The Bramptonist is an on-line publication focused on music, arts, culture, food, events, and news happening in the City of Brampton and the greater Peel Region. The team is dedicated to bringing information that celebrates the unique diversity in Brampton, which is influenced by global sounds, pictures, visuals, languages and culture.
The Bramptonist gathers and delivers information to promote and enhance community engagement.
The team is led by Publisher and Managing Editor Jemshaid Mahmood.
The Bramptonist team also consists of:
- Van Navaratnam, Director of Operations
- Nicole (Nikki) Cedrone, Managing Editor of Community and Culture Events
- Kuwarjeet Singh Arora, Contributing Editor
- Silas Johnson, Video Editor
- Matthew Butler, Contributing Writer
- Ian Harvey, Contributing Writer
Profiles of the Bramptonist team:
Jemshaid is a passionate family man, resident, taxpayer and business owner living in Peel Region. He is the owner and publisher of the Bramptonist.
Jemshaid and his family moved to Canada from Pakistan and now proudly calls himself a Canadian. In Pakistan, Jemshaid’s father was a journalist. Today, Jemshaid is delighted and blessed to continue in his father’s footsteps. His goal is to gather and share news, events, stories and opinions on what is happening in Brampton. He directs his team to focus on music, arts, culture, food, events, and local politics, to make a better Brampton.
You can reach him at Publisher@bramptonist.com
Van Navaratnam is the Director of Operations.
With a passion for people, Van has the innate ability to bring people together for social interacting, business development, community awareness, and civic pride. He is a true people person, empowering and encouraging others to have a community voice.
Van has been working in sales and marketing for over 20 years, and brings a wealth of experience to the Bramptonist. His love for the City of Brampton and Canada is evident in his work ethic.
In his limited spare time, a sports enthusiast, Van can be seen on the golf course with friends, associates, community leaders, and anyone else who shares his optimism in community building.
Nicole (Nikki) Cedrone is the Managing Editor of Community and Culture Events.
Nikki is not your traditional journalist. Her post-secondary studies was actually in Early Childhood Education where she spent the majority of her career. Over this period, it was a pleasure for her to be influenced by children, watching them grow and mature, and gather knowledge. Nikki truly enjoyed meeting and talking with the the parents and their diverse backgrounds and many community stories.
She then proceeded to take care of her own four children. With her own children now living independently, Nikki increased her community volunteerism. She focused on programs aimed to enhance Brampton’s community and the many positive aspects of living in an urban city with a country feel.
Nikki is passionate about telling “our” story and is excited to having the opportunity to champion Brampton’s voice.
Kuwarjeet Singh Arora is a Contributing Editor to the Bramptonist.
Kuwarjeet is a freelance student journalist (studying at Ryerson University) and a content creator. He is the contributing editor for the Bramptonist with background experience in writing stories for his blog, Sikh Journalist, and other media websites. Kuwarjeet is a Bramptonian who cares about local perspectives.
He is pursuing his dream to represent not only the Sikh community in the mainstream Canadian media but all the BIPOC communities out there.
Silas Johnson is the Video Editor
Silas is a descendant of Nova Scotian black loyalist. His interests include community, politics, world affairs and Canadian history.
Educated in Brampton, Silas has developed a strong passion for travelling and cuisine. He video documents his travels, experiences and interests. His video speak volumes.
Matthew Butler is a Contributing Writer
Matt has worked for 9+ years in various senior roles for several Canadian technology companies. Focusing on sales, marketing, and business development, he is passionate about how technology solutions can help solve customer challenges. Matthew is always focused on building long-term strategic relationships with clients while driving growth.
Hailing from the GTA, he also spends time writing, public speaking, performing, and otherwise sharing and crafting meaningful stories and messages for his community.
He believes in staying curious, leading with empathy, and pushing himself to learn something new every day.
Ian Harvey is a Contributing Writer
“Simply put, I tell stories for a living and always have.”
Ian started out as a journalist in 1977 and spent 23 years in newspapers before moving to a marketing company. Thereafter, for the last decade, Ian has been freelancing my diverse skill set to an even more diverse set of clients.
Ian’s father was born in Lahore, Pakistan. Family legend holds his father was born in a tent on a construction site where his grandfather had found work in the depression as a heavy equipment operator. However, Ian assures it was a very nice tent. On his father’s side, the family is Anglo Indian stretching back to the early 1800s in Chennai, then known as Madras. After Partition my family were no longer welcome in Karachi where they had been for two or more generations and so joined the Anglo Indian exodus, my grandparents being among the last to leave in 1965. They settled in England where Ian was born. Ian’s mother was from an impoverished fishing village in south Devon and was swept off her feet by my father’s swarthy and exotic looks. The rest is history. Being an engineer, Ian’s Dad went where the work was and the family followed. From all over England, to Japan, back to England, America and finally settling in Toronto.
Ian is married and raises his own family in the GTA. Along this path Ian has learned we all share similar values and love to share our stories and adventures, such is the human condition. This is what led Ian to journalism.
Sadly, journalism has changed and the industry which supports it has changed also, but story telling remains. Today, Ian writes for and creates content for a range of media, from websites to print, video to social media for specialty publications and corporate clients.
And for Ian, it’s still about telling stories.
Feedback, Compliments and Concerns?
The Bramptonist Team follows the Canadian Association of Jornalists’ reporting/ethical standards. For more information, click here.
If you have a concern about content at the Bramptonist, please contact us at editor@bramptonist.com.
The Bramptonist is a member of the National NewsMedia Council.