Meet the scholars - Faculty of Graduate Studies

Meet the scholars - 2025

Mikayla Mitchell

Mikayla "Mikki" Mitchell is a Tlingit auntie, artist, and masters student in Indigenous Governance at UVic. Her research for her degree makes an argument for the resurgence of Alaska Native traditional governance structures through the teachings and ceremony of Northwest Coast Formline Art. This summer, she is working on Tsawout First Nation's Clam Population Assessment for Sustainable Food, Social, and Ceremonial Harvest as part of the Sustainability Scholars Program. Her focus within this project surrounds the cultural determinants of health and reliability, as well as aiding in the transfer of Traditional Ecological Knowledge for sustainable community monitoring and management of these areas.

Stanislaus Asaale

Stanislaus Asaale is a second-year PhD candidate in the College of Education at the ��ɱ��. His research focuses on assessment practices in higher education, specifically on alternative assessment practices, and on Indigenous education, advocating for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge, ways of knowing and being, and Indigenous assessment practices into mainstream education.

Stanislaus’s project with Sacred Earth Solar focuses on critical minerals and food sovereignty, specifically in Canada, as part of a major focus on exploring Indigenous-led pathways to sustainable and equitable climate resiliency and solutions. He will also collaborate with other scholars to create educational resources to support the curricula and training initiatives of the organization.

Amanda Qiu

Amanda Qiu is a Ph.D. student in Statistics at the ��ɱ�� (UVic). Her doctoral research focuses on developing statistical models to analyze complex environmental and biomedical data. Through the 2025 UVic Sustainability Scholars Program, she is collaborating with the City of Victoria to evaluate the effectiveness of municipal street sweeping in reducing contaminant levels in urban stormwater runoff. Assessing the influence of land use, the study analyzes street sweeping debris, catch basin contents, and outfall samples from both an industrial and a residential catchment area to assess pollutant patterns. The findings will increase the understanding of the types of contaminants removed through street sweeping and support data-driven improvements to the City’s stormwater quality enhancement efforts.

Zoe Leech

Zoe is a first-year master's student in Environmental Studies at UVic. Her research interests center around deepening the connection between Indigenous-led marine protected areas and spirituality, as well as uplifting Indigenous Governance.

Informed by her prior work experience and knowledge, she is conducting a literature review on how Indigenous ways of knowing contribute to marine protected areas, with particular interest in how spiritual values shape management practices. The project she is working on has been invited by the Kitasoo Xai'xais Nation and will contribute to capacity building during the process of legislating a National Marine Conservation Area Reserve (NMCAR). Zoe will produce a report that may inform human well-being monitoring aspects for the NMCAR and ideally be used by other Nations wishing to protect their marine areas with community involvement.

Zhehui Yang

2025 scholar photo with flowers in background

Zhehui Yang is a Master’s student in the Industrial Ecology program. Her research focuses on sustainability in the built environment, including cities and buildings.

Zhehui is currently working on the Circular Economy Hub Project in collaboration with the Synergy Foundation. The project supports economic diversification in forestry-impacted communities on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast that have faced recent job losses. Through research and community engagement, it aims to develop Circular Hubs that foster innovation, workforce training, and sustainable business models, with a focus on reusing and repurposing construction and demolition (C&D) waste.

Aaron Chegini

Aaron Chegini is a MASc student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the ��ɱ��, where he specializes in machine learning and data-driven systems with focus on Large Language Models (LLMs).

Through the Sustainability Scholars Program, Aaron is working with Sierra Club BC and NatuR&D to enhance neighbourhood resilience to wildfires and climate change. His project focuses on developing community mapping and data visualization tools for the Resilient Urban Systems & Habitat (RUSH) platform. Aaron's background includes developing real-time environmental mapping applications and creating simulations for responsive wildfire management, and he is passionate about using his skills to empower communities with accessible tools for climate adaptation and planning.

Caitlin Quist

Caitlin is pursuing a Master of Public Administration. Her research focuses on the intersection between agriculture, water policy, and ecosystem stewardship.

Caitlin is working on Scaling Funding for Watershed Security in British Columbia, in collaboration with Watersheds BC. The project seeks to address the current funding gap facing watershed initiatives in British Columbia, through creating a practical and accessible resource to help organizations identify funding instruments that could align with their unique needs and context.

