Community Scholar, Meditation, Wellness, and Selfcare
Community Scholar
Susan (pronouns she/her) has an Honours BA in Psychology from the University of Windsor, and a MSW from the University of Toronto. Susan has worked with issues of mental health, abuse, and trauma for over 40 years at various levels from front-line to directorship. Over her social work career, Susan provided individual, family and group therapy, supervised and managed staff at all levels, developed, implemented, and evaluated programs, secured partnerships, lead community collaborations, and advocated for systems change.
Susan is an avid meditator and has been cultivating her meditation practice for over 30 years through retreats, daily practice, and study. She co-developed the Mindfulness Based Trauma Counselling Group Program for people who have experienced abuse and trauma. Susan completed the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification training program led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She also completed the Community Dharma Teacher Training through True North Insight. Currently, she leads a monthly 3-hour sangha in the GTA, as well as teaching weekly mindfulness and compassion sessions.
Much of Susan’s current energy is channeled into eco activism and supporting those doing this work. She is keen to bring the teachings on mindfulness and compassion to meeting the distress caused by environmental disruption and climate chaos. With a Community Fellow appointment, Susan co-leads the Wellness Impact Lab at the Dahdaleh Global Health Institute at York University. For fun, she performs with the Red Rebels Toronto.
As a white bodied person, Susan has particular interest in combatting white supremacy by engaging in the inner work of racial healing. Susan is grateful to make her home on Turtle Island, whose lands, waters, and ecological communities have been cared for by many Indigenous nations. She is a proud mother, grandmother, partner, friend, and dog person.
You may also be interested in...
Recap — Repoliticizing Health System Resilience: Unpacking the Political Determinants of Health with Benjamin Ewert
On September 17, 2025, Benjamin Ewert, a political scientist and Professor of Health Policy and Health Professions at Fulda University of Applied Sciences in Germany, presented his work on health system resilience and political determinants ...Read more about this Post
Recap – Rising Heat and Restless Nights: The Impact of Elevated Temperatures on Sleep and Cognition
What is the relationship between sleep, our ability to think clearly, and climate change? This was the question that Dahdaleh faculty fellow Professor Godfred Boateng and Dr. Gabriel John Dusing, who is a Research Fellow, ...Read more about this Post
New Research Show Mpox Outbreak Lead to Stigma and Blame Toward 2SLGBTQIAP+ Community
Originally published by YFile (30 May 2023) York University researchers have furthered their study of the global mpox virus by publishing a new paper on the dangerous stigmas the 2SLGBTQIAP+ community face as the outbreak continues. Since ...Read more about this Post