Our Team

TRICIA LOGAN

PhD | Interim Academic Director
tricia.logan@ubc.ca

Dr. Logan, a Métis scholar, is cross-appointed with the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Since 2019, she has been part of the team at the Centre; first as Assistant Director of Research and Engagement (2019 to 2021), then moving to the role of Faculty Research Associate in 2021. Dr. Logan has also served as a member of the Indigenous Strategic Plan Executive Committee and as a member of the UBC Indigenous Faculty Caucus. Prior to UBC, Dr. Logan was the Manager of Research at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba. She has a Master of Arts in Native Studies from the University of Manitoba, and completed her PhD in History at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Dr. Logan has spent over 20 years listening to and being present for Residential School Survivors, as well as elders and leaders in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.

KRISTIN KOZAR

Executive Director / Indigenous Engagement and Programming Manager / Oral Testimony Program Co-Lead
kristin.kozar@ubc.ca | 604.822.0885

Kristin Kozar is the Interim Executive Director, Engagement Lead, and Oral Testimony Program Co-Lead at the Centre. A member of the Hwlitsum First Nation, she served on council for six years. She has completed her MLIS degree with a concentration in First Nation curriculum in 2018 and has previously worked at what was formerly known as UBC Aboriginal Health and has worked on a project where she researched and analyzed how to use Blockchain to give Indigenous peoples and communities autonomy over their own records. Further, Kristin has been a keynote speaker at the ACA conference on the topic of “Data Sovereignty for Indigenous Sovereignty”. She currently works at the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre where she is the co-lead of the Oral Testimony project and works primarily with research and engagement.

Kristin believes interpersonal relationships, sharing influence, having a willingness to learn and cultural humility are imperative for work with Indigenous communities, individuals and content.

In Kristin’s free time, she loves to read, hang out with her two boys and go for long walks with her dog.

DAVID MCATACKNEY

MLIS | Research Manager
david.mcatackney@ubc.ca

David McAtackney is the Research Manager at the Centre. He is originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland, but has lived and worked on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples since 2012. David is a Masters of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) graduate from UBC’s School of Information, and he graduated from this program with a First Nations Curriculum Concentration. In his previous role David was a Research Analyst for over two years with the First Nations Health Authority. Overall, he has worked in a variety of social science and health science research roles on projects with a variety of Indigenous communities and organizations, including with the First Nations and Indigenous Studies department at UBC, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Musqueam First Nation, Gitxsan First Nation, and Cowichan Tribes.

NAOMI LLOYD

PhD | Senior Systems and Metadata Specialist
naomi.lloyd@ubc.ca

Naomi Lloyd is the Senior Systems and Metadata Specialist and oversees the Centre’s content management system. She has a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and a doctorate in history from UBC. An immigrant to Canada, Naomi is of South African settler ancestry. Naomi recognizes that modern library and archival practice emerged from, and remains indebted to, a colonial context. In her work with systems, records, and metadata, she is committed to representing disruptions to colonial information practices, and is grateful for the guidance of residential school Survivors, Indigenous information professionals and their allies, and Indigenous communities more broadly, in this regard.

NOAH DURANSEAUD

MAS | Digital Collections Specialist and Researcher [On Leave]
noah.duranseaud@ubc.ca

Noah Duranseaud is a Digital Collections Specialist and Researcher at the Centre. Their work is informed by their background in their masters of archival studies and their time as a Finding Aid Writer at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, where they gained experience working in a facility that focuses on the needs of Survivors. Noah’s focus on the relation between archives and social justice are key elements in the importance of their role at the centre. Noah’s work at the Centre involves research projects using various archives’ digital collections and communicating with the Centre’s collections team.

KIM LAWSON

MLIS | Research and Community Liaison Librarian
kim.lawson@ubc.ca

Kim Lawson is the Research and Community Liaison Librarian at the Centre. A member of the Heiltsuk Nation, Kim is involved in community governance work. Her Master’s thesis, “Precious Fragments: First Nations Materials in Archives, Libraries and Museums,” was written to acknowledge Indigenous cultural professionals (archivists, librarians, and knowledge keepers), doing important memory, information and cultural work that was largely unknown outside their communities and undocumented in LIS literature. She was Archivist/ Librarian at the Union of BC Indian Chiefs while finishing her MLIS from UBC iSchool and worked at Xwi7xwa Library (UBC). She sees the interconnectedness of education, cultural humility, and information services as a crucial aspect of Indigenous informatics and community resilience.

RHONDA CARRIERE

MA | Cultural Support Program Coordinator
rhonda.carriere@ubc.ca

Rhonda Carriere is the Cultural Support Program Coordinator at the Centre and the First Nations House of Learning. Rhonda joined UBC in 2019 as the Program Manager of Indigenous Public Health at the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health.  Before that she worked for UVic as a Program Coordinator at Self-Management BC, and as the Associate Director of the Indigenous Studies Program at Vancouver School of Theology. Rhonda is a proud Métis with roots from the Red River. She currently resides as a guest on the beautiful shíshálh swiya (Sechelt). Rhonda is excited to bring together her passions for wellness, community-based learning, building connections, social justice and reconciliation to the IRSHDC and the FNHL. 

