The EIESL Community of Practice is constantly changing, and its members have had varying levels of involvement. Here are the people who have represented the core team since 2009.
Kendra Foster, Ph.D. Candidate | EIESL Principal Investigator (2010- ); Co-ordinator (2009-2010)
Dr. Shafik Dharamsi | Co-Investigator (2010- ); Principal Investigator (2009-2010)
Dr. Dharamsi is our Team Leader. He is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine, and Associate Director of the UBC Centre for International Health. He facilitates the development of leadership, research, education and community engagement for exploring creative, progressive, rigorous and sustainable solutions to the problems of global health, particularly within the context of the social determinants of health and health professions education. Dr. Dharamsi implemented an innovative health promotion and early-childhood development initiative in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda through the Aga Khan Development Network. His work has been featured on a Canadian television documentary series, The Global Villagers, which follows Canadians who work to promote peace and meet the basic needs of developing countries.
Please visit Dr. Dharamsi’s webpage for more information.
Wendy Loudon, MA | Faculty Engagement Coordinator (2010- )
Wendy graduated from the University of Toronto in 2009 with a Masters in Adult Education and Community Development, focusing particularly on Comparative International Development Education. She has participated in service learning in both South Africa and Uganda and feels very passionate about supporting UBC faculty and students to critically examine the ethics of their engagement in international contexts. In her role of Faculty Engagement Coordinator on the EIESL team Wendy is excited about working with faculty to incorporate discussions of international ethics into their classes at UBC.
Sara Radoff, MA Candidate | Student Engagement Coordinator (2010- )
Sara Radoff is the Student Engagement Coordinator for the Ethics of International Engagement and Service Learning Project. She brings to the project her passions for critical pedagogy, participatory action research and multicultural education. She also offers the skills and insights she developed as a Service-Learning Coordinator where she collaboratively developed youth outreach projects with community members, college students, faculty and youth. She has co-authored a chapter in the 9th volume of Advances in Service-Learning Research, Creating our Identities in Service-Learning and Community Engagement, titled “Reciprocal Benefits of Mentoring: Results of a Middle School-University Collaboration” and is currently co-authoring a book chapter with faculty, students and community partners on the collaborative process of engaging service-learning in the multicultural education course for pre-service teachers. Currently, she is in the second year of the Master of Arts in Society, Culture and Politics in Education program at UBC. Alongside her commitment to social justice advocacy in education, Sara immerses herself in nature whenever possible through her love of surfing, sailing, and snowboarding.
Kari Marken | Faculty Engagement Coordinator (2009-2010); Advisory Committee (2010-present)
Ricardo Segovia | Student Engagement Assistant (2010- )
Ricardo will be completing his undergraduate degree in May of 2011. He has been involved with Engineers Without Borders and spent time in Lesotho as part of the Go Global International Service Learning team. His origins are close to the equator (El Salvador) and he intends to use the tools acquired in school, work and travel to drive positive change while in a climate that is better suited to his genetics.
Saida Rashid | Student Engagement Assistant (Summer 2010); Dedicated Volunteer (2010- )
Saida is a second year international student from Kenya. She has been heavily involved with international student development on campus. She has a passion for international work and brings so much energy and vibrancy to the EIESL team.
Laura Roy | Faculty Engagement Assistant (2010- )
Laura is a fourth year student with a double major in Psychology and Linguistics. She spent summer of 2009 in Busolwe, a small village in Eastern Uganda and thoroughly enjoyed her time there. She aspires to pursue a graduate program in Speech Language Pathology, after which, she’d like to return to Uganda. She is very excited and fortunate to be working with the amazing EIESL team!
- Matt Whiteman, MA Candidate | EIESL Project Assistant (2010- ); Co-coordinator (2009-2010)
Matt graduated from UBC in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Human Geography and Political Science with an additional focus on environmental issues and the continent of Africa. He is currently working on a Master’s degree through the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program at UBC (2012). His research project is informed by and relates closely to the EIESL Project, and involves trying to gain a better understanding of host community perspectives on the notion of ethics in international engagement and service-learning. He has been involved in various community projects in Kenya and Tanzania since 2007, and is currently trying to improve his use of infixes in Swahili.
