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I received my PhD from the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, where I was supported by the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Doctoral Scholarship, Eyes High Doctoral Scholarship, Alberta Innovates Graduate Studentship and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and received the J.B. Hyne Research Innovation Award. I also hold a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto, specializing in mental health and health and an Honours BSc in Psychology from McGill University. Prior to joining Laurier, I completed postdoctoral (PDF) fellowships at the University of Toronto and a CIHR PDF at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). I am a Registered Social Worker and Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario.
My research examines healthcare accessibility, health equity through critical realism and participatory health research, with a particular focus on improving mental healthcare for minoritized youth and young adults with mental health-related disabilities. I founded the Mental Health Accessibility & Policy Solutions (MAPS) Lab and serve as Secretary of the International Association for Critical Realism and Founder of the North American Critical Realist Network. My work brings together philosophy, social work, implementation science, and health services research to develop innovative approaches that bridge theory, policy, and practice.
Before returning to academia, I spent more than a decade leading mental health system transformation in Ontario. As former Director of Mental Health & Addictions at Ontario Health and a Provincial Advisor with the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Mental Health and Addictions, I led provincial initiatives in system redesign, implementation, quality improvement, and integrated models of care. These experiences continue to shape my research, teaching, and partnerships, with the goal of producing scholarship that is theoretically rigorous, methodologically innovative, and directly relevant to policy, practice, and systems change.
My research examines how healthcare, postsecondary, and community systems recognize and respond to the needs of young adults with mental health-related disabilities. I focus on healthcare accessibility, unmet need, health equity, disability, service engagement, and institutional response. My current work includes population-level analyses of access barriers, the development of youth-defined access and equity indicators, studies of recognition and misrecognition in clinical practice, rupture and repair in care relationships, postsecondary mental health, participatory research, and critical realist methodology. I use qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and co-created approaches to generate theoretically rigorous and practice-relevant knowledge for researchers, clinicians, service organizations, and policymakers.
I welcome prospective graduate students interested in joining my research program. Students with interests in mental health, disability, health equity, healthcare accessibility, critical realism, participatory research, health services research, and social work are encouraged to get in touch. Research assistantships are dependent on grant funding, and I am also pleased to supervise students who hold external scholarships or other sources of independent funding.
Selected publications are available online.
- SK651 Advanced Social Work Practice with Individuals
- SK704 Applied Quantitative Research Methods
- SK536 Integrating Theory & Practice
- SK681 Policy & Organizational Context of Social Work
Knowledge reciprocity is a core principle of my research. I believe research should be accessible to everyone who contributes to it and is affected by it. Alongside academic publications, I develop plain-language summaries, practical resources, and public scholarship to share findings with community partners, practitioners, policymakers, and the broader public. Explore the links below to learn more about current projects, publications, and opportunities to engage.
Community partnerships are central to my research. I work collaboratively with young adults, people with lived and living experience, clinicians, community organizations, health system leaders, and policymakers to co-create research that addresses real-world priorities and supports meaningful systems change. If you are interested in partnering on a research project, serving on an advisory group, sharing your expertise, or exploring opportunities for collaboration, I would be pleased to hear from you.