Jamie Donatuto carries on knowledge from IRES and Swinomish communities
Dr. Jamie Donatuto graduated from our program with a PhD in 2008 and is now the manager of the Swinomish Community Environmental Health Program at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in the Coast Salish Nation. Her work includes researching chemicals and other toxicants in local traditional foods and tribal health-related impacts from climate change, launching an environmental health education program, and developing community-based Indigenous Health Indicators.
Donatuto explained that her real-world experiences right after receiving her undergraduate degree deeply influenced her. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (Coast Salish Nation, current day Washington State) hired her fresh out of undergrad (where she obtained a BS in environmental science/chemistry) to research toxics in locally harvested seafoods.
“In my first year at Swinomish, I rapidly realized that western science definitions of health and pollution are not universally held truths,” Donatuto said. “Swinomish saw health as relationships between humans (families), the more-than-humans (all other sentient beings) and the natural world.”
She spent the next decade working towards a more encompassing and accurate Swinomish definition of health (aka the Indigenous Health Indicators), embarking on a journey jointly at IRES and with the Swinomish community.
“Part of my journey included returning to university for my PhD at UBC’s IRES under the thoughtful supervisory guidance of Dr. Terre Satterfield and my Committee: Drs. Robin Gregory, Charles Menzies, Pat Cirone (U.S. EPA retired), and Hadi Dowlatabadi,” she said. “An equal part encompassed spending hours learning from and being guided by Swinomish Elders and knowledge holders, in particular Wanaseah Larry Campbell. All of my teachers pushed me to expand my vision, to question more deeply, and to thoroughly deliberate the research. Larry and his family taught me to listen deeply and embrace more than one way of knowing.”
Today, the IRES alumna remains committed to the work she began after her first degree:
“Twenty-four years later, I continue to work as the Swinomish Community Health Analyst. I am honored to carry on the knowledge shared with me by my teachers, both from UBC and from the Indigenous communities with whom I have had the honor to work.“
IRES fostered alum Emma Gillies’s love of learning
Emma Gillies graduated from the RES program with an MSc in 2022, under the supervision of Dr. Amanda Giang.
While at IRES, her research involved modelling mercury bioaccumulation in Beaufort Sea beluga whales using Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science. She maintains interests in climate change, ecotoxicology, environmental policy, and the connections between environmental and public health. She is now a biologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
We asked Emma a few questions to learn about what she gained at IRES and how those skills help her in her current position. Check out her answers below!
Question: Please describe why you chose to pursue your graduate studies at IRES.
Answer: I decided to pursue my Master’s degree at IRES because I really wanted to pursue a research project, but I also really wanted to do coursework, and I felt that IRES had a good mix of both. The research that I had the opportunity to do under Dr. Amanda Giang felt like a perfect fit, and I liked that the program was interdisciplinary. Coming from an environmental science background, I wanted to further my education in the natural sciences while also exposing myself to other areas, especially policy. Another very important factor for me was that the program was well-funded.
Question: What values, practices, or activities did you enjoy at IRES?
Answer: I loved the community at IRES. The seminars, coffee socials, trivia, and friendships really made the tough parts of the degree worth it. I also loved all of the opportunities to learn. Since the program is so interdisciplinary, I felt that I was constantly learning from fellow IRES students, lab mates, and students from other programs, as well as from professors, lectures in the unit’s seminar series, and internship opportunities. IRES offered the unique opportunity to really dive into my specific area of study while also making the most of other opportunities—for instance, I was able to be a TA for a marine pollution course, take an investigative journalism class, present my research at multiple conferences, and attend networking events.
Question: In what ways did your experience in IRES help prepare you for what you do now?
Answer: I’m currently working as a biologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (a department of the Canadian federal government), where I often interact with both policy and science, as well as with colleagues from many different disciplines. My training in IRES not only strengthened my technical skills (for example in data analysis, qualitative methods, and marine ecology) but also less tangible—and often overlooked—skills, such as the ability to think critically, ask questions, and work in a team. IRES also really fostered my love of learning, something that I still continue outside of my job today through attending seminars and volunteering with Vancouver organizations.
We’re proud of our all our alumni! Learn about more of them here.
April 4, 2024: IRES Professional Development Seminar with Dr. Mark Drever
Wildlife Science in the federal government: Western Sandpipers, intertidal biofilm, and ecosystem health in the Fraser River estuary
Location: Beaty Museum Allan Yap Theatre (Basement, 2212 Main Mall). Please check in at front desk on main floor before going downstairs.
No food or drinks allowed in the Theatre.
Time: 12:30pm to 1:20pm
This seminar will not be recorded.
Click here to register for Zoom link. Zoom will be terminated if we encounter tech problems 5 to 10 mins into the seminar.
Talk summary:
This talk will detail ongoing research on Western Sandpipers and their reliance on essential nutrients available on intertidal biofilm, a thin layer of microalgae and other organisms found on surface sediments of intertidal mudflats. It will cover a bit of what life is like working as a research scientist for the Canadian federal government, and the interface between science and policy on conservation and development in one of Canada’s busiest working estuaries.
Bio:
Dr. Mark Drever is a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) working on ecology and conservation of coastal birds. He received his PhD from the University of Guelph in 2005 and worked as an NSERC postdoctoral fellow with Kathy Martin in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at UBC. Since signing on to ECCC in 2010, he has developed a research program on sandpipers using estuaries as migratory stopovers, including their foraging on intertidal microalgae. This program involves shorebird tracking, chemical analyses, and drone technology to look at how coastal mudflats provide essential nutrients for long-distance migration of shorebirds.
Wanting to do actionable research brought alum Claire Ewing to IRES
Claire Ewing graduated from the RES program with an MSc in 2021, under the co-supervision of Drs. David Boyd and Amanda Giang.
While at IRES, she created a new, publicly available dataset of air pollution enforcement actions in Canada, which required numerous Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) requests. She is now a Senior Policy and Planning Analyst at Metro Vancouver, contributing to the development and implementation of Vancouver’s Climate 2050 Strategy and Clean Air Plan, with a particular focus on greenhouse gas reductions for buildings, transportation, and industry.
Read on to find out what brought Claire to IRES, and how her experiences helped her find her current role.
Question: What values do you remember being in the air at IRES?
Answer: I remember actionable research being a core value at IRES— most people were doing work that can be used for actual, on-the-ground change. This was a key reason I chose to come to IRES; I wanted to substantively contribute to “sustainability” through my studies. I also remember well-roundedness being valued at IRES. Students learn about a broad spectrum of sustainability/environmental topics through the IRES course requirements, which many students leverage in doing interdisciplinary research.
Question: In what ways did your experiences at IRES help prepare you for what you do now?
Answer: My Master’s research at IRES was about air pollution policy and enforcement in Canada, which prepared me well to work on climate policy in a Canadian government. I developed skills through my research and courses I took while at IRES, such as using qualitative and quantitative analytical methods. Perhaps most importantly, it helped me learn what I wanted (and didn’t) from my future career and what sectors within the ever-broadening field of ‘sustainability’ I was interested in joining.
Question: How did you find your current position?
Answer: I did a Sustainability Scholars internship at Metro Vancouver (my current employer) the summer before I graduated from IRES. During my internship, I networked with people around Metro Vancouver and beyond. When the job posting for my position was posted online, my former Sustainability Scholars mentor sent it to me and encouraged me to apply.
We’re proud of our all our alumni! Learn about more of them here.