The Team
The Hub is a collaboration of three groups at the University of Windsor, each focusing on one of the three pillars of the National Urban Parks Program.
Clint Jacobs (he/him)
Co-PI & Professor, University of Windsor
Clint Jacobs is a faculty member in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Windsor and in the inaugural role of Indigenous Knowledge Connector. He is a member of Walpole Island First Nation and founding director of the Walpole Island Land Trust. As a co-PI on the UW-NUPH he will guide work to advance the co-creation of Elder and Youth Advisory Circles, discussions on an Indigenous Stewardship centre co-located with the National Urban Park site, and connect with Indigenous communities across the City and region.
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Candy Donaldson (she/her/kwe)
Relationship Facilitator
Candy makes her home in Windsor and has been the heart of Ode'imin Indigenous Knowledge Circle with the Healthy Headwaters Lab as a relationship builder and space holder since 2019. She will guide and support relationships involving the IKT and the UW-NUPH.
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Indigenous Youth Circle
The Indigenous Youth Circle collectively represents the next generation of Indigenous stewards and science practitioners all working together to guide wise protocols and practices for the National Urban Park site and region. Individually they each possess gifts of language, sport, science, culture, and more. They will be training in a range of ecological monitoring practices, learning from Elders and knowledge keepers in the region, while also co-creating and engaging on new programming linked to the development of a proposed National Urban Park site.
Kiniw Cleland
Kiniw is Ottawa and Ojibwe, and a Windsor, Ontario native, originally from Wikwemikong First Nation. He is a UWindsor National Urban Park Hub Indigenous Youth Circle member and a Guide at the City of Windsor's Ojibway Nature Centre, where he shares and teaches Anishinaabemowin. He is active in his communities, participating in educational events focused on health, wellness, and Indigenous teachings, including powwow and ceremony. He is a Herman Academy alumnus as well as a St. Clair College alum, achieving a diploma in Fitness and Health Promotion. Kiniw has participated in NAIG for the years 2014 and 2017 achieving a gold medal in the 1500m.
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Naomi Beauchesne
Naomi is from Aamjiwnaang and Aazhoodena First Nations but calls Waywiyaataanong home. She has worked for the City of Windsor at the Ojibway Prairie Complex for the past three years and has found a deep passion for land protection, conservation, Indigenous outreach and stewardship. Naomi is an Office Administration student at St. Clair College, and plans to complete the Office Administration- Executive program next year, her focus on the IKT is administrative procedures and event planning. At St. Clair College she is also an Indigenous student advocate as she is on the Indigenous Council and a monitor in the Indigenous center. Naomi also has a love for sports as softball has shaped her life in the 12 years she has played. Naomi also participated in the 2017 NAIG games, earning silver, and now coaches a local travel team.
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Jillian Shawkence
Jillian is an Indigenous youth from Walpole Island First Nation Territory “Bkejwanong - Where the waters divide”. She is part of the UWindsor National Urban Park Hub Indigenous Youth Circle. She is currently enrolled at St. Clair College (Thames Campus) in the Child and Youth Care Accelerated program. She has recently graduated from Early Childhood Education and has an educational background as a Development Service Worker. For the past three years, she has been working with Nin.da.waab.jig under the Bkejwanong Eco-Keepers program with her role as a Team-Leader. The Bkejwanong Eco-Keeper program works closely with the youth of Bkejwanong, preserving the lands, and giving youth the opportunity to see what career paths lead outside of Bkejwanong, and to prepare them for a future career in environmental science. Recently, she has just moved to Windsor, ON from Walpole Island First Natios. Her passions, include sewing, taking care of the environment, and sharing knowledge.
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Michael Aiabens
Mike is an Ojibway/Cree native from Wikwemikong First Nation. Mike is in the Indigenous Youth Circle as Research Assistant in the UWindsor National Urban Park Hub, while also being a Guide atthe Ojibway Nature Centre. While at Wikwemikong First Nation, Mike contributes to advance the hockey talent, skill and engagement for the youth and their families within their community through the local Youth Centre. He began to learn and appreciate the beauty of nature throughout this year of working at UWNUPH and City of Windsor. Mike is very active in the volleyball scene within the Windsor area and is also working towards a level 2 golf teaching license through the CGTF (Canadian Golf Teachers Federation). Fun fact, Michael also was a background actor in the movie “Indian Horse”.
