Leadership and Staff | Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies

Tanya Bob

Associate Director and Practicum Coordinator
Tanya Bob assists with the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Practicum, and is also the CIS Associate Director.

Dante is a software engineer by trade with a focus on emerging media. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from UBC, and is passionate about user centered design and computer graphics. He aims to use his knowledge to facilitate the pursuit of software projects at and beyond the University though the CEDaR space.

Davison Donnelly

Outreach and Engagement Specialist
Davison (he/him) is the Outreach and Engagement Specialist at the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies. Davison grew up in Vancouver and is a member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia. He previously enjoyed working closely with UBC Indigenous communities at the First Nations House of Learning on the Vancouver campus.

Jennifer Esmeria

Administrative Assistant (on leave)
Jennifer is the Administrative Support person for the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies. Jennifer was raised on sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie) and S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō) territory and is of mixed European and Metis ancestry.

Andrea Herrera

Administrative Assistant
Andrea (she/her) is our administrative assistant. Her family is originally from Chile but she was born and raised in Edmonton, AB, making her the first in her family to have been born in Canada.

Sabrina Moshenko

Work Learn Communications and Outreach Assistant
Sabrina (she/her) is in her third year in the Faculty of Arts studying Sociology with a minor in First Nations and Indigenous Studies. She is born and raised on Treaty 4 territory in Saskatchewan with Cree and Métis ancestry. Sabrina is a member of the James Smith Cree Nation with maternal ties to Piapot Cree Nation.

Bernard Perley

Director of CIS & Associate Professor
Bernard C. Perley is Maliseet from Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick. He holds Bachelor of Fine Arts (studio arts) and Master of Architecture (architectural design) degrees from the University of Texas, Austin. His PhD is in Social Anthropology from Harvard. His academic training is interdisciplinary and aims to transcend disciplinary boundaries to serve his commitment to Indigenous community-based research and advocacy.

Jade Wang

Student Programs Coordinator
Jade coordinates the student programs at the Institute of Critical Indigenous Studies (CIS). She holds a Master’s degree in art history from UBC with research interests in Canadian institutional policies towards ethnic and Indigenous populations.

Connie Wintels

Administrator
Connie Wintels is the Administrator of the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies (CIS) and is responsible for the daily operation of the Institute.

Jess Wylie

Communications and Outreach Program Assistant
Jessica (she/her) is the program assistant at the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies. On her maternal side of the family, Jess is Bonnechere Algonquin of the Algonquins of Ontario and was raised in Oshawa, ON, she moved to Vancouver in 2018 for her bachelor’s degree at UBC. Jess graduated in 2022 with her BA in Psychology and is now completing her Master’s degree at SFU in Educational Technology and Learning Design.