Island WISE: Promoting Young Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Across Cape Breton Island
Meet our Team
Our team strives to inspire young women in STEM by leading by example. We are professional teachers, scientists, and administrators balancing home and work life challenges.
Stephanie MacQuarrie
Founder of Island WISE
Dr. MacQuarrie is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at CBU and Associate Dean of the School of Technology and Science. She obtained her BSc from Mount Allison University in 1996. She continued to pursue chemistry in graduated school at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where she earned her PhD in organic chemistry in 2005. In 2005 she accepted a post-doctoral position in Dr. Crudden’s group at Queen’s University. Stephanie’s research includes finding high valuable applications for waste products, reducing the total carbon footprint of advanced materials and the development of functional materials for electronics, catalysis and absorption. Her research program is funded through NSERC DG (now in her 10/ 13 years funded) as well as industry partnerships (Engage grants, PnI vouchers). Stephanie has Adjunct status at Memorial University where she supervises graduate students in both Chemistry and Engineering. Stephanie started the CBU WISE program in 2009 when she started at CBU and with the collaboration of excellent co-applicants they have developed a comprehensive and far-reaching set of initiatives funded through NSERC PromoScience (Island WISE) aimed at encouraging and promoting interest and public awareness as well as growing a sense of wonder about science in young girls in rural communities.
Melissa Deane
Melissa Deane, P.Eng. is a Senior Instructor in the Engineering Department at CBU. She is an electrical engineer with over 10 years experience in both the electric utility and petroleum industries. She has been involved in various Outreach programs in the past, including IslandWise, as well as Engineering and Science days with Girl Guides and Scouts Canada. Being an active mentor in Engineers NS mentorship program, as well as the LINKS Mentorship program for women, Melissa diligently strives to help make the engineering industry inclusive to all.
Katherine Jones
Katherine Jones is an Associate Professor in Biology at CBU and specializes in Aquatic Ecology as well as Science Outreach for children. Jones was awarded the 2010 NSERC Award for Science Promotion and the 2010 Halifax Discovery Centre Science Champion Award. These days she is developing a WISE board game to be played at workshops on Grit and Resilience for teens. She happily tests out her outreach activities on her three curious and adventurous children.
Judy Maclnnis
Judy MacInnis is a Senior Lab instructor in the Department of Chemistry at CBU and a Transmission electron microscope (TEM) technician.
Judy is a native of Cape Breton. She has a Master’s degree in Chemistry from St.F.X University in Antigonish N.S. as well as a B.Sc and B. Ed (Math/Science) with distinction from Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B. In 2104 she was awarded the CBU Exceptional Lab/Clinical Instructor Award. During her time at CBU part of her job has included introducing students to the use, maintenance and trouble shooting that is required for the operation of various analytical instruments within the undergraduate chemistry program.
Judy is very active in chemistry outreach since she started at CBU over 20 years ago including developing chemistry kits that allow the Chemistry Magic show to be taken out into the community. Judy is very passionate about promoting women in STEM and diversity, equity and inclusion in Chemistry. She is an ambassador for the BrainSTEM Alliance in Cape Breton, assists with GirlSTEM Saturday’s and is a member of the STEM organization at CBU – Island WISE.
Loree D'Orsay
Loree D’Orsay is a Professional Engineer and an Instructor in the Engineering Department at CBU. Loree is currently completing her Master of Applied Science in Environmental Engineering at Dalhousie University. She has 8 years of industry experience in the petroleum and energy sectors and is a passionate promoter of women in STEM. Loree started volunteering in STEM outreach in 2012. In 2016, Loree and her partner took a 10-month sabbatical to sail from Vancouver to Cape Breton via the Panama Canal on their 42’ sailboat. In 2017, Loree started teaching at CBU, and she is now the proud mother of one (soon to be two). She is the developer and coordinator of the annual program called GirlSTEM Saturdays since 2018.
