LDDI Summer Institute 2026

Hazel Ryan Sheehan is the Program Manager for Elementary & Middle Years in UBC's Teacher Education Office. She is also a PhD Candidate in Special Education in ECPS. With almost 20 years' experience in inclusive education, her research focuses on social and disability justice-informed practices, creating need-supportive and accessible environments to promote equity and success for all.

AC Deger is an Open Education Resource Support Pilot Strategist at the UBC Centre for Accessibility.

Dayna is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, and is the Embedded Counsellor for Faculty of Education and School of Kinesiology students. Her practice experience has spanned across a variety of settings including universities, government mental health clinics, non-profit agencies and residential mental health treatment centres. Dayna strives to offer a warm, safe, caring space where students can express themselves, collaboratively navigate challenges, and feel heard. She places great importance on each students’ right to self-determination of personal goals, simultaneously recognizing the colonial systems that are profoundly impacting student health and wellness. It is paramount in her practice that students feel empowered and enhanced in their sense of peace and clarity. Outside of work, you might find Dayna wakesurfing, skiing or boarding, singing 90s music or getting lost in an epic fantasy novel.

Jody Billingsley is a transformative educational leader with more than 25 years of experience in K-12 and post-secondary education. Over the course of his career, he has served as an education assistant, learning support teacher, classroom teacher, administrator, and UBC adjunct professor. He currently serves as Program Manager for Secondary Practicum in the Teacher Education Office within the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, where he supports teacher candidates, school advisors, and faculty advisors as UBC BEd students move through their practicum experiences.

As a white cisgender male settler working on the unceded and traditional land of the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations, Jody grounds his professional practice in social justice, equity, and a deep commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. His moral compass points to identifying and transforming systemic barriers to create more inclusive and equitable education experiences for learners.

Currently a student in the Doctor of Education inaugural cohort at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), his scholar-practitioner research focuses on the experiences of teacher candidates' professional identity development during practicum, through an intersectional lens. Jody recently co-authored the 2026 article, Weaving our Truths: Community Building for Creative Transformation - Lessons from Spic’n, published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Practice, for which the authors were awarded UBCO’s Doctoral Studies Outstanding Publication Award. Beyond his professional and academic work, Jody is a devoted father and husband, a pop-culture connoisseur, a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and an artist.

Marcus Lau is a PhD student in Special and Inclusive Education at the University of British Columbia. Under the mentorship of Dr. Joanna E. Cannon and Dr. Owen C. Lo, he explores the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education, focusing on how post-secondary settings can become more accessible and inclusive for all students. Alongside his doctoral studies, Marcus serves as a District Inclusion Support Teacher with the Vancouver School Board and as a Sessional Lecturer at UBC’s Faculty of Education. He collaborates with teachers and administrators through professional development, co-planning, and ongoing collaboration to create welcoming, accessible classrooms where every student can thrive.

Dr. Joanna E. Cannon is a Professor in the Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education (ECPS) department at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Cannon has 9 years’ experience as an itinerant and resource teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students and is the parent of a deaf adult with disabilities, and her mother is hard of hearing. She serves as the co-coordinator of the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing concentration in the Special Education graduate program where she teaches language, literacy, and curriculum courses; serves as the academic advisor to students in the program; and oversees all course instructors and practicum placements. She also teaches Special Education courses within the ECPS department.

Fatemeh has studied in different countries throughout her education, which has given her a unique perspective and knowledge of various educational philosophies and ways of knowing and learning. She holds a BA in English Literature, an MA in English Literature, and a second MA at UBC in Early Childhood Education. She acknowledges that she is an uninvited guest on this land, and is grateful to live, work, and learn on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People.

Over the course of her 17-year career in the field of education, Fatemeh has worked in various capacities, including as an Early Childhood Educator, Preschool Supervisor, PYP and MYP Instructor, ESL Instructor, University TA, University Lecturer, Coordinator, Workshop Leader, and Teacher Trainer.

Her research focuses on newcomer caregivers’ experiences with navigating the healthcare and education system, as well as how social-emotional learning practices can be adapted to cultivate resilience, belonging, and well-being among newcomer students.

