Etuaptmumk in Science: Professional Development for Educators

Elder Kathy is an enrolled member of the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Tribe of Nebraska, a descendant of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, and a community member of Cegakin (Carry the Kettle) Nakoda Nation. Elder Kathy is involved in many educational and research initiatives from early learners through to adults as well as their educators and administrators to decolonize and revitalize spaces where children and adults learn and play. CLS Education is excited to be guided by Elder Kathy in this workshop and through our Elder Advisory Council.

Rockford is a member of the Berens River First Nation, has a wife, 3 daughters and is a grandparent. He worked as a chemists before supporting science education as a teacher, instructional coach, school trustee, and author of a grade 7 textbook and the new Manitoba Science Curriculum. He has worked with all First Nation Communities in MB and all school divisions in Winnipeg. His work continues to help with chemical cleanup and disposal in schools, instructing students to get RPAS pilot certification with Transport Canada, science classroom support, science fair coaching, and sharing First Nation star teachings.

I have been a teacher at Oskayak High School for the past 13 years. I work closely with Elders and try to incorporate as much Indigenous knowledge as possible into my science classes. Elders help me guide the student learning and empower our young people in a good way. I received my Bachelor of Science in Biology from the U of S in 2002. I took a few years off to teach overseas before returning to Saskatoon and completing my Bachelor of Education.

Dr. Vincent Ziffle (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv), in Regina, Saskatchewan. He has been teaching there since 2010. His research interests include Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Science, uses and chemistry of Medicinal Plants of the Boreal Shield and Central Plains, organic chemistry of plant secondary metabolites, Indigenous Fine Art technologies, and food chemistry. He has also developed CHEM 101: Chemistry of Food and Cooking, which incorporates food chemistry, plant medicine and Indigenous Food Traditions, and unique food labs where students learn from Traditional Knowledge Keepers about Indigenous Food pathways, sovereignty, and sustainability. He is a promoter of all things STEM and is a proponent of STEAM - capital “A” for arts, design, and Indigenous Culture - via Let’s Talk Science and FNUniv’s Indigenous Outreach team of student mentors and educators.

Toby is a Senior Scientist with the Industry Services group at the Canadian Light Source and a graduate student of physics at Dalhousie University. . Both his work with CLS clients and his academic research is focused on understanding how batteries degrade and fail over time - an area that has become very important in the last few years as the adoption of electric vehicles has dramatically increased.

Grace T. Flaman received her Master's degree in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan in 2024. Her research interests include the design and implementation of microfluidics for infrared chemical imaging. She is now an Associate Scientist for the Mid-Infrared Spectromicroscopy (Mid-IR) beamline of the Canadian Light Source, Inc.

Chithra is our Director of Science Innovations and is a professional biosystems engineer by training and is a Chartered Professional Manager with an MBA. She established the CLS plant imaging and innovation research program promoting innovative uses of synchrotron techniques for agricultural and food sciences research. She is a frequent contributor to the education programs.

Accelerator Operator (more to come) from English River First Nation

Dr. Blyth is the Science Projects Manager at CLS. He has been part of program development and delivery since he joined CLS as a beamline scientist. While maybe not a 'teacher' he is certainly an educator! He came to Canada from his British homeland by way of several other countries. Ask him how many languages he can understand!

Dr. David Muir is the Earth and Environmental Sciences Manager as well as the IDEAS Beamline Responsible scientist. Education is literally the "E" in the name and so David is considered an ex officio member of the education team. He will be helping us understand our data on Saturday.

Tracy is the Education Programs Lead and has been at the CLS since first light - building different styles of programming to facilitate learning every step of the way. She competed her Masters of curriculum studies while raising 2 busy boys with her husband.