In addition to our current team and faculty associates, CHASI has collaborated with a number of past student research assistants and interns, and we thank them for their impactful contributions to our research.
Please note: these bios reflect these students interests, self-reflection, and studies at the time they worked for CHASI. In many cases, their academic and career paths have evolved in unexpected and exciting ways!
Research Assistant, Lynsie Beaulieu
Lynsie is a student at UFV, pursuing a Sociology degree with a Social Research Concentration and an extended minor in Psychology. She was happy to join the research team at CHASI in January of 2022. Lynsie has enjoyed engaging in collaborative learning where she can further her interest in programs that improve the lives of older adults in her community. Her interest in social isolation and loneliness stems from her goal of communicating the importance of healthy aging.
Upon completing her undergrad studies, she intends to apply to graduate school to further her knowledge of social gerontology and progress toward a career as a researcher. When Lynsie is not studying or researching, she is mastering the Art of Pickleball!
Social Media & Events Assistant: Kristen Bencze
Kristen Bencze’s been a member of CHASI since September 2022 and is thrilled to be a part of the research crew. She recently completed her degree in criminology with a minor in sociology. Kristen’s penchant to learn new information and meet new people serves her well as a CHASI research assistant. She hopes one day to utilize the knowledge and skills she’s gained at UFV by becoming a mediator in the field of family law.
When she’s not busy conducting research, Kristen’s happily running her own business as co-owner of a doggie-daycare or sitting down in front of the keyboard or drums to bang out some of her favourite tunes.
Sustainability Student Research Assistant: Alara Cremer
Alara’s greatest assets are her curious mind, creative spark, and her bubbly attitude. Her passions in life revolve around sustainability, personal connections, and first experiences.
A lifelong learner, she began her studies in 2012, switching majors until 2017 when she landed in physical geography, and the study of our environment. The intersection between people and planet is where the focus of her work lies, pursuing a greener, more supportive future for our global community.
In her off time, Alara focuses on fitness, spending time with her friends around a tabletop game, and mindfully enjoying those moments we all wish to remember.
Research assistant: Gina Dhinsa
Gina graduated from UFV with a bachelor of arts in global development studies and a minor in economics. Gina has been volunteering for the UFV Student Refugee Program for the past three years and is passionate about supporting those impacted by the refugee crisis. She has also worked for her Member of Parliament and hopes to one day work for Global Affairs Canada.
Research assistant: Miranda Erickson
Miranda is a third-year student at UFV majoring in Sociology with a concentration in Social Research and an extended minor in Psychology. She enjoys applying her knowledge to local and global contexts and has a special interest in public response to government policies and systems. Miranda hopes to pursue her MA in Medical Sociology to deepen her understanding of the impacts of healthcare systems in Canada. At CHASI, she is excited to learn more across disciplines as she engages with other researchers and their works.
In her spare time, Miranda enjoys reading classic literature, hiking, and crocheting. When she isn’t at work or school, she enjoys window shopping with friends and baking with her brothers.
Graphic Design Intern: Christian Esquivel
Christian is a student at UFV pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a Major in Graphic Design. He joined the CHASI Hub as a Graphic Design Intern on the Knowledge Mobilization Team in June of 2024. Christian always does his best to imbue humanity and thoughtfulness in his work and to make sure that the everyone involved are happy with the result of each project. He is inspired by how graphic design can dictate social cause and effect, and how we can learn from one another from all walks of life, that design is part of everything we interact with in out day-to-day routines.
Outside of all this designer gibberish, he loves to explore the Fraser Valley and the greater Lower Mainland area, whether that be hiking, biking and paddleboarding! Oh, and snowboarding and wakeboarding, super fun sports to try out! He also loves to photograph in his spare time and paint whenever inspiration kicks him in the head.
Illustrator: Frankie Fowle
Frankie Fowle is a recent UFV graduate with a BFA majoring in Graphic Design. Frankie believes that visual language is a powerful tool for bringing awareness to social justice issues and to create change to our current social and economic systems. Frankie joined CHASI in September of 2022 and has worked with the CHASI team to create visual ways to present research and data. Frankie also assists with documenting projects through audio, film, and photography.
Frankie is attending Emily Carr University of Art and Design pursuing her Masters in Information Design, in hopes to bring change to current design practices to allow for more sustainability and equity in the field.
Research assistant: Michelle Grafton
Michelle is a student at UFV working towards a degree in sociology with a social research concentration as well as an extended minor in psychology. She currently works as a research assistant on a qualitative study exploring the education of paramedics and as a Supported Learning Groups leader for an introductory sociology course.
Michelle is extremely excited to be joining the team at CHASI and looks forward to the opportunity to put what she’s learned at university into practice!
Michelle presented her work, alongside CHASI faculty associate Dr. Michael Corman, at the Pacific Sociological Association conference. Watch the video here.
