Staff

Susan Chatwood, Executive & Scientific Director

Susan received a Nursing Diploma in 1983, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of British Columbia in 1987 and a Masters in Epidemiology from McGill in 1996. She has also recently been appointed as assistant professor in the Division of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She has spent most of her career in remote and northern communities, working in the clinical setting, public health and research. She was a founding member of the Arctic Health Research Network and has an interest in building sustainable health research capacity in northern regions. She helped establish the Northern Cochrane Network Site, and currently serves as territorial Co-Rep. She sits on the board of directors for the Research Network of the Northwest FASD partnership and is a member of the FASD Network Action Team specific to FASD prevention. Current projects within ICHR include the applications of ethical guidelines in the NWT, knowledge synthesis and dissemination of evidence for northern populations, participatory projects with a focus on community wellness and the facilitation of a number of research projects and related activities in the Northwest Territories which are listed on this site.

Email: susan.chatwood@ichr.ca

Virginia Cayen, Director of Finance & Administration

Virginia joined the ICHR team in November 2007 from the Yamózha Kúé Society (Dene Cultural Institute).  Through her role at the Institute, Virginia brings with her experience of working closely with Dene Elders in order to maintain, preserve, and strengthen Dene Culture within Denendeh.  Virginia currently holds a Practical Nursing Diploma from Norquest College and an Accounting Diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and is currently a student of the C.G.A. Program.

Email: virginia.cayen@ichr.ca

Denise Kurszewski, Director of Research Development

Denise is Gwich’in, born and raised in the Mackenzie Delta. She has lived in NWT all her life and is a mother of two, and grandmother of two. She received a diploma in teacher’s education in 1985, a bachelor of education degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1994, and a master of education degree from the University of Alberta in 2000. She worked in the education field in the South Slave region for several years and then at Inuvik High School. She has recently worked with the Gwich’in Tribal Council in Inuvik as Wellness Director and has developed a keen interest in health related issues among Indigenous people. She believes that education and research development directed by Indigenous peoples with a northern perspective is essential to community wellness. She also enjoys spending time with her partner on the land at her camp – beading, fishing, hunting, berry picking, and learning the art of moose hide tanning.

Email: denise.kurszewski@ichr.ca

Rajiv Rawat, Director of Communications & Technology

Rajiv is an activist, scholar, and a reluctant yet experienced information technologist. Originally from Montréal, he earned his B.A. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY in 1996 before working at the Harvard School of Public Health in the HIV/AIDS research and education field as a research assistant, web designer, internet communications technologies specialist, and scientific publications editor. While in Boston, he organized with various global justice and community groups before returning to Canada for graduate studies, earning a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University in 2004. His thesis focused on historical and contemporary forest movements, women’s empowerment, and peoples’ institutions in the Indian Himalayas and marked the culmination of his lifelong ancestral interest in the region.

Rajiv is currently a PhD Candidate in Geography at York University where he also served as the web coordinator for the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability and the IPY GAPS initiative as well as various other sundry projects. He also recently completed a term of service as an implementation coordinator for the Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy. He lives in downtown Yellowknife with his wife, new baby girl Aenea, and two cats.

Email: rajiv.rawat@ichr.ca

Bryany Denning, Public Health Officer (PHAC)

Bree was born and raised near Kerwood, Ontario. She graduated with honours from Queen’s University in 2006 and moved to Yellowknife in May 2008 where she completed her Master’s degree in epidemiology, under the joint supervision of Queen’s University and the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research. Her graduate research involved place of birth and health outcomes for childbirth in the Northwest Territories.

Since November 2009, Bree has served as a Public Health Officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada. She is based out of the ICHR office.

Email: bryany.denning@ichr.ca

Candice Lys, Research Associate

A Fort Smith native, Candice recently completed her MA in Health Promotion from Dalhousie University. Her research spotlighted youth sexual health in Northwest Territories. Earlier, she earned a BA (Honours) in sociology from the University of Alberta and traveled the world on the Ship for World Youth to Japan and various points in the South Pacific. She is also the only staff member with her own trading card as part of the NAHO’s National Aboriginal Role Models Program.

Candice starts her PhD in Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health in fall 2010.

Email: candice.lys@ichr.ca

Diane Essery, Receptionist/Staff Assistant

Prior to joining the ICHR team, Diane worked for several non-profits in Yellowknife and BC with a focus on youth work and crisis intervention. A Yellowknife native, she recently completed her first year of Digital Design and New Media at Selkirk College in Nelson, BC, and plans to complete her design degree through distance learning while working at ICHR. She is passionate about social work and paints and crochets in her free time.

Email: diane.essery@ichr.ca