Amanda is a PhD student in Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo and a part-time researcher at CCBR. Before returning to school Amanda acted as Program Coordinator for the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council where she leads various local and provincial research projects. Amanda has also worked in research or research-related roles in government, academia, and non-profit social services, and worked for two years as the Director of Education for a local youth mentorship and tutoring organization. Her Master’s thesis involved qualitative research speaking to individuals who had attempted suicide about stigma, and this research fueled her current passion for community-based research and mental health promotion.

 

Amanda’s passion is in advancing upstream efforts to increase mental wellbeing for all, and in uncovering (and solving) the root causes of mental distress and suicide. She believes research should act as a tool for social justice, equity, innovation, empowerment, and health promotion, and that community-based research can be a catalyst for community and individual wellbeing.

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Outside of pursuing her purpose as a researcher, Amanda enjoys spending her time hiking, rock climbing, practicing yoga, or contemplating a good speculative fiction novel. An avid outdoors lover and traveller, she is often found in forests, nears mountains, chasing waterfalls, or in a tent under the stars.