MEET THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
DR. PAM MALINS (SHE/HER)
Co-President
Dr. Pam Malins is Assistant Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford Campus. Pam is passionate about curriculum – the intended, enacted, experienced, and emergent. Specifically, she is interested in the opportunities for meaning making of gender and sexual identities in elementary and early childhood education. She is particularly attuned to the new Ontario Health and Literacy curriculum documents, respectively, and how various intended expectations can become actualized surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusion. She is an advocate of children’s rights as Canadian citizens and her work supports opportunities for youth to develop cultural competence and healthy, respectful relationships with the self and others. She is currently engaged in research surrounding intercultural teaching experiences locally and globally.
Key words: curriculum; gender; sexuality; literacy; intercultural
DR. JJ WRIGHT (SHE/THEY)
Co-President
Dr. JJ Wright is the Co-President of QSEC and an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at MacEwan University on Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton. Dr. Wright's primary area of research is gender-based violence, sexual health and consent education, and issues impacting 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. As a community-engaged researcher, Dr. Wright works with regional, provincial, and national organizations to advocate for gender justice and to research ways to address gender-based violence that are trauma-informed and community responsive. Her research is inspired by a commitment to community-building and creating sexual cultures that are less violent and more just, caring, and connected. Dr. Wright's website: www.jessica-wright.ca
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BRIDGET STIRLING (SHE/HER)
Program Chair
Bridget Stirling is a PhD student in the University of Alberta’s Department of Educational Policy Studies, where she is interested in children's rights and the politics of childhood. She also serves as the Edmonton Public School Board trustee for Ward G. Outside of her work on the board, she’s an advocate and organizer involved in issues of social and economic justice, gender, children's rights, and human rights. Bridget is one of the co-founders of Hate Free Yeg, and a founding member of the Child-Friendly Housing Coalition of Alberta. She has worked as a research analyst, consultant, educator, writer and editor.
DR. KASCHKA R. WATSON (HE/HIM)
Program Co-Chair
Dr. Kaschka R. Watson is an Assistant Professor of Administration, Leadership, and Policy in the Faculty of Education in the Department of Educational Studies at Brock University. His research interests include anti-racism/anti-Black racism, anti-oppression/anti-colonialism, administration, leadership, educational policy, diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice in Canadian schools and universities. His scholarly works include book reviews in Journals, chapters in books, and articles in magazines. He has written courses at the school board, college, and university levels.
Prior to fully immersing himself in academia, Dr. Watson has worked in the Ontario Public Service (OPS) across several ministries including Ministry of Colleges and Universities, Cabinet Office, Treasury Board Secretariat, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ministry for Seniors, and Accessibility and most recently in the Deputy Minister’s Office in the Ministry of Infrastructure as an Anti-Racism Lead.
He enjoys gardening and nature, watching movies, fashion, socializing with friends, cooking, and traveling.
DR. LUCY FOWLER (SHE/THEY)
Program Co-Chair
Lucy Fowler, PhD, is a Two-Spirit Métis woman, born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba and an active member of the Two-Spirit Michif Local of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Her family were Sinclairs, Cummings, Prudens, some of whom took scrip in St Andrews and St Johns, and she also has other family and ancestors from Red River, Oxford House, Norway House, and Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, and settler family from Ireland and the Orkney Islands. Lucy is a community organizer, and co-founder of the Mamawi Project, a grassroots Métis collective dedicated to virtual knowledge mobilization and creating kinship-building opportunities for Métis young people across the diaspora. She also serves on several boards, including the board of directors of Two-Spirit Manitoba and Full Circle for Indigenous Education. Lucy is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba, with a research and teaching focus on Métis youth identity, Indigenous education, queer theory, hip-hop pedagogies, and youth cultures.
DR. KARLEEN PENDLETON JIMÉNEZ (SHE/HER)
Secretary/Treasurer
Karleen Pendleton Jiménez is a writer and professor in education and gender and social justice at Trent University. Her research explores intersections of queerness, gender, race and ethnicity through creative writing. Selected book chapters and journal articles include: “Start with the Land: Groundwork for Chicana Pedagogy,” “ ‘I will whip my hair” and “hold my bow”: Gender-creativity in rural Ontario, and “The Making of a Queer Latina Cartoon: Pedagogies of Border, Body, and Home”. Her books Tomboys and Other Gender Heroes: Confessions from the Classroom and “Unleashing the unpopular”: Talking about Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in Education (co-edited with Isabel Killoran) explore queerness and homophobia in schools. Her book The Street Belongs to Us (Red Cedar finalist) explores intersections of gender diversity, ethnicity, and relationships with the land. She also wrote the screenplay for the award winning animated short film Tomboy.
