Md Nazmul Alam is a Bangladeshi-trained Medical Sociologist with a strong academic foundation in Sociology, holding both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from the University of Dhaka. He graduated magna cum laude with a Master of Public Health from North South University, Dhaka. His current research focuses on the gerontological lived experiences and healthcare systems of transgender individuals in Bangladesh.
Nazmul is an experienced qualitative researcher specializing in health behavior research among vulnerable populations, child protection, and food systems. His extensive background in project development and management further enhances his expertise in these areas.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ntuhin
ResearchGate: researchgate.net/profile/Md-Nazmul-Alam
Anne Corkery is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Trent University. With a BSc and MSc specializing in environmental science, and a BEd specializing in outdoor and experiential learning, she is passionate about climate change and environmental sustainability education. Anne's PhD research focuses on best practices for climate change education in Ontario's K-12 school system.
Prior to joining the School of Education and the IDSR program, Anne worked as a teacher and learning consultant, a role in which she helped to facilitate the construction and use of outdoor learning spaces throughout her board. She is the founder of The Gritty Classroom, a summer camp located in Peterborough, focused on nature connection and eco-literacy for children from 4 to 12 years of age. She is passionate about environmental and sustainability education, eco-justice, and community-connected learning experiences.
Lisa Ditschun [she/her] holds an honours bachelor’s degree in psychology and fine art from the University of Guelph and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of British Columbia.
Her work draws on her knowledge of multidisciplinary subjects and systems thinking, as well as a deep personal commitment to Indigenization and justice practices. Combining Indigenous and western knowledges within an Indigenist research paradigm, Lisa’s research aims to create a new methodology to address the urban challenges of sustainability, resource usage and inequality, called the Cities for Seven Generations Framework.
Lesleigh Dye is focusing on the connection between collective leader efficacy and improving student attendance. The student attendance rates in DSB1 are on a steady incline.
Lesleigh is entering her eighth year as the proud director of education for District School Board Ontario North East (DSB1), and is delighted to work with an incredible group of staff. Prior to serving in DSB1, she was a supervisory officer with the Rainbow DSB. She has also worked as a system principal in both Ottawa Carleton DSB and Toronto DSB.
Seana Irvine's PhD research is examining the relationship between industrial heritage sites that have been redeveloped into cultural hubs, and urban social and spatial justice. Most of my career has been working for enterprising non-profits, including as a founding team member behind Toronto's Evergreen Brick Works into a showcase of industrial heritage adaptive reuse and urban sustainability. A main through line of her work is the concern with how the destruction of valued places, natural and cultural, displaces and marginalizes people and a commitment to community and city building that provide places that meet the needs of those most marginalized as much as the most privileged.
She is a proud Trent undergraduate student with an Honours degree in Environmental Studies and she also has a Masters in Environmental Planning from York University.
Adebayo Makanju is a Nigerian-trained health economist with a solid academic foundation and extensive research experience in public health. He holds a bachelors degree in economics and two masters degrees in health economics and population geography, all from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. As a doctoral candidate, Adebayo's research focuses on the intersection of aging, post-stroke care, and social determinants of health in urban Nigeria. Through community-based studies, he aims to highlight disparities in healthcare access and outcomes for aging populations, providing valuable insights into policies that can improve post-stroke care and promote healthy aging in urban settings.
Besma Soltan holds an MEd and an Honors BA and has 15 years of experience in the social and educational sectors, working with grassroots organizations, non-profits, startup businesses, entrepreneurship incubators, and higher education institutes. She founded a non-profit organization, and a startup company focused on helping raise community awareness about local and global issues. Besma’s areas of expertise intersect curriculum design, interdisciplinary innovation, and entrepreneurial education with award-winning programs that have engaged thousands of learners. Her research examines the influence of intersectional identities on the experiences of racialized women entrepreneurs and the barriers to successful entrepreneurship. She aims to identify opportunities for racialized women entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and utilize a learner-centered approach that confronts biases and oppressive systems in entrepreneurship education spaces, offering strategies that convert theoretical knowledge into action.