Banner Photo: ArcticNet
Current Students
(in alphabetical order by first name)
Alexandra Oakes (MA Student)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Research: Experiences of community researchers in collaborative survey research
Alexis Polidoro (PhD Student)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Research: Social Science and Inuit knowledge research trends in Nunavut
Alison Perrin (PhD Student)
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Research: Examining the research-policy framework in Canada’s North

Emmelie Paquette (PhD Student)
Co-supervised with Dr. Stephan Schott and Dr. Peter Pulsifer
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Research: Bringing Nattilingmiut harvests from land to table

Faith Rahman (MA Student)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Research: TBC
Kraig Matthews (MA Student)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Research: Decolonizing relations between provincial parks and First Nations communities in central Ontario
Regena Sinclair (MA Student)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Research: Qikiqtait Protected Area Development
Stuart Anderson (PhD Student)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Research: Evolving uses of technology in Nunavut research practice
Past Students
(in order of year of completion)
Alexis Polidoro (MA 2022)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Thesis: What is happening where? An evaluation of Social Science Research Trends in Nunavut (2004-2019)
Contributed to: Research Trends in Nunavut
Current position: PhD student, School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario)
Charlotte Buttle (Research Assistant 2022)
School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University
Research: Goose Policy Analysis
Current position: Master’s student, Public Health, University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario)
Katherine Wilson (PhD 2022)
Co-supervised with Dr. Trevor Bell
Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Thesis: The Sikumiut Model: A cross-cultural decolonizing research approach for sea ice travel safety in Mittimatalik, Nunavut
Contributed to: Sea-Ice Safety in Mittimatalik
Current position: Director of Knowledge Co-production, SmartICE (Ottawa, Ontario)
Emmelie Paquette (MSc 2020)
Co-supervised with Dr. Cheryl Johnson and Dr. Derek Mueller
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: The potential impacts of sea ice and ship traffic change to caribou sea ice crossings surrounding King William Island, Nunavut
Contributed to: Caribou and Sea Ice Crossings
Current position: PhD Candidate, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario)
Alex de Paiva (MA 2017)
Co-supervised with Dr. Scott Mitchell
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: Understanding the Role and Value of Participatory Mapping in an Inuit Knowledge Research Context
Contributed to: Participatory Mapping in Inuit Knowledge Research
Current position: Fisheries Protections Program, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)
Rebecca Mearns (MA 2017)
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: Nunavut, Uqausivut, Piqqusivullu Najuqsittiarlavu (Caring for our Land, Language and Culture): The use of land camps in Inuit knowledge renewal and research
Contributed to: Caribou and Community Well-Being
Current position: President, Nunavut Arctic College (Iqaluit, Nunavut)
Dana Holtby (MA 2016)
Interim Supervisor while Dr. Emilie Cameron was on medical leave
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: The Community Readiness Initiative in Kugluktuk, Nunavut: Mining, neoliberalism, and state intervention in arctic Indigenous community development
Current position: Training Coordinator, Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative (Victoria, British Columbia)
Erica Oberndorfer (PhD 2016)
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: The shared stories of people and plants: Cultural and ecological relationships between people and plants in Makkovik (Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada)
Contributed to: Makkovik People and Plants
Current position: Cultural Botanist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador)

Leah Ronayne (MA 2016)
Co-supervised with Dr. Scot Nickels
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: Towards a tailored vision of water security in the North: A case study of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Canadian Arctic
Current position: Program Advisor, Security and Disruptive Technologies, National Research Council Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)
Carmelle Sullivan (MA 2013)
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: Integrating Culturally Relevant Learning in Nunavut High Schools: Student and educator perspectives from Pangnirtung, Nunavut and Ottawa, Ontario
Contributed to: Land-Based Learning in Nunavut
Current position: Occasional Teacher with the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board (Peterborough, Ontario)
Sean Robertson (Postdoctoral Fellow 2012)
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Contributed to: Caribou and Community Well-Being
Current position: Associate Professor, Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta)
Karen Kelley (MA 2010)
Co-supervised with Dr. Claudio Aporta
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: Policies and Practicalities of Shipping in Changing Ice Conditions: A case study from Cape Dorset, Nunavut
Contributed to: Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project
Current position: Manager, Inuit Qaujisarvingat (Inuit Knowledge Centre), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Ottawa, Ontario)
Kelly Karpala (MA 2010)
Co-supervised with Dr. Claudio Aporta
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University
Thesis: Adapting to a World of Change: Inuit Perspectives of Climate Change in Igloolik, Nunavut
Contributed to: Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project
Current position: Manager, Conversational Design, [24]7 Inc. (Toronto, Ontario)