Kelsey SchoberVice PresidentKelsey was born and raised off-grid in Sutton, Alaska. She is pursuing a MA in Political Science at the University of Alberta, and holds a BA in Politics, Psychology, and Dance from Bates College. She has received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to pursue research on performance and politics; worked as the Digital Communications Director on one of the most highly-funded ballot measures in Alaska state history; and advocated on behalf of resource issues across Alaska through an environmental justice lens. Most recently, she was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Research Grant to pursue her Master's research at the University of Alberta, where she is focusing on Arctic communities, oil politics, climate change, and political efficacy. Her writing and research has appeared on Arctic Today, AKfish.org, and the Center for American Progress. Outside of her academic work, she is an avid freelancer, amateur chef, and rock climber.
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Lauren ThompsonPresidentLauren is a PhD student in the Catchment and Wetland Sciences Research Group supervised by David Olefeldt. Her research focused is on methylmercury and carbon dynamics in lakes and streams fed by thawing permafrost peatlands in the Northwest Territories of Canada. She completed a BSc at McGill University in Environmental Science where she was first exposed to Arctic science during a field study to Axel Heiberg Island, NU and went on to study peatlands at the Mer Bleue Bog research station near Ottawa, ON for her undergraduate thesis. Lauren is also a council member on the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in polar science. Outside of the field she enjoys camping, baking, downhill skiing, and reveling in the lack of mosquitoes.
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Nicholas TolerTreasurer |
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Jared GonetYukon University RepresentativeJared is a born and raised Yukoner. Here he is hanging out with this brother in NWT. He is a member of the Taku River Tlingit, with roots throughout the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Currently pursuing a PhD in Conservation Biology around biocultural indicators, he completed a MSc in Wildlife Ecology on Northern Mountain Caribou in 2019. A long-time runner, with a deep-appreciation for the North and its natural systems, large-landscape questions have always fascinated him. Backgrounds in studying industrial ecology, environmental science, and conservation planning has given him a deep appreciation of the need for harmonious human-ecological systems. Throughout his studies, work, and volunteering he hopes to bring forward indigenous ways of knowing and seeing the world.
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Skylar LipmanSecretary |
Katherine FleuryGeneral Executive MemberHey! I’m Kat and I’m a first-year master’s student in the school of public health, focusing on health policy. I am working with Dr. Susan Chatwood and will be completing research on health system responsiveness in circumpolar Indigenous communities. This will include international comparisons between groups located in Alaska, Norway, and northern Canada, where I hope to better understand how stewardship can increase access to culturally relevant care. I myself am Metis, and a fun fact is that I have lived in 6 different provinces! I love to travel and explore which has translated into an interest in discovering cultures that differ from my own.
Selina ErtmanGeneral Executive MemberHello! I’m Selina and I’m a Masters student studying Sociocultural Anthropology at the University of Alberta. My research focuses on climate change education in Nunavut schools. I am interested in exploring how educational policy and classroom teaching construct, anticipate, and respond to climate change in culturally and linguistically relevant ways to engage students. Outside of academia I enjoy hiking, painting, reading sci-fis, and collecting houseplants!
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Sidney HorlickGeneral Executive MemberSidney is originally from Iqaluit, Nunavut. She is an MSc Global Health student in the School of Public Health working with Susan Chatwood to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security in Nunavut. Since 2017, she has worked as a research associate at Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre on a variety of research projects and programs aimed at improving the health and wellness of Nunavummiut. Outside of academics she is a figure skater with UofA Figure, hiker, camper, sewer, and certified gymnastics coach.
Tina WasilikGeneral Executive MemberTina is a Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Education. Her research aims to explore Inuit women’s self-reliance. She uses Indigenous Storywork to gather the experiences of Inuit women in Nunavut who have completed an Early Childhood Education Diploma Program that blended a child-centered educational approach with traditional Inuit learning methods. Prior to her Ph.D. studies, Tina lived and worked as a secondary school teacher in the Territory of Nunavut for three years. Outside of academia, she enjoys running, hiking, and travelling.
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Anita LaffertyGeneral Executive MemberAnita Lafferty is a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Secondary Education. She is of Dene and Cree descent and a member of the Lı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation in Northwest Territories. Her doctoral research examines approaches of Indigenous curriculum perspectives that are grounded in Dene K’ee (ways of knowing) on the land. Before undertaking her doctoral studies, Anita was a high school teacher implementing successful practices for Indigenous youth. Her research interests include learning on the land, experiences of Indigenous youth, identity, healing, and matriarch knowledge.
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Patrick WilliamsGeneral Executive MemberPatrick joined the Bhatia Lab in 2018. His research focuses on characterizing the geochemical signature of glacial meltwater and measuring it's downstream evolution and biological impact as it enters the marine environment in the Canadian High Arctic. Prior to joining the lab, he received a Bachelor's degree from Haverford College. Between undergrad and coming to the UofA he worked as a wine biochemist in Napa, CA, grew algae for the Department of Energy, built bicycles in the pacific northwest, taught and made cheese at an organic dairy farm in the Hudson Valley, and hiked the Appalachian trail. He enjoys impromptu sing-alongs and RuPaul's drag race (but is a bit disappointed in season 10's lack of tact and empathy).
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