SHANNON ROBINSON

Education and Programming Strategist [On secondment to CTLT Indigenous Initiatives through Sept. 2024]
shannon.robinson@ubc.ca

Shannon Robinson is an Education and Programming Strategist at the Centre. She hails from intersection of Treaty 6 and Treaty 7 territory in Red Deer, Alberta, but holds an undergraduate degree in Art History and First Nations & Indigenous studies from the University of British Columbia. Shannon has worked as a program coordinator for the Native Youth Program, supported public programming at the City of Red Deer and held an internship in Education and Public Programs at the Museum of Anthropology. She appreciates every opportunity to work with and learn from community. She strives to establish pathways for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to come together in a good way.

JESS BOON

BSW | Community Outreach Coordinator
jess.boon@ubc.ca

Jess Boon is the Community Outreach Coordinator at the Centre. Jess is a recent graduate from the UBC School of Social Work, and has extensive experience in youth work positions. She previously worked in East Van with youth in or from foster care. Her focus on empowering youth voices and making meaningful accommodations for marginalized youth supports her work at the Centre developing content regarding child welfare and related topics, working on a youth-driven podcast project and creating a youth advisory council.

AMEI-LEE LABOUCAN

MA | Communications Manager
communications.irshdc@ubc.ca

Amei-lee Laboucan is a Black non-status nêhiyaw-âpihtawikosisân iskwew. Her family is from Treaty 8 territory in northern Alberta. Her Nana is from Driftpile Cree Nation and her Papa grew up on Métis squatter lands on the shore of Winagami Lake before moving to McLennan, Alberta. Amei-lee grew up on the unceded territories of the Semiahma (Semiahmoo), sc̓əwaθenaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsawwassen), kwikwəәƛ ̓əәm (Kwikwetlem), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen) and q̓ic̓əәy̓ (Katzie) First Nations.

Amei-lee Laboucan is the Communications Manager at the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. She has a MA in Indigenous Studies from the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and an undergraduate degree in journalism from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

RENITA BANGERT

MA | Communications Coordinator

Renita Bangert (they/them) is the Communications Coordinator at the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. They reside on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. 

Renita holds an MA in digital journalism from Concordia University and specializes in trauma-informed storytelling. They come from a background in soundscape, podcasting and audio journalism of all kinds. They’ve written and recorded media on Indigenous cultural resurgence and have worked with a number of universities, community organizations, and experts across the world.

CHLOE GRANT

Communications Assistant

Chloe Grant is a Black non-status Plains Cree graduate student at the UBC iSchool. She is from the intersection of Treaty 6 and Treaty 7 territory in Red Deer, Alberta.

Chloe holds an undergraduate degree in Media Studies and Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, and is currently pursuing an MA in Children’s Literature. She has a background of hands-on work with children in community, and her academic interest in Media for Children and Young Adults stems from a deep appreciation of Orality, Storytelling, and the remediation between Print and Digital.  She likes Musical Theatre, Hozier, Collaborative/Interactive Storytelling, and she has a labradoodle named Murphy. Chloe is also diving into the world of poetry, so feel free to share your favourite poetry recommendations. 

PARAS DEACON

Administrator
paras.deacon@ubc.ca

Paras is committed to Indigenous Rights as a fundamental cornerstone for global progress. She actively engages in various off-campus volunteer and community initiatives and holds a profound respect for Survivors, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and intergenerational Survivors of the Residential School system. She has a proven track record of developing positive connections, both within the UBC campus community and in her interactions with various partners, government agencies and external stakeholders. Her knowledge as an alumna and current staff member of 10+ years at UBC, has enabled her to make significant contributions to the development of numerous important initiatives and campaigns. She spent much of her youth in social and environmental justice movements and continues to be motivated by the need for systemic change. As a member of the Baha’i community, she believes in oneness of humanity, universal education, world peace and gender equality. In her role as the Administrative Coordinator at the Centre, she holds the primary responsibility for managing administrative, human resources, and financial functions of the office working collaboratively with her colleagues.

KELLY NGUYEN

Administrative Assistant
kelly.nguyen@ubc.ca

Kelly serves as an administrative assistant at the Centre, where her role encompasses a wide array of responsibilities. In addition to providing exceptional visitor support, she handles documents, scheduling and travel arrangements and oversees inventory and supplies.

Her background in business administration with a specialization in hospitality allows her to combine her passion for service with strong organizational skills. Her diverse upbringing in Southeast Asia allows her to appreciate various traditions and values. Kelly is proud to reside on the ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples, and she holds profound respect for their rich cultural heritage.

Bringing cultural awareness to operational efficiency is her passion, and she’s committed to nurturing the Centre’s growth while preserving community values.