Congratulations to COHDS co-director Dr. Catherine Richardson from the School of Community and Public Affairs for receiving the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Community Outreach and Public Engagement. This award recognizes faculty-led activities in the Faculty of Arts and Science that involve outreach, engagement and collaboration that enhance the collective capacity, and improve the well-being and resiliency of the university and its partners.
The selection committee highlighted her involvement in multiple projects and collaborations with Indigenous communities in Montreal, BC, and Nunavik, as well as her international collaborations in Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia. Her work bridges the university and community, working to decolonize and Indigenize classrooms, mental health approaches, intervention models, and thinking about what it means to heal and recover from violence. Her work with numerous Indigenous organizations nationally, such as the Montreal Native Women’s Shelter, the Yukon Task Force on Strategy Development for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and the BC “We are Indigenous” program, is recognized for its positive impact in the community. The committee was equally impressed by her record of securing the funding for some of these activities through SSHRC and FRQSC, her participation in numerous conferences, and her contributions to public-facing reports, policy papers, blog posts, webinars, and websites.
