Kerwins Saint-Jean, winner of the Charles III Coronation medal, is doing a research project into the structural barriers faced by black entrepreneurs looking to access support in the Black, Anglophone Eastern Townships community sector. He interviewed entrepreneurs and community support workers to better understand the challenges they face, the needs that should be addressed, and the things that work well within this ecosystem. The aim of the project is to formulate recommendations to the leadership team with the goal of improving the current existing programs.
Student projects
Graduate projects
Youth work with Equitas
Amy Cooper, PhD candidate, has been involved in a Partnership Engagement research project (PI Natasha Blanchet-Cohen) with the human rights education organization Equitas, that explores the complexity of allyship among youth workers and racialized young people in Canada. She was involved in designing and facilitating participatory activities with youth and workers in Montreal, Vancouver, and Winnipeg, informing a practical tool for youth workers to reflect on allyship and co-authoring an academic article that identifies the dimensions of allyship.
Walkley Community Centre
Since 2017, students in Felice Yuen's AHSC 431 Recreation and Leisure Studies Seminar have been collaborating with Walkley Community Centre and facilitating exciting and meaningful leisure opportunities for the Walkley community. This year, community ties were nurtured, and family bonds were strengthened when students partnered with Marty the Magician and offered an intergenerational, fun-filled afternoon making pasta salad, decorating cupcakes, and playing BINGO.
MA in Human Systems Intervention
The students in Year 1 of the MA in Human Systems Intervention are busy consulting with a variety of systems and organizations.
One team is working with a community network that is undergoing significant changes, including high staff turnover and leadership shifts. This network is seeking to transition from reactive decision-making to a more strategic and collaborative model. This includes fostering a culture where staff have greater agency in shaping programs and operational decisions, as well as strengthening the relationship between staff, leadership, and the Board of Directors.
Photo by fauxels (Pexels)
One team is working with a mutual aid organization that is looking to have more stakeholders to take part in the decision-making and leadership structure. They are working with the founders to better understand what is preventing people in the organization from stepping into leadership roles, and to listen, acknowledge, and address those issues to reframe what leadership can look like.
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán (Pexels)
Another team is working with one of Concordia's residences to support the management team in adapting to the new and emerging needs of stakeholders. They are currently undergoing a transition, which introduces uncertainties regarding communication, operations, and programming. The scope of work considers team communication and developing an opportunity for a whole-group conversation about how they want to navigate this unknown territory.
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich (Pexels)
One team is working with an institution looking to clarify its approach to public art. They are hosting this group through a dialogue process to co-create mission and vision statements which arise from the collective voice. The primary challenge at hand is fostering collaboration among a newly formed group. This process has the potential to be energizing—offering the group an opportunity to imagine what’s possible rather than continuing with the status quo or what they do in other similar organizations.
Photo by Polina Zimmerman (Pexels)
One team is working with a community leadership program to support the team to gain deeper insights into the needs of their program participants in order to inform its restructuring and focus on the steps ahead.
Photo by Pixabay (Pexels)
One team is working with an institution facing several strategic challenges, primarily stemming from uncertainty about its physical space and a lack of a cohesive long-term vision. They are seeking support for strategic planning. The organization was previously housed in a permanent space but is currently in a temporary location, making it difficult to plan and operate effectively. High board turnover and internal conflicts have also complicated decision-making. Given these ongoing challenges, there is a critical need for a structured visioning process to bring clarity and alignment to the organization.
Photo by Cottonbro (Pexels)
Undergraduate projects
Catalina Abello is working with a community organization providing culturally sensitive psychosocial support to Muslim, immigrant, and marginalized women of diverse communities and their families in the Montreal Borough of NDG / Côte des Neiges. In her role, she has been designing and facilitating various workshops and participating in community interventions leveraging the skills learned in her human relations BA such as active listening, designing programs, leadership, working with diversity, facilitating and building community.
Marianna Calfacacos has been working with the Concordia Residence team to help them reimagine a series of community building activities they offer every year to their residents. Marianna has been exploring how to incorporate a harm reductions approach in this series, collaborating with their team of facilitators to identify possible improvements, assessing past activities and listening to the needs of the residents.
Tamara Jalbert has been working with the Centre des Étudiant•es Francophones in Concordia. The Centre is a new initiative from the Dean of Students Office looking to offer more services and community building activities to francophone students in Concordia. Tamara has been working with them to identify ways to improve their visibility in the student community, as well as opportunities to collaborate with other student groups on activities, programs and services.