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Shayenna Nolan
Shayenna is Anishinaabe from Batchewana First Nation that has grown up in Windsor, Ontario. She is a freshwater scientist and photographer that is currently working on her PhD in the Healthy Headwaters Lab. Shayenna's research focuses on ecosystem health and Indigenous perspectives on monitoring and assessment, and she's worked extensively throughout the proposed NUP for the last 4 years. Her photography centers people, places, water, and she is currently working on her first public exhibition at the Art Windsor Essex gallery titled Waawiyaatanong Forever, featuring Indigenous women and two spirit people from the local community. She uses her media skills in her additional role as the Director of Communications for the Healthy Headwaters Lab. Shayenna enjoys spending time near the water, hiking, and kayaking and is an advocate of freshwater restoration locally, especially the Grand Marais Drain. She has led public river walks along the Grand Marais Drain in Spring Garden, wetland teaching and reflection sessions at the Ojibway Pond.
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Tristan Thompson
Tristan is Anishinaabe from Bkejwanong Territory-Walpole Island First Nation. He is part of the Indigenous Youth Circle as a Research Assistant at the UWindsor National Urban Park Hub and is also a Park Guide at the Ojibway Nature Centre. Tristan is eager to learn more and promote his culture. His knowledge expands everyday as he continues to learn through his peers, family, community and by attending cultural events and ceremonies. He hopes to further push the growth of the Indigenous community here in Windsor ON.
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Jeffrey Lallean
Jeffrey is Anishinaabe from Bkejwanong Territory -Walpole Island First Nation. He is in the Indigenous Youth Circle as Research Assistant in the UWindsor National Urban Park Hub as well as a part of the Healthy Headwaters Lab where he does field and lab work. He is a Guide at the Ojibway Nature Centre and also a recruit in the Bkejwanong Guardians Program. He is active in helping youth at Walpole Island First Nation through sports.
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Dr. Catherine Febria (she/her/siya)
Co-PI
Dr. Febria is a Pinay/Filipina immigrant settler to Turtle Island who conceptualized and launched the Healthy Headwaters Lab in 2019. Driven by the mission to restore relationships with freshwater ecosystems towards restoration, she and her team have been monitoring habitats across the City of Windsor and broader region of Windsor-Essex and southwestern Ontario, including across the National Urban Park candidate site. She will work closely with the IKT, C4C and our communities of practice to advance ethical and reciprocal practices and science as a model for future Indigenous-led sites including other national urban parks and efforts.
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Dr. Ali Mokdad
Postdoctoral Scholar
Ali Mokdad serves as the postdoctoral scholar for the Hub teams. Ali brings a data-driven environmental science perspective to the work we do in the Hub. He aims to bring together and share the overlapping stories that we co-create here. Emphasizing relational values, Ali's work centers on bridging gaps and fostering collaboration. He has an interest in narrative research, exploring stories that shape our relationship with Nature. Focusing on practical integration across disciplines, Ali strives for systemic change grounded in interconnectedness and shared narratives.
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Alyssa Frazao, M.Sc. (she/her)
Science Manager
Alyssa is part of the Healthy Headwaters lab where she is the stream ecology and benthic biomonitoring technician. She is both provincially and nationally certified with OBBN (Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network), and CABIN (the Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network) training. With this training and with over one million macroinvertebrate identifications, she helps other groups such as Conservation Authorities, NGO's, and Indigenous-lead community groups. This is in addition to helping guide undergraduate and graduate students in their identifications and sample collections in the summer as part of the HHL Field Technician. Training and teaching others about the wonderful world of benthic macroinvertebrates has also been shared so far with City of Windsor staff and members of the IKT team. She hopes to continue to train and teach others about the wonderful world of benthic macroinvertebrates, including team members of the UW-NUPH and the wider community.
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Dr. Anneke Smit (she/her)
Co-PI
Dr. Anneke Smit is the founder and inaugural Director of the Centre for Cities and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. She holds a PhD in Law from the University of Reading (UK), an LLB from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Music (Performance) degree from the University of Alberta. Dr. Smit's teaching and research focus on the tools of sustainable and inclusive citybuilding – including land use, housing, active transportation, nature-based urban solutions, and participatory governance – and their intersections. She is co-lead of the Parks Canada-funded University of Windsor National Urban Park Hub (UW-NUPH) and is active in national citybuilding policy and research collaborations, including as a member of the board of the Canadian Urban Institute.
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Rino Bortolin
Program Manager
Rino Bortolin serves as Strategic Advisor and Project Manager for the National Urban Park Hub under the umbrella of the Centre for Cities, University of Windsor. He previously served two terms on Windsor City Council (2014- 2022) deciding not to seek re-election, opting instead to concentrate on policy and systemic change efforts beyond the Council chambers.
