The way I see myself might not be the way others see me but here’s a brief sketch anyway. I am a 50-something settler Canadian who is only beginning to appreciate and understand what “reconciliation” means for people like me who navigate the world through a lens of whiteness. My ignorance is vast but I’m working on it.

I am a highly privileged academic with training in sociology who mostly focuses on violence and bullying in society and schools. I have a ton to say about those things, some of which you’ll find on these pages. I might be perceived as opinionated and a loudmouth. Fair enough.

Currently, I am a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University. Being an academic and teacher is the perfect job for me, though it took a few decades to figure that out. I get to teach in areas that interest me and work with graduate students on what interests them. I have the privilege of getting to speak with a wide variety of audiences – academic and non-academic, adults and youth – about topics that matter. Bullying. Violence. Gender identity and diversity. Sexuality. Difference. Pop culture. I speak from my own experience combined with scholarly and research expertise. At 58 years of age, I am extremely fortunate to be where I am in life and to get to do what I get to do.

I’m a long-distance runner. The ascent up the academic ladder and my progress in running (and some pretty cool achievements, I have to say) were surprises that I did not plan or see coming. They have taught me a lot about myself and about life.

I can ride a unicycle. And I do a mean cartwheel, even at my age. I’m a reader, mostly of non-fiction. Academics has ruined me for fiction. I don’t know why. Also, I don’t understand poetry.