Team - Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) Project

Meet the Team

Co-Investigators

Co-Investigators bring social work research, field education, and training mentorship experience to the partnership.

Collaborators

Collaborators support the partnership through research and training initiatives.

Partners include Canadian and foreign post-secondary institutions, professional associations, regulatory bodies, government departments and for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, who support partnership activities.

Dr. Julie Drolet, PhD, RSW

Project Director

Dr. Julie Drolet is Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary and Project Director of the TFEL partnership. Her research in the field of international social work focuses on disaster social work, immigrant settlement and integration, social protection, social development, and social work field education. She is a registered social worker with the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). She collaborates with several interdisciplinary teams of scholars on various research project, and employs numerous students as research assistants.

Dr. Lena Babenko, MSc, PhD

Project Coordinator

August 2022 – Present

September 2020 – July 2021

She completed her MSc in biology and PhD in Neuroscience. Lena brings experience in research support and administration. As Project Coordinator, Lena is responsible for organizing and coordinating the activities and administrative needs for the TFEL partnership project.

Kamal Khatiwada, MSW

Training and Mentorship Coordinator

August 2022 – Present

Kamal completed his Bachelor of Health Sciences from the University of Lethbridge and Master of Social Work from the University of Calgary with a specialization in International and Community Development. He has demonstrated history of working in community organizations, government, school district, and higher education.

Dr. Emmanuel Chilanga, PhD, MSW, MSc

Project Coordinator

August 2021 – July 2022

As Project Coordinator for TFEL, Emmanuel is responsible for organizing and coordinating the activities and administrative needs for the TFEL partnership project. Emmanuel completed his MSW and PhD in Social Work at McGill University. He will coordinate TFEL activities for one year. TFEL wishes Dr. Olena Babenko all the best during her leave.

Postdoctoral Scholars

Dr. Mahed Choudhury, PhD
December 2022 – Continuing

Mahed Choudhury is an ‘Eyes High’ Postdoctoral Research Associate (PRA) at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. He served as a PRA at the School of Social Work, Dalhousie University, Halifax, from December 2021 to November 2022. He earned his PhD from the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), University of Manitoba. His previous education includes a Master’s degree in Natural Resources Management (MNRM) from the NRI, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Sociology from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. He is a recipient of several national and international scholarships and research grants, including the University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (UMGF). Dr. Choudhury’s research primarily centers on community resilience, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and sustainability. Importantly, this research places a strong emphasis on the social dimension, including aspects such as power dynamics, knowledge systems, gender considerations, intersectionality, and institutional factors. His research has been published in journals such as Sustainable Development, Ecology & Society, Environmental Science and Policy, and Environmental Hazards.

Dr. Saleema Salim, PhD
July 2022 – June 2023

Saleema Salim is a postdoctoral scholar in the TFEL project at the University of Calgary’s Department of Social Work. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Calgary. In her thesis, she examined the experiences of Muslim female students in social work programs in Western Canada with regard to discrimination, equality, and social justice. Saleema has been engaged in a variety of independent and collaborative research projects over the past six years, primarily in the areas of equity, diversity, inclusion, colonialism, spirituality, ageism, food insecurity, and social work field education. She has been awarded funding from Mitac and evolve to innovative (E2I).

Dr. Evalyna Bogdan, BSc, MSc, PhD
September 2021 – July 2022

Eva (Evalyna) Bogdan, Ph.D. is an environmental and disaster sociologist with a background in adult and online education. She is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Calgary, focusing on creating new innovative training in social work field education to address both the lack of training in disaster contexts as well as the shortage of quality practicums. Dr. Bogdan is particularly interested in creating innovative educational and engagement strategies to strengthen societal disaster resilience. This includes designing with community the We’re Ready! Community Disaster Preparedness workshops (www.wereready.org) after the 2013 Alberta flood. Also, designing the Flood Resilience Challenge serious game (www.frcgame.com) with an engineer to enhance collective decision-making among diverse stakeholders on flood risk management. More information and publications can be found at www.evabogdan.ca.

VISITING SCHOLAR

Dr. Yue Wang, Capital Normal University, China, BSW, MSc, PhD

September 2022 – August 2023

Dr. Yue Wang is an assistant professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Work, Capital Normal University, China. She is a visiting scholar at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary from September 2022 to August 2023. She is a Certificated National Psychological Counselor and a Certificated National Social Worker in China. She has taught Social Case Work, Social Work Theory, Social Work Administration and Social Work Ethics. Her research interests include dependent children, foster care, children with special educational needs, social work education and practice. She has presided over a research project on Improving Adolescents’ Resilience supported by the National Social Science Fund of China.

Dr. Vibha Kaushik, MSW, RSW, MA, PhD
January 2021-March 2022
Dr. Vibha Kaushik is a mixed-methods researcher. In her PhD. dissertation, she focused on the settlement and integration needs of skilled immigrants, a research project that was partly funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Her areas of research interest include social work with newcomers, newcomer integration, diversity and intersectionality, linguistic challenges of non-native speakers, age-friendly communities, and mixed-methods research. Her research projects have yielded five peer-reviewed publications as first author and twenty-four peer-reviewed presentations at national and international conferences. In addition to research, Dr. Kaushik also has a passion for teaching; she has taught a diversity of research courses and offered field supervision to graduate practicum students in a variety of placements.

