I am a Geographer trained in urban and social issues, knowledge and policy, and qualitative methods. My current research interests centre on aging populations in suburban environments, sense of place, and planning for the aging demographic. In the past several years, my research interests have spanned environmental issues, public participation, and policy development.
In addition to my regular research and research duties, I am President of the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers (WDCAG 2011-2012), and recently finished up duties as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Qualitative Methods (IJQM 2010-2012) and as Chair of the Geography of Health & Health Care Specialty Group (GHHCSG) of the Canadian Association of Geographers (2010-2012). I am also an Associate of the International Institute of Qualitative Methodology (IIQM).
Outside of my academic life I am married with two wonderful boys and the three men in my life keep me very busy. As a family we like to spend our time in the outdoors, travelling, learning music and taking in the great local theatre scene here in Edmonton. My husband is a runner and I do my best to keep up with him though he is very speedy and I, most absolutely, am not! I have been known to spend way too much time listening to BBC Radio 4 online and confess to a developing addition to "The Archers."
My background and road to an academic life is somewhat non-traditional. I grew up in the suburbs of Vancouver and after high school followed an interest in the media, taking a technical degree at BCIT in Radio Broadcast. I spent the next 10 years working in radio, television and print advertising and production. After taking a year off to travel the world, I returned to Canada and decided to go back to university as a mature student. I subsequently did my undergraduate degree (Joint BA in Geography & Latin American Studies, SFU), a master's (Urban Affairs & Planning, Virginia Tech), and a PhD (Geography - Environment & Health, McMaster University) in 10 years straight. I started here at University of Alberta in 1999.