Our Team

Diana Lewis

Assistant Professor

Biography: Diana Lewis is the primary investigator on this project. She is Mi’kmaq from Sipekne’katik First Nation in Nova Scotia and an Assistant Professor at Western University, cross-appointed between the Departments of Geography and Environment as well as First Nations Studies. She holds a Master's in Resource and Environmental Management and a PhD in Sociology from Dalhousie University. Her research interests include Indigenous environmental health, Indigenous methodology, quantitative methods, community-based research, risk/environmental assessment, social/environmental justice.

Emily Beacock

PhD Student

Biography: Emily Beacock is a settler scholar, working on her PhD in the Department of Geography and Environment at Western University, under the supervision of Drs. Diana Lewis and Chantelle Richmond. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology (2016) from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Environmental Studies (2020) from Dalhousie University. Emily is particularly interested in exploring pathways to ethical, decolonial research governance for Indigenous community - academic partnerships in geography.

Sasha Doxtator

Student Researcher (1981-2021). We miss you. We put this work out into the world in honour of your brilliant mind and your gentle heart, inspired by your fierce determination and with your sparkling laugh forever in our hearts.

Biography: Sasha Doxtator is a recent undergraduate grad who majored in Indigenous Studies. She is a proud member of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, where she was born and raised, and where her deep connection to Mother Earth started. Sasha is an environmental activist and has been to many protests, including the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline protest. Sasha has recently been accepted into the Master of Professional Education program in the field of curriculum and pedagogy, where she plans to research and develop an Indigenous STEM curriculum.

Shannon James

Student Researcher

Biography: Shannon James is a settler student who just completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at Western University. Shannon has a strong interest in environmental health and health equity. She believes using data visualization software like GIS is a powerful tool to share information and tell stories.

Olivia Thom

Student Researcher

Biography: Olivia Thom was born and raised in London, Ontario. She is Oneida on her maternal side, Turtle Clan from Oneida Nation of the Thames. She is in going into her third year at Western University majoring in Indigenous Studies. She is deeply passionate about the about the environment, more specifically about how environmental pollution and dispossession affects Indigenous communities and Mother Earth.

Michaela Nahmabin-Hiltz

Student Researcher

Biography: Michaela Nahmabin-Hiltz is from Aamjiwnaang First Nation and she is a fourth year student at the University of Western Ontario. She is currently in the Health Sciences program and she hopes to work on health promotion opportunities in communities when she graduates.