Have you ever whispered a prayer? Have you sat down with a cup of tea and journaled? Have you handwritten a letter to your younger self, or someone else? Have you expressed gratitude through language, or jotted down affirmations? These are forms of poetic medicine.

Poems are potent elixirs to help us feel, connect, remember and revision our individual and collective place in the world. Poetry is a natural medicine. As a queer Mi’kmaw poet who has experienced multi-generational trauma, grief, displacement and violence, poetry is a place of belonging. As the author of four books of poetry, including Re: Wild Her (Book*hug 2025), Lunar Tides (2022), I Am a Body of Land, edited by Lee Maracle (2019) and Still No Word (2015), recipient of Egale Canada’s OUT in Print Award, I have carved out a space for healing and revisioning through poetry.

Poems are beacons that can help guide us to experience the world new and familiar ways. As a natural medicinal strategy for wellbeing and mental health, poetry can help mental health professionals and their patients through poetic possibilities. Poetry saves lives. It is a pathway that roots in the body, connects the heart and sparks the mind to ignite our spirit. Poetry is a space where we can carve out a place where we belong on the page and in the world.

Bio

Dr. Shannon Webb-Campbell is of Mi’kmaq and settler heritage. She is a member of Flat Bay First Nation in Newfoundland and Labrador. Her previous books include Lunar Tides, I Am a Body of Land, and Still No Word, which received Egale Canada’s Out in Print Award. Her book, Re: Wild Her, is a form of Indigenous resurgence and pleasure through “poem spells” and offers a different prism with which to rewild ourselves.

Shannon holds a PhD from the University of New Brunswick in English-Creative Writing and is the editor of Muskrat Magazine. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Lakehead University Orillia campus.

With over 50 years’ experience as a Social Worker in Nova Scotia, Senator Bernard will present on the persistent systemic barriers impacting the lives and mental health of African Nova Scotians. She will guide participants through meaningful self-reflection about their own counselling practice and bias. Through her own experience as a practicing frontline social worker, a federal policy maker and an African Nova Scotian, Senator Bernard prompts practitioners to consider the strengths and challenges of the community and inspires individual action and systemic change.

Bio

Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard is the first African Nova Scotian woman to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, representing the province of Nova Scotia. Senator Bernard is a proud resident of East Preston, where she lives with her daughter Candace, son-in-law David and grandsons Damon and Gavin. Senator Bernard champions issues impacting African Canadians and people living with disabilities. She is particularly invested in human rights, employment equity, and mental health. Through her involvement in community projects, her social work career, her time with Dalhousie School of Social Work, and now her work in the Senate, Senator Bernard has maintained a deep dedication to social justice and racial justice. Senator Bernard advocates for reparations for the historical and continued anti-Black racism impacting the lives of African Canadians.

English summary

In this French-language keynote, Florence K shares reflections on mental health through the lens of creativity and lived experience, highlighting the value of dialogue, destigmatization, and access to psychological care.

Biographie

Artiste, animatrice à la radio de la CBC et Radio-Canada, et candidate au doctorat en psychologie à l’UQÀM (Psy.D/PhD)

Florence K est une musicienne et écrivaine passionnée, forte de plus de vingt ans d’expérience en tant que pianiste et chanteuse. Elle a reçu de nombreuses distinctions, dont deux Prix Félix (ADISQ) et plusieurs nominations aux Prix Juno, reconnaissant son talent exceptionnel à travers ses dix albums. En 2015, son poignant mémoire Buena Vida, qui raconte son parcours à travers la dépression, est devenu un best-seller, soulignant la nécessité cruciale d’ouvrir le dialogue sur la santé mentale. Ce livre a été suivi de Nueva Vida : Danser avec le trouble bipolaire (Libre Expression, 2021), enrichissant davantage le discours sur le bien-être mental.

