Our Dynamic Team
We are a collaborative, interdisciplinary team dedicated to advancing equity-focused research and solutions for aging rural communities in Nova Scotia’s Eastern Health Zone. Learn more about us below!
Research Team
Dr. Alison Grittner
Principal Investigator; Housing Stream Lead, Social Stream Co-Lead; Assistant Professor (CBU)
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Alison L. Grittner, PhD, MArch, is an interdisciplinary scholar situated at the intersection of architecture, social work, and the visual arts. Her work begins with a central provocation: if sociality and spatiality are mutually constituting, then justice can be advanced through the material environment.
As an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Cape Breton University, Dr. Grittner collaborates with communities whose encounters with everyday environments are shaped by exclusion: people with disabilities, older adults, neurodivergent young adults, sex-working communities, and individuals navigating homelessness. Through participatory methodologies and sensory, arts-based methods, her scholarship examines how environments feel across diverse bodyminds. She then works alongside communities to transform these understandings into co-designed interventions that reimagine and transform everyday environments toward equity and inclusion.
Dr. Grittner’s scholarship and advocacy have been recognized through awards at the municipal, provincial, and national levels, including the City of Calgary’s Accessibility Advocacy Award, the Alberta Premier’s Council Award of Excellence in Public Awareness, and selection as a SSHRC Storytellers Finalist. She has attracted over $16.7M in research funding dedicated to advancing spatial justice across Canada.
Contact Info:
alison_grittner@cbu.ca
Dr. Kate Linden
Economic Impact
Assessments Lead; Social Stream Co-Lead; Assistant Professor (CBU)
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Kate is an Assistant Professor in the Shannon School of Business at Cape Breton University. Her academic focus lies at the intersection of community economic development, ecological economics, and community-partnered research. Kate believes that building true economic resilience requires rethinking how we measure value. For the Homeward Bound project, she leads the Social Return on Investment (SROI) research to capture the unmeasured benefits of aging in place. Deeply committed to institutional reconciliation and building respectful Indigenous partnerships, Kate champions participatory research that gives communities the power to shape economic policy and define what a good life looks like for themselves.
Contact Info:
Kate_Linden@cbu.ca
Dr. Kelsey Harvey
PreHabilitation Stream Co-Lead; Assistant Professor (CBU)
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Dr. Kelsey Harvey, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Experiential Studies in Community and Sport at Cape Breton University. A social gerontologist by training, her research is at the intersection of physical activity, community, and education in later life. She uses community-based and participatory methods to ground her research in the lived experiences and daily realities of older people. Kelsey’s role on the Homeward Bound project is co-lead of the prehabilitation stream, which aims to investigate inclusive and accessible ways of preparing aging rural Nova Scotian’s for surgery. Other current and past projects include research on interprofessional health and social service education in Canada, plogging/walking while picking up litter, embodied dementia education, the use of technology to support wellbeing in later life, and identity and social belonging in sport and group fitness for older exercisers.
Contact Info:
Dr. Sheryl Bourgaize
PreHabilitation Stream Co-Lead; Assistant Professor (CBU)
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Dr. Sheryl Bourgaize is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Cape Breton University, where she teaches Human Anatomy and Biomechanics and conducts research in movement science and healthy aging. She earned her PhD from Wilfrid Laurier University, with co-advisement at Université Laval, and completed an NSERC-funded Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Waterloo leading a multidisciplinary clinical trial examining surgical approaches for hip replacement and their impact on patient recovery. Sheryl is passionate about advancing women in STEM and fostering inclusive scientific communities through research, mentorship, and international collaboration.
Contact Info:
Dr. Janet L. Kuhnke
Community-Based Nurse Researcher; Associate Professor (CBU)
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Janet L. Kuhnke is a community-based nurse researcher. She focuses on well-being related to chronic illness and wound and foot health. She is trained in Advanced Foot Care, ostomy, wound and continence care. Janet is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at Cape Breton University.
Janet continues to coach and mentor students in baccalaureate and graduate qualitative research projects and thesis. She supports initiatives to prevent intravenous skin abscesses, harm reduction, and access to acute care services.
