Who and Where We Are
Many team members are based on Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on the ancestral and traditional homeland of Anishinaabe peoples and homeland of the Métis Nation. We live and work in the territories of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Métis, and Oji-Cree Nations. We also have team members in Victoria, British Columbia, the traditional territory of the Lekwungen peoples and meeting place of the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples; and in Toronto, on land traditionally shared by the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas, and Haudenosaunee.
More than half of our current team is Indigenous (Anishinaabe, Cree, Haida, and Métis). We also have many non-Indigenous identities. Collectively, our team has a lived understanding of Canada’s colonial projects, a deep understanding of the varied and rich Indigenous cultural traditions, and expertise in several areas.
Meet our team and learn more about them by clicking their photo, listed below in the order in which they joined the team.
Katherine Starzyk
Principal Investigator
Katherine Starzyk
Principal Investigator 2015-present
Katherine is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Manitoba and Director of the Social Justice Laboratory. She is also a Founding Member of the Centre for Human Rights Research. Born in Poland, Katherine brings her identity as a Polish Canadian woman to her research in the areas of social justice, intergroup relations, psychometrics, attitude change, and personality. Through this work, Katherine aims to help make social change through basic and applied research.
Ry Moran
Co-Investigator
Ry Moran
Co-Investigator 2015–present
Ry is a proud member of the Red River Métis. Currently Associate University Librarian (Reconciliation) at the University of Victoria, he was formerly the Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) from 2015–2020. He contributed to the creation of the National Student Memorial Register, designation of multiple Residential Schools as national historical sites, and development of the Indigenous peoples Atlas of Canada. Prior to the NCTR, Ry served with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, where he facilitated the gathering of nearly 7,000 video/audio-recorded statements of former Residential School Survivors and millions of pages of archival records. Photo credit: Nardella Photography.
Katelin Neufeld
Collaborator
Katelin Neufeld
Collaborator 2016–present
Aleah Fontaine
Collaborator
Aleah Fontaine
Collaborator 2016–present
Aleah is an Anishinaabe, British, and German Winnipegger, and is an urban band member of Sagkeeng First Nation. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Manitoba and provides clinical intervention services for perinatal women within Manitoba’s public health system. Recognizing how historical and present social environments impact health across generations, her research interests include Indigenous well-being, perinatal mental health, trauma-informed care, emotional responses to social injustice, reconciliation, and intergroup relations. Currently, Aleah is in the early stages of developing mental health programming for Indigenous women during pregnancy and postpartum.
Lorena Sekwan Fontaine
Co-Investigator
Lorena Sekwan Fontaine
Co-Investigator 2017–present
Lorena is is Cree-Anishinaabe from Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba. Now an Associate Professor and Department Head of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Fontaine has published and provided expert advice on Residential School issues and Indigenous language rights in Canada. Her doctoral work was featured in “Undoing Linguicide,” a CBC documentary that won the Radio Television Digital News Association’s Adrienne Clarkson Award for Diversity, Radio, and Network in 2017. Dr. Fontaine has also advised the Assembly of First Nations on Indigenous languages and is an advocate for Indigenous Residential School Survivors as well as their descendants. She was a task force member and contributor to the Assembly of First Nations’ Report on Canada’s Dispute Resolution Plan to compensate for abuses in Indian Residential Schools. Dr. Fontaine also served as a legal consultant to the Toronto law firm Thomson Rogers in a National Class Action on Indigenous Residential Schools.
Iloradanon Efimoff
Collaborator
Iloradanon Efimoff
Collaborator 2018–present
Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff is Haida and European settler from British Columbia. Throughout her career, she has conducted research with Indigenous organizations and people on topics like Indigenous men’s wellness, Indigenization, reconciliation, and multiracial Indigenous experiences. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. A social psychologist by training, her current research focuses on the impact of critical historical education on anti-Indigenous prejudice.