Dr. Jacqueline Fields, BSW, RSW, MBA, PhD
November 2020 – April 2021
Dr. Jacqueline Fields is a Social Work Educator at the Faculty of Social Work (Calgary Division), University of Calgary. Her areas of interest include collaborative leadership in social services and educational leadership in post-secondary institutions. She has been the research coordinator for several large projects, notably, child maltreatment, and a Teaching Scholars Program which yielded two publications and multiple conference presentations.

The TFEL Project would like to thank Dr. Jacqueline Fields for her contributions as a post-doctoral scholar. We wish her well in her new tenure-track faculty position.

Dr. Wasif Ali, MS, PhD
November 2020 – December 2021
Dr. Wasif Ali’s educational background, academic training, and professional experience have focused on community development and qualitative field studies. He was awarded a research fellowship at Life Cycle Management Lab, School of Engineering – University of British Columbia, as part of his PhD program.

Dr. Ali began his professional career with the Asian Development Bank as a community development expert for the Pakistan region. He led and coordinated community and stakeholder engagement initiatives and established a sustainable development center at the University of Management and Technology (UMT) Pakistan. Before joining TFEL, he served UNICEF as a national consultant in the Asia Pacific Region.

As an assistant professor, he has taught Social Work Theory and Practice, Community Development and Social Sustainability. His research has been published in international scholarly journals and presented in various conferences/forums.

Steering Committee

Wasif Ali, Postdoctoral Scholar (UCalgary)

Marion Bogo, Co-Investigator (UofT)

Grant Charles, Co-Investigator (UBC)

Clement Dlamini, Partner (University of Eswatini)

Lena Dominelli , Co-Investigator (IASSW)

Julie Drolet, Project Director (UCalgary)

Lisa Elford, Partner (Habitus Consulting Collective)

Stephane Grenier, Partner (CASWE)

Vibha Kaushik, Postdoctoral Scholar (UCalgary)

Sheri McConnell, Co-Investigator (MUN)

Sally St. George, Co-Investigator (UCalgary)

Daniel Wulf, Co-Investigator (UCalgary)

Practicum Students

Lula Adam, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2020

Mohammad (Omid) Idris Alemi, MSW Practicum Student
Spring/Summer 2020

Raman Ball, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Joan Bosire, MSW Practicum Student
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020

Tejika Chand, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2022

Natalie Calles, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2024

Kathleen DeSousa, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2022

Hilary Daum, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Kaylin Epp, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2021

Simon Evans, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2024

Marci Fisk, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Sewak Subedi Gautam, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2024

Hanna Hameline, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2022

Marina Hirning, BSW Practicum Student
Spring/Summer 2020

Lara Kahn, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Kamal Khatiwada, MSW Practicum Student
Fall/Winter 2021/Winter 2022

Suraj Khatiwada, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2023-present

Jemmelia Morgan, MSW Practicum Student
Winter, Spring, Summer 2023

Andrea Murphy, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2024

Nsombe Mvuezolo, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2022

Tegan Nelson, BSW Practicum Student
Fall 2022

Hilary Nelson, MSW Practicum Student
April – December 2024

Cindy Nguyen, MSW Practicum Student
Spring/Summer 2020

Amy Nhkum, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Bhupendra Sharma Lamichhan, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2023, Winter 2024,

Winkie Lau, Globalinks Mitacs Intern
Summer 2022

Tabitha Logan, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Melissa Katherine Legge, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2023

Bonnie Lewin, MSW Practicum Student
Sep 2020 – May 2021

Adeniyi Oyelade, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2023

Siyu (Krystal) Peng, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Mindy Pelensky, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2024

Rachel Pettigrew, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2024

Ruth Reina, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Olivia Reyers, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Andrea Rosenberger, BSW Practicum Student
Spring/Summer 2020

Jarrod Ross, MSW Practicum Student
Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Shivani Samra, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Yeonjoo (Jamie) Seo, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Lacey Stewart, BSW Practicum Student
Spring/Summer 2020

Heather Shenton, BSW Practicum Student
Spring/Summer 2020

Elizabeth Tettman, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2022

Mary Tulip, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2024

Nchedo Udobata, BSW Practicum Student
Fall 2022

Elladee Windsor, MSW Practicum Student
Winter 2021

Marci Wiltshire, BSW Practicum Student
Jan 2021-Present

Eve Xeflide, BSW Practicum Student
Winter 2023

Research Assistants

Lula Adam, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020

Diana Adamo, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Sabrina Ahmed, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2023

Mohammad Idris Alemi, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Abimbola Ariyo, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2021

Cara Au, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Geneve Berkenkamp, Student Research Assistant
Winter 2022

Lauren Birks, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 19/Winter/Spring 20

Joan Bosire, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020/Winter 2021

Melanie Brooks, Student Research Assistant
Fall 2021

Nicole Brown, BSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter/Spring/Summer 2021

