Health Promotion and Evaluation Specialist
My name is Melissa and my pronouns are she/her. I am a proud parent to two caring children, Evelyn and Ethan. We live, learn, work and play on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo was built on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations. The Mennonites were the first permanent white settlers in this area. As a white settler, of Swiss-German Mennonite Heritage, my standard of living is directly related to colonization and systematic abuse, removal and refusal of Indigenous peoples. My efforts towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples are deeply relational. To foster these relationships, I must start with the Truths of our collective past and present. I have a long way to go in decolonizing my heart, mind, and the institutional work I contribute to. I do this with humility and gratitude to my Indigenous neighbours, past and present. I feel privileged to be able to apply my 10 years of experience working in municipal public health, to a systems approach to health promotion and wellbeing in the post-secondary context. My work is grounded in health equity to address the social determinants of health at Waterloo. Working with students through the Wellness Collaborative is the best part of my job. I am particularly interested in the learning environment and effective strategies to support both instructor and student wellbeing. I am grateful for the opportunity to further this work through my PhD studies. I hope this will contribute to our theoretical understanding of a whole-systems approach to wellbeing in learning environment. Practically I hope to create more inclusive and support environments at Waterloo.
Contact information:
melissa.potwarka@uwaterloo.ca
Location:
HS 2206
Group(s):
Health Promotion
