profile

In the 1990s I attended university as a mature student and earned a PhD in Social and Educational Studies from UBC (1999). My studies focused on inter-disciplinary sociology, feminist politics and pedagogies, qualitative research methods, and personal narratives, all passionate areas of interest that continue to inform the content and context of my work.

During my post-graduate and post-doctoral years I taught social justice and critical thinking, presented my doctoral research at international conferences, and was an assistant and associate researcher on large-scale studies. I also consulted, designed, and conducted social research in the child and youth advocacy community.

In the 2000s I undertook an independent study of women accomplished in the visual arts—returning to my creative roots and launching my freelance work—while also serving as marketing director for an established group of architects.

Prior to attending university, I owned and operated a fabric art and fashion design studio in the 1980s, with sales across Canada. During that time, I also undertook major textile design commissions for a prototype film and theatre venue at Expo '86 and a dining and entertainment complex in Toronto.

Throughout the 1970s I worked in land development; primarily, leasing and marketing shopping centres in BC. In the 1960s I was an administrative and research assistant for a national brokerage house and before that, fresh out of high school, an executive secretary at an international television network.

Perhaps not resume-worthy, but worth mentioning, during my junior and senior high school years I worked as a babysitter, a summertime mothers' helper, and even a matinée movie usherette. And maybe my best and worst job was the summer I sat for hours in a hot booth, eating endless bags of free popcorn while selling tickets to a travelling carnival.