Canadian Geographic Education (Can Geo Education) is the educational committee of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), one of Canada’s largest non-profit educational organizations.
The programs of Canadian Geographic Education aim to strengthen geographic education in the classroom. In addition to increasing the emphasis on geography within the school system, Can Geo Education endeavours to increase the public awareness of the importance of geographical literacy.
CAN GEO EDUCATION EXECUTIVE
Can Geo Education is governed by a national executive council composed of geographic educators from across Canada, representing all levels of education. With curricula differing from province to province and territory to territory, the executive committee provides Can Geo Education and the RCGS with guidance and expertise related to their region to help ensure that the programs and resources developed by Can Geo Education are inclusive for educators across Canada.
The executive team includes 13 regional representatives from various provinces and territories as well as a post-secondary representative, an Indigenous education representative and a representative from the Canadian Association of Geographers. If you are interested in contacting your regional representative or would like more information on how to become a regional representative, please contact [email protected]
Chair
Paul VanZant
A geography educator for over 30 years, Paul VanZant has been involved in a number of initiatives to promote geographic education at the international, national, provincial and local levels. From 1999 to 2013, VanZant was an executive member of the Ontario Association of Geographic and Environmental Education (OAGEE), including six years as the organization’s president. During his tenure with the OAGEE, VanZant was also the liaison with the Ontario Ministry of Education and played a significant role in writing and reviewing the Canadian and World Studies and Social Studies curricula. VanZant was awarded the Geographic Literacy Award by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2006, and in 2013, the Peel District School Board recognized his “unique and exemplary contributions to public education in Peel and the Peel community” with an Excellence in Education Award. In 2017, he received the OAGEE Award of Distinction “recognizing an outstanding contribution in advancing, promoting, and improving the quality of geography education in the Province of Ontario.” Most recently, he served on the RCGS’s Board of Governors and was co-coach of Team Canada’s entries in the last four International Geography Olympiad competitions. VanZant is also the author of three geography textbooks currently in use throughout Canadian high schools.
Regional representatives
Yukon representative
Vacant
This position is vacant. If you are interested in applying for this position, please email [email protected].
Nunavut representative
Vacant
This position is vacant. If you are interested in applying for this position, please email [email protected].
Northwest Territories representative
Steve Dagar
Steve Dagar is currently the Literacy and Social Studies Consultant Grades 7-12 for the Beaufort Delta Divisional Education Council. He was raised in Southern Ontario and has a deep passion for education; including ELA, Social Studies, and Geography. He has spent years teaching in Kashechewan, a remote Northern Ontario Cree Reserve, two years teaching in Tuktoyaktuk, NT, and the past 9 years teaching and consulting in Inuvik, NT. His passions outside of education include: a die-hard Blue Jays fan, listening to, and collecting, records, and most importantly, fighting evil-doers with his 7 year old daughter (we’ve recently apprehended the evil Dr. Windover – however, she has since escaped).
British Columbia representative
Rakshin Kandola
Rakshin Kandola is an IB Geography and Human Geography teacher on the traditional and unceded lands of the hun-ki-meen-um language group and lives on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She has taught in Fort St. John, Vancouver, and now is a proud teacher in the Richmond School District. Rakshin holds a BA in English, Sociology, and Geography, a BEd in secondary education and a Masters of Education in Administration and Leadership, with a focus on Social Justice, all from UBC. She has travelled around the world and visited countries in every continent in the world (except Antarctica). Her deep passion for geography motivates her to lead students to be global citizens who take local actions in the form of climate stewardship and social justice to make our world a better place. She also loves discussing urban environments and city designs.
Alberta representative
Paula Huddy-Zubkowski
Paula Huddy-Zubkowski has a Bachelor fo Arts in geography and is currently the Instructional Media and EdTech Consultant in Mohkinstsis (Calgary, Alta.) on traditional Blackfoot Territory. She has taught elementary classes, Indigenous Studies 30, and the last three years she has been a consultant developing lessons, videos, STEAM programming, and Makerspaces for her district. Huddy-Zubkowski has traveled to the Southern Ocean as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow through National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions to develop lessons around geographic literacy and teaching in the outdoors. Her passion for connecting with nature, through Indigenous perspectives, motivates her to lead teachers and students to be global citizens who understand how mapping and technology can be used to help others become agents of change.
Saskatchewan representative
Marcia Klein
Manitoba representative
Vacant
This position is vacant. If you are interested in applying for this position, please email [email protected].
Ontario representative
Sarah Gallah
Sarah Gallah is a Geography and Science teacher in Toronto and lecturer at Lakehead University. As a National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, Sarah traveled to Antarctica to develop lessons for her classroom that help students think critically about the world and develop creative solutions. She also founded EdTechforChange.com to share her education initiatives, for which she received the Gilles Gagnier Medal for Innovation from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS). An executive member of the Ontario Association of Geographic and Environmental Education (OAGEE), Sarah loves to work with educators to promote geographic literacy across the province.
