Envisioning Resilient Community Futures

Description: I read the TRU’s  2025-2035 Strategic Internationalization Plan, which outlines five goals. I see my work with TRU and EDSW aligns with all of these goals, but more impactfully with goal number five: To lead the way in cultivating a culture of community-mindedness with a global conscience by sharing educational practices, exchanging knowledge worldwide, and taking a proactive role in addressing regional, national, and global challenges through education and scholarship. I practice teaching as a scholarship that aligns with my teaching philosophy of crafting my classroom as a sanctuary and a dynamic, interactive place where I incorporate knowledge with the learning. I teach International Social Work, Community Social Work, and Green Social Work at TRU. I use MOOCs, Zero Textbook, and Open Educational Resources that promote diversity in learning and equity in access to higher education. I derive and tailor teaching content to align with learning outcomes and deep learning by integrating and embedding global justice and decolonial thinking into the teaching and research I conduct with diverse communities in BC, Canada, and South Asian countries. I prepare and invest my skills to ensure that my pedagogical approaches create transformative educational experiences for TRU, domestic, and international learners.   Building global partnerships and intercultural connections rooted in equity is central to my teaching and service projects. The research projects on envisioning disaster-resilient community futures, climate justice, Blue Carbon-based livelihoods, and circular economies align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy, TRU’s vision, and EDSW’s goals. I practice transdisciplinary work spanning Canada, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka. I investigate how local knowledge systems, community science, and participatory research can inform more effective disaster risk reduction strategies. Over the last 8 years, my teaching, research, and service at TRU have demonstrated leadership in global knowledge exchange and synthesis, focused on regional (wildfire disasters in BC) and international issues such as Climate Justice and sustainable communities, which are core to TRU’s vision.

Visit: https://resilientfutures.trubox.ca/