Academic portfolio and teaching credentials

Teaching Portfolio

Teaching philosophy, courses, mentorship, and teacher education work connected to youth homelessness prevention and critical pedagogy.

Teaching, research, and prevention-oriented public education.

Teaching Philosophy

Teaching is the art of creating the conditions in which another person can learn to act competently, critically, and confidently in the world.

I think of teaching much like running a kitchen. A good chef does not simply cook every dish for the people around them. The chef creates the conditions for good work to happen: the ingredients are prepared, the tools are accessible, the kitchen is organized, expectations are clear, mistakes are noticed, and guidance is available when things begin to fall apart. This is the mise en place of teaching.

But eventually, the learner must cook.

The teacher's role is therefore not to control every movement nor to simply transmit knowledge, but to design an environment in which students can gradually take greater responsibility for their own thinking and action. This requires structure and high expectations, but also dialogue, relationships, dignity, and an understanding that students do not enter the classroom as empty vessels. They arrive carrying histories, cultures, strengths, responsibilities, inequalities, and experiences that shape how they encounter learning.

Teaching, at its best, helps students make sense of those realities without being defined by them. It gives students the knowledge, language, confidence, and support necessary to participate more fully in their education and, eventually, to shape their own lives.

The goal is not for students to remain dependent on the teacher. The goal is for them to leave the kitchen able to cook.

Courses taught

Physical and Health Education

Teaching in Montréal with students facing learning difficulties, language barriers, and social vulnerability.

Courses taught

English Language Arts

Taught at Emmett Johns Street School, serving homeless and precarious youth.

Courses taught

L’école peut-elle vraiment prévenir l’itinérance?

Taught at the University of Ottawa

Open resource

Teacher education

Pre-service teacher training

Research and training focused on poverty, trauma, housing instability, youth homelessness, and school-based early intervention.

Mentorship

Student mentorship and public education

Mentorship, public education, and teaching connected to youth homelessness prevention and critical pedagogy.

Awards & Funding

Concordia University Doctoral Merit Funding (2026)
Paula Goering Memorial Scholarship, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness & Canadian Housing First Network (2025)
McGill Faculty of Education EDI Award (2025)
Lived Expertise MtS Scholarship (2024)
Academic Excellence Award, McGill University (2024)
Malenfant Graduate Award, McGill University (2024)

Selected Presentations

Youth Homelessness Prevention in Québec Schools: Exploring the Development of a Community of Schools and Services Model with Educators and Youth, McGill University (2026)
Shiseido Child Foundation International Training Program, Montreal (2026)
National Conference on Ending Homelessness, Palais des Congrès, Montréal (2025)
International Conference on the Prevention of Youth Homelessness, Toronto (2025)
Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education, Concordia University (2025)
Symposium on Youth Homelessness Prevention, Québec City (2024)
Additional invited talks (2023-present)