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Dr. Ardath Whynacht (she/her) is a queer feminist who writes and researches about mental health, violence and social transformation. She has expertise on transformative approaches to family and state violence and community-led knowledge mobilization strategies for mental health. She has run arts-based programs in youth-serving organizations, inpatient units and minimum and maximum security units of the Federal prison system since 2004. Prior to her role at ÕýÆ·À¶µ¼º½, she worked in an adolescent psychiatry research and knowledge translation team at the IWK Health Center where she worked collaboratively with youth to run creative knowledge mobilization projects on youth mental health. Dr. Whynacht works closely with the non-profit sector and has contributed to the work of organizations such as the AIDS Coalition of NS, Oxfam, Avalon Sexual Assault Centre and Laing House, a support center for youth living with mood disorders and psychosis. As part of the Imagining Futures research team, she conducts art-based mental health research with LGBTQ+ youth in the Maritimes. She is a regular media commentator and has been quoted in the Globe and Mail, CBC News National, Global, Guts Magazine, CTV News, The Breach, Global News and the Examiner. Dr. Whynacht has an adjunct appointment in the Dalhousie faculty of Medicine and is a mentor for the Research in Medicine (RIM) program. Dr. Whynacht is often joined by her canine collaborator named Rosie, who is a trained therapeutic support dog. Ardath and Rosie are a therapy dog and handler team for Companion Paws Canada and Rosie is available to support research participants during interviews or fieldwork in difficult or stressful sites. She lives, teaches, and cares for her interspecies family on un-ceded Mi'kmaw territory and is always interested in supporting student research! If you are looking for faculty mentorship, a pep talk, or a cup of tea, you can find her in the Sociology Department in AVDX 222, or via video chat.

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