Experience

Biathlon Integrity Unit

• Austria
• Spectator Sports
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Intelligence Officer and Researcher

  • Aug 2022 - Present



Self-Employed

• Human Performance Consultant

  • Jan 2016 - Present

  Drawing on my extensive post-doctoral research on the components of human performance and durability in extreme challenges, which included two polar expeditions, my research provides understanding on how individuals are able to navigate (physically and/or mentally) through perceived obstacles to reach their goals. My research has worked with military personnel, police, elite athletes, executive business personnel, and elite circus performers. Drawing on my extensive post-doctoral research on the components of human performance and durability in extreme challenges, which included two polar expeditions, my research provides understanding on how individuals are able to navigate (physically and/or mentally) through perceived obstacles to reach their goals. My research has worked with military personnel, police, elite athletes, executive business personnel, and elite circus performers.



True Patriot Love Foundation

• Canada
• Philanthropic Fundraising Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Manager: Community Engagement and Research

  • Mar 2020 - Jul 2022

  Manager of Community Engagement and Research. I also took on the lead role of Project Manager for the Mental Health Technology Initiative, a 3-year project funded by Veteran Affairs Canada, to explore innovative ways in which technology could be harnessed to improve Canadian Veterans’ mental health. To this end, I built an advisory council that included some of the top “thinkers and doers” in technology, personal health information, health research, government and industry policy makers, and clinicians, to advise and uncover the gaps and opportunities for health record data reform in Canada. Additionally, I also designed and created the VERG (Veteran Employee Resource Group) network concept, to help gainfully employed veterans find resources and support for their unique situation, which also helps organizations’ Human Resource teams to find subject matter experts on military hiring within their own organizations. As I move to a new role with a new organization, I will remain involved with TPL as a volunteer, specifically with respect to my art that will be donated for their annual gala dinner auctions. Show less



Biathlon Canada

• Spectator Sports
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Member Board Of Directors

  • Sep 2018 - Jun 2022

  In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors, I am also the lead for Gender Equality in Elite Sport in biathlon, and sit on the Human Resources sub-committee. In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors, I am also the lead for Gender Equality in Elite Sport in biathlon, and sit on the Human Resources sub-committee.



Great-West Life

• Canada
• Insurance
• 700 & Above Employee

• Intelligence Analyst and Lead Researcher

  • Jul 2018 - Mar 2020



Biathlon Manitoba

• Vice President

  • Sep 2016 - Sep 2018



University of Manitoba

• Canada
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Sessional Lecturer: Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing

  • Apr 2018 - Jun 2018

  Lectured the Department of Kinesiology core course "Physical Activity, Health and Well-being"

• Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Jan 2015 - Jun 2018

  This three-year project will explore the components of mental and physical durability in extreme challenges. The project will collect data from military personnel on advanced training exercises (such as Search and Rescue, and Survival School Escape and Evade), participants on a polar expedition to summit Vinson Massif in Antartica that includes injured military personnel, ultra-races (such as the Canadian Death Race), and elite circus artists (such as Cirque du Soleil).The data collected will include personality psychology measures as well as biological and physiological measures in order to obtain a holistic understanding of the complete challenge reaction system (aka the stress reaction). Show less

• Neuropsychology Research Associate

  • Jul 2014 - Jul 2015

  Neuropsychology and animal behaviour projects pertaining to stress reaction, motor learning and memory.

• Post-Doctoral Fellow

  • Oct 2014 - Jan 2015

  Stress and Epigenetics Effects in a Military Sample during an Arctic Expedition.This project is funded by True Patriot Love Foundation.

• Neuropsychology Laboratory Technician

  • Sep 2012 - Jul 2014

  Neuropsychology and animal behaviour projects. Proficiency in BDNF assays, golgi, microtome and vibrotome sectioning, brain tissue section mounting to slides, neuron tracing, animal breeding programmes, various behavioural tests and measurements inline with research pertaining to motor learning and memory.

• Associate Researcher, Department of Psychiatry: Traumatic Stress Research Laboratory

  • Jun 2013 - Jun 2014

  Conducted qualitative analysis of interview data using Nvivo software, and authoring research briefs based on the analysis to help inform policy pertaining to Winnipeg’s homeless population, and suicide prevention in Manitoba’s Swampy Cree communities. Worked with national epidemiological data sets using SPSS on projects pertaining to childhood maltreatment and subsequent development of adult Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in a military population. Worked in multi-institutional teams. Show less

• Social Psychology Sessional Lecturer

  • Jan 2014 - Apr 2014

• Personality Psychology Sessional Lecturer

  • Jan 2013 - Aug 2013

  Lecturing the third year undergraduate course 'Personality Psychology' at the University of Manitoba.