Actuellement, Florence K est candidate au doctorat en psychologie clinique à l’UQÀM, où elle explore les liens complexes entre l’humeur, la créativité et le bien-être chez les artistes de la scène. En plus de ses recherches, elle est chargée de cours en psychopathologie à l’Université Téluq. Tout au long de son parcours académique, Florence a reçu de nombreuses distinctions, dont le Prix de la diplômée honoraire de l’Université TÉLUQ, un prix similaire du Département de communication de l’Université de Montréal et une bourse de recherche du Fonds de recherche du Québec. Elle a également obtenu des bourses de persévérance et d’engagement de l’Université de Montréal, ainsi qu’une bourse d’excellence des Fonds de l’Université du Québec. Plus récemment, elle a été honorée par le Prix Nouvelle génération de chercheurs de l’ACFAS et une bourse de recherche du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada.

Engagée dans la déstigmatisation de la santé mentale et l’amélioration de l’accès aux soins psychologiques, Florence est une conférencière très demandée dans les secteurs communautaire, éducatif, corporatif et de la santé. Elle anime également l’émission hebdomadaire C’est Formidable! sur CBC Radio et CBC Music, ainsi qu’un segment hebdomadaire en psychologie dans Dessine-moi un matin sur Ici Radio-Canada Première. Son dernier album, Brésil mon amour, rend hommage au célèbre compositeur brésilien Antônio Carlos Jobim.

Abstract

Before my interview for a tenure-track position, two mentors offered well-intentioned advice: don’t come out, and if you mention your child, reassure them you aren’t planning to have more. Within minutes of the interview beginning, I was asked what my husband did for a living. When I replied that my wife was a teacher, there was an uncomfortable silence. Despite that moment—and perhaps because of what followed—I was offered the position.

That early experience marked the beginning of a career in which my identity could never be separated from my leadership. As a lesbian married to a Black woman with a disability, and as the parent of a Black son, my presence in academic spaces has often come with an unspoken “equity tax.” Yet those same lived experiences have profoundly shaped how I understand power, belonging, and responsibility—and ultimately how I lead.

In this keynote, I explore how navigating intersecting identities has informed my research on stereotypes and implicit bias, and how scholarship and lived experience continually inform one another. Drawing on both, I will illustrate how bias shows up in everyday decisions, governance structures, and workplace cultures—often unintentionally, but with real consequences.

I conclude by offering practical strategies for recognizing and responding to implicit bias when it occurs, repairing harm when mistakes are made, and intentionally building more inclusive and humane workplaces. This talk is both a personal narrative and a call to action: to move beyond awareness toward leadership that is grounded in empathy, accountability, and equity.

Bio

Dr. Joël Dickinson was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) on July 1, 2022. Before joining MSVU, Dr. Dickinson was Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Laurentian University and also held the positions of Acting Associate Vice-President of Teaching and Learning (2020-2021), and Chair of the university’s Department of Psychology.

Throughout her career, she has been focused on the impacts of decisions on students, as well as meaningful collaboration with faculty and staff colleagues. Across the many professional and volunteer roles she has held, she models inclusive leadership and a steadfast commitment to removing barriers to full participation in the university community by all. Dr. Dickinson has fostered meaningful truth and reconciliation efforts at MSVU, and furthered the university’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Dr. Dickinson has taught at the University of New Brunswick and Mount Allison University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and PhD in Psychology from the University of New Brunswick.

She is a full professor of Psychology with a research focus in cognitive processing during schema violations. Before making the transition to administration, she enjoyed a successful teaching and research career, winning the Laurentian University Teaching Excellence award in 2016. She was also the Principal Investigator of the Cognitive Health Research Laboratory, a CFI funded lab.

Dr. Dickinson is an active community volunteer and has worked with many non-profit organizations and advisory boards. She is currently a member of the boards of Research Nova Scotia and 211 Nova Scotia, a member of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, chair of Universities Canada’s Governance Committee, and co-chair of the Canada Research Chair’s Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy. Dr. Dickinson is active on Instagram – her handle is @PresD_MSVU.