ABOUT Me
Hi, I'm Emma!
The first thing you should know is that you can usually find me outside.
Whether I’m trail running, splitboarding, camping, paddling, or tending to my garden, being outdoors is where I feel most at home. The land is where I do my best thinking, where I return to myself, and where I continue to learn.
I was born and raised on Nex̱wlélex̱m, now known as Bowen Island, and I now reside on the unceded territory of the K’o̓moks peoples. The coastal regions of British Columbia have always been a deep source of connection, responsibility, and meaning for me.
As a sixth-generation settler, I continue to reflect on my relationship to these lands with care and accountability. In her essay “Settled Kin Coming Home to Where We Now Belong” Amba Sepie (2021) writes:
This relationship to land, place, and community shapes how I moves through my work. I understand this work as ongoing, relational, and place-based. It asks me to listen deeply, build trust over time, and remain accountable to the relationships and responsibilities that emerge.
REFERENCE
Sepie, A. (2021). Settled kin coming home to where we now belong. In G. Van Horn, R. W. Kimmerer, & J. Hausdoerffer (Eds.), Kinship: Belonging in a world of relations: Vol. 5. Practice. Center for Humans and Nature Press.
EDUcATION
My graduate studies focused on the connections between leadership, intercultural learning, systems change, and community-based practice. My graduate work deepened my focus in decolonization, epistemic justice, and the ways education can challenge dominant ways of knowing while creating space for more relational and reciprocal approaches.
My educational path began with Outdoor Recreation Leadership. This foundation shaped my understanding of leadership through land-based learning, outdoor experience, group facilitation, and community-building. Alongside experiences living abroad, it also expanded my understanding of global systems, culture, identity, and belonging.
Master of Arts in Global Leadership
Royal Roads Univeristy, Victoria, B.C
Outdoor Recreation Leadership Diploma
Capilano University, North Vancouver, B.C
Beyond formal education, I have had the privilege of learning directly from Old People (Elders), Language Warriors, Knowledge Keepers, colleagues, students, and community partners. These relationships have profoundly shaped my understanding of language revitalization, Indigenous law, community wellbeing, and the responsibilities that come with this work.
I am also perpetually a student of nature. The natural world continues to guide my thinking, teaching, and practice, reminding me to move with humility, reciprocity, patience, and care.
For a full picture of roles, research and credentials.
PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY
Where this work has taken shape.
At Langara College, I have worked as an Instructional Assistant and Faculty Member in the Recreation Studies Department. My work has included teaching, research, curriculum development, and program review. I have also supported initiatives focused on decolonizing practices, student accessibility, intercultural learning, and community-engaged education, including COIL and PLAR.
At North Island College, I have supported Indigenous-led initiatives, reconciliation-focused curriculum development, quality enhancement processes, program review, and community-based research. Much of this work has involved designing learning experiences that support reflection, relationship-building, and institutional accountability.
I have also contributed to applied research projects funded by NSERC and CCSIF, with a focus on recreation, community wellbeing, Indigenous-led priorities, and more equitable access to public and community recreation. Across these projects, I aim to work in ways that are relational, reciprocal, and responsive to community needs
Outside of academic settings, I have worked as a BC AdventureSmart Educator, sharing outdoor safety education with people of all ages, and with Recreation Sites and Trails BC, maintaining recreation sites across the North Island and coastal British Columbia, from Royston to Bella Coola.
Across all of this work, I remain committed to creating spaces where people can learn together, build meaningful relationships, challenge harmful systems, and imagine more just and joyful futures.
Let's connect and collaborate
Reach out if you’d like to connect, collaborate, or learn more about working together.