Program StaffAdvisors / Knowledge KeepersSteering Committee

Core Team (Staff & Students)

Jessica Joseph

Jessica Joseph

Jessica Joseph Arts and Community Engagement Programmer eyʔ skʷéčəl I’m Jessica Joseph from the Songhees Nation. I align myself with cultural restoration and art, and I’m inspired by plants and traditional stories. I started working…
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Maeve Lydon

Program Director Greetings! As an uninvited guest, I am honoured to live and work on Coast Salish territories. I am the daughter of Irish immigrants from Galway, (another wild west coast) in Ireland. Over the past 15 years, I have been focused…
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DesireeJones

Desiree Jones

WSANEC School Board Senior Language Apprentice/Living Lab-WSB Staff Liaison ÍY, SȻÁĆEL SIÁM NE SĆÁLEĆE. ESE Desiree Jones ĆSE LÁ,E SEN EṮ W̱SÁNEĆ. My name is Desiree Jones, I am from W̱SÁNEĆ territory and Pauquachin First…
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LyndseyJoseph

Lyndsey Joseph

WSANEC Leadership Secondary School LLab Program Developer ÍY, SȻÁĆEL SIÁM. TE,TES,ȾE ŦE NE SNÁ ĆSE LÁ,E SEN EṮ LEQEṈEN. My name is Lyndsey Henry, I am Lekwungen from the Songhees First Nation, and I currently reside in TSAWOUT. …
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Jam

Jam Ramjattan

Engagement and Support Jam is an educator, community worker, & lover of tacos. He graduated with a B.A. Justice Studies at Royal Roads University. He recently completed his M.A. research on the Pedagogy of Space: Deconstructing Colonial…
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Nicholas Stanger

Nicholas Stanger

Research Lead, Western Washington University - Research / Environmental Education ​​I work as an associate professor of environmental education at Western Washington University. My research uses an educationalist lens and participatory…
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Mo Mitchell

Mo Mitchell (they/them)

My name is Mo Mitchell (they/them), and I am the Research Finance Assistant for the UVic HSD Research Support Team. I help with account management for the Living Labs project, including invoices, budgeting, and more. As a newcomer to the…
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Paul Meier

Paul Meier

My name is Paul Meier and I am the HSD Research Support Team Lead. I was born on Iroquois territory and now live with my family on lək̓ʷəŋən territory. I have worked at UVic for 20 years. I am honored to support the work done by Living…
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Community Liaisons

Kyle Clarke

Kyle Clarke

Education Coordinator Kyle is of Ukrainian, Irish, and Métis ancestry who grew up on the W̱SÁNEĆ territory. Recently, Kyle graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies. He…
Sarah-Jim

Sarah Jim

Stewardship Coordinator I am a member of the W̱SÁNEĆ nation from the Tseycum village and have been working with PEPÁḴEṈ HÁUTW̱ since 2018 and with the Living Lab Project since 2019. Living Lab and PEPÁḴEṈ HÁUTW̱ allow me…
Judith

Judith Lyn Arney

PH Ecosystems Director I grew up in the beautiful forests, beaches, and meadows of the W̱SÁNEĆ homelands. I‘m an ethno-ecologist of British ancestry doing ecosystem restoration work. My role with Living Lab is supporting “on the ground”…
TyeSwallow

Erin Glasgow

Director of Education Songhess Nation (Bio Coming Soon)
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JohnHarris

John Harris

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Community Co-Chair Indigenous Education Elder & Indigenous Knowledge Facilitator SD61 ’Uy’ skweyul, I am an Indigenous Educator and member of Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) First Nation, working in the Greater Victoria School District’s…
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TyeSwallow

Tye Swallow

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Adult Education Facilitator WSANEC Schoolboard I am a Facilitator for Language Revitalization with the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board. My interest in being involved in the Living Lab work revolves around helping transform educational structures to…
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MayaHamel

