Collaborative Relationships Between First Nations and Municipalities in Ontario

Ela is a PhD candidate at the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development in the program of Rural Studies. She holds an MSc degree in Geography from Wilfrid Laurier University, and an Honors BSc degree in Chemistry from Western University. Her graduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University explored hydrology of the cold regions and ground-freezing technologies in the zone of discontinuous permafrost in Northwest Territories. During her Undergraduate studies and post-degree work as a Research Assistant at Western University, she investigated multicomponent diffusion of molecules and colloidal particles.

She is very interested in combining her research and community experience to transcend Western methodologies by exploring dual knowledge systems in support of all-inclusive community engagement in environmental matters, to further self-determination and resurgence of First Nations Peoples.