I was born and raised in beautiful Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (Denendeh), on Chief Drygeese territory. Yellowknife is my home, but it is not my homeland. As a northerner, second generation Canadian and settler scholar, my work is motivated by the desire to contribute in meaningful ways to the northern peoples and places who have sustained me since I was a child. In so doing, I also seek to build understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through research, writing, teaching, but most importantly, listening and learning.

My work lies at the intersection between social, cultural and health geographies, with a specialization in critical research with northern and Indigenous communities, in particular geographies of home and homelessness, health and housing, colonial formations, northern urbanization, cultural safety in health and social policy, and social determinants of health. I also work with arts-based methods such as creative writing, oral storytelling, and digital storytelling.

I am currently the Project Director for At Home in the North (athomeinthenorth.org), a CMHC- and SSHRC-funded Partnership that brings together over 30 university-based researchers and as many Indigenous and northern community-based organizations and governments. In partnership, we seek to collaboratively address the northern housing crisis through the implementation of action-oriented research and the development of responsive tools to support community-led housing solutions.

Credentials
PhD in Geography (McGill University)
MA in Geography (University of Calgary)
BA in Geography and International Relations (University of British Columbia)

Links
juliachristensen.ca
athomeinthenorth.org

Selected Publications
Christensen, Julia, Steven Arnfjord, Sally Carraher, and Travis Hedwig. Housing and social policy in the Urban North: Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland. University of Toronto Press, 2022.

Goldhar, Christina, Arielle Frenette, Aimée Pugsley, Danielle Browne, Kathleen Hackett, Veronica Madsen, Gillian McNaughton, and Julia Christensen. "Critical Northern Geography: A Theoretical Framework, Research Praxis and Call to Action in our (Post) Pandemic Worlds." ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies 21, no. 3 (2022): 270-283.

Christensen, Julia. "Call to Action: Unsettling Topographies." Journal of Architectural Education 74, no. 2 (2020): 173-175.

Christensen, Julia, Steven Arnfjord, Sally Carraher, and Travis Hedwig. "Homelessness across Alaska, the Canadian North and Greenland: A review of the literature on a developing social phenomenon in the Circumpolar North." Arctic 70, no. 4 (2017): 349-364.

Christensen, Julia. No home in a homeland: Indigenous peoples and homelessness in the Canadian North. UBC Press, 2017.

Christensen, Julia. "Indigenous housing and health in the Canadian North: Revisiting cultural safety." Health & place 40 (2016): 83-90.

Christensen, Julia, and Evelyn J. Peters. Indigenous Homelessness: Perspectives From Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. University of Manitoba Press, 2016.

Christensen, Julia. "‘Our home, our way of life’: Spiritual homelessness and the sociocultural dimensions of Indigenous homelessness in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada." Social & Cultural Geography 14, no. 7 (2013): 804-828.
 

I was born and raised in Toronto, where I studied at the University of Toronto. I later completed a Master’s degree (History) at McMaster in Hamilton, and a PhD (Geography/Political Science) at UBC in Vancouver. Before committing to academia full-time, I worked as a graphic designer and Web developer in California, New York, and Toronto. Outside of work, I play music, cook, and build stuff from wood in my garage. My specialty is overly-ambitious projects that take months to complete and create giant messes.

I am a settler to Turtle Island with ancestry rooted in 17th French settlers and 20th century Jewish migrants. I live in Kingston with my partner, Carolyn, and our dog, Lucy.

Credentials:
•    BA Honours, History, University of Toronto
•    MA, History, McMaster University
•    PhD, Interdisciplinary Studies (Geography/Political Science), University of British Columbia

Links:
•    Personal website: https://markstollerresearch.com/
•    Nanivara Oral History Project: http://nanivara.net/

Research Interests:
My research examines historical and political geographies of northern Canada, currently with a focus on youth research in Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. Much of my recent work has been in Gjoa Haven, where I work with Inuit youth to record and share local histories and stories. My dissertation, What the Border Divides: Settler Geographies and the Making of the Northwest Territories, is a history of the division of the Northwest Territories as examined through Dene political mobilization of the 1970s and 1980s. In my work, I draw inspiration from settler colonial studies, northern studies, environmental and historical geography, and political geography.

Graduate Supervision:
I am interested in supervising students (Master’s and Doctoral) in a variety of areas relating to political and historical development and growth, especially (but not limited to) northern regions. Please email me to connect or inquire about funding.
 

Curriculum Vitae (pdf, 164kB)

Michael is a passionate educator and has taught at the college, undergraduate, and graduate level at the University of Manitoba, Queen’s University, Mohawk College, and George Brown College in topics including condominium management, financial management, property management, and real estate development. Michael currently teaches Real Estate Planning and Development in the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) and Real Estate Management at Smith School of Business.

Michael spent 10 years as an executive in real estate, specializing in real estate operations and mergers and acquisitions of real estate operating companies. Michael sold his stake in his company in 2022 and subsequently made his exit. Michael remains active in industry as a conference speaker and through Trendota Corporation, a real estate consulting firm that specializes in advising real estate operators and developers.

Credentials:

• B.Sc. (Hons) (University of Manitoba)
• MBA (Queen’s University)

Links:

• https://www.trendota.ca/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltrendota/

Curriculum Vitae (pdf, 128kB)