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I’m the co-founder and Project Director for Textile, a hyper-local arts collective that provides support for emerging writers and artists in Waterloo Region, Ontario, particularly those from historically excluded and marginalized groups. Textile’s scope of practice includes publishing, mentorship, curation, and residencies. We’re drawn to projects that are grounded in urgent questions animating local community, and creative work that invites critical dialogues and (re)imagines public memory.

Textile has recieved funding from Ontario Arts Council, WR Arts Fund, Waterloo Region Community Foundation, and the City of Kitchener.

Access a short, youth-friendly infographic here.

Access the full report here.

As a Researcher with the Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR), I was involved in the evaluation of the TRIP! project at Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre (PQWCHC) in Toronto, conducted from July 2022 to June 2023. This evaluation focused on assessing the alignment of TRIP!’s youth-led harm reduction services – such as drug checking, provision of harm reduction supplies, and support for youth who use drugs (ages 16-19) – with PQWCHC's mission of providing equitable, accessible health care. My roles and responsibilities in this project included conducting a desk review of internal documents and external literature; guiding the evaluation process alongside a community advisory committee; collaborating with a youth peer researcher; and interviewing project stakeholders (internal and external to TRIP!). 

Created in collaboration with data scientist Craig Sloss, Questioning the Numbers is a newsletter that aims to explain data science concepts in a way that equips readers to critically evaluate the statistical claims that are made in public policy contexts. We do this by taking real-world examples of statistical reports that have been presented to governmental bodies, assessing their reliability, and explaining the outcome of our analysis using non-specialist terminology. For the technically-minded, we also share the R code we used to perform the analysis, so that it can be replicated and applied in other contexts.

The African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Network of Waterloo Region is a collaborative community development and capacity-building initiative created by Black leaders in Waterloo Region. I helped launch the network in 2016, and serve as a member of the ACB Network’s advisory committee.

Key informant and advisor for Into the Light: Living Histories of Oppression and Education in Canada, website by Re•Vision: The Center for Art and Social Justice at the University of Guelph, Spring 2022.

The Young Carers Project, led by the University of Waterloo’s Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP), used a participatory action research approach to engage both young carers and community stakeholders to better understand the young carer experience.

As a Project Facilitator and Co-chair, I helped organize and co-create three knowledge mobilization products: (1) By Us For Us© "Support Matters" guidebook; (2) an online resource;(3) and a documentary.