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 completed her Master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan in 2024. Her research represents cross-beamline collaboration: creating customized samples at the Synchrotron Laboratory for Nano and Micromachined Devices (SyLMAND) beamline for infrared chemical imaging conducted at the Mid-Infrared Spectromicroscopy (Mid-IR) beamline. She is now an Associate Scientist for the Mid-IR beamline of the Canadian Light Source, Inc.

Grace will contribute to the ‘Role Models & Research’ section bringing a perspective reflecting her transition from graduate student and beamline user to junior science staff featuring all the people who have helped her along the way.

Dr. Chithra Karunakaran, our Director of Science Innovations, is a professional biosystems engineer and Chartered Professional Manager with an MBA. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering from Tamilnadu Agricultural University in India and her Master's and Ph.D. in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Manitoba. At the CLS, she established the plant imaging and innovation research program, advancing the use of synchrotron techniques in agricultural and food sciences research. She is also a frequent contributor to our education programs.

Julia Doucette-Garr, a member of English River First Nation, earned a B.S. in Physics with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Saskatchewan and now works as an Accelerator Operator at the Canadian Light Source. They are currently learning Python by translating a data analysis program for magnetic analysis and enjoy swimming, traveling, and beading in their free time.

Rob 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! After completing his PhD in Surface Physics at the University of Liverpool he came to Canada by way of several other countries. Ask him how many languages he can understand! He has been involved in developing the Students on the Beamlines since the very beginning.

Rob will be presenting "What is a Synchrotron" during the first session.

David has a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics and 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.

Anna-Maria is our Education Specialist and is balancing her work with educators and students at CLS with life as a wife and mother of 3 bouncing boys and as a graduate student in curriculum studies!

She will be a feature at every session sharing her knowledge and experiences, in addition to making all the resources available for you.

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 completed her Masters of curriculum studies a few years ago while raising 2 busy boys with her husband.

You will see her at every session building relationships and connecting ideas for future opportunities.