Quebec representative
Jennifer Leduc
Jennifer Leduc is co-subject animator of the Social Studies Department at Rosemere High School, in Rosemere, Que. A graduate of McGill University’s Bachelor of Education Program, she has been teaching Secondary 1 and 2 geography, history and citizenship since 2001. Leduc has mentored pre-service teachers from both McGill University and Bishop’s University over the last ten years. Passionate about travel and photography, she incorporates both into her classroom as much as possible.
New Brunswick representative
Gabrielle Rogers
Gabrielle grew up in Alberta and moved to New Brunswick in 2012. She has lived in Moncton and Fredericton and has taught in both Anglophone East and Anglophone West school districts. She holds both a B.A/B.Ed in Secondary Education and History from Université de Moncton, as well as a MA in History from the University of New Brunswick. She currently teaches Social Studies, French and an Interdisciplinary Cohort at Riverview High School. Gabrielle is passionate about geography as a tool to better understand and resolve social issues. She loves to develop creative, place-based activities for students across disciplines.
Nova Scotia representative
Dave Greene
Dave grew up in Toronto but moved out to Nova Scotia in 2003 to pursue his undergraduate degree in recreation management and community development at Acadia University. He holds a B.Ed from Lakehead university but ultimately moved back to Nova Scotia in 2012 to receive a M.Ed also at Acadia University. He currently teaches grade ⅚ in rural Nova Scotia. In his free time Dave is the founder of a Not for Profit Speaker series called Night of Adventure which explore the human spirit through storytelling. Dave has also had the honour of carrying an expedition flag for the RCGS 3 times.
Prince Edward Island representative
Vacant
This position is vacant. If you are interested in applying for this position, please email [email protected].
Newfoundland and Labrador representative
Vacant
This position is vacant. If you are interested in applying for this position, please email [email protected].
Post-secondary education representative
Vacant
This position is vacant. If you are interested in applying for this position, please email [email protected].
Indigenous Perspectives
Tesa Fiddler
Tesa Fiddler is Anishinaabekwe, a mother of two, and an educator. Born and raised in Northwestern Ontario, she considers Onigaming and Muskrat Dam First Nations home. Her family also has historical connections to Kitchinuhmaykoosib Inninuwug territory. She currently lives in Thunder Bay with her family and is the Coordinator of Indigenous Education at the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board. Tesa has worked in education at the K-12 grades for nearly 30 years, and is passionate about supporting the development of culturally safe pedagogies and practice in schools.
Canadian Association of Geographers representative
Kelley McClinchey
As a certified Ontario teacher, Kelley McClinchey has been teaching K-12 students for more than 20 years. She focuses her teaching on inquiry-based learning and culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy in order to promote geo-literacy and spatial thinking. With a PhD in geography, specializing in cultural geography and tourism, McClinchey researches how diverse narratives play a role in community place-making and tourism development. She has been teaching human geography courses at the post-secondary level for more than 10 years. McClinchey is a board member of the Travel and Tourism Research Association Canada Chapter and the Education Study Group co-chair of the Canadian Association of Geographers.
The Canadian Association of Geographers is a network of peers and mentors that share ideas about Canadian geography research, education, and practices. Members of the association are part of a community of geographic scholars and professionals who are highly engaged in social, environmental, and scientific issues.
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society board liaison
Connie Wyatt Anderson
Connie is a long-time educator from The Pas, Man. She taught high school history and geography on the adjacent Opaskwayak Cree Nation for 22 years, leaving in 2014 to focus her time on pedagogical writing. She has been involved in the creation of student learning materials and curricula at the provincial, national, and international level, and has contributed to a number of textbooks, teacher support guides, learning initiatives, and school publications. She has written for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s History, Canadian Geographic, and the Canadian Encyclopedia. She has helped design pedagogical assets for several organizations including the Hudson Bay Company, Elections Canada, Canada’s History, EF Canada, and, of course, Canadian Geographic Education. She co-authored the grade 11 Canadian history textbook used in Manitoba schools. She co-wrote and designed Manitoba’s Treaty Education program and continues to train the province’s teachers and school leaders. Connie has sat as Chair of Canadian Geographic Education for eight years, is chair of the Geographical Names Board of Canada, and is a member of University College of the North’s governing council. She is currently a VP of the RCGS. She has received numerous awards including the 2014 Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History, the 2017 Manitoba Métis Federation’s Distinguished Leader in Education, and the 2018 University of Manitoba’s Teacher Recognition Award. She is passionate about curriculum development/instructional design, about teaching, Canadian geography and history, and First Nations education in Canada. Connie is a proud Red River Métis.