Amy Migneault

Amy is a PhD student in the Biochemistry and Microbiology department, where she focuses on expanding upon molecular tools for cetacean (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) conservation.

Her internship is with the Tsawout First Nation, where she is working on conducting clam surveys at various locations within the Nation’s territory. Tsawout’s traditional territory has been significantly impacted by coastal developments, which has resulted in some shellfish harvesting sites to close. The goal of this internship is to assess the health of the clam populations, and to determine the viability of the beaches for traditional harvesting.

Ilse Martínez Candelas

Ilse is a PhD candidate in the School of Environmental Studies. Her research focuses on how to integrate historical data into fisheries management in Mexico.

She is working with the Cortes Climate Action Network on the project titled Understanding Cortes Island Beliefs, Knowledge, and Preferences to Inform Local Climate Action, where she will use participatory methods to determine a set of actions supported by the Cortes Island community members to fight climate change.

Shukooh Goodarzi

Shukooh Goodarzi is a Master of Engineering student in Industrial Ecology within the Department of Civil Engineering at the ��ɱ��. Her research focuses on urban sustainability, ecological connectivity, and planning.

Shukooh ’s project, "Examination of Municipal Park Connectivity and Forest Species Sustainability in North Saanich – A First Approximation," in collaboration with the Friends of North Saanich Parks, examines how the fragmentation of urban forest parks affects species distribution and biodiversity. The project involves assessing park size, condition, and connectivity through GIS analysis, ranking systems, and site visits. By identifying gaps and opportunities for habitat improvement, the research aims to provide practical recommendations for increasing forest ecosystem resilience and planning for long-term sustainability in the region. The research results will support planning efforts by local organizations and inform future conservation strategies.

Lily Charette

Lily is an MA student in the Department of Geography conducting community-based research on how Indigenous biodiversity conservation can support Indigenous rights, sovereignty, and international conservation goals.

Lily is working with the Peninsula Streams society on the research project Rain Gardens for Headwaters: A Comparative Policy and Field Study of Barriers and Opportunities for Scaling Sustainable Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) in the Capital Region. The goal of this project is to support the scaling up of resilient infrastructure for southern Vancouver Island by identifying policy gaps and barriers across various municipalities.

Ludwig Paul Cabling

Ludwig Paul Cabling (Paul) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Civil Engineering at the ��ɱ��. His research explores the intersection of community-led environmental monitoring and nature-based solutions.

He is working with the Friends of Bowker Creek Society (FoBCS) on the 1000 Rain Gardens Project, which aims to promote the use of rain gardens (sunken planted garden designed to absorb and filter rainwater) and raise awareness about rainwater management in the Bowker Creek Watershed. The project includes public engagement, monitoring of existing rain garden demonstration sites, and the development of draft guidelines for the creation and maintenance of urban rain gardens.

Erza Mjekiqi

Erza Mjekiqi (she/her) is a Master of Public Administration candidate with research interests in environmental health justice, eco-justice, and supporting Indigenous sovereignty. Erza has recently developed a strong interest in working alongside Indigenous communities on issues of environmental monitoring and justice.

Her project with Research for the Frontlines (R4FL), focuses on creating an accessible guide to support Indigenous-led air sampling. Centering on passivated canister methods for measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs), her work aims to empower communities to carry out their own environmental assessments and advocate for clean air and healthy environments.

Elvia Willyono

Elvia is a PhD student in Public Administration at the ��ɱ��. Her research focuses on integrated land use planning, with an emphasis on using visualization tools to support collaboration and decision-making.

Elvia is working with the Community Social Planning Council, contributing to the Complete Community: A Sustainable Urban Planning project. This initiative guides local governments and partner organizations in defining community goals and fostering more complete, sustainable neighborhoods in the Greater Victoria Area (GVA).

Sylvie Hawkes

Sylvie is a first-year master’s student in Environmental Studies, working within the Restoration Futures Lab. Her research explores the intersection of ecological and sociocultural values in wetland management.

She is currently collaborating with the Galiano Conservancy Association (GCA) to support the assessment of their large-scale restoration efforts in the Chrystal Creek Watershed. Her work focuses on collecting baseline ecological data—including native plant biodiversity, above-ground biomass, and greenhouse gas (GHG) flux—and establishing long-term monitoring protocols and sample locations for future use by the GCA.

Jeff Scanlon

2024 Scholars

Click here to view the 2024 Sustainability Scholars.

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