Presented in reappointment professional dossier, August 2022.

My professional growth, experience and achievements have been significant and impactful both for myself and the SSW. My roles as Chair of the BSW program and Educational Leadership faculty have been enriching and transformative experiences for me as a SW, educator, community organizer, and researcher. At the same time, I have helped the School grow and refine its programs, processes and courses, as well as adapt to the consequences of a global pandemic. This has helped me understand my diverse roles and responsibilities and outline a clear path on what I wish to accomplish in the coming years of my academic career.

A.  Solidify my SoTL and Work Toward Social Justice

I will continue to focus my SoTL work on social justice, queering schools of social work, and developing more  LGBTQ2S+, Indigenous, race-related and disability content in SW education to better prepare our students for professional work. I will prioritize projects focused on Queering Schools of SW. As presented in a previous section, I am currently leading a research project on Queering the UBC SSW and launching the first steps of a pan-Canadian collaborative research initiative. My personal motivations to advance these topics and my ability to learn in action will contribute to moving the SSW forward on these important issues. I am fortunate to be able to collaborate with strong colleagues and mentors at UBC and the SSW, SoTL and other SSW across the country on this important and meaningful work.

Current projects to be continued and expanded:

• Queering the School of Social Work, SoTL Seed UBC;
• Queering the Schools/Faculties of Social Work in Canada, CASWE-ACFTS, Queer Caucus;
• Climate Justice in SW Education, Climate Education Grant;
• Critical Pedagogy in SW Education: Lessons Learned for Continuous Learning, ISUSW.

B.  Community Needs to be Continually Renewed

In the last years, we have experienced several challenges at the SSW that have impacted our ability to be a community of teachers and learners. In the coming years, I will continue exploring how our community at the SSW can be strengthened. The last several years of living in the context of a pandemic have reminded us of how essential a community is in providing the right conditions to work, teach, and strive to build a happy, successful learning environment. This is as true for students as it is for staff and faculty. To stay healthy, a community needs to be continually renewed and re-created. In the coming years, I would like to contribute to renovating a sense of community at the SSW and at UBC by:

• representing the School at the Jack Bell Renewal working group and advocating for a building that is more conducive to a community of learners;
• organizing more events that promote a sense of community among staff, faculty and students;
• supporting student leaders in organizing various groups and initiatives that foster collegiality, peer support, equity and social justice.

C.  Québécois and SW

Several events over the last years have allowed me to revisit my personal history as a Québécois and francophone SW. We often do not fully realize the nuances and richness of our own culture and history until we find ourselves away from it. Being at UBC and working with anglophones and international colleagues has created a unique context where I am pushed to revisit my own experiences, history and knowledge. I am proud of my Québec culture and experience, which provide me with a unique vision of SW. Through my work, I would like to contribute to building bridges and a deeper understanding of our experiences, differences and similitudes.

My unique position as a Francophone faculty in an anglophone university offers me a distinctive perspective on both SW and research, and an opportunity to foster this cultural, academic bridge.

Over the last year, I have reconnected with Queer francophone colleagues and have invited them to collaborate in designing a Canadian educational initiative that is more comprehensively inclusive of both cultural experiences. I would like to reflect more deeply on the history and practice of SW in Québec, and share its strengths, challenges, and opportunities for learning and practicing SW with students and colleagues. I would like to include content to help students better understand the realities of francophones in Canada, and better equip them to work with francophones in a minority context. Thus, through my role as a university educator, I would leverage my professional background and history, as well as the unique aspects of the Quebec experience of SW to our collective learning and practice.

D. Finding Balance, Thriving and Uniqueness

Over the last several years, I have continually worked on finding balance in my work and personal passions. I have learned that, in order to thrive, I must align my work with my professional values and philosophy. I’ve learned to prioritize opportunities that align both with the School’s Vision with my professional priorities and my passions.  As faculty, we are given an incredible opportunity to advance the SW profession and make contributions to society. My career has been dedicated to helping others, building community, compassion, freedom, dialogue, shared power and social justice. These values are deeply grounded in my experience of life. And it is when I feel grounded in these that I experience health, happiness, creativity, deeper power and fabulousness (Reynolds, 2019). My last years have taught me how essential it is to remain truthful to my experience of being an educator and a learner. It is with great enthusiasm, renewed self-knowledge and confidence that I continue my journey.

Reynolds, Vikki (2019). The Zone of Fabulousness: Resisting vicarious trauma with connection, collective care and justice-doing in ways that centre the people we work alongside. Context, pp. 36-39.