UNBeknownst UNB Associated Alumni

Dr. Jennifer Woodland (MA’09, PhD’15) is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at UNB’s Saint John campus and an Integrated Health Initiative researcher who teaches within the Bachelor of Health program at UNB. She has a PhD in experimental psychology from UNB, with a focus in multisensory perception. Jen has over 10 years of experience in health research – as a research methodologist for Horizon Health Network and Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick. Before her academic appointment, she spent 5 years working in the private health sector as the director of Human Health Factors at Canadian Health Solutions where she led a development team toward multidisciplinary medical innovation products. Her research interests are in multidisciplinary health research on medication adherence and combining the use of evidence-based psychological principles to inform the development and improvement of health product usability. 

In this episode:   

An explanation of experimental psychology in multisensory perception 
How research, clinical and technology areas can work together and are critical for healthcare solutions 
A detailed look at what integrated health and integrated health research really means 
The Integrated Health Initiative (IHI) at UNB’s Saint John campus, and the benefits of an intentional health cluster 
How to translate research into meaningful health policy 
Health literacy for health adherence  


Links and resources: 

UNB Integrated Health Initiative 

Thanks to:   

Our alumni host, Katie Davey 
Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  
Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance and Manulife 

  
To listen to UNBeknownst and for more info on the podcast, the hosts and how to subscribe to new episode alerts, visit our website. 

Mi’gmaq entrepreneur Victoria LaBillois (BA’91, MBA’04) is the owner of Wejipeg Excavation Inc. and co-owner of Wejuseg Construction Inc, and oversaw the completion of a major wind park in Gaspesie, Quebec, where the companies trained and engaged over 100 Mi’gmaq tradespeople.  

Victoria has served both the First Nation and federal public service, working at the Band, regional, and national levels.  She is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, and represents the National Indigenous Economic Development Board in the development of Canada’s first National Indigenous Economic Strategy. In addition to advocating for and facilitating conversations at the highest levels around economic reconciliation, she is all about giving back to her community, serving as a mentor and coach to Indigenous women and helping youth build skills around financial literacy. In 2019 AND 2020, Victoria was honoured by the WXN as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. 

In this episode:   

How Victoria went from Arts graduate to owner of a construction and excavation company 
Context around why we need to talk about economic reconciliation for Canada’s Indigenous peoples 
What economic reconciliation practically means  
The process of drafting a National Indigenous Economic Strategy for Canada and creating a strategy to advance economic reconciliation – and highlights from this important document that guides government, academia and corporate Canada 
The 4 essential ingredients to economic prosperity for Indigenous peoples in Canada  
How all of us can help further economic reconciliation 


Links and resources: 

Victoria’s LinkedIn 
National Indigenous Economic Strategy 
Wejuseg 
UNB story on Victoria 

Thanks to:   

Our alumni host, Katie Davey 
Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  
Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance and Manulife
To listen to UNBeknownst and for more info on the podcast, the hosts and how to subscribe to new episode alerts, visit our website. 

Social and technology entrepreneur Tosin Ajibola (MEng’20) moved from Nigeria to Canada to earn a Master of Engineering degree in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship from UNB. Out of that hands-on program, he and other newcomer classmates co-developed Welkom-U, an innovative online platform that puts newcomers, immigrants, and international students in touch with the things they need to survive and thrive. As CEO of Welkom-U, Tosin is focused on solving problems through technology AND making a social impact.  

He is a member of the Atlantic Growth Solutions team, and he serves on the board of Venn Innovation, on the board of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and on the advisory board at Social Enterprise World Forum. He also leads the Atlantic Canada Chapter of BlackBoysCode, a non-profit organization that aims to improve the future of young black boys through Computer Science and Technology. And he’s been getting noticed: he was named a Top 30 under 30 Innovator in Atlantic Canada in 2021, a Top 25 Canadian Immigrant in 2022 & Top Youth Immigrant in Canada 2022. 

In this episode:   

Tosin’s personal experience starting a new life in Canada and how that helped inform his startup idea 
The challenges that newcomers to Canada face, and how Tosin and Welkom-U are working to reduce or eliminate those.  
Why retention of immigrants is important to Canada and the Maritime region and what we can do to increase that retention. 
How leveraging technology and entrepreneurship can be used for a larger social purpose – and how that makes all the difference in Canada.  