Jennifer Sawlor
Kwe’
My name is Jennifer Sawlor and I’m passionate educator of science and nature ! I’m from beautiful Unama’ki and have been teaching science for 20 years. Currently I’m the Land and Sea Based Learning Lead at Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey - which means I get to help create activities and programs that focus on the integration of western science and Indigenous knowledge for our youth. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with other groups like IslandWISE that share the important goal of creating learning experiences for the students of our island that are hands-on, land-based ways of learning more science !
Alana Pindar
Dr. Alana Pindar was born and raised on Cape Breton Island, NS and is an Assistant Professor at Cape Breton University. In 2015 as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, she coauthored a significant paper in Science on the responses of bumblebees to climate change around the world. In 2016, as part of her second postdoctoral fellow, (University of Guelph), She led a comprehensive review to identify, prioritize and assess evidence from the peer-reviewed and grey literature to produce a report on the Status and Trends for Pollinator Health in Ontario for the Ontario Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs. This report played a significant role in underpinning the first provincial Pollinator Health Strategy, in Canada. She was recognized for this monumental work by being awarded the 2016 prestigious Webster Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Sciences. The report also had immense influence in the biodiversity audit from the Auditor General’s office, in Ontario. She is a skilled taxonomist with expertise identifying the wild bees of Ontario and Eastern Canada. Alana’s research at CBU will be monumental and highly collaborative with Parks Canada in Restoring and Monitoring the return of pollinators to Mabel Bell’s Garden. This work seeks to understand, manage, and mitigate ecosystem health challenges relating to pollination/pollinators while promoting wellness in Cape Breton, Atlantic Canada, and global scales.
Sara Evely
Sara Evely is a civil engineer working with one of Canada’s largest contractors. She studied neuro science and engineering in university. As a recent graduate, Sara has had the opportunity to travel all over Atlantic Canada, working on many types of large scale infrastructure projects including bridges, highways, dams, aquatic complexes, power plants and hospitals. Sara is also a large supporter of women in STEM, advocating that everyone can succeed in following their dreams, it just takes a little hard work and determination!
Trisha Ang
​Trisha Ang, PhD, is trained in the field of synthetic inorganic and organic chemistry with specialization in green chemistry and medicinal chemistry. Her graduate research explored the rational molecule design for carbon dioxide activation and activation of small molecules with transition metal centers. Since 2016, Ang has been employed with Fe Pharmaceuticals Inc. (formerly Chelation Partners Inc.) as the lead research chemist. She is leading and coordinating the synthetic aspects of the DIBI polymer to date and is directly involved with streamlining the polymer process for cGMP industrial-scale production. This work led Trisha to be co-inventor to a 2017 patent (WO2018035613A1). Trisha has participated in several outreach activities (especially those focused on marginalized groups), taught in lecture and lab settings across various fields of chemistry. In addition to her role as senior chemist, Trisha teaches laboratory chemistry at CBU to budding chemists and finds this incredibly rewarding having been a former Girl Guide unit leader of four years.
Stefanie Ruel
Dr. Stefanie Ruel, an Assistant Professor in Organizational Behaviour at the Shannon School of Business, Cape Breton University, was for close to 20 years a Life Sciences Mission Manager at the Canadian Space Agency. In that role, she led more than ten life sciences missions into space, including being the Increment Payload Manager for Canadian Commander Chris Hadfield’s return to space. Dr. Ruel’s research is focused on justice, equity, diversity, decolonization, inclusion and indigeneity (JEDII) concerns in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industries and innovative entrepreneurship/family-run businesses. Her award-winning scholarly research, including the Emerald Literati 2020 Outstanding Paper award and the prestigious Academy of Management Critical Management Studies Divisions’ 2018 Best Dissertation Award, reveals systemic discriminatory practices in STEM industries to move towards more inclusive and diverse organizations.
Rebecca Blackie
Rebecca Blackie is a professor in the Psychology Department. She graduated with a Master’s degree in 2013 and with a PhD in 2018, both from Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research focuses on utilizing self-compassion as an intervention for repetitive negative thinking in social anxiety. Rebecca also conducts research in the areas of mindfulness, meditation, wellbeing, and psychometry.