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Meet the Team

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Learn more about how we can help you

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Thomasina PhillipsÌý-ÌýAssociate Director, Indigenous Student Success; Course Lecturer, School of Social Work

Thomasina Phillips is Kanien'kehá:ka, a member of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawà:ke, where she was born and raised. She has been working and residing in Tio'tia:ke (Montreal) for the past several years. She began her journey at ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù as a graduate of the Master of Social Work program in the School of Social Work and is licensed by the Ordre des travaillers sociaux et des therapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Quebec to practice. After working in a domestic violence rehabilitative setting with couples and individuals, she took the position of Indigenous Case Manager at the Wellness Hub, formally ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù Counselling Services. In her role as a mental health worker, she works with student services leadership, clinicians, and students to deliver appropriate care to ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù’s Indigenous student population, and promote the healthy development of students by fostering and building networks and relationships within and external to ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù’s support services. She offers one on one services to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students as well as occasional group supports. She holds an award from the School of Social Work for excellence in clinical practice. She brings with her to her new role a solid professional foundation and a strong sense of meaning and purpose in her work.

Thomasina keeps ties to her family circle and larger community in Kahnawà:ke. She has spent many years developing and practicing traditional skills such as raised-style Iroquois beadwork, moccasin making, parfleche, leatherwork, and fan making. She has been designing and making contemporary pow-wow style regalia for the past 5 years. She began dancing jingle with her young daughter as part of her personal wellness journey and as a means of honoring her value of helping others through the healing power of dance.

As Interim Manager at First Peoples House, she aims to foster a sense of connectedness and belonging for ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù’s Indigenous student population, particularly during this COVID era. If students cannot be on campus, her goal, along with the rest of the First Peoples House team, is to bring the best of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù experience to Indigenous folks in their homes and communities. She aims to provide students with opportunities for social connection and cultural activities. She will continue to provide mental health support to Indigenous students. Her goal during this pandemic era is for First Peoples House to be responsive to the unique needs and challenges of students.

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Pasha PartridgeÌý- Administrative Coordinator

Pasha April Partridge is Inuk from Kuujjuaq and Kanien'kehá:ka from Kahnawà:ke. She is the Administrative Coordinator for the First Peoples’ House at ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù, where her passion for student success can be nurtured. She was a research assistant for a big research project called the First Peoples’ Postsecondary Storytelling Exchange (FPPSE) where she has been advocating for Indigenous student success. Since 2016, she has spent much of her time visiting different post-secondary institutions to talk with teachers, deans and various levels of academic leadership to share her experience as an Indigenous student and how things can be changed to make students feel more welcomed in their classrooms. She has a love for research, specifically research for and by Indigenous people. She is a research assistant for the Cultural and Indigenous Research in Counselling Psychology (CIRC) Lab at ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù. She is a multi-disciplinary artist, focusing on sealskin materials to make jewelry and accessories. She also recently began incorporating soapstone carvings into her artwork. She is also a filmmaker, having made 4 short films all focusing on her Indigenous identity.

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Matthew Coutu-MoyaÌý-ÌýAdministrative Supervisor

Matthew Coutu-Moya is Michif-Chilean from Summerland, British Columbia. His mother was born and raised in the prairies of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Her family has ties to Michif communities of St-Boniface, Petite Pointe du Chênes (Lorette) and St-Laurent in Manitoba as well as St-Paul-des-Métis (St-Paul) in Alberta. His father is from Santiago, Chile and came to Canada as a refugee after the Pinochet coup. Prior to living in Montréal, Matthew worked for three years with immigrants and refugees at Kamloops Immigrant Services. This work would motivate him to return to school. In 2017, Matthew moved to Montréal to study at ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù’s School of Social Work.

After graduating in 2020, Matthew worked with Indigenous Access ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù, a program which supports Indigenous students at the School of Social Work. Matthew is excited and grateful to join the team at First Peoples’ House as he hopes to continue giving back to the programs which supported him during his own studies as well as fostering a home away from home for Indigenous students at ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù.

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Marlowe Dubois -ÌýIndigenous Student Associate

MarloweÌýDubois isÌýCree First Nation, born and raised in Saskatchewan, and is a band member of Ochapowace First Nation. He enrolled at ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù in the faculty of education in 2016, graduating with a Bachelor of Education in 2021.ÌýHe has a background in both provincial and IndigenousÌýeducation systems through work as a teacher, creating familiarity with what students require to succeed and what specific roadblocks IndigenousÌýstudents will face in the university system.

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