 

Links and resources:   

Tosin’s LinkedIn 
Welkom-U 
Canada’s Top 25 Immigrants  

Thanks to:   

Our alumni host, Katie Davey 
Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  
Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance and Manulife 

  
To listen to UNBeknownst and for more info on the podcast, the hosts and how to subscribe to new episode alerts, visit our website. 

H. Wade MacLauchlan (LLB’81) is a well-known Canadian legal expert, academic, university administrator, politician and community leader. As premier of Prince Edward Island from 2015-19, he led an expansion and diversification of PEI's economy and the growth and rejuvenation of the province's population, while contributing to historic, regional initiatives in immigration, infrastructure and economic growth. Prior to politics, MacLauchlan was the longest-serving president of the University of Prince Edward Island from 1999-2011, and dean of law at the University of New Brunswick from 1991-1996.

In this episode:   

How MacLauchlan got into academia and then politics 
Insights into Atlantic Canadian policy on immigration and growth 
The housing crisis and the solutions needed now 
How higher education and university can do the most they can in a time of growth 
The role of universities with respect to growth and immigration 


Links and resources:   

Wade MacLauchlan 
Announcement of MacLauchlan as UNB Chancellor 

Thanks to:   

Our alumni host, Katie Davey 
Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  
Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance and Manulife 

  
To listen to UNBeknownst and for more info on the podcast, the hosts and how to subscribe to new episode alerts, visit our website. 

Mohamed Bagha (BAMHT'05, MIDST'13) is the managing director of the Saint John Newcomers Centre and chair of the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce. Originally from Kenya, he arrived in Saint John in the early 2000s to complete his post-secondary education at UNB and has been part of the newcomer support scene in the Port City for over a decade.  

Mohamed is interested in helping grow and strengthen the community and is passionate about helping newcomers be part of that growth. He’s worked on initiatives to help newcomers settle more easily in their new home, and to help everyone see the value of community-building work to grow the services available to newcomers. Join us for a conversation about community-building and the role that both newcomers and long-time community members have in working together.   

In this episode:   

What experiential learning programs do to help students, especially newcomers, build a network and become engaged in their community. 
Why building a network is so important for engagement and success. 
The important work of the Saint John Newcomers Centre – to both newcomers and the community. 
Why Mohamed believes Atlantic Canadian cities are the best places to live. 
His optimism for growth for the future, and why newcomers are central to that growth. 
How to employ DEI to help overcome challenges for employers recruiting a talented workforce.  
How we can create opportunities to make the city the best place to do business. 


 
 
Links and resources:   

Saint John Newcomers Centre 
Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce 
Mohamed’s LinkedIn profile 

Thanks to:   

Our alumni host, Katie Davey 
Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  
Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance and Manulife 

  
To listen to UNBeknownst and for more info on the podcast, the hosts and how to subscribe to new episode alerts, visit our website. 

Barbara Wasson (BScCS’82) is the director for SLATE - The Science of Learning and Technology, the Norwegian national centre for learning analytics. She is one of the founders of Kaleidoscope, a European Network of Excellence on Technology Enhanced Learning and has been the principal researcher on numerous Norwegian and international projects. She is also member of the Norwegian Ministry of Education’s Expert group on Learning Analytics and the Council of Europe Expert Group on AI in Education.  

Barbara is passionate about learning analytics, AI and education, learning games, e-assessment, teacher inquiry, and data literacy. Host Katie Davey chats with her about the future of data and technology in learning design. 

In this episode:   

Barbara’s experience growing up around computers at UNB and how she got into learning analytics and AI 
Policy around learning analytics and AI in the classroom and how privacy and ethics policy is crucial.  
How much data can we use to aid in learning without harming children’s privacy? 
The astounding amount of important data all around us, and the dilemmas this causes for teaching and learning in schools. 
The importance of data literacy and AI and how to prepare people for how AI will be a part of daily life soon. 
How to learn with AI, and empowering students at an early age to use technology and AI.  


Who decides what knowledge is? How does that affect creativity and innovation? 
Barbara’s thoughts on future trends in technology in learning. 

Links and resources:  
The story of the Wasson family and computer science at UNB  
University of Bergen  
AI and Education paper by Barbara Wasson 

Thanks to:   

Our alumni host, Katie Davey 
Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  
Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance and Manulife 

  
To listen to UNBeknownst and for more info on the podcast, the hosts and how to subscribe to new episode alerts, visit our website.