Nikki Cheslock, BSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Emmanuel Chilanga, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Tejika Chand, MSW Student Research Assistant
Winter 2022

Tara Collins, PhD Candidate & Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Miles Cooke, Student Research Assistant
Summer 2021

Alison Coutinho, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2021

Milene da Silva, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020

Hilary Daum, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Emma De Vynck, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter/Spring 2021

Alana Dick, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Prince Ekoh, Student Research Assistant
Winter/Spring/Summer 2023

Kaylin Epp, Student Research Assistant
Fall 2021

Vanessa Finley-Roy, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Lisa-Jane (LJ) Fischer, Student Research Assistant
Winter 2022

Andrea Silva Santisteban Fort, Student Research Assistant
Summer/Fall 2021

Clarissa Foss, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020

Monica Franco, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter/Spring/Summer 2021/Winter 2022

Tianyi Gao, Student Research Assistant
Summer 2021

Miranda Gamboa, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Martin Gendron, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2021/Winter 2022

Kyra Graham, Student Research Assistant
Winter 2022

Zipporah Greenslade, MSW Student Research Assistant
May 2020 – Present

Raquel Harris-Wright, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2021

Jesse Henton, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Marina Hirning, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Oriana Ho, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Heather Holdsworth, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Jesse Holt, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Katarina Hoven, BEd Website & Social Media Coordinator
Fall 2021/Winter 2022

Lavender Huang, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Illana Huckell, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Allison Iriye, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter/Spring/Summer 2021

Louisa Jaslow, BSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Shannon Kiyan, BSW Student Research Assistant
Summer 2020

Eleni Kelly, Student Research Assistant
Winter 2021

Kamal Khatiwada, Student Research Assistant
Fall 2021

Shannon Klassen, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2021/Winter 2022

Kristina Laban, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Ashley Labossiere , BSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020

Samantha Leblanc, BSW Student Research Assistant
Summer 2020

Emma Lee, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020

Erin Leveque, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2021/Winter/Summer/Fall 2022

Ory Li Pi Shan, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Kerry Lowe, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2020

Jamie Maher, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter/Fall 2021

Godfrey Makoha, Ph.D. Student Research Assistant
Fall 2021/Winter 2022/Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Amy Martin, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter/Fall 2021

Tanya McKay, Student Research Assistant
Winter 2022

Meaghan McNichol, Research Summer Studentship
May-June 2020

Ellen Mi, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter/Spring/Summer 2021

Lauren Migrino, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Nate Mosseau, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Nozipho Moyo, BSW Student Research Assistant
Winter 2020

Mohammed Nurudeen Musah, Student Research Assistant
Winter 2022-2023

Yassannah Nurudeen Musah, Student Research Assistant
Fall 2021

Francine Nelson, Habitus Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2021

Cindy Nguyen, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Quang Nguyen, BSc Communications Coordinator
Fall 2021/Winter 2022

Amanda Nickerson, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Jenna Nieves MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020

Melissa Noble, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Melissa Linkson, BSW Student Research Assistant
Summer 2020

Amanda Ooi, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2022

Jessica Ossais, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Adeniyi Oyelade, BSW Student Research Assistant
2023 – 2024

Monika Paktas, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Elisa Poon, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Alicia Revington, BA Website & Social Media Coordinator
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall 2021

Monica Romero, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Andrea Rosenberger-Deleeuw, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Jarrod Ross, MSW Student Research Assistant
Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Imogene Roulson, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Shivani Samra, BSW Student Research Assistant
Winter 2021

Leslie Salgado Arzuaga, Ph.D. Student Research Assistant-Social Media and Website Coordinator
Summer 2022- Present

Nadine Simonffy, BWS Student
Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Aly Muhammad Salim, Student Research Assistant
Summer/Fall 2021

Sasha Sharma, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Heather Shenton, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Sebastian Shinwell, MSW Student Research Assistant
Winter 2021

Gurjot Sohi, MSW Student Research Assistant
Winter, Spring, Summer 2023

Lacey Stewart, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Elizabeth Tettman, MSW Student Research Assistant
Summer/Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Dillon K. Traber, MSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Gabriela Verdicchio, BSW Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2020

Jieying Wang, BSW Student Mitacs GRI Intern
Fall 2023

Jeff Walsh, P.H.d Candidate
Fall 2020/Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall 2021

Jayden Wickman, BSW Student Research Assistant
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall 2020/Winter 2021

Nicola Williams, Ph.D. Student Research Assistant
2022-2024

Michelle Wiench, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2023

Victoria Wood, Student Research Assistant
Spring/Summer 2023

Connie Wong, Student Research Assistant
Winter 2022

Ying Yang, Global Mitacs Intern, China
Spring/Summer/Fall 2021

Dan Zhang, Student Research Assistant
Summer/Fall 2021/Winter 2022-2023

Jingzi Zhou, Global Mitacs Intern, China
Spring/Summer/Fall 2021

Esmaa Zioueche, BSW Student Research Assistant
Winter 2020