Dr. Barbara Lee, Host, celebrates and concludes the first season of The Knowledge Exchange: A Partnership-in-Action Podcast. Over 12 episodes, this season has discussed inspiring community-engaged research, knowledge mobilization, and collaborative partnerships in the University of British Columbia’s School of Social Work.

Dr. Lee also announces Season 2 of the podcast which will highlight community-engaged research beyond UBC and across the province of British Columbia. 👀

Thank you for your support and see you in September 2025!

In this episode, Nicole Corrado, Sandra Nakata, Tina Wilson and Meg Gibson discuss their community-led research project that explores autistic people's perspectives and experiences of elopement, which is when autistic individuals depart suddenly from supervised settings and relationships without permission or notice.

Rooted in lived experience and informed by a participatory action research approach, the project explores the potential that partnership offers in transforming current practices of policing autistic people's behaviours and encouraging belonging through understanding. Together, the team shares how the project emerged from community needs, reflects on the harms of epistemic injustice, and explores how rethinking social norms can better support autistic individuals' safety and autonomy.

The conversation invites listeners into insights into the experiences of elopement and shares hopes for the future of their community research partnership.

Dr. Donna Baines, Professor at the University of British Columbia School of Social Work, and Dr. Bindi Bennett, Professorial Research Fellow at Federation University discuss yarning, the Indigenous practice of preserving the oral cultures of storytelling. Reflecting on their international grant, Emancipatory Dialogue, with academics and non-academics across Canada, Australia and Taiwan, Dr. Baines and Dr. Bennett talk about yarning with Indigenous-led organizations in the project and the facilitation of a decolonizing dialogue between Western anti-oppressive and Indigenous approaches. Their conversation together produces learning about conducting research that respects cultural values and teachings, and emphasize the co-creation and co-ownership.

This episode features Dr. Christiana Bratiotis, Dr. Sheila Woody, and Jana Sasaki. Dr. Christiana Brotiotis is Associate Professor in the UBC School of Social Work. Her research focuses on hoarding treatment and intervention, particularly in the contexts of affordable and community-based housing. Dr. Sheila Woody is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Director of the Centre for Collaborative Research on Hoarding. Her research interests are on hoarding disorder, with an emphasis on understanding its behaviours in order to improve treatments and interventions. Jana Sasaki is the Director of Operations for Vancouver Region at Lookout Housing and Health Society, Jana has significantly contributed to Lookout’s harm reduction approach to decluttering in housing through the creation of Assisting Reduction in Cluttering and Hoarding (also known as ARCH) team. Coming together, Jana and Drs. Bratiotis and Woody discuss their multidisciplinary collaboration and the development of the Home Environment Assessment Tool for Hoarding (HEATH). Their conversation highlights the importance of knowledge exchanges which advances the practice and scholarship on hoarding and decluttering.

This episode features Dr. Grace Mwangi, a health psychologist and addiction specialist at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Nairobi, where she serves as Deputy Registrar of Student Affairs, supporting the college’s mission to train healthcare professionals in Kenya. Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, an Assistant Professor at the UBC School of Social Work and a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar, joins Grace to reflect on their five-year partnership between UBC and KMTC. Dr. Mohamed’s research focuses on global mental health, addiction, and psychosocial support, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Grace and Mohamed discuss their global mental health course, which includes an interdisciplinary learning exchange with students from various health fields. They also discuss global South-North exchanges based on their collaboration, highlighting how transnational cooperation is advancing mental health education and practice.

Antoine Coulombe, Assistant Professor of Teaching at the UBC School of Social Work, and Lama Mugabo, community planner and Founding Director of Building Bridges with Rwanda, discuss their collaborative work in education focused on community organizing and participatory learning. Their efforts aim to help students build reciprocal and respectful relationships with communities, with students gradually expressing their understanding of these relationships through their own actions. The conversation highlights how "storytelling" has become a powerful tool for transformation in the Hogan's Alley neighborhood and how this approach is being integrated into education. They also introduce an ongoing national project focused on amplifying the voices of African youth and young African newcomers, contributing to meaningful social change through a "meandering process." 

Funded by Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada, the Innovative BC Settlement Case Management Service Model Project (Project) aimed to develop an evidence and outcome-based Settlement Case Management Model. The overarching goal of this project is to support new members of Canadian society to fully participate and contribute to society in a meaningful way. The Project enhances approaches and tools of Settlement Case Management Model to maximize settlement and integration outcomes of vulnerable newcomers, namely Government Assisted Refugees (GARs), Privately Sponsored Refugees (PSRs) and Newcomers with complex and multiple barriers. Led by MOSAIC, nine settlement service organizations (SSOs) and a research team from the University of British Columbia collaboratively conducted a baseline study of existing case management service, developed, implemented and tested a new model, namely the Collaborative Case Management Service Model over a 2-year period. This podcast highlights this collaborative work.

In this episode, Dr. Barbara Lee talks with Shari Monsma (President) and Gail Moilliet (Vice President) of Fairness for Children Raised by Relatives - a 100% volunteer-run non-profit society made up of kinship caregivers who advocate for equitable rights and support for the children in their care. They discuss the ongoing process of collaboration, developing research evidence to advocate for equitable kinship care support, and how this work has generated new opportunities and ideas. With openness and gentleness, Shari and Gail mentored and supported Master of Social Work (MSW) students while learning alongside them, fostering intergenerational connections and meaningful conversations. They have continued expanding their advocacy through research, digital storytelling, and public engagement. This episode is a celebration of learning by doing, embracing new opportunities, and finding joy in the process of research and advocacy.

In this episode, Dr. Barbara Lee and Michelle O’Kane, course instructor for UBC School of Social Work, are joined by Shea Karst, Research Coordinator at MCFD, and Dr. Peter Rudiak-Gould, Manager of Research at MCFD. Together, they discuss the innovative partnership between the UBC School of Social Work and the Ministry of Child and Family Development (MCFD) which is centred around a Masters of Social Work research and evaluation course that engages students in meaningful applied social research.

This University-Ministry partnership is based on mutual benefit: students gain hands-on experience in research processes by conducting projects that address timely, relevant, and actionable issues, while MCFD benefits from enhanced organizational research capacity tailored to their priorities and needs. The discussion highlights the collaborative efforts involved in course delivery and the impactful, actionable research that students produce through their work, bridging academia and practice to drive meaningful change.

Dr. Tim Stainton, Professor Emeritus at the UBC School of Social Work and co-Director of the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship, and Karla Verschoor, Executive Director of Inclusion BC, discuss their collaborative work advancing inclusion for individuals with disabilities in British Columbia. They reflect on the evolution of the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship, including its policy advocacy during the Covid-19 pandemic. They highlight several projects, including exploring and addressing inequalities arising from the intersection of gender and disability, and how participatory theater productions help share lived experiences with a broader audience. The conversation also touches on the importance of people with disabilities as self-advocates and researchers to drive meaningful change.