holds a Certified Human Resources Leader designation.