Giselle Dias
Assistant Professor Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work Brantford, Ontario gdias@wlu.ca
Expert In
Languages
English
Bio/Research
My name is Giselle Dias, (Niigaanii Zhaawshko Giizhigokwe) and I am a mixed-race Métis scholar, activist, and educator with roots in the Red River (Hodgson and Fidler). My ancestors are also from India, the Seychelles, and Europe (France, England, Scotland, and Ireland). I am currently living on ...
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Bio/Research
My name is Giselle Dias, (Niigaanii Zhaawshko Giizhigokwe) and I am a mixed-race Métis scholar, activist, and educator with roots in the Red River (Hodgson and Fidler). My ancestors are also from India, the Seychelles, and Europe (France, England, Scotland, and Ireland). I am currently living on the Haldimand Tract, the traditional lands of the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee Peoples. I also identify as an Indigenous queer, and disabled community organizer, writer, and educator.
My work spans over three decades, focusing on penal abolition, prisoners' rights, and transformative justice. I have worked in several community-based organizations such as the Prisoners' Arts Foundation (PAF), Rittenhouse: A New Vision, Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Network (PASAN) and the CounterFIT harm reduction program at South Riverdale Community Health Center. Through my activism, I have organized with the Prisoners’ Justice Action Committee (PJAC), Prisoners’ Justice Day (PJD) and the Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival in Toronto and London, Ontario. I was also a Psychotherapist in private practice from 2011-2018 where I worked from an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, sex positive, harm reduction framework.
Academically, I have earned a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies from Carleton University, a Master’s in Sociology from York University, and a MSW in the Indigenous Field of Study from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2024, I completed my PhD in Social Work, exploring "Indigenous Wholistic Abolition: Visioning Indigenous Queer, Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Futures". I worked at the Centre for Indigegogy: Indigenous Wholistic Professional Development from its inception in 2017 as the Program Coordinator, Re-search Associate and was the Director of the Centre from 2024-2025.
My re-search focuses on Indigenous wholistic abolition, Indigegogy, decolonization and Land based learning. My work integrates Indigenous wholism, Indigiqueer feminist theory, and Land-based practices to advance decolonizing efforts within academic and activist spaces. My work continues to bridge academic scholarship with community activism, advocating for Indigenous sovereignty, decolonization, Indigenous wholistic abolition, Land Back and community justice frameworks.
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My work spans over three decades, focusing on penal abolition, prisoners' rights, and transformative justice. I have worked in several community-based organizations such as the Prisoners' Arts Foundation (PAF), Rittenhouse: A New Vision, Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Network (PASAN) and the CounterFIT harm reduction program at South Riverdale Community Health Center. Through my activism, I have organized with the Prisoners’ Justice Action Committee (PJAC), Prisoners’ Justice Day (PJD) and the Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival in Toronto and London, Ontario. I was also a Psychotherapist in private practice from 2011-2018 where I worked from an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, sex positive, harm reduction framework.
Academically, I have earned a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies from Carleton University, a Master’s in Sociology from York University, and a MSW in the Indigenous Field of Study from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2024, I completed my PhD in Social Work, exploring "Indigenous Wholistic Abolition: Visioning Indigenous Queer, Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Futures". I worked at the Centre for Indigegogy: Indigenous Wholistic Professional Development from its inception in 2017 as the Program Coordinator, Re-search Associate and was the Director of the Centre from 2024-2025.
My re-search focuses on Indigenous wholistic abolition, Indigegogy, decolonization and Land based learning. My work integrates Indigenous wholism, Indigiqueer feminist theory, and Land-based practices to advance decolonizing efforts within academic and activist spaces. My work continues to bridge academic scholarship with community activism, advocating for Indigenous sovereignty, decolonization, Indigenous wholistic abolition, Land Back and community justice frameworks.
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Media Relations
Aonghus Kealy
Communications and Media Relations Officer
akealy@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4855
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Communications and Media Relations Officer
akealy@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4855
Click to Expand >>
Media Relations
Aonghus Kealy
Communications and Media Relations Officer
akealy@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4855
Lori Chalmers Morrison
Director: Integrated Communications
lchalmersmorrison@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4857
Vanessa Barrasa
Director: Communications & Issues Management
vbarrasa@wlu.ca
(548) 889-3812
Brantford Campus:
Beth Gurney
Director, Strategic Communications and Community Engagement
bgurney@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4199
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Communications and Media Relations Officer
akealy@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4855
Lori Chalmers Morrison
Director: Integrated Communications
lchalmersmorrison@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4857
Vanessa Barrasa
Director: Communications & Issues Management
vbarrasa@wlu.ca
(548) 889-3812
Brantford Campus:
Beth Gurney
Director, Strategic Communications and Community Engagement
bgurney@wlu.ca
(548) 889-4199
Click to Shrink <<