Dr. Jennifer M. Gagnon (she/they) (PhD, Political Science, University of Minnesota, BA, UBC) is a Lecturer in the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media. She is the creator and President of UBC’s Disability Affinity Group which works towards the goals of community care and Disability Justice (https://disabilityaffinitygroup.ubc.ca), and serves on UBC’s Accessibility Committee. She has recently been named an EDI Scholar in Residence with UBC Library where she will be leading a Disability Justice book club. She has taught in a wide range of programs including Academic Writing, Classics, International Education, Equity and Inclusion, Political Science, Violence Prevention, and more. Her research is interdisciplinary and embraces topics in Disability Studies, political theory, classics, qualitative methods, accessible healthcare, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), feminism, and gender. As a scholar in Disability Studies, her research focuses on academic ableism, gender, intersectionality, and Disability Justice. She is the PI for the Disabled Voices Project which aims to surface the narrative experiences of Disabled people in post-secondary settings. As an advocate, she is involved in efforts and workshop facilitation on Disability Justice, accessibility, consent culture, and LGBTQ2SIA+ inclusion. She is a recipient of the 2021 Killam Teaching Prize at UBC which recognizes excellence in teaching innovation. Dr. Gagnon identifies as a bisexual settler and Disabled woman and strives to bring her whole self to her advocacy, teaching and research.
Dr. Ziggy Stardust (he/they) –Wag the Dog Service Dogs
Ziggy is a service dog working alongside Dr. Jennifer Gagnon as her supportive collaborator. Ziggy is a four year old Portuguese Water Dog and is very excited to work at UBC. Ziggy’s favorite things are doing agility, swimming, off-leash trails, learning new tasks and tricks for treatos, and hanging out with his Mom every single moment. You can follow Ziggy’s adventures on Instagram @DrZiggyDog