Stephanie Brown | EIESL Project Assistant (2009-2010)
Stephanie is a 3rd year Biochemistry student with dreams of working in public health. After working at a hospital in a rural Indian community last summer, she sees great value in the EIESL project. Stephanie is currently involved locally as a volunteer with the PURE health study which is being conducted by the World Health Organization in conjunction with SFU
- Trisha Taneja | EIESL Project Assistant (2009-2010)
Trisha is in her 4th year at UBC, completing a major in Political Science and a minor in Immunology. She has worked for three years with Médécins Sans Frontières at UBC and in Vancouver, as well as for two years with the Centre for Intercultural Communication at UBC. Her work has led her to develop a passion for cultural concerns in international development issues. She is very excited to be a part of EIESL this year and to encourage the UBC community to ethicize while abroad!
- Iran Seyed-Raeisy, BSc | EIESL Project Assistant (2009-2010)
Over the past five years, Iran has been involved in raising awareness about various global issues at UBC. In particular, through her work with Médecins Sans Frontières UBC, Iran has developed a genuine interest in global health and development. Through her work with EIESL Iran is hoping to educate herself about the ethics of international work and to facilitate discussion about this important topic on campus.
Lindsey Lenters | EIESL Project Assistant (Summer 2009)
Lindsey is a 4th year Dietetics student with a passion for global issues. She has spent her past two summers working on food and nutrition related ISL projects in Uganda and has also spent many years as a volunteer for Humanitarian Issues Program with the Lower Mainland Red Cross. She is thrilled to be working on the EIESL project!
- Rena C. Tabata | EIESL Project, Administrative Support and CLISS, Manager (2009)
Rena graduated from the Experimental Medicine Program at UBC in 2008 and is currently the manager for the Community Liaison for Integrating Study and Service Program (CLISS). She is excited that her social accountability portfolio has expanded to include exploration of ethical issues surrounding international service which will inform her current work working with local and national community groups.
Jo-Ann Osei-Twum | CLISS Manager (2009-2010); Dedicated Volunteer (2009-2010)
Jo-Ann graduated from the Cell Biology and Genetics Program at UBC in 2009 and is currently working with the Community Liaison for Integrating Study and Service Program (CLISS) initiative. She believes that the development of a strong ethical framework within international development is paramount for effectual change. Jo-Ann is excited to learn from the UBC community and to consider the ethical issues associated international service from a community engagement prospective.
Yan Xu | HESO449B Coordinator; Dedicated Volunteer (2009-2010)
Yan Xu is a student in Microbiology and Immunology, Co-op option who plans to pursue a career in international medical development. He is a co-facilitator of an approved Student Directed Seminar course that will be offered in January 2010 termed “Topics in International-Service Learning (ISL),” which encompasses the issues surrounding ethics, sustainbility and cultural sensitivity of the practice of ISL. Yan believes that with the rise in recognition of international development work, much attention and careful planning need to be demanded by those that partake in these endeavors.
Ellison Richmond, MPH candidate. Dedicated Volunteer (2010-present)
Ellison Richmond graduated in 2007 with a first-class honors degree B.Sc. in physiology and developmental biology from the University of Alberta. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health with a focus on global health from the University of British Columbia. He has spent time as on-site manager for the Kenya Ceramic Project and likes good food, good music, and good people.
Sambriddhi Nepal, BA Candidate. Blog Contributor (2010-present)
Sammy is a second year in the Faculty of Arts, and is pursing a Psychology and french double major. Born in Nepal, Sammy spent almost all of her life away from her home country, growing up in Pakistan, Angola, Haiti, and Mozambique. Her heart is still in Africa, where she feels she really developed her awareness of the intense social divides between the rich and the poor. She aims to eventually go into journalism so that through her writing, other people would also develop that awareness. She hopes to earn some money, and then spend it all by traveling across and writing about Africa, South America, and South Asia.
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EIESL Staff/Faculty/Students can click here for WBGB faculty engagement documents.