JoAnne and Ani

I am a(n):

educator

anishinaabekwe

union member

artist

art-therapist-in-training

expressive arts practitioner & group facilitator

health & safety educator

textile artist

advocate

parter

mother

grandmother

human

Welcome! I’m glad you’ve stopped by.

This page is a selection of the work I’ve done in the past decade-plus. I hope that it reflects my passion for work that adds dignity to human lives and creates hope for the future. This work matters to me: it fuels my ongoing drive to learn and to use that to do better things.

The work I do reflects my values and my philosophical beliefs: that every human deserves safe places & spaces to learn, to grow, and to live their lives. They deserve public spaces, housing, social spaces, and community services. They deserve food, to be clothed, and to have services that allow them to participate fully in society. They deserve healthcare, supports, devices, and medicine.

I care about creating a society where everyone can access opportunities equally. We need to talk about who’s included, who’s excluded and why, and then we need to work together to remove barriers. Everyone is deserving.

These are my beliefs. I hope that you see yourself reflected here.


I end with this:

The true measure of any society can be in how it treats its most vulnerable members.

Mahatma Gandhi

Roles: hats that I wear

teacher

anti-racism educator

community member

union member

program developer

health & safety trainer

volunteer

My education: places I’ve learned

  • WHEAT Institute: Expressive Arts Practitioner Certificate 2021
  • Lakehead University: Master of Education 2017
  • Athabasca University: Bachelor of General Studies 2013
  • Queen’s University: Bachelor of Education 2011
  • Confederation College: Education Assistant diploma 2008
  • ETFO Leadership & Collective Bargaining training

My work: paid to do what I care about

Education Consultant
2019 – present

  • Workshop development focusing on anti-racism & Indigenous issues
  • Motivational speaker
  • Expressive Arts program developer & facilitator
  • Developer of virtual education programs for families & communities with an equity lens

Occasional Teacher
RRDSB (2011 – present)
NCDSB (2011 – 2021)

  • Occasional Teacher: daily and long term assignments

Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario
(Contract work 2015 – present)

  • Resource development, workshop development, workshop facilitation
  • Member of ETFO Provincial Standing Committee for First Nation, Metis, & Inuit Education (2017 – present)
  • Writer: Equity resources, anti-racism resources, environmental & FNMI resources for the classroom.
  • Writer: AQ course revision
  • Indigenous content advisor for provincial writing projects within the FNMI scope.

Union (local)

ETFO Rainy River Occasional Teacher Local

  • Vice President (2016 – 2020)
  • Status of Women Chair (2016 – 2020)
  • Treasurer (2019-2020)
  • Chief Negotiator (2020-2021)
  • Delegate to Labour Council working group: 2019 – 2020
  • Annual Meeting delegate: 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

Worker’s Health & Safety Centre Certified trainer: (2019 – present)