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Dorian Moore
C4C Affiliate, NUPH Professional Advisor
Dorian Moore, FAIA, partner in Archive Design Studio has been involved in large-scaled adaptive reuse, urban housing, and urban design projects as far ranging as the hurricane Katrina-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast to vision planning in Toronto's Portlands. Dorian is a professor in the cross border Visual Arts and Built Environment joint program between the University of Detroit-Mercy and the University of Windsor. He has taught architecture and urban design with an emphasis on housing for 30 years. He was the architect on the award winning Canfield Lofts adaptive reuse, Detroit's first for-sale market-rate lofts. His urban design work is enhanced by his touring, study, and documentation of over 400 cities worldwide. Dorian was featured in the PBS documentary: Designing Healthy Cities and was consulted on the documentary Beyond the Motor City discussing the future of the Post-Industrial City. He has lectured, in Tucson, Poughkeepsie, Savannah, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Windsor (Canada), Toronto and other cities nationally. Mr. Moore is also a retail entrepreneur with the Pure Detroit brand and a civic leader that has sat on numerous municipal and cultural boards.
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Safa Youness (she/her/هي)
Partnerships and Engagement Coordinator
Safa Youness is a Partnerships and Engagement Coordinator for the University of Windsor's Centre for Cities and National Urban Park Hub. She holds a graduate degree in Master of Political Science from the University of Windsor and an undergraduate degree in Human Rights & Human Diversity. In her role, Safa will develop and implement community engagement strategies in collaboration with C4C, UW-NUPH, and community partners to ensure that community perspectives are taken into account in the research relating to the National Urban Park.
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Hannah Ruuth (she/her)
Partnerships and Engagement Coordinator
Hannah is the Partnerships and Engagement Coordinator for the University of Windsor National Urban Park Hub. Hannah works with and for community to ensure their voices are heard in the development of the National Urban Park. Throughout this project, Hannah is looking forward to connecting more people with Nature and working with Indigenous people to protect the land for generations to come. Hannah holds a Master's in Public Administration and Bachelor of Commerce. Her professional background is in youth engagement and policy development.
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Asvini Kulanayagam
Student Affiliate
Asvini is a third year law student from Scarborough, Ontario – Treaty 13 Dish-With-One-Spoon territory. Her knowledge of city-building is informed by the diverse mixed income microcosm in which she was raised, featuring a man-made pond and hydro field as the central accessible green spaces. She became engaged with the Centre for Cities as a first year student on a walking tour and has taken that critical eye across Canada from Point Pelee to Inuvik. Asvini will be articling with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Outside of law school, Asvini recharges by connecting with family, camping, and photographing plants.
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Tamara Belley
Student Affiliate
Tamara is a third-year law student at the University of Windsor, Faculty of law. Her participation in the National Urban Park Hub project stems from her passion in environmental law with a particular focus on the crucial role that municipalities play in contributing to and addressing climate change. This is evident from her previous participation in Windsor Law's Transnational Environmental Law and Policy Clinic as well as the Cities and Climate Action Policy Clinic (CCAPC). This will be Tamara's second year participating in the CCPAC where she will continue working on the National Urban Park Hub.
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Jana Jandal Alrifai (she/her)
Student Affiliate
Jana is a third-year Environmental Studies student at the University of Windsor, specializing in Geographic Information System and Policy. She's recognized on the Canadian Arab Institute's 30 Under 30 list and is the Centre's first undergrad research assistant. Her focus is on using parks as tools for placemaking and community-building alongside improving park access for transport users and newcomers.
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Academic Partners
Dr. Christina Semeniuk
Dr. Christina Semeniuk is an Associate Professor at the University of Windsor in the Department of Integrative Biology, and a College Member of the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Semeniuk's research program in Conservation Science focuses on minimizing resource-use conflicts from rapidly changing environments by studying the complex relationship between animal behaviour, evolutionary processes, environmental change, and human dimensions. Dr. Semeniuk blends diverse approaches in biology (behaviour, physiology, genomics) and social science (resource economics, behavioural theory, scenario planning) to examine and forecast individuals’ (wildlife and people) abilities to cope with anthropogenic ecological change. Her research program recognizes that effective research can only occur when interdisciplinary research teams respectively and inclusively co-produce knowledge and scientific understanding. As such, Dr. Semeniuk collaborates with a variety of partners spanning academia, national and international governments and industry, environmental NGOs and local communities.
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We acknowledge with gratitude the land, air, water, fire and all the beings of creation that sustain us. We honour the longstanding relations of many First Peoples to this place since time immemorial (including the Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee, Lunaapee, and Huron/Wendat Peoples). We acknowledge colonial harms. We commit to renewed and respectful relations to people, nature and this place.
® 2024 University of Windsor