Abby is a graduate student at UBC. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Family Studies from UBC and a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education, also at UBC. She is now a first-year Ph.D. student in the Human Development, Learning, and Culture program within the department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education (ECPS).

Having worked in the field of education for over 10 years, Abby has had the opportunity to teach students of all ages in various capacities. From teaching English and Creative Writing courses for elementary school children, teaching high school AP Psychology, and most recently at UBC working on course development and as a Sessional Lecturer for Early Childhood Education courses, and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant within the Teacher Education program.

Abby’s research focuses on social and emotional learning (SEL), supporting first and second-generation immigrant children and their families, and exploring the experiences of the culturally diverse community in early education. She is passionate about instilling the value of early education as it is fundamental in the development of young children, laying the groundwork for the future.

Nathalie Serna is a student equity consultant specializing in topics of disability, migration, and gender equality. She applies an intersectional critical analysis to her work that seeks to build better systems that support disabled and other marginalized students in university.

Mariam Nasir is a 4th year student in the department of Sociology wrapping up her bachelor’s degree next year at UBC. She has spent time working in K-12 education aiding inclusion and accessibility efforts for students with disabilities. Further, she is a former, as well as a current, Student Facilitator for UBC’s Universal Design for Learning Fellows Program where she lends her lived experiences as a student to advance the Universal Design for Learning framework and help promote accessibility within higher education.

Nasrin is an applied linguist and second language writing specialist with a background in Teaching English as an Additional Language (TEAL). As an immigrant settler and a lecturer in the Department of Language and Literacy Education (LLED), she acknowledges with respect that she works and learns on the ancestral, traditional and unceded lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people, on whose territory the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia is situated.

Her current research interests include Second Language Writing Pedagogy, Critical Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Assessment, Teacher Education, and Education of International Students. She has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in TESL, Teacher Education, and UBC-Ritsumeikan Academic Exchange Programs. She also serves as the Academic Coordinator and the Coordinator of Academic Writing Courses in UBC-Ritsumeikan Academic Exchange Program. In her research and teaching contexts, she is committed to anti-racist, inclusive, and demarginalizing education.

Alison is a Learning Designer in the UBC Faculty of Education's Learning Design & Digital Innovation (LDDI) unit. She holds a PhD in Early Childhood Education from the University of Auckland and is dedicated to crafting engaging and accessible learning experiences using educational technologies. Drawing on her teaching and instructional design experiences, she specializes in designing, developing and delivering dynamic online and hybrid programs and assessments that incorporate both synchronous and asynchronous components. Alison is committed to creating learning environments that acknowledge and celebrate students’ diverse backgrounds. Her expertise in early childhood education, early literacies and inclusiveness informs her approach to fostering effective multimodal learning experiences. She looks forward to supporting and collaborating on interactive initiatives that enhance the educational experiences of all learners.

Raised a North Shore girl, Dr. Terry Taylor left Vancouver for rural adventure at the beginning of her education career. She grew deep rural roots and joyfully served as a teacher, school leader and district leader. A former BC school Superintendent in an innovative rural district, Terry was a long-time member of the Rural Education Advisory, began the Rural Small Secondary Think Tank with UBC-O and the Ministry of Education, and served on numerous committees with BC’s Ministry of Education and Child Care including contributing to curriculum, inclusive education, and assessment policy. She is a certified Master Practitioner in Compassionate Systems with Dr. Peter Senge and Dr. Mette Boell from MIT.

Terry has taught for UBC in rural teacher education since 2009. She serves as Lecturer, Pedagogical Lead, and Program Coordinator for UBC’s Rural and Remote Teacher Education program (RRED) since its launch in 2022, and was a Sessional Lecturer in the West Kootenay Teacher Education (WKTEP) program for almost two decades.

Terry won a 2026 Wellbeing Champion Award, the 2025 Murray Elliott Outstanding Contribution to Teacher Education award, and the 2014 WKTEP Teaching award. In 2009, she was selected as a Finalist for the BC Premier’s Award in Teaching Excellence in Literacy. Terry has co-written teacher education book chapters and articles, and shared research and praxis at conferences in Canada and internationally for over two decades.

