Professional Development Program for Graduate Students

The Canadian Studies Center works closely with schools and departments across campus to encourage and support graduate student study and research that includes Canada, the Canada-US relationship and Canada's role in the world. Currently over thirty master's, doctoral and professional degree students have joined the program, contributing to the vibrancy of Canadian studies at the UW.

Affiliated Graduates 2012-13

Kyle Antonelis Kyle Antonelis, Marine Affairs
I plan on developing a transboundary model for addressing the issue of derelict fishing gear (lost or abandoned fishing gear) based on lessons learned from previous and ongoing projects around the world, most specifically on the U.S. West Coast. I then plan on estimating the extent of derelict fishing gear and the impacts it has on the marine environment in the British Columbia waters of the Salish Sea, and use these estimates with the model built to develop a step-by-step plan for surveying and removing derelict fishing gear in British Columbia.
Advisor: Terrie Klinger
Degree Exp: Fall 2012 
Last Updated: May 2012 
Matthew Klein

Matthew Klein, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Matthew is pursuing an MS degree in Transportation Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a certificate in Global Trade, Transportation and Logistics. His research interests include freight transportation logistics and policy, and is currently working with Professor Anne V. Goodchild to analyze the environmental impact of commercial freight operations at the Washington State-British Columbia border.
Degree Exp: Summer 2010
Wes Kovarik

Wes Kovarik, Law & International Studies
A Vancouver native, Wes is pursuing a Juris Doctor and Masters in International Studies. He plans to continue his prior research of international law, nuclear security, and energy development by examining Canadian Arctic policy. Wes will research the intersection of Canada's Arctic claims under international maritime law within the context of changing defense and energy priorities of other Arctic states.
Degree Exp: 2014
Last Updated: August 2012
Wendi Lindquist Wendi Lindquist, History
Death and Dying on the Northwest Coast of North America, 1774-1858
Wendi is pursing a doctorate. "My area of study is the 18th and 19th century North American West, particularly the Pacific Northwest. My dissertation examines native and newcomer death practices in the region that now comprises the western parts of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.
Chair: John Findlay
Degree Exp: 2011
Last updated: July 2010
Shane Pisani 

Shane Pisani, Education (Curriculum & Instruction)
I am currently researching American and Canadian teacher understanding of cosmopolitan philosophies and how this manifests in their curriculums and teaching strategies. Secondary Social Studies teachers in both countries will be the focus of this study.
Degree Exp: 2016
Last updated: August 2012
Brian Schefke Brian Schefke, History
A Naturalists' Empire: Natural History and Imperialism in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, 1790-1860
Brian is a doctoral candidate and winner of a 2007-08 Foreign Affairs Canada Graduate Student Research Grant for his work on the activities of naturalists in the Pacific Northwest in the 18th and 19th centuries including institutions they worked with such as the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Chair: Bruce Hevly
Degree Exp: Spring 2012
Last updated: May 2012
Quentin Smith

Quentin Red Eagle Smith, Social Work
I am a PhD student in the School of Social Work. My academic interests include food security and building healthy Native communities by growing their own sustainable food systems across the 49th parallel.
Advisor: Karina Walters
Degree Exp: Spring 2012
Last updated: July 2010
Paulette Thompson, Education (Curriculum and Instruction/Multicultural Education)
I plan on researching the ways that neoliberal policies drive standardization in U.S. and Canadian secondary schools. Examining the curricular creativity of secondary school teachers will be the focus of the study.
Degree Exp: 2016
Last updated: September 2012
Jill Woelfer Jill Woelfer, Information Science
Jill is a PhD student investigating the use of information systems and digital technologies by homeless young people. For her dissertation research, Jill is planning a comparative study of the uses of information systems by homeless young people in Vancouver, BC, and Seattle, WA. Over the last three years, in addition to conducting research studies, she helped co-create a community technology center for homeless young people where she volunteers as a teacher of computer-related life skills.
Advisor: David G. Hendry
Degree Exp: 2013
Website: http://students.washington.edu/woelfj/drupal/
Last updated: August 2010

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Canadian Studies Center
University of Washington
Box 353650
Thomson Hall, Room 503
Seattle, WA 98195-3650
T (206) 221-6374
F (206) 685-0668
►canada@uw.edu