FEEDIC is a volunteer committee comprised of academics, staff, and students who give voice to the members of their communities and advise the Dean's Office on equity, diversity, and inclusion within the Faculty of Education. Get to know our committee members by reading their bios below:
Michael Mahkwa Auksi
Michael Mahkwa (Bear) Auksi is a Toronto-born Anishinaabe-Estonian former hockey player. Currently, a PhD student at McGill University in Kinesiology Sciences, Mike’s dissertation will be on the hockey history of the Anishinaabeg of Lac Seul First Nation. Mike completed a Bachelor (’12) and Master of Social Work (’13) from Ryerson University and most recently worked at the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Mike is a member of the Indigenous Research Hockey Network and is involved in several anti-racism in sport initiatives. As an athlete, Mike has proudly represented his community, the Lac Seul Eagles. In addition, Mike represented Team Estonia at the 2015 IIHF World Hockey Championships. Mike’s intention is to give everything back to the young Indigenous people who inspired him to “go all the way”.
Angelica Galante
Angelica is an Assistant Professor in Second Language Education at the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Her research interests are rooted in social justice and critical inclusive education. Angelica often works with linguistically and culturally minoritized student populations and communities (e.g., immigrants, people in situations of refuge, international students, minority groups). Her work primarily takes place in schools, universities, colleges, NGOs, and in the classroom. She is originally from Brazil and she was an international graduate student herself in Canada. Angelica speaks Portuguese as a first language, English and Spanish as additional languages, and she is learning French. Angelica is a principal investigator in two research projects (FRQSC and SSHRC) in which her research team and she collaborate with language teachers to develop pedagogical practices that are linguistically and culturally inclusive and that value students’ identities.
Azadeh Javaherpour
Azadeh is a doctoral student in Educational Studies at DISE. Her current trajectory is inspired by her past experiences as a teacher educator, education manager, and graduate in Educational Leadership. The areas of her interest include teacher professional development in developing students’ critical thinking and fostering equitable educational experiences. In her doctoral study, Azadeh looks at responsive teaching practices in developing students’ critical thinking. As a member of the McGill community, she has served as the Equity and Diversity Vice President for the Education Graduate Student Society (EGSS) and is pleased to be part of FEEDIC. These opportunities helped Azadeh becomes familiar with grad students’ views and concerns, besides understanding the importance of taking initiatives in facilitating students’ experiences. Right now, as President of EGSS, Azadeh aims to present all grad students’ voices and in collaboration with others, she hopes to facilitate an inclusive, helpful, and respectful educational environment.
Kelly Kapou
Kelly joined McGill University’s Education HR team in January 2017. As an HR professional, she provides a full range of human resources services for the Faculty of Education. Her interests are in building efficient work structures and increasing workplace wellness with the aim to attract, retain and motivate employees.
Nadia Khalili
Nadia is a Ph.D. student in the ECP department with a Human Development concentration. Building on her mathematical background for her dissertation, she is using a Complex Dynamic System theory to advance the understanding of the Theory of Mind and its relationship to Moral-Spiritual Development. She has leadership experiences as the co-founder, managing director, and curriculum designer of the Atiyeh Critique of Reason teacher training institute, a Human Development conference co-chair, EGSS council member, instructor, and core coordinator. She believes that spiritual-intellectual development can foster harmony between diverse groups and mitigate inequity. To that end, she spent 10 years teaching and coordinating for a global participatory action program to empower minority children, youth, and adults spiritually and intellectually in Iran. Her abilities to recognize and analyze complex phenomena and engage with communities will enable her to serve the FEEDIC in various capacities, whether as a leader, teacher, or researcher.
Jordan Koch
Jordan’s research highlights the social and historical dimensions of sport and physical culture.
His specific research interests include youth sport, Indigenous sport, and the provision and uses of sport-for-development programs in low-income areas. His research has been funded by SSHRC, CIHR, and Sport Canada, and was also recognized by the Sport Information Research Centre for the ‘Impact of Sport on the Community’ category.
Mitchell Miller
Mitchell (he/him/his) manages the Faculty of Education’s Internships & Student Affairs Office. In his role, Mitchell is, in part, responsible for ensuring the successful planning and implementation of the practical teaching component of undergraduate (B.Ed.) and graduate (MATL) Teacher Education programs, general student and career advising, and undergraduate student affairs and records – many functions that connect and contribute in intersectional ways with equity and social justice. Mitchell is also a graduate of McGill’s B.Ed. program, and has worked at McGill since 2012 in a variety of roles in student life, communications, and HR. Mitchell identifies as Queer and is the proud father of a rambunctious toddler.
Claudia Mitchell (Committee Chair)
Claudia is a Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education and Director of the Institute for Human Development and Well-being. She is also the Founder and Director of the Participatory Cultures Lab. Much of her research addresses issues of gender equity, focusing specifically on gender-based violence. She currently leads several arts-based projects with Indigenous girls and young women in Rankin Inlet, Eskasoni and Treaty 6/The Traditional Homeland of the Métis/Saskatoon.
Sam Nepton
Sam is an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Education, currently completing B.Ed in the Kindergarten/Elementary program. In 2020, Sam was able to get involved in the Education Undergraduate Society (EdUS) Anti-Racism Committee, seeking out student testimonials about their experiences with bigotry and holding discussion and resource-sharing events where pre-service teachers could openly converse about racism and colonialism in the context of teaching in Quebec and Canada. Sam is honoured to be working with so many passionate students who are fighting for positive change, and thankful to learn from and work with FEEDIC to make change happen.
Gabrielle Ohayon
Gaby is a Placement Coordinator for the Internships and Student Affairs Office and has been in this role since November 2018. Her main focus is collaborating with students and schools to plan teaching internships for the Faculty’s multiple B.Ed. programs. Through her work, Gaby actively incorporates EDI by creating pathways for open communication with students and using her position to advocate on their behalf both in the field and on-campus. Gaby holds a Master of Information Studies degree from McGill University and has previously worked with the Faculty of Science, and Teaching and Learning Services. Prior to joining McGill, she completed her undergraduate degree in Child Studies at Concordia University.
Charlotte Usselman
Charlotte is an Assistant Professor and FRQS Research Scholar (Junior 1) within the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at McGill University. Her lab, the Cardiovascular Health and Autonomic Regulation Laboratory (CHARLab), investigates the impacts of sex, gender, and gonadal hormones on cardiovascular function and health across a range of ages and specific populations, including women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and postmenopausal women. The CHARLab uses state-of-the-art techniques for quantifying sympathetic nerve activity (i.e. microneurography) and vascular function (i.e. duplex vascular ultrasound) to understand the roles of the sympathetic nerves and peripheral blood vessels, and the interactions between them, in mediating cardiovascular outcomes in health and disease states. Finally, the CHARLab evaluates the capacity of both established and novel interventions to improve cardiovascular outcomes in at-risk populations of women, including women with PCOS and postmenopausal women.
Dennis C. Wendt
Dennis is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University, and the Director of the Cultural and Indigenous Research in Counselling Psychology (CIRC) lab. For the past 12 years, Dr. Wendt has collaborated with Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States in exploring, developing, and evaluating culturally relevant interventions pertaining to mental health, substance use, and community wellness. He is also interested in evidence-based practice considerations for substance use disorders, as well as philosophical aspects of clinical psychology and research methods. The author of over 35 scholarly publications, Dr. Wendt is the recipient of the 2017 Sigmund Koch Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology from the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, as well as the 2016 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Qualitative Inquiry from the APA Division of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. He serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee of the Society for Addiction Psychology.