Mary Agnes Welch
Collaborator
Mary Agnes Welch
Collaborator 2019–present
Mary Agnes is a partner at Probe Research, where she leads qualitative and quantitative projects for a variety of clients, particularly those in the non-profit, government, and labour sectors. She joined the firm in 2016 following a career as an award-winning politics and public policy journalist at the Winnipeg Free Press. A graduate of Columbia University’s journalism program, Mary Agnes builds on her experience covering public policy to capture and communicate the underlying research story. Clients benefit from Mary Agnes’ engaging approach and skills as a focus group facilitator, as she uncovers what citizens really think about complex issues.
Erin White
Ph.D. Student Collaborator
Erin White
Ph.D. Student Collaborator 2021–present
Erin is a Métis and Irish Canadian woman from Winnipeg who is now a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Manitoba. For her research, Erin is focusing on the relationships among cultural connection, belongingness, collective self-esteem, and mental health. Taking a strength-based approach, Erin’s research focuses on reclaiming and relearning Indigenous knowledge, languages, and traditions while also challenging negative stereotypes about Indigenous peoples.
Jaden Dela Rosa
Ph.D. Student Collaborator
Jaden Dela Rosa
Ph.D. Student Collaborator 2021–present
Brenda Gunn
Co-Investigator
Brenda Gunn
Co-Investigator 2021–present
Brenda is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba. She was the Academic and Research Director at the NCTR from September 2021 to December 2023. A proud Métis woman, Prof. Gunn combines academic research with activism to push for greater recognition of Indigenous peoples’ inherent rights as determined by their own legal traditions. Actively involved in the international Indigenous peoples’ movement, she has worked at a community legal clinic in Guatemala on a case of genocide. In Canada, her expertise was sought by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, for whom she provided expert testimony. Among her 13 peer-reviewed publications is Canada’s leading resource on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a topic that has made her a sought-after speaker nationally and internationally. To support the Barometer, Prof. Gunn has recently submitted a SSHRC Connections Grant with Dr. Starzyk and Mr. Ry Moran to gather internationally renowned Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders to dialogue about what reconciliation means now and forge new pathways to reconciliation. This project, like many others she has been involved in, will significantly contribute to reconciliation in Canada.
Shelby Thomas
Collaborator
Shelby Thomas
Collaborator 2022–present
Shelby Thomas is a lawyer and researcher with Métis, Dutch, and Polish ancestry. She is currently the Indigenous Rights Specialist at the University of Manitoba. She obtained a B.A. with a major in Psychology at the Université de Saint-Boniface and a JD at the Université de Moncton in French, her second language. Shelby will forever be grateful for her opportunity to work with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls as an associate commission counsel. She has extensive experience supporting Indigenous-led, community-based projects and working with Indigenous peoples, particularly in the areas of gender-based violence and youth resiliency and empowerment.
Caitlin Ferry
Ph.D. Student Collaborator
Caitlin Ferry
Ph.D. Student Collaborator 2024–present
Erin Sinclair
Ph.D. Student Collaborator
Erin Sinclair
Ph.D. Student Collaborator 2024–present
Erin is an Anishinaabe-Irish ikwe from St. Andrews, Manitoba and a proud member of Peguis First Nation. She is completing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manitoba under the supervision of Dr. Katherine Starzyk. Erin’s research interests include increasing support for reconciliation, advancing social justice, and promoting positive attitudes through education. Currently, Erin is examining the effectiveness of educational interventions designed to increase support for clean drinking water in First Nations communities.
Sharissa Neault
M.A. Student Collaborator
Sharissa Neault
M.A. Student Collaborator 2025-Present
Sharissa is an Ininiw (Swampy Cree) and Michif (Métis) woman from Mahkésiw Sákahikan (Fox Lake Cree Nation) with ties to Cayer, Manitoba. She is completing her M.A. in Social and Personality Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Katherine Starzyk at the University of Manitoba. Sharissa’s academic and professional interests are guided by the needs of her community. Presently, she is exploring how incorporating Indigenous resilience into critical historical education impacts support for Indigenous peoples.