For a current version of my academic CV, please see this pdf file.
Personal Statement:
Thirteen years post-secondary teaching experience in a diverse variety of settings with excellent leadership and interpersonal skills: empowering, collaborative and engaging approach.
Education:
2014–present PhD, Curriculum Theory & Implementation: Philosophy of Education, SFU.
Concentration: Educational philosophy, environmental education, poetic inquiry.
2012–2014 Master of Education, Arts Education, Faculty of Education, SFU.
Concentration: Ecology, creative process, storytelling and personal transformation.
Notable Courses:
EDUC 901, Seminar in the History of Educational Theory
EDUC 902, Interdisciplinary Seminar in Contemporary Educational Theory
EDUC 832, The Art and Discipline of Writing and Teaching Writing
EDUC 843, Embodiment and Curriculum Inquiry
EDUC 848, Ideas and Issues in Aesthetic Education
EDUC 852, Inquiry, Creativity and Community: Drama in Education
EDUC 868, Curriculum Theory and Art Education
EDUC 869, Music Education as Thinking in Sound
1998–2000 Bachelor of Science, Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, UBC.
Concentration: Animal behaviour, conservation, environmental ethics.
Completed two major research projects, “Iguana headbobbing as an indicator of activity level, aggression and dominance” and “The conservation implications of population-dynamics of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus on the Serengeti Plains, Tanzania.”
Academic Position:
2002–present Biology Lab Instructor, Faculty of Science and Horticulture, KPU.
2015 Instructor, Interdisciplinary Amazon Field School, KPU.
Teaching Experience:
2013 Co-developed IDEA 2100, Creativity, Ecology and Nature Experience, the first collaborative course between the Arts and Sciences at KPU.
2012–present Teach ecology, cell biology, genetics and first-year biology in the scheduled lab system at KPU.
2010–present Frequent collaborations with other faculties and departments at KPU, including Geography (GPS Eco-cache), Fine Arts (mural in the biology lab), Recreation (running leader), IET (new media), as well as IDEA (Amazon Field School).
2006–present Designing new field trips and lab activities, writing lab manuals, creating a video catalogue of cellular life, weekly tutoring sessions, sharing teaching practices.
2002–2012 Taught five first- and second-year courses in the open lab system at KPU.
Pedagogical and Research Interests:
Arts-based learning across curriculum
Ecopsychology, biophilia, and ecology/art
Aboriginal modes of inquiry
Creative process and mentorship
Engaged and embodied learning
Interdisciplinary natural, creative, and spiritual traditions
Creative writing and personal transformation
Presentations and Workshops:
Please visit the Events page for info on current presentations and workshops.
2015 “Contemplating the Contemplative Education” panel, Canadian Philosophy of Education Society, University of Ottawa. Accepted.
2015 “Ecological Education in a Time of Crisis,” Learning Together Conference, SFU. Accepted.
2015 “Arts-based Learning in Science,” NorthWest Biology Instructors Conference, UBC.
2015 “The Ecology and Creativity of the Rain Forest,” Active Pass Nature and Arts Festival, Mayne Island.
2015 “Poetic Inquiry into Nature’s Wisdom,” Active Pass Nature and Arts Festival, Mayne Island.
2014 Poetry in the Garden (poetry reading with Carl Leggo and Celeste Snowber), at the UBC Botanical Garden (Sep. 14, 2014).
2014 Featured presenter (poetry), Southern Gulf Islands Art Council, Summer Art Show, Mayne Island.
2014 “The Amazon River as a living system” workshop (facilitated on the Amazon River), Colombia.
2014 “Ecology and mindfulness: Engaging the senses in the Amazon rain forest” workshop, Calanoa, Colombia.
2014 Two “Ecology and drama” workshops, Island Discovery Learning Community, Surrey, BC.
2012 Copresenter, Interdisciplinary curriculum development: A new option, Kwantlen Symposium on Engaged Learning, Surrey, BC.
2006–2007 Panelist, VCON, Vancouver’s speculative fiction writing conference.
Service and Professional Experience:
2015 Green Science Labs Initiative, Science Green Team Committee, KPU.
2014 Interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree, planning committee, KPU.
2014 Institute for Wetland Studies Committee, KPU.
2013–2014 IDEA Steering Committee, KPU.
2013–present Website Committee, Faculty of Science and Horticulture, KPU.
2012–present Chair, Welcoming Committee, Common Ground Co-op, Surrey, BC.
