Sarah Ozog

Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of working for Indigenous Nations, NGO’s, local and Provincial government, and the private sector, gaining a unique perspective on resource and environmental management. What became evident to me in these roles was that there is almost always a common interest in exploring how resource management could be practiced more sustainably. I feel strongly that increasing the dialogue on climate change can help constructively stimulate not only increased conversation but necessary collaboration on more sustainable resource development solutions to the issues that face us all.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO SFU?

While considering other programs in environmental studies and public policy, I chose SFU's Resource and Environmental Management in particular, for the programs design and reputation in connecting scientific study with government institutions. This interdisciplinary approach to tackling the most critical human and environmental problems is imperative to success.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH OR YOUR PROGRAM TO A FAMILY MEMBER?

At present, there is much existing research on the impact of climate change on Indigenous Peoples, appropriately emphasizing the fact that Indigenous peoples are disproportionally affected by climate change impacts. These studies have played and are continuing to play a positive and contributory role in the development of climate policies at the international, national, and local levels. However, how those studies are benefiting Indigenous Nations’ own near-term efforts towards reconciliation in Canada is far from understood. Therefore, my goal for the thesis is to enhance how climate policy options are evaluated, through the increased understanding of multilevel government commitments to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Through mixed research methods and in collaboration with Indigenous Nation partners, I aim to advance a framework for climate policy integration in the natural resource sector, and propose new concepts into existing climate policy evaluation criteria in Canada.

WHAT ARE YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOYING ABOUT YOUR STUDIES/RESEARCH AT SFU?

To date, I have had the experience of two graduate courses at SFU, Population and Community Ecology with Dr. Anne Soloman, and Ecological Economics with Dr. Duncan Knowler, both of which exceeded my expectations for stimulating thought provoking questions, and dialogue with my peers. Furthermore, as part of my preliminary research for my Ph.D dissertation, I am further inspired by the profound and vast amount of Indigenous scholarship on de-colonizing methodologies since my last studies in 2012. The recent works of Glen Coulthard, Leanne Simpson and Rachel Flowers to name a few, are an inspiration to keep challenging existing ways of thinking for the better.

HAVE YOU BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF ANY MAJOR OR DONOR-FUNDED AWARDS? IF SO, PLEASE TELL US WHICH ONES AND A LITTLE ABOUT HOW THE AWARDS HAVE IMPACTED YOUR STUDIES AND/OR RESEARCH.

Recently, I've received the Arthur and Ancie Fouks Graduate Entrance Award in Public Service, the Chad Day Graduate Fellowship in Resource Management and an SFU Presidents Award. All three have provided me with renewed enthusiasm and  encouragement for my efforts to date. Receiving these awards has also strengthened my instincts that building a stronger bridge between the public service and academia is in everyone’s best interest; as the alternate route to needed solutions for our living environment, will take a lot longer to get to without that bridge. I’d like to thank all of SFU’s REM Faculty as well as Chad Day and the Arthur and Ancie Fouks Trust for their encouraging recognition and very generous support for my studies.

Contact Sarah: sarah_ozog@sfu.ca