Dr. Monica E. Mulrennan, Professor
Monica attended University College Dublin where she completed her B.A (hons) and Ph.D. before moving to Australia in 1990 to take up a post-doctoral research position at the University of Wollongong (NSW). A year later Monica joined the Australian National University (ANU) initially as a Post-doctoral Fellow and then as a Research Fellow. In 1993 she was awarded an NSERC International Post-doctoral Fellowship, tenured at McGill University.
She joined the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University in 1994 and served as Associate Dean, Student Affairs in the School of Graduate Studies from 2005 to 2008. She is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the department.
Monica's research interests include indigenous resource management, community-based resource management, indigenous ecological knowledge, small-boat fisheries development, marine Protected Areas (MPAs), coastal and marine management. She has been working in partnership with Torres Strait Islanders since the early 1990s and with the Wemindj Cree community since the mid-1990s.
Look at her most recent publication: Mulrennan, Monica, and Véronique Bussières (2018). “Social-Ecological Resilience in Indigenous Coastal Edge Contexts.” Ecology and Society 23, no. 3. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10341-230318.
Email: monica.mulrennan(at)concordia.ca
She joined the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University in 1994 and served as Associate Dean, Student Affairs in the School of Graduate Studies from 2005 to 2008. She is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the department.
Monica's research interests include indigenous resource management, community-based resource management, indigenous ecological knowledge, small-boat fisheries development, marine Protected Areas (MPAs), coastal and marine management. She has been working in partnership with Torres Strait Islanders since the early 1990s and with the Wemindj Cree community since the mid-1990s.
Look at her most recent publication: Mulrennan, Monica, and Véronique Bussières (2018). “Social-Ecological Resilience in Indigenous Coastal Edge Contexts.” Ecology and Society 23, no. 3. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10341-230318.
Email: monica.mulrennan(at)concordia.ca
Brian Armstrong, M.Sc. student
Brian Armstrong is a researcher, artist and proud father. He completed a bachelor in Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University and is currently pursuing an MSc under supervision of Professor Monica Mulrennan. He is also a member of the FISHES project (Fostering Indigenous Small-scale fisheries for Health, Economy, and Food Security) and his current research will examine challenges and opportunities in subsistence fisheries and food security in the Chisasibi community of the Eeyou Istchee. His interests and experience is wide-ranging, commercial art and illustration in his early years, to work in community-supported agriculture, to youth work and project management. A lifelong objective is to explore the interface between science and art, and how art and storytelling can bridge divides between cultures.
Kai Bruce, M.Sc. student
Kai holds a B.Sc in Environmental Sciences (2017) with a specialization in environmental economics and policy from the University of Guelph. He will be working with Monica Mulrenna under the Conversation through Reconciliation Partnership (CRP) to examine Indigenous conservation governance and IPCA creation in a Northern Canadian context. Kai has a committed relationship to living in Canada's North and has worked in various educational positions from Nunavik to Yukon since 2017 and hopes to ultimately reconcile his interests in conservation research and teaching. Kai hails from the traditional territories of Saugeen Ojibway First Nation.
Research Interests: Decolonization of Conversation, Indigenous-led Conservation, IPCAS, Northern Research Expected Completion Date: Spring 2022 Contact: k_bruc(at)live.concordia.ca |
Véronique Bussières, Ph.D. candidate
Véronique holds a B.Sc. in Biology from McGill University (2001) and an M.A. in Public Policy and Public Administration (2005) from the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University. Building on her Master's thesis research on the relationship between the Cree Nation of Wemindji, Northern Québec, and their coastal territory (M.A. thesis: Towards a Culturally-Appropriate Locally-Managed Protected Area for the James Bay), her current research examines indigenous environmental stewardship, in the context of complex institutional coastal settings. She is also interested in better understanding the intricate relationships that exist between indigenous peoples and coastal areas, and how this should be taken into account in protected area frameworks. She has been doing research in partnership with the Cree community of Wemindji since 2003. Véronique works with the Québec chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (SNAP Québec) as Manager of Biocultural Conservation.
Click here to have a look at her CV.
Working thesis title: "A critical perspective on indigenous environmental stewardship in coastal settings"
Expected completion date: Summer 2021
Email: veronique.bussieres(at)gmail.com
Click here to have a look at her CV.
Working thesis title: "A critical perspective on indigenous environmental stewardship in coastal settings"
Expected completion date: Summer 2021
Email: veronique.bussieres(at)gmail.com
Sicily Fox, M.Sc. Student
Sicily Fox is a recent addition to the PICEF lab and will be starting her MSc degree in Geography, Urban, and Environmental Studies at Concordia University. Born and raised in British Columbia, she recently graduated from the University of Victoria with a BA (Hons) in Sociology and Environmental Studies. Throughout her career, she has been able to work closely with people, the natural world, and the interconnections between each. Ultimately, these experiences led her to pursue post-secondary education which allows her to explore these interconnections. With this in mind, Sicily is very excited to join the PICEF team and continue her learning journey!
Kristy Franks, Ph.D. candidate
Kristy's passion is water and trying to better understand our human relationship(s) with it. She completed a Master's with Concordia's Individualized Program focused on water worldviews working with Cree youth from Eeyou Istchee (Eastern James Bay, Northern Quebec). She joined our lab as a PhD student in September 2016. She is working with Indigenous communities in Northern Quebec, Northwestern Ontario and Southern Australia. She enjoys public speaking and video making, both for which she has won awards, specifically with the 3-Minute Thesis and SSHRC Storytellers contests. She cofounded and volunteers with Canal Bleu, an organization with the goal to clean up and promote enjoyment of the Lachine Canal in Montreal's Southwest, while also serving on the Board of Directors of Sustainable Concordia. Kristy is happy to learn and collaborate, specifically in areas of sustainable living, permaculture, traditional knowledge, ethics, water governance, and water justice.
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Nafisa Sarwath, Ph.D. student
Nafisa joined our lab as part of the newly implemented doctoral program in the Geography, Planning and Environment Department in September 2016. She completed her Bachelor of Science (BSc) from the University of Toronto (St. George), in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Environment and Science. She further ameliorated her interdisciplinary training by taking a Master of Science (MSc) degree from the University of Guelph in Planning. For her graduate thesis, she investigated the implementation process of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act through literature review, secondary data analysis and key informant interviews, and contextualized the efficacy of current conservation policies. She has also been involved with conservation efforts with the leaders of the Nawash First Nation in northern Ontario and has held several internships with NGOs in rural Bangladesh to develop proposals on wetland biodiversity rehabilitation initiatives. Her current research interests include marine and terrestrial protected areas and biodiversity conservation, as well the role of indigenous communities in these efforts.
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Leila Vaziri Zanjani, Ph.D. student
Leila joined our lab in September 2018. She earned a BSc degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Tehran and a Master’s in Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation at the University of Greifswald, Germany. At the end of her studies, Leila spent six months as an intern with the UNCCD in Bonn, Germany. Leila worked with CENESTA, supporting diverse indigenous peoples and nomadic tribes in Iran. She was the coordinator for West and Central Asia and the Caucasus of the ICCA Consortium until she moved to Montreal.