Maya Hamel

Esquimalt Nation, Program Supervisor Hello, my name is Maya Hamel. I was born in Hefei, China. I was adopted and brought to Canada, where I grew up on Treaty 7 territory in Calgary, Alberta and moved to Victoria 7 years ago. I am grateful…
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Advisors (Elders / Knowledge Keepers)
Nicholas XEMŦOLTW̱ Claxton

NICHOLAS XEMŦOLTW̱ CLAXTON

Co-Founder and past Academic Director of Living Lab, UVic School of Child & Youth Care I work with UVic as an assistant professor in the Department of Child and Youth Care. I am also a W̱SÁNEĆ community member and past Chief of the…
Leslie Brown

Leslie Brown

Professor Emeritus, UVic School of Social Work I am a Great-Grandmother and University of Victoria Professor Emerita, who has a life-long passion for community-based research and Indigenous child and family wellbeing. The Living Lab embodies…
Shelly-Niemi-

Shelly Niemi

Director of Indigenous Education School District 61 Bio Coming Soon!
BuddHall

Budd Hall

Settler / UVic Professor Emeritus - UNESCO Chair in Higher Education
Butch-Dick

Butch Dick

LEKWUNGEN, Songhees Nation
Frank-George

Frank (Bangus) George

LEKWUNGEN, Songhees Nation
JohnElliott

John Elliott

WSANEC / UVic Honorary Doctorate, TSARTLIP Nation
LornaWilliams

Lorna Williams

Lil‘wat / St’at‘yem’ Nation, Professor Emerita / Faculty of Education & Canada Research Chair - Indigenous Knowledge & Learning
EarlClaxtonJr

Earl Claxton Jr.

WSANEC / PEPÁḴEṈ HÁUTW̱ - TSAWOUT Nation

Mavis Underwood

Research and Planning Advisor I am proud to be invited to the Living Lab Project. As a past IGOV scholar, I pressed for improved curriculum in our professional schools of law, health, education and social development to counter the colonizing…
JohnHarris

John Harris

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Community Co-Chair Indigenous Education Elder & Indigenous Knowledge Facilitator SD61 ’Uy’ skweyul, I am an Indigenous Educator and member of Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) First Nation, working in the Greater Victoria School District’s…
RuthLyall

Ruth Lyall

Director of Indigenous Programs, Camosun College Nugwa’am ɁIxcəmga. Gayutɫan lax Gwa’yasdams. My Kwaḱwala-given name, Ixcəmga, was given to me by my Coon family, from the village of Gwa’yasdams, of the Kwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w…
Renee Sampson

SXEDTELISIYE – Renee Sampson

WSANEC School Board Bio Coming Soon!
TyeSwallow

Tye Swallow

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Adult Education Facilitator WSANEC Schoolboard I am a Facilitator for Language Revitalization with the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board. My interest in being involved in the Living Lab work revolves around helping transform educational structures to…
TriciaRoche

Tricia Roche

UVic - HSD Development Officer After a decade of experience in youth-focused research at UVic, I now work as a Development & External Relations Officer in the Faculty of Human & Social Development. I find congruence between the values…
ErichKelch

Erich Kelch

PARKS CANADA - Sea Gardens Project Manager My name is Erich Kelch, and I was born in Lekwungen territory/Victoria and now live on PKAALS/Mt. Tolmie/District of Saanich. I am of German and English descent and feel connected to the people and…
DorotheaHarris

Dorothea Harris

Office of Indigenous & Academic Community Engagement, Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator. Director, Indigenous University Initiatives. My family is from Snuneymuxw First Nation, and I am a grateful visitor on the Lekwungen, W̱SÁNEĆ…

Darcy Mathews

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Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Studies, UVic. UVic Academic Co-Leads I am an Archaeologist and Ethnoecologist working primarily via UVic with the Songhees Nation. We are working collaboratively at Tl’ches (Chatham/Discovery…
Heather Castleden

Heather Castleden

UVic Academic Co-Leads Professor and Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health Hello! My name is Heather, which is the name given to a flowering evergreen plant that thrives on the peaty barren lands of Scotland,…