2011 Ferns of Finca Dos Lados: A Survey of Cloud Forest Pteridophytes, Costa Rica.
2011 Volunteer, Rancho Mastatal Environmental Learning Center, Costa Rica.
2006–present Extensive volunteer experience with KPU Open House, Young Naturalists’ Club of BC, Aboriginal groups, KPU Biology Club and others.
2005–present Revisions Committee for four lab courses, KPU.
2006 Judge, Kwantlen Writers’ Guild writing contest.
1999–2005 Vice-President, Rainforest Reptile Refuge Society, led educational tours, fostered community links, volunteer coordinator, newsletter editor.
2003 Received a VanCity Community Partnership grant to research and design three extensive educational resources for elementary school teachers, Species Biology, Reptile Diversity and We Need Plants!
2000–2003 Manager, Turtle Invasion! program through Surrey Parks and Recreation, including giving an on-site lecture in Crescent Park and facilitating data gathering on red-eared slider populations.
Select Publications:
2014 Two winning photographs for Mayne Island Conservancy 2015 Calendar contest.
2014 “Before the Gloaming” (poem), NewMyths.com.
2013 “Druids Reconstructed” (nonfiction), Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 87.
2013 Common Plants of Greater Vancouver (5th edition), KPU.
2012 “Re-evaluating my role as educator” (cover story), The Runner, 4(12), 4–5.
2012 Wild Berries of Ontario, Lone Pine Publishing (primary photographer).
2012 Wild Berries of Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba, Lone Pine Publishing (primary photographer).
2011 Wild Berries of British Columbia, Lone Pine Publishing (primary photographer).
2009 “Fading Firs” (photo), Earth Matters Exhibit, Surrey Art Gallery.
2006 “Evolution’s End,” novella in Writers of the Future anthology, $1500 in prize money.
Personal and Professional Development:
2015 Engaging imagination in ecological education: Practical strategies for teaching (workshop), Surrey.
2006–present Author & Volunteer at Surrey International Writers’ Conference.
2013–present Member & volunteer, Mayne Island Conservancy Society.
2014 Ecology, Meditation and Integrated Living retreat with Tarchin Hearn, Vancouver.
2014 Ecology, Spirituality, and Contemplative Inquiry in Education colloquium, SFU.
2014 BCBIO Conference, Douglas College.
2014 Basket Beat workshop, combining sport, music and social change, Vancouver.
2013 1st Annual Research and Knowledge Mobilization Day, KPU.
2009–2013 Peer-led meditation co-host, Simple Sits, Vancouver & Surrey.
2013 David Abram workshop, Between the body and the breathing Earth, Cortez Island.
2013 Interpretive ecopsychology hikes: “What Forests Teach About Living with Life Changes” and “The Clarity of Winter.”
2012 Association of Experiential Educators: Finding Your Edge, Squamish.
2012 Feeling Our Way: New Pathways in Environmental Education, SFU.
2012 Learning Together: Collaboration as a Path to Transformation, SFU.
2012 Peer Adjudication, SFU Faculty of Education Seminar Series.
2012 BCBIO Conference: Experiential Education for One and All, SFU.
Awards and Grants:
2015/16 William & Ada Isabelle Steel Memorial Scholarship ($17,000)
2016 Faculty of Education Graduate Scholarship, SFU ($1000)
2016 Rotary Club of Burnaby Scholarship ($1000)
2015 Graduate Fellowship ($6500)
2015 EGSA Professional Development Grant, SFU ($400)
2015 Graduate Student Conference Travel Funds ($800)
2014 EGSA Professional Development Grant, SFU ($400)
2014 GSS Professional Development Grant, SFU ($500)
2014 Staff Training and Development Fund, KPU ($1500)
2014 Professional Development for Specialized Positions, KPU ($600)
2014 Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group Grant ($500)
2013 EGSA Professional Development Grant, SFU ($400)
2013 Staff Training and Development Fund, KPU ($1500)
2013 Professional Development for Specialized Positions, KPU ($600)
2009 Second place, Earth Vision nature writing contest ($100)
2009 First place, poetry, Kwantlen Writers’ Guild creative writing contest ($100)
2009 First place, fiction, Kwantlen Writers’ Guild creative writing contest ($100)
2009 Second place, nonfiction, Kwantlen Writers’ Guild creative writing contest ($75)
2005 Second place, Writers of the Future ($1500)