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I am a Professor at ������Ƶ’s School of Social Work and a Scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR). I work as an engaged researcher in social work, bringing a health equity and social justice lens to this work. My work has engaged with inner city health and harm reduction as well as oral health and community dental clinics. In this work, I have collaborated with consumer-led agencies and advocacy groups focused on poverty, homelessness, mental health, substance use, and harm reduction. I am indebted to the leadership of individuals with experiential knowledge and peer-led organizations who have included me in these movements in the shared struggle for social justice.

Background & research interests

I am a white settler of Scottish and English ancestry born on Mi’kmaq territory and now living on the unceded territories of the WS’ANEC’ (Saanich), Lkwungen (Songhees), and Wyomilth (Esquimalt) peoples. In acknowledging my position as a settler, I recognize the roles I have been active and complicit in colonization, as well as commit to decolonization and actively working in solidarity with Indigenous peoples.

Research interests

• Social policy
• Drug checking
• Access to dental care
• Qualitative and mixed-methods research
• Health equity
• Substance use, harm reduction, and drug policy
• Poverty, housing, and homelessness
• Social justice