Research Assistant: Klara Goettke
CHASI research assistant Klara is a graduate from Bishop’s University with a triple major in biochemistry, pre-medicine, and biology (concentration in health science). Her current project with CHASI utilizes British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC) data to create a health and demographic database for use in identifying and addressing health issues in local communities.
Klara’s interests include medicine, outdoor recreation, and music. She enjoys using her knowledge of biology and passion for medicine to partner with local communities and encourage positive health outcomes.
Research assistant: Kayla Harvey
Kayla is a student at UFV working towards a degree in psychology with a minor in sociology, who aspires to start a career in trauma counseling. Kayla became involved with CHASI in the 2021 Fall semester and enjoys working alongside her co-workers on impactful community projects.
In her spare time, Kayla engages in a variety of leisure activities such as camping/backpacking, spending time with her brother working on their cars and reading psychological academic literature. Sports have always been a large part of her life; having played soccer and running competitive track-and-field throughout high school, with a recent transition to competitive show jumping.
Kayla is very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the team at CHASI and looks forward to contributing to future projects.
Digital Media Intern: Emma Hones
Emma Hones joined the CHASI team in September 2023. With a dual minor in both graphic and digital design, and media and communications studies, she has worn many hats in her time in the UFV community. Her work primarily revolves around making the CHASIcast the best community resource it can be, including all aspects of producing an episode – whether practical or technical.
In her spare time, Emma enjoys a variety of activities, including finding exciting new ways to break (or fix) her computers and other tech, catching up on her ever-growing reading list, and indulging in driving adventures around British Columbia and beyond.
Research Assistant: Veronica Jeske
Veronica completed her Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology, with a minor in Human Geography and a Cultural Resource Management Certificate from Simon Fraser University. She is passionate about the preservation of cultural history through an appreciation of artifacts and the oral tradition of storytelling to protect Indigenous cultural knowledge. She plans to complete a master’s degree in Art and Artifact Conservation. Veronica is impassioned about global issues and making a difference locally by volunteering her time for non-profits.
Veronica is excited to work with this dynamic and dedicated team and to help make an impact in the community through project development.
Her hobbies include painting, crochet, and video games.
Graphic Design Intern: Celina Koops
Celina is a proud Indigenous designer and illustrator. She is a UFV bachelor of fine arts student majoring in the graphic and digital design program. She creates eclectic and thoughtful designs inspired by many genres, with illustrations reflecting how enthusiastic and wild she aspires to be. Celina has a passion to collaborate with like-minded people and values relationships. In her free time, Celina enjoys drawing, dancing to music, hiking, and petting dogs.
You can see Celina’s work on Instagram at @celinamedia
Research Assistant: Vicki Lin
Vicki is currently completing her final year of a bachelor of arts in criminal justice with a minor in sociology at UFV. In addition to her work in the Hub, she is also an ophthalmic technician at Fraser Valley Cataract & Laser.
Her current project with CHASI includes creating a national directory database of universities, colleges, and friendship centres with the objective of catalogue employment and skills development opportunities for Indigenous Communities. This project is in association with the Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada (AFAC) through the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council (NIFSC) Project. Vicki looks forward in continuing her work with CHASI and the community.
Research Assistant: Allie MacKay
Allie is here at CHASI to “learn all the things.” She is a fierce advocate for human rights and believes that meaningful research, community engagement, and advocacy can change lives. Her academic interests include global development, communications, and economics. She hopes that her time with CHASI will narrow her focus and help her declare a major at UFV.
When not at CHASI, Allie enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and two Scottish Terriers. One of her favourite pastimes is exploring the beauty of the West Coast while enjoying long car rides that take you off the beaten path and meandering the local trails.
Sustainability Student Research Assistant: Ashley Marais
Ashley is a third-year biology student at UFV with a concentration in Ecology and the Biology of Organisms. With a passion for environmental sustainability, Ashley aspires to pursue a master’s degree to deepen her understanding of ecosystems and contribute to conservation efforts.
Beyond academia, she enjoys reading, expressing creativity through fiber art, and exploring the great outdoors with her dog, Gambit. She is committed to fostering a greener future, she actively engages in ecological projects, promoting sustainable practices, and advocating for the conservation of our planet’s biodiversity.
Research Assistant: Ekaterina Marenkov
Ekaterina (Ekat) is pursuing a degree in philosophy (honours) alongside minors in English and sociology. She has worked at CHASI since 2020.
When she “grows up”, Ekat aspires to teach philosophy. This dream was cultivated through her time spent volunteering for Think-Fun, a summer camp that teaches philosophy to children. Since her camp days, Ekat’s intellectual interests have been driven by the works of Simone de Beauvoir, Luce Irigaray, and Joan Copjec.
Her dog is also her colleague.
Research Assistant: Kaitlyn McKay
Kaitlyn McKay (she/her) is a third-year UFV student, majoring in Sociology. This field fascinates her because it allows her to better understand the complexities of social behaviour, relationships and structures that shape our values, beliefs, and experiences. Kaitlyn has a passion for advancing inclusivity and accessibility in all spaces – using her certificate in ASL and Deaf Studies as a foundation for continued learning.