LAUREN ALSTON (SHE/HER)
Communications Director
Lauren is a PhD candidate in the Psychological Studies in Education program at the University of Alberta. She completed both her BSc Specializing in Psychology and MSc in Neuroscience. Her doctoral research focus is on school-based 2SLGBTQ+ resources in urban and rural Alberta. Specifically, she is interested in student-led 2SLGBTQ+ clubs, commonly known as Gender & Sexual Orientation Alliances (GSAs), and how participation in the clubs impact student mental health, peer interactions, and family relationships. Her previous employment as Alberta's Provincial GSA Coordinator at the Alberta GSA Network provided her with the privilege of working with and learning from communities across the province. Her goal is to collaborate with youth to produce research that could serve GSA students and be a valuable tool for school boards in their development of GSA clubs and resources.
MELISSA-ANN PEREIRA LEDO (SHE/HER/THEY)
Social Media Coordinator
Melissa is a PhD Student and course lecturer in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. She is of Azorean settler background, and is a queer mother, artist, educator, and researcher. She is 2SLGBTQ+ advocate, and her work focuses on the importance of representation and Queer Teaching Artists.
ARIADNE JEVNIKAR (SHE/HER/ELLE)
Graduate Student Representative
Ariadne is a PhD student at Lakehead University in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies stream. She is a certified member of the Ontario College of Teachers and has taught K3 – Grade 12. Ariadne’s research explores how high school principals influence the school culture for sexual and gender minority youth.
MOHIT DUDEJA (THEY/SHE/HE)
Graduate Student Representative
My research interest encompasses a multifaceted examination of queer inclusion within the internationalization of education, with a specific focus on the experiences of queer international students in Canada. This comprehensive inquiry delves into the complexities of identity management, queer pedagogies, feminism, masculinities, and their intersection with the unique journey of queer students from around the world pursuing education in Canada.
Intrigued by the complexities of how individuals of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities navigate and negotiate their identities within international educational settings, my research seeks to uncover the nuanced experiences, challenges, and opportunities that shape their educational journeys. I am particularly interested in examining how educators, institutions, and policies can foster a more inclusive and affirming environment for queer students, faculty, and staff.
Furthermore, I aim to critically engage with the intersectionality of identities, exploring how queer inclusion intersects with other social dimensions, such as race, ethnicity, class, and nationality. This research endeavor aligns with my overarching goal of contributing to the development of more equitable and socially just international educational practices, fostering a global environment where individuals of all sexual orientations and gender identities can thrive academically and personally.
KATRYNE DUBEAU (SHE/HER/HERS)
Graduate Student Representative
Katryne Dubeau is a bilingual teacher and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Saskatchewan in Curriculum Studies. She currently teaches mathematics, science, and performative art for K-3 and used to teach 4-12 math and science. She graduated with a Master of Mathematics for Teachers from the University of Waterloo and received her Junior, Intermediate and Senior teaching qualifications from Queen's University. Katryne's doctoral research at the University of Saskatchewan explores integrating gender and sexual diversity into Saskatchewan's high school mathematics curricula.
CASEY BURKHOLDER (SHE/HER)
Member at Large
Casey Burkholder is an Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick. Her research explores the intersection of resistance and activism, gender, sexuality, DIY media-making, sex ed! and queer joy through qualitative and participatory visual research methodologies. Through an arts, archiving and activism project (in the mail and in person) with 2SLGBTQ+ Atlantic Canadians (See: https://prideswell.org), Casey mobilizes queer joy in and beyond her community. Casey believes her work may contribute to ‘research as intervention’ (Mitchell, 2011) through participatory approaches to equity and social change. Her research projects have been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.
C YENDT (HE/THEY)
Member at Large
C. Yendt is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Education at UM, and the President of the University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association (UMGSA). Their research focuses on the experiences of queer student leaders and the challenges they face in navigating queer and student identities in post-secondary spaces. Previously their research focused on mental health literacy (MHL) among pre-service teacher education candidates in Ontario. An experienced student leader in both undergraduate and graduate student spaces, they served as the President and CEO of the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) at Brock University, where they led the development of a new strategic plan and secured student support for a seven-million-dollar building while facilitating transformational change at the board, executive and staff levels to grow capacity and position the organization to meet future challenges. They also served as Vice-President, Finance, Board Member, Board Vice-Chair and Chair. In 2021 they were given the title of Honorary Member and President Emeritus for their work with the GSA. They have served on the Board of Trustees, Senate and Alumni Association of Brock University, and as a Board Member of Compass Community Health, Rainbow’s End CDC, CMHA-Niagara, the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. A four-time graduate of Brock University, Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) and member of the Association of Mental Health Professionals (OAMHP) they are also pursuing the ICD Directors Education Program.