About me

Curiosity. My thought process is driven by answering “why” questions, sometimes for a secondary purpose, but most often simply because I find learning pleasurable. I specialized in philosophy in my first university degree and felt kinship with those classmates who were primarily interested in understanding the course material rather than those focused only on obtaining high grades. “Philosophy” loosely translates from Greek as “love of wisdom”; it is this curiosity, this love of wisdom, which was nurtured in my philosophy coursework and which continues to characterize my psychology career.

Service. While I enjoyed my philosophy degree, it was not the right professional path for me. The future I saw in philosophy was best described by Nietzsche: suspension of obligations to the community and pursuit of difficult questions in relative solitude. Ending my philosophy degree, I wanted a future similar to Plato’s allegory of the cave in the Republic; he argued that those who pursue wisdom are obligated to help others, not just educate them. The image of philosophers re-entering the cave to free those who are still living in shackles resonated deeply with me. I chose clinical psychology as I believe it to be a synthesis of the pursuit of knowledge and serving others. I feel the duty to serve strongly. For instance, I have volunteered with at-risk and street-involved youth in Toronto for more than 10 years because I believe that successful intervention can transform lives and prevent future criminal behaviour. I furthered this involvement in 2015 when I founded the Youth Psychology Service, a student-run psychology service for at-risk youth in Toronto. Using a street medicine model, we ally with community organizations and deliver individual and group treatment, as well as staff consultation and training under the supervision of a registered psychologist.

Leadership. My vision of leadership is an enhanced form of service. Through service, contributions are made to positive changes in the lives of others. Leaders create opportunities for positive change and influence others who are motivated to serve. Winning the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship in 2014 not only provided me with momentum but an increased sense of responsibility to create change in my community. My vision of leadership is built around service to others, whether they are the clients I treat, students who I teach or supervise, colleagues who I support and represent on committees, or the general public who I seek to inform and protect. To help my local professional community, I created the Toronto Forensic Research eXchange (FRX), a local professional network to improve interdisciplinary communication and learning opportunities. After recruiting like-minded students and faculty, I hosted a free networking and data sharing event in June 2016 attended by over 70 individuals. What made it special for everyone involved was the diversity of attendees, from researchers and students to police officers, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and lawyers.

I am curious, I want to help others, and I thrive in leadership positions. Balancing my curiosity for knowledge and service to others is what drew me towards the scientist-practitioner model of clinical practice. My work is devoted to creating new opportunities to learn, to help rehabilitate clients and protect our community, and to contribute to an increasingly interdisciplinary professional community.