Meet the Leadership Team
Tara Pride
Tara Pride, an Assistant Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy at Western University and member of Sipekne’katik First Nation with mixed Mi’kmaw and settler ancestry, conducts research with Indigenous occupational therapists to establish an Indigenous Community of Practice. She has also been a part of a research team exploring the experiences of marginalized health professionals across the country and has contributed to numerous manuscripts publishing these results. Overall, her goal is to collaborate with Indigenous Peoples to support community driven research that meets their needs and goals. She got involved with the Two-Eyed Seeing program in 2019 while in her former role as Coordinator of the Atlantic Indigenous Mentorship Network. She is passionate about mentoring and supporting youth who are interested in post-secondary education, which she felt aligned well with the Two-Eyed Seeing Program.
Velvet Paul
Velvet Paul, Director of Education for Sipekne’katik First Nation has been working in the Education Field for over 25 years in her community also working closely with Mi’kmaw Kina Matne’wey (MK), providing educational services to First Nation students. It was Velvet who made the recommendation to invite MK to the Two Eyed Seeing Program in the beginning stages of our program, creating a valuable connection that still exists today.
Velvet completed her Master of Education (Curriculum Development, 2019) at MSVU. With her extensive experience, education, and strong relationships within and beyond Sipekne’katik, she is frequently consulted regarding curriculum-based programming at the Two-Eyed Seeing Program. Velvet has played a crucial role in supporting students and teachers by helping us build engaging and educational activities. Since its inception, she has supported various aspects of the program.
Ann Sylliboy
Ann Sylliboy is from Unama’ki living in Essisoqnik with her three children, partner and german shepherd. She is a post-secondary consultant with Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey (MK). She has extensive experience working in Mi’kmaq communities and being a voice for Indigenous Peoples, especially when it comes to education, training, and employment. Examples of her past and present work includes, working in the Office of the President at St. Francis Xavier University (StFX), being on Cape Breton University’s Board of Governors, co-chairing the Aboriginal Apprenticeship Advisory Committee through the NS Apprenticeship Agency, and she currently sits on MSVU’s L’nu Advisory Circle. Ann is a founding member and has been involved since before the inception of this program.
Will Shead
Will Shead is a clinical psychologist (Candidate Register) and Associate Professor of psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University. He is a Cree member of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba. Will’s research interests include gambling, risk-taking, and social influence. Will has mentored many students interested in pursuing psychology as a career. He has been recognized for his teaching in 2021, receiving The President and Vice Presidents’ Advanced Career Teaching Award. His capacity for maintaining academic rigor while employing novel and engaging teaching strategies is exemplary, an example being including popular Instagram video series, Psychology Quips, which explain abstract science concepts. He got involved with the Two-Eyed Seeing Program in 2023 because he wanted to learn more about Indigenous ways of knowing, and observe how students from different backgrounds are adopting the two-eyed seeing approach in their educational pursuits.
Shane Theunissen
Shane Theunissen is Associate Professor in the Child and Youth Studies Department at Mount Saint Vincent University, and is a specialist in youth programing and experiential education. Born in South Africa, he emigrated here with his family via 36-foot sailboat. For 6 years, Shane taught at a remote, fly-in Indigenous community in South Africa. There, he created an Environmental Education program as a way to help students learn in a way that is reflective of their culture and values. He values recognizing and supporting learning in diverse contexts and empowering individuals to shape knowledge based on their personal experiences. He got involved with the TES Program in 2018. He is passionate about helping youth learn through nature and has been a key contributor to our TES Programming thus far.
Janice Francis
Janice Francis is the Director of Education for Wasoqopa’q Mi’kmaw Nation (Acadia). She formally joined our program in 2019, with her community. Her community has facilitated collaborations with The Red Road Healing Society, Parks Canada, and has created opportunities for students from her community to volunteer or work with our program. Janice has over 20 years of experience working with the Tri-County Regional Centre for Education and has received an award from Chief Deborah Robinson for 20 years of service. She has also sat on Acadia University’s Indigenous Education Advisory Council.
Sheila Francis
Sheila Francis is the Director of Education for Pictou Landing First Nation, and the Past President of the Pictou Landing Native Women’s Group. She is a founding member of the Two-Eyed Seeing Program. In fact, this program sparked because of her ideas!
Sheila has done extensive research on the environmental health of her community and how it consequently effects the physical health of community members. She has released many publications on this matter and uses Two-Eyed Seeing to conduct research and engage youth.
Cathy LeBlanc
Cathy LeBlanc was hired in 2023 as the Two-Eyed Seeing Program Coordinator. Cathy is from Wasoqopa’q Mi’kmaw Nation (Acadia) and is a graduate of St. Thomas University. She has experience in being a Mi’kmaw cultural interpreter and Student Support Worker for Indigenous and African Nova Scotian youth. A several years ago, Cathy and colleague Dave Chapman began a project called “Mi’kmaw Moons,” where they connect Moon cycles, visual astronomy, Mi’kmaw storytelling, and Two-Eyed Seeing to learn and teach others. This project has led to several presentations, educational YouTube videos, and most recently, a published book illustrated by Mi’kmaq artist, Loretta Gould. The Two-Eyed Seeing Program supported her book launch and has used Mi’kmaw Moons as curriculum, so we were very lucky when she was able to work with us full time!
Shannan Grant
Shannan Grant was born in Unama’ki (Cape Breton) and identifies as a third generation settler of Celtic heritage. She currently lives in Punamu’kwati’jk (Dartmouth), Nova Scotia, with her husband and child, who both identify as Swampy Cree. She has had the honour to learn from, and work with Indigenous people and communities on various lands across Turtle Island. With these relationships, experiences and over 20 years of training and experience in curriculum development, science education, two-eyed seeing, and experiential learning, she is one of the most longstanding members of the leadership team. Often joking that we don’t call her “Dr Grant” for nothing, Shannan is tasked with overseeing, with our Program Coordinator, grant applications, reporting, university administration, and public relations. This said, it is not uncommon to see her in community visiting partners, or attending Mawiomi with her family and friends.
Pictured: Elder Gary Joseph discussing Mi’kmaw perspectives on plants during a laboratory activity on botany