HERG Personnel
Co-Executive Directors
Dr. Bill Morrison
Dr. Patricia Kirby
Directors
Monique Allain
Lynn Ann Duffley
Dr. Ruth Morrison
Research Associates
Dr. Gaëtan Losier
Dr. Cynthia Doucet
Julie Dupuis
Kelsey Forde
Brandon Kirby
Co-Executive Directors
Dr. Bill Morrison
Co-Executive Director
Associate Professor
Faculty of Education
Dr. Morrison is presently Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of New Brunswick.
As a psychologist and academic, Dr. Morrison has been actively involved in projects focusing on health research, program evaluation, and the implementation of community-based rehabilitation services for high-risk children and their families.
Over the past seven years he has received funding from CIHR, Health Canada and the National Crime Prevention Center to complete a range of research initiatives related to tobacco control, crime prevention and knowledge translation of health research in educational and clinical contexts.
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Dr. Patricia Kirby
Co-Executive Director
Asst. Professor, Faculty of Education
Dr. Patricia Kirby holds a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from Boston University. Prior to joining the Faculty of Education, Dr. Kirby served for several years as Director of Services for Students with Disabilities at UNB. She has presented at symposia and conferences across Canada on meeting the needs of exceptional learners.
Dr. Kirby teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in educational exceptionalities. Research interests include positive psychology approaches, resiliency factors, inclusive education systems, universal instructional design, learning disabilities and exceptionalities, autism spectrum disorders, multi-sensory impairment, and educational technology.
Dr. Kirby serves as President of the Learning Disabilities Association of New Brunswick, and on the Premier’s Council on the Status of Disabled Persons, appointed in 2007 by Premier Shawn Graham. She is also a member of the provincial Ministerial Committee on Inclusive Education.
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Directors
Monique Allain
Director of Research
Health and Education Research Group
Monique Allain is the Director of Research with the University of New Brunswick's Health and Education Research Group. Monique's experience includes serving as the Director of the Wellness Branch for the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport; as the Athletics Director at UNBSJ; as a teacher in the public school system for 15 years, as a consultant at the Department of Education and at the Secretariat for Sport, Recreation and Active Living; and as coach of several athletic teams throughout the province. She has coached over 70 teams, including during two Canada Games.
Monique participated on Team Canada's Mission Staff at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, Australia, at the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Monique graduated from UNBF in 1987 with a Bachelor of Education majoring in Physical Education and in 1991 with a Diploma of Advanced University Studies in Guidance and Counselling.
In 1996, Monique graduated with a Master's in Science, majoring in Kinesiology at Dalhousie University. Monique is currently working toward her PhD in Education at the University of New Brunswick.
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Lynn Ann Duffley
Director of Wellness Initiatives
Health and Education Research Group
Lynn Ann has been seconded from the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and brings to this project over 26 years in the health promotion, health education and health policy arenas.
Her experience includes 14 years with the CCS working to advance public issues, communications and information; and 8 years with the Heart and Stroke Foundation promoting heart health and fund-raising. Lynn Ann has a special interest in public policy advocacy, coalition building, and strategy development, with a strong commitment to tobacco control.
In 1997, through the CCS, she contributed to early research on school smoking surveys. Starting in 2000, she led several Health Canada projects on the costs of tobacco use, tobacco-free schools, teens against tobacco use, and smoke-free places.
In 2005, Lynn Ann received the National Award of Merit from the Non-Smoker's Rights Association for her work in protecting and improving public health. She is currently the National Chair of the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control.
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Dr. Ruth Morrison
Project Director, Early Childhood Center Initiative
Health and Education Group
Dr. Ruth Morrison holds a doctoral degree in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) from McGill University. She works as an UNB Adjunct Professor teaching Aesthetics both in the Trinidad and Tobago Project and the Mi’kmaq Maliseet Institute. Dr. Morrison also teaches courses in music education for the UNB Education program and St. Thomas University.
Prior to moving to Fredericton, Dr. Morrison was an Associate Professor at Acadia University in the School of Music and School of Education, working with pre-service teachers both in their course preparation and practicum placements. In this capacity, she was involved in the placement of students in alternative educational settings where music was used as a therapeutic vehicle. Placements in preschools, seniors’ facilities, and L’Arche communities allowed students to develop and implement strategies in which music helped clients make connections, build relationships, and address emotional needs. Research around these alternative educational contexts was rooted in a qualitative paradigm, specifically in case study research. In her work with pre-service teachers, participant observation techniques and narrative inquiry were used to investigate the lived experience of education students as they constructed personal and professional identities.
Most recently, Dr. Morrison has worked as a public school administrator at Connaught Street Elementary School in Fredericton. In this role, she works with parents, students, and teachers to create programming that meets the diverse needs of students. One unique way of building capacity in children has been the introduction of World Drumming, both as part of the music program as well as connected to learning in core subject areas. Her passion for drumming has provided opportunities for her to work as an “artist in residence” with Learning Through the Arts, connecting drumming to literacy and numeracy. For the past several years Ruth has also written the new junior high drumming curricula for the Nova Scotia Department of Education.
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Research Associates
Dr. Gaëtan Losier
Research Associate
Université de Moncton
Dr. Losier's research areas have focused on human motivation, cognitive-behavioural and experiential psychotherapy, and the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. In particular he has investigated the application of Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002) in the delivery of health and clinical services to a wide range of client groups.
Recently, Dr. Losier has been invited to present on the use of this theoretical framework for addressing the needs of youth currently placed in residential and community-based correctional programs.
Dr. Cynthia Doucet
Project Consultant
As an independent research consultant, Dr. Cynthia Doucet has collaborated on a wide range of projects related to health, mental health, youth justice, education, and tobacco control.
Cynthia has acted as research coordinator for many projects, ensuring completion of literature reviews, key informant interviews, focus group sessions, and final document production. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Ottawa.
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Julie Dupuis
As research assistant Julie Dupuis has contributed to a variety of research initiatives including those focused on wellness, crime prevention, and tobacco control. Julie has played a key role in data collection, data entry, and focus group facilitation.
She has a specific interest in tobacco-free living and is coordinator of the New Brunswick Anti-Tobacco Coalition. She is committed to giving back to her local and global community and has travelled to Ghana Africa for volunteer purposes.
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Kelsey Forde
Kelsey moved to Fredericton at a very young age with her family where she was raised , and still resides with her husband Bill.
In 2005, Kelsey earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology degree from the University of New Brunswick. After taking a hiatus from school for a year to tour Europe, she returned to UNB in 2006 to work towards a Master of Science( Exercise and Sport Science) degree. Her research focused on ergonomic factors related to military helicopter pilots.
In the Fall of 2008, Kelsey finished her Master's degree and began working as a Research Associate with the Health and Education Research Group.
Kelsey has over ten years experience coaching children in both downhill skiing and gymnastics which developed her interest in reseraching health and wellness behaviours in children.
Brandon Kirby was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 2004, he attained his Investment Funds Institute of Canada license and began work in the financial world until his university graduation in 2008.
He attained his first-class honors degree studying Philosophy with a minor in mathematics at the University of New Brunswick. Brandon is currently working as a research associate with the Health and Education Research Group at UNB.
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