Kaitlyn has a passion for travelling and has enjoyed visiting countries such as Kenya, Singapore, and Thailand, with a bucket list full of many more! In her spare time, Kaitlyn loves cuddling with her dog and watching reality TV.
Social Media Intern: Madison McKenzie
Madison worked at CHASI in 2025 as a Social Media Intern.
She was recruited following her tremendous work co-organizing CHASI’s Swiftie Scholar Conference in November 2024.
She continues her studies at UFV as a friend of CHASI.
Social Media & Events Assistant: Andrea Moorhouse
Andrea graduated from UFV in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology. She has been working in CHASI since February 2022 and is grateful to have had opportunities to work on such a variety of projects throughout the past two and a half years. Andrea now works on the knowledge mobilization team and is happy to combine her creative passions with her academic interests.In the next couple of years Andrea is looking forward to continuing her education abroad with the long-term goal of becoming a sociology professor and continuing with social research. Some of her personal research interests include women’s role in our economic system and the social response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Outside of work Andrea enjoys reading, crafting, dog sitting, swimming in lakes, and spending time with her friends and family.
Research Assistant: Noah Opmeer
Noah graduated from UFV with a BA in Economics in April 2024. Noah has worked with the Department of Economics as a research assistant and with the Academic Success Centre as a Supported Learning Group (SLG) Leader. He has taken various courses in both the Arts and Mathematics/Statistics at UFV. Noah is interested in the intersection of the social sciences with quantitative methods and hopes to pursue graduate level studies in Economics to investigate this topic further.
Outside of the academic setting, Noah enjoys learning French and Arabic, playing the piano, and working as a financial services administrator for the Canadian Armed Forces part-time.
Research assistant: Alexa Murray-Schlitt
Alexa is a third-year student at UFV pursuing a degree in sociology with a minor in anthropology. She started at CHASI as a research assistant in summer 2021 and has enjoyed putting her studies into practice while getting to meet and work with like-minded people for a meaningful cause. When she’s not studying or researching, Alexa spends her time listening to music, creating art, reading, and basking outside in nature.
Research assistant: Regan Smithy
Regan is a student at UFV, pursuing a degree in environmental studies (natural science). She has recently started at CHASI as a research assistant, and she is excited to be a part of such an amazing, intelligent team. Regan is ready to soak up any knowledge she can from working at CHASI and within the Fraser Valley community. When she is not studying or working, you can find her curled up on the couch, bingeing a TV show with her dogs or out on an adventure in the mountains.
Admin Assistant: Kim Swanepoel
Kim Swanepoel is joining CHASI as a practicum student from the applied business technology program at UFV.
Kim has a background in trauma informed care, with experience as a youth support worker and later as an administrator. She enjoys organization, data analytics, and office and data management. Kim is currently involved in social media marketing, and enjoys expressing her creative side through content design. Kim loves the outdoors, and in her downtime likes to snowboard and hike.
She is looking forward to utilizing her skills while at CHASI and will be demonstrating those organization skills while she updates the ever-growing project list.
Research Assistant: Carlanna Thompson
Carlanna has recently graduated with a major in history honours and a minor in English. Carlanna’s areas of interest include Indigenous history, Indigenous-settler relations, and gender and sexuality studies. She aspires to one day author graphic novels that will make history more accessible to all. Carlanna is a firm believer that learning from the past can help us work towards a better future.
While Carlanna is a recent addition to CHASI, she is very excited to work with such a talented team and looks forward to using her skills and passion on upcoming projects.
In her free time, Carlanna likes to play lacrosse, read, spend time with family and friends, and play video games.
Research Assistant: Ruoyu (Sherry) Xiao
Sherry graduated from University of the Fraser Valley with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. As a witness of global inequality and systemic racism, her research interests lie broadly within political theory, gender, and ethnicity. She is particularly interested in contemporary Chinese studies. Her research work has been focused on discourse analysis and the construction of ethnic boundaries. She aspires to pursue graduate education, as well as seek research opportunities. Sherry was born and raised in the southwest region of Sichuan Province, China. Prior to studying in social, cultural and media studies in UFV, She was influenced by the feminist movement in China and developed her interest in gender studies. Her academic choices have been profoundly shaped by her living experiences. As an individual, she loves singing, playing video games and 3D model and texture creation.
Assistant to the research assistants: Oscar Marenkov
Oscar is an assistant to the research assistants at CHASI.
When he isn’t paw-ndering dif-fur-ent solutions to the barking-mad state of the world, Oscar likes to take the oppawtunity and provide CHASI’s research staff with cuddles (especially if they are having a ruff day).
In his free time Oscar likes to hike with his owner, Ekat, and play with his friends at the dog park. And to wind down after a long week, he pawsitivley adores snuggling with his owner and watching movies. Oscar’s favourite movies are Breakfast at Sniff-anys and The Wizard of Paws.