Meet our faculty & sessional instructors

I am a veteran professional communicator with more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at a major news outlet in Vancouver, covering news, politics and business. My reporting has ranged from murders and criminal trials to elections at all levels of government, as well as interviews with industry leaders, public outreach and internal corporate communication.

I’m trained in both journalism and promotional writing, and have had a long career in news media both in Canada and in Ireland. I have excellent interpersonal skills, not only as a media instructor who enjoys passing on what I have learned to students, but also as a public speaker, presenter and thought leader.

I have gained extensive teaching experience, first as a Teaching Assistant at Simon Fraser University, and currently as an instructor at the University of the Fraser Valley, both in the Communications Department, and in Social, Cultural and Media Studies. In addition to my pedagogical focus, I bring the workplace into the classroom, drawing on my industry experience to benefit students.

Currently a PhD Candidate in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, I have been a sessional instructor at UFV since 2014.

Simon Fraser University. PhD candidate in Communication, Sept. 2011-Present

SFU, Master of Arts (Liberal Studies), 2001

As a teacher with more than 25 years of media industry experience, I attempt to bring the workplace into the classroom. I transmit course content, meet learning outcomes and strive for measurable success. Students are modeling my professionalism. It is also my role to pass on my exemplary work habits and skills to the students, to allow them to observe my teaching skill, and be available to them for questions and guidance.

I am a facilitator: I bring deep democracy into the classroom, as I am aware of my role as a leader in group learning experiences. My skill is to gauge the group dynamic and its complexity, and lead students through a variety of learning experiences.

I want all my students to succeed. I am committed to engaging them wherever they are in their learning development, and help get them where they want to go. I invite them to explore, to make mistakes and to experiment in their learning process. I treat all students with respect, and strive to be truthful and sincere.

The teacher should have a strong commitment to the process of learning from the students’ perspective. Learning must take place in their minds, and it is the role of the teacher to enable students to improve their knowledge of the course content, and their thinking processes.

• Journalism
• Independent media
• Mainstream media
• Fossil fuel development
• Climate change
• Environmental discourse

• ‘The Vancouver School: Alternative media coverage of extractivism in British Columbia’. International Association for Media and Communication Research, June 2018.
• ‘This is for real: Can journalism survive fake news?’ National Campus and Community Media Conference, UFV, June 2017
• ‘Power Shift: Comparing mainstream and alternative media coverage of the Northern Gateway pipeline debate.’ Critical Studies Conference, SFU, April 2017.