Dr. Barbara Lee | Executive Producer and Host
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Director, Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families
Knowledge Exchange and Mobilization Scholar
As a Knowledge Exchange and Mobilization (KxM) scholar, Barbara strives to build university-community partnerships in knowledge creation and exchange, and to disseminate and mobilize knowledge that will promote positive social change. In addition to creating The Knowledge Exchange podcast, Barbara serves as the founding editor-in-chief for the open-access e-journal Research and Evaluation in Child, Youth, and Family Services to encourage dialogue and advancing impactful research to promote positive change in child, youth, and family services.
Michelle O’Kane | Producer
PhD Candidate, School of Social Work
Coordinator, Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families
Graduate Research Assistant
Michelle’s research focuses on child protection systems, judgement and decision making, supervisory neglect as a maltreatment classification, and children in public space.
Cathy Jiu | Producer and Editor
Work Learn Student (2023-2024), Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families
Cathy (she/her) is a current Master of Public Health student at the University of Ottawa, a former Work Learn student with the Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families, and a contributor to The Knowledge Exchange: A Partnership-in-Action Podcast. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Psychology from UBC. In relation to her work with the Centre, she is most interested in the use of creative and innovative knowledge dissemination in supporting advocacy activities, and the role of community engagement and knowledge exchange and mobilization in shaping policy and programming.
Qian Zhou | Producer and Editor
PhD Student, School of Social Work
Graduate Research Assistant, Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families
Qian is originally from Southwest China and earned her Master’s degree in Social Work in China in 2020. Her research interest focuses on child welfare, particularly children with disabilities.
Maddie Cathcart | Producer and Editor
Work Learn Student (2025), Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families
BSW Practicum Student, Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families
Maddie (she/her) is a graduate student at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University, a former Work Learn student and practicum Student with the Centre for the Study of Services to Children and Families. She holds a BSW from the UBC School of Social Work and a BA in sociology from UBC. Maddie is passionate about interdisciplinary knowledge, structural accountability, systems changes and knowledge mobilization, taking an integrated and critical approach to research, believing that the value of research lies in its application to community contexts and service to interest holders.
