BioCrises and disasters are disruptive and stressful, but they can also be opportunities for change.
I am fascinated by such disruptions, how they originate, and the messy problems they create. My research focuses on the social dimensions of disasters such as governance, community engagement and stakeholder participation, policies, and practices. |
environmental sociology | disasters & crises
community engagement | food & agriculture |
EducationDoctor of Philosophy,
Sociology | University of Alberta Master of Science, Rural (Environmental) Sociology | University of Alberta Bachelor of Science, Environmental & Conservation Science | University of Alberta |
REsearch Interests
I have been studying and practicing at the intersection of society and environment - focusing on topics such as floods, fuels, food, and farming - around the world in the Netherlands, Namibia, New Zealand, and various parts of Canada. I am interested in challenges and opportunities in disaster contexts. Seeing a multitude of connections between real-life problems, I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities in which socio-ecological issues are embedded by also studying economic development, local government administration, community-based research and engagement, and adult education. To address these complex (wicked) problems, I apply an interdisciplinary lens and innovative stakeholder engagement approaches. My overall career goal is to continue creating and researching innovative and engaging strategies to enhance societal disaster resilience.
Research and experience:
- Creating an innovative training program to train social work students how to implement disaster preparedness workshops with communities (University of Calgary current postdoctoral position). Read this article in UToday for more information.
- Co-designed with community the We're Ready! Community Disaster Preparedness Workshop (wereready.org).
- Built capacity in Canada to have difficult conversations about flood management, including co-creatin with an engineer the Flood Resilience Challenge serious game (frcgame.com) to enhance collaborative decision-making on flood risk management (University of Waterloo postdoctoral position).
Research and experience:
- Creating an innovative training program to train social work students how to implement disaster preparedness workshops with communities (University of Calgary current postdoctoral position). Read this article in UToday for more information.
- Co-designed with community the We're Ready! Community Disaster Preparedness Workshop (wereready.org).
- Built capacity in Canada to have difficult conversations about flood management, including co-creatin with an engineer the Flood Resilience Challenge serious game (frcgame.com) to enhance collaborative decision-making on flood risk management (University of Waterloo postdoctoral position).