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...
York researcher tackles justice system anxiety in Black youth
Originally published by YFile (7 March 2025) Edited by Ashley Goodfellow Craig When he was asked to explain his anxiety around police, one Black youth in the Toronto area said even the sight of a ...Read more about this Post
Research Fellow Syed Imran Ali Presented the Safe Water Optimization Tool at York’s Academia to Industry (A2I) Event
On June 15, at this unique in-person A2I event on current challenges in water sector research, Dr. Syed Imran Ali shared the Dahdaleh Institute’s experience with translating engineering and health research into practitioner-facing tools that help advance public ...Read more about this Post
Recap — Reimagining Global Health: Critical Perspectives from Dr. Madhukar Pai
Authored by Hanna Lum-Gerry¹ & Brian Ferrier¹ ¹ School of Global Health, York University On October 8, 2025, Dr. Madhukar Pai, MD, PhD, FCAHS, FRSC visited York University to deliver a lecture that highlights the ...Read more about this Post