The Invictus Games Foundation

• United Kingdom
• Civic and Social Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Archery Recurve athlete - Team Canada

  • Feb 2016 - May 2016

  In May 2016 I was selected to represent Canada at the Invictus Games in the sport of Archery Recurve. I started archery in February 2016 and within 2.5 months I competed at the Invictus Games, which is an international military para-sport event, comprising of military personnel from 15 nations and competing in over 12 sports. I placed second in the Recurve Team category, and fourth in the Recurve Individual category, beating over 60 male archers. I hope to make the Team again for IG17, to be held in Toronto, Canada. Show less



True Patriot Love Foundation

• Antarctica, Vinson Massif

• Expedition Researcher - Antarctica

  • Oct 2015 - Feb 2016

  In January 2016 I accompanied an expedition to summit Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica. As the Expedition Researcher I conducted data collection on various components related to the participants' durability and perceived ability to accomplish the challenge of the 10-day climb. During the expedition, I conducted interviews with the participants using the Personal Construct laddering method to understand how the participants perceived the challenge of the mountain and their own personal resources for overcoming obstacles. The project was holistic and also included saliva samples to measure cortisol and salivary Alpha Amylase changes, accelerometer readings, O2 saturation, heart rate variability throughout the expedition days. Show less



University of Reading

• United Kingdom
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• PhD

  • Oct 2009 - Oct 2014

  'Soldiers within Society: a comparison of the United Kingdom, Canada and France'. This ESRC funded PhD project investigated how soldiers perceive their status within society, and how society and the government perceive soldiers as citizens.

• Lead Project Researcher, Soldiers within Society - ESRC Funded Knowledge Exchange Project

  • Sep 2012 - Aug 2013

  This project bridged the gap between academia and government policy regarding the British Military Covenant. Organized workshops that brought together senior BBC news correspondents, government officials, military leaders, academics, and museum officials to increase knowledge exchange between these communities, all of whom work with members of the Armed Forces.



True Patriot Love Foundation

• North Pole, Canada

• North Pole Expedition Soldier Team Member and Expedition Researcher

  • Oct 2013 - May 2014

  In 2014, 53 participants skied to the Magnetic North Pole, making it the largest human-powered expedition of its type in history. I was invited to be part of the expedition's Soldier Team, which was comprised of 12 military members. The expedition took a week, covering approximately 150 km, over the frozen Arctic Ocean and the mountains of northern islands. During the expedition I collected research on how the participants reacted to the challenges of the expedition, in the form of saliva samples for endocrinology analysis, personal journals, observational notes and surveys. Show less



University of Oxford

• United Kingdom
• Research Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Facilitator, Department of Politics and International Relations

  • Aug 2008 - Sep 2012

  Preparing hundreds of grant applications with Faculty and students, managing research projects, and coordinating four international research centres. This experience provided me with in-depth knowledge of successful research project life-cycles. I have used this knowledge to obtain funding for my own research projects and, in the three years of my PhD, I have successfully obtained three research grants, one from the Royal British Legion and two from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Show less



Canadian Army Reserves

• Canadian Army Reserves

  • Nov 1998 - Oct 2008

  QL4 trained medic, QL4 trained intelligence op, proficient in many small arms weapons. I spent nine months on EUFOR's Op Althea Roto 0 in Bosnia, where activities and duties included coordinating Liason Observation Team (LOT) patrols, LOT house intelligence reports, working as part of the Psychological Operations team, conducting the EUFOR Canton radio station, liaising with local authorities and organising a campaign in conjunction with local police against domestic violence in the area, working with NGOs such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Red Cross on Mine Awareness, as well as pistol training with local SWAT teams, helicopter recces and the chance to drive a T-64 tank. Show less



Grenadier Guards

• London, United Kingdom

• Colonel's Fund Grenadier Guards

  • Jan 2008 - Sep 2008

  Working with the Project Officer, I helped plan and coordinate multiple charity fundraising events in and around London in order to raise funds to help injured Grenadier Guards and their families. Working with the Project Officer, I helped plan and coordinate multiple charity fundraising events in and around London in order to raise funds to help injured Grenadier Guards and their families.



Brain and Behaviour Laboratory, University of Manitoba

• Neuroscience Research Assistant

  • Sep 2003 - May 2006



Self employed

• Wherever I am

• Artist

  • Jan 1990 - Jan 2000

  I love to work with oil and water colours to create intriguing landscapes, portraits, and/or military scenes. I have recently started work on a series entitled 'the soldier', which depicts what it is to be a soldier and emphasizes the reality of the profession as opposed the glorified fantasy that tends to be the subject of most war art. This is tied into my PhD research, which examines how soldiers perceive their self-identity within the societies they serve. I have also created four children's' books, simultaneously as the author and illustrator. Commission requests are welcome. Please send me a message if you have a piece you would like me to work on. Show less