Staff
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Dr. Jo-Ann Episkenew Dr. Jo-Ann Episkenew is a Métis woman originally from Manitoba but long-time resident of Saskatchewan. She is a Professor of English at the First Nations University of Canada but has taken a leave of absence to serve at the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research Centre. As an English Prof., she is not your typical health researcher, but then she's not your typical English Prof. either. She is interested in studying the connection between story and healing and in applying literary analysis skills—a close reading of the text—to her work with Indigenous youth. She is also a member of the Regina Riel Métis Council. She lives in Regina with her husband, Clayton, and Ethan and Paulina, two of her grandchildren. |
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Dr. Carrie Bourassa Dr. Carrie Bourassa is an Associate Professor of Indigenous Health Studies at First Nations University of Canada. Carrie completed her Ph.D. (Social Studies) in 2008. Her dissertation is entitled Destruction of the Métis Nation: Health Consequences. Carrie’s research interests include the impacts of colonization on the health of First Nations and Métis people; creating culturally safe care in health service delivery; Aboriginal community-based health research methodology; Aboriginal end of life care and Aboriginal women’s health. Carrie is Métis, belonging to the Riel Métis Council of Regina Inc. She resides in Regina with her husband, Chad and her daughters, Victoria and Lillie. |
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Dr. Jennifer Poudrier
tel: (306) 966-1793 Dr. Jennifer Poudrier is a sociologist and Métis community-based researcher with background and interests in First Nations health, visual imagery, Indigenous knowledge and photography. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan. She completed her Ph.D. (Sociology, Queen's University) in 2004 with a specialization in Science Studies. Her dissertation is entitled Decolonizing Genetic Science: The Thrifty Gene Theory, Aboriginal Health and Empowering Knowledges. Her current projects include community based health research with Battleford Triblal Council Indian Health Services on the topics of healthy body weight and body image through photovoice. She is also involved on other projects that attempt to demystify the binary relationship between science and society. Jennifer resides in Saskatoon with her daughter, Ellorah. |
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Marissa Desjardins Marissa is a Georgian Bay, Ontario Métis, born in Whitehorse, Yukon but she currently resides in Regina. She is a graduate of the University of Regina with a B.A in English and Psychology and is near completion of a Bachelor of Human Justice. She is preparing to begin a Master’s Degree in Justice Studies. Her main topic of interest is Aboriginal violent women offenders and the impact on family structures. As IPHRC’s full-time Research Coordinator, Marissa is responsible for managing the Centre’s overall administrative needs, monitoring the budget, researching and developing policy for grant programs, and supervising research assistants. |
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Cassandra Opikokew Cassandra is from Canoe Lake Cree First Nation and was raised in Meadow Lake in Northern Saskatchewan. She graduated at the top of her class in 2009 with her Certificate in Indian Communication Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Regina. She is in her final year of the Master’s of Public Administration program at the U of R Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy where her research area is Aboriginal education and policy. As Research Associate Knowledge Translation (KT) and Communications, Cassandra assists IPHRC in developing strategies for translating health research outcomes into meaningful and practical health service responses through innovative and culturally appropriate communication methods. |
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Liberty Emkeit Liberty is a proud Métis woman who grew up in Regina, SK. She recently obtained her Bachelors of Social Work degree from the University of Regina and is currently applying for a Masters of Social Work where she will be studying connections between Residential School survivors’ trauma and healing. As a Research Assistant at IPHRC, Liberty is conducting interviews with all recipients of IPHRC funding for our Data Collection Project titled: Impact and Outcomes of a Network Environment in Aboriginal Health Research Centre: Knowledge Translation in Action. |