People
Graduate Students
Submit your profiles to be featured on the GSWS website and SFU Graduate Studies.
PhD Students
Arthur, Mathew
he/him
Mathew is editor-in-chief of Capacious: Journal for Emerging Affect Inquiry and director of Doing STS. He works across feminist technoscience and affect studies to explore ordinary multispecies practices like composting and fermenting.
Boulay, Nadine
they/them
Reserach areas: History of lesbian-feminism in the Lower Mainland in the 1970s and 80s, with a particular focus on rural and island experiences, intentional women’s communities, and the ‘back to the land’ movement.
Bullock, Nerida
she/her
Nerida’s doctoral research is a queer exploration of marriage though the lens of the BC Supreme Court Charter Reference on Polygamy that was conducted in 2011 to determine whether the criminalization of polygamy was consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Her research situates the Charter Reference within an ongoing history of marriage, moral crusades and moral panics in Canada with an emphasis on disentangling the compulsory nature of the romantic dyad at the intersection of law, gender, sexuality and race.
Do, Thuy
she/her
Research areas: Gender politics and identity, migration, multiculturalism, economic development, and Vietnam culturalism.
Michels, Cameron
she/her
Cameron is interested in exploring the intersection between sports, gender, sexuality, and bodies. Her research is concerned with the limitations and liberatory possibilities in women’s amateur contact sports.
Rann, Shanny
she/her
Shanny Rann is a gold-medallist Taijiquan artist and dance anthropologist. Originally from Penang, Malaysia, she grounds her artistry in the island way of living and intercultural collaborations. She has competed and performed internationally, and teaches at the unceded territories of Coast Salish peoples in Vancouver, Canada. Shanny completed her Bachelor of General Studies at Simon Fraser University and went on to obtain a Master of Arts in Dance Studies from York University and Erasmus Mundus Masters in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage (Choreomundus). Her previous research on ‘cham, a Tibetan Buddhist dance ritual, was conducted in the Himalayas with refugee monks and was published in ausDance and Recherches en Danse. She is happy to be back at Simon Fraser University and is completing her PhD dissertation on women and Taiji.
Reed, KJ
they/them
KJ's SSHRC-funded doctoral work explores privacy and disclosure decisions in the lives of trans, non-binary, two spirit, and other gender non-conforming youth.
MA Students
David-McIsaac, Jamie
she/her
Jamie’s inspiration to join this program came from her work within the field of women’s health care. In this program, Jamie hopes to explore health inequity through a feminist lens, while expanding her knowledge and engagement in women’s health care and reproductive health. Jamie hopes to contribute to a more informed and compassionate health care system.
Gutierrez Heredia, Ana Paola
she/her
Ana is a historian, an avid reader of historical drama, and an advocate of feminism. She graduated top of her class from the UNAM and later worked as an English teacher in an elementary school in Mexico, where she taught a feminist version of history, constantly encouraging her students to be autonomous and to question gender stereotypes. She is recognized as the favorite teacher of her students, who remember her when hearing Taylor Swift.
Her field of research focuses on the study of women in Mexico and Regency England, especially through the literature of the period, emphasis on Jane Austen.
Hu, Kexin
she/her
Kexin obtained her BA in Philosophy and English Literature at McGill University in May 2023. She is especially interested in how minority communities that are often neglected and silenced voice out their rage, sorrow, and demand for social changes through artworks. In her spare time, she writes bad poetry and daydreams about having her own house in B.C. and living with three pugs.
Kandiah, Suwatthi
she/her
Suwatthi Kandiah has majored in International Business Management and possesses over five years’ professional experience specializing in Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DEI) from Sri Lanka. Suwatthi’s work has been largely rooted in women’s leadership, advancing women in non-traditional jobs, inclusion of marginalized communities at work and fostering respectful workplaces through multi-stakeholder interventions. Suwatthi is driven by her passion to break intersectional barriers and create inclusive communities for all.
Makinde, Remi
they/them
Remi is a feminist, and a human rights lawyer with a keen interest in sexual rights, grassroots LGBTQI+ movement building, and inclusive advocacy. They have effectively promoted and protected the rights of women, and queer persons in Nigeria through engagement with state institutions and stakeholders while tactfully navigating cultural and religious differences in the country. In July 2021, Remi was nominated for the International Visitor Leadership Program on Human Rights and Civic Engagement as an emerging LGBT+ rights leader in Nigeria. At SFU, Remi eagerly anticipates deepening their understanding of feminist theory, especially its intersections with race, sexuality, and political consciousness.
Mitra, Nikita
she/her
Nikita is a public relations & social impact communications professional with over five years of international experience. She is passionate about using her professional communications background to develop a stronger voice for HIV-positive individuals, transgender persons and sex workers in accessing basic healthcare delivery in Asia-Pacific countries. She aims to use her time at SFU to refine crafting critical communications for vulnerable and remote communities in Canada for non-discriminatory access to healthcare. In the long term, her aim is to comparatively apply best practices and learnings to advocate for better community health in the Global South. She is the 2023 recipient of the Grace Woodsworth MacInnis Graduate Entrance Award and is originally from Delhi, India.
Țâmpu, Stephanie-Edvina
she/her
Stephanie-Edvina holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. She has previously worked as a socio-pedagogical counselor with children, youth, and families. For her bachelor's thesis, she conducted research on the impact of women's representations on social media on adolescent girls, exploring present gender norms and feminist theories. During her master's studies at SFU, she is particularly interested in exploring and researching somatic approaches to mental health and counseling and to deepen her knowledge of feminist and queer theory. Drawing from her background as a dancer, Stephanie plans to bring an aesthetic and creative perspective to her research and work as a counselor, combining it with embodied practices.