Long a passionate advocate for rural and remote education, place-consciousness, and work alongside Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and community—Terry’s educational journey demonstrates that the enabling constraints of rurality cultivate innovative and equity-oriented pedagogy and that growing a sense of belonging, wellbeing, and kindness together for student and adult learners to flourish is key.

Terry joyously leads learning and system transformation through relational, inclusive, and decolonizing pedagogies. Her research interests lie in equity-oriented structures, pedagogies, Compassionate Systems, and wellbeing.

Dr. Johanna Sam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education and NITEP - Indigenous Teacher Education at the UBC Faculty of Education.

Ellen Nielsen is an MA student in Human Development, Learning and Culture at the UBC Faculty of Education.

Ashley Bueckert is a NITEP student in the UBC Faculty of Education.

Dr. Kedrick James is currently Director of the UBC Okanagan School of Education and a Professor of Teaching in Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education at UBC Vancouver. His diverse background, including roles in education, digital literacy and language studies, the arts and ecology, informs his interdisciplinary approach to scholarly research, teaching and service. Formerly director of the Digital Literacy Centre at UBC, he created public place- and arts-based educational technologies. His leadership and multiple advisory roles within the UBC Faculty of Education underscore his dedication to academic excellence and mentorship. Dr. James was honoured with the Murray Elliott Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education in 2018 and has served as a UBC Sustainability Fellow. He is a co-Chair of the upcoming 2026 International Symposium on Poetic Inquiry and teaches courses both in Canada and in Mexico.

Leah Macfadyen is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Language and Literacy Education and the Master of Educational Technology (MET) program. Her research examines how evidence from learning environments can be interpreted responsibly and used to improve learning design, feedback practices and instructional decision-making. In recent years, Dr. Macfadyen’s work has expanded to include AI literacy and the responsible integration of generative AI in higher education and professional learning. She is particularly interested in how AI tools reshape the everyday practices of learners and educators—how people make judgments, verify information, navigate uncertainty and take responsibility when AI systems are involved in learning and assessed work. Alongside this, she is committed to critical conversations about data and AI literacy, equity and the ethical and social implications of data-driven and AI-mediated education.

Rachel Horst is a digital literacy scholar and educator with a PhD in Language and Literacy Education from the University of British Columbia. Before pursuing her doctoral degree, she spent a decade teaching at the secondary level, an experience that deeply informs her research and teaching. In her research, she explores how digital arts-based methods, futures literacies pedagogy, and critical (post)digital literacies can enrich teaching and learning, helping us navigate and thrive in an increasingly digitally saturated world. She is a lecturer in the Master of Educational Technology (MET) program.

Manisha Tripathy is a PhD student in Curriculum Studies (Art Education) at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Her research explores the aesthetics of algorithms and the entanglements of image-generating artificial intelligence within contemporary digital visual culture, examining how emerging technologies reshape creative agency, artistic identities, and practices of making.

Ron Darvin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education of UBC Vancouver. His research examines issues of critical digital literacies, generative AI, equity, and identity. He has conducted multiple ProD workshops for various school districts in BC on the implications of generative AI for learning, and has published articles on these emerging technologies in Computers in Human Behaviour, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, and Journal of Second Language Writing.

Dr. Ramon Lawrence is Professor and Head of Computer Science at UBC Okanagan and former Academic Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning. His work explores the impact and effective use of artificial intelligence in education, including AI-supported approaches to assessment, feedback, and student assistance. He developed HelpMe, a student-support platform that combines real-time help from instructors and teaching assistants with AI-enabled discussion and chatbot tools. His teaching has been recognized with UBC Okanagan’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation, a Killam Teaching Prize, and nine placements on UBCO’s Teaching Honour Roll.

Peter Arthur is a Professor of Teaching in the Okanagan School of Education. His work focuses on self-regulated learning, metacognition, and how students can use AI in ways that support rather than replace learning. He created the Learning Ownership System to help students plan, monitor, adjust, and take greater ownership of their learning.