Contact Info:
Janet_Kuhnke@cbu.ca
Dr. Martin Sers
Economics and Statistics Postdoctoral Fellow (CBU)
Dr. Joseph Parish
Food Security Research Lead; Assistant Professor (CBU)
Leah Disipio
Prehabilitation Research Assistant (CBU)
Johnie Han
Economics Research Assistant (CBU)
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Johnie is passionate about the intersection of technology, data, and community wellbeing. With academic backgrounds in Telecommunications Engineering and English Studies, he is particularly interested in how digital technologies shape the way people understand and interact with the world around them.
At Homeward Bound, Johnie is responsible for the integration and adaptation of the Rural Wellbeing Dashboard, a tool designed to help communities explore and interpret key indicators related to quality of life and regional wellbeing. By bringing together data from multiple sources into an accessible platform, the dashboard aims to support evidence-based policy-making and provide communities with clearer insights into local trends and challenges.
Johnie is currently a Master of Business Administration candidate at Cape Breton University, where he continues to explore how thoughtful designs can support sustainable and resilient communities.
Contact Info:
CBU24BHLH@cbu.ca
Niloofar Ghanbari
GIS Data Analyst Research Assistant (UNB)
Dr. Catherine Bigonnesse
Social Stream Researcher; Associate Professor (UNB)
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Dr. Catherine Bigonnesse is the Canada Research Chair in Healthy Aging and an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick. Her research program explores the impact of social policy on older adults’ health in Canadian provinces experiencing an accelerated aging of their populations. Her work is dedicated to the development of the Atlantic Observatory on Aging, a data centre monitoring the evolution of aging population in Atlantic provinces and the Healthy Aging Policy Innovation Lab, a living lab focusing on the development of policy innovations in partnership with older adults, community stakeholders, and policymakers.
Dr. Bigonnesse is an environmental gerontologist with a multidisciplinary background in social work and psychology. She is interested in better understanding how social and physical environments influence older adults’ well-being. Her research expertise includes aging in place processes, innovative models of housing and community-based support services for older adults, the meaning of home and experience of place in later life, age-friendly communities, and qualitative and participatory research methods. She holds a Ph.D. in Gerontology (Simon Fraser University), a MA in Social Work (Université de Sherbrooke) and a BA in Psychology (Université de Sherbrooke). Prior to joining the Department of Political Science, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Centre on Aging of Université de Moncton.
Contact Info:
catherine.bigonnesse@unb.ca
Thomas Keegan
Social Stream Research Assistant (CBU)
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Originally from the UK, Tom arrived in Canada in 2019 after 5 years in Australia and New Zealand. He spent 4 years in the Canadian Rockies before heading east to Cape Breton. Having previously worked within a number of different industries, from the Legal sector to Veterinary Medicine, he joined the Homeward Bound team in 2026 as a Social Stream Research Assistant.
Tom has an interest in uncovering the mechanics and factors behind existing rural housing insecurity for elderly populations in the Martimes. He hopes to contribute to eventual policy interventions that provide the structural safety and social connectivity necessary for dignified Aging-in-Place for Rural Nova Scotians.
Tom began the Bachelor of Social Work course at CBU in 2025. He previously graduated with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics in 2013 from the University of Brighton. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking with his dog Atlas. He also possesses a strong pub trivia game.
Contact Info:
Juile Anne Francois
Social Stream Research Assistant (CBU)
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I am a student in the third Bachelor of Social Work cohort at Cape Breton University. I am a CBU alumnus, having graduated in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in biology. Transitioning from a background in biological sciences to social sciences has been an extremely interesting and rewarding experience. It has allowed me to shift my perspective from studying biological systems to examining the complex social factors that shape people’s lives and communities.
Having been raised in Nova Scotia, I feel it is a special opportunity to engage with people in my own communities and contribute to research on social issues in the region. In my spare time, I can be found in the woods with my camera.
Contact Info:
cbu19jck@cbu.ca
Molly McGillivray
Research Assistant
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Molly graduated from Cape Breton University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she worked as a research assistant on projects exploring second language learning anxiety and music performance anxiety. Her honours thesis utilized EEG methods to investigate psychopathy and emotion processing, reflecting her strong interest in the intersection of neuroscience and behaviour. Alongside her academic work, Molly has built a diverse creative background, with experience in photography, true crime writing, scriptwriting, and video editing. She brings this combination of analytical and creative skills into her current work with the Homeward Bound project, where she contributes to the housing research stream. Molly is currently pursuing a Master’s degree to become a psychotherapist. In her spare time, she enjoys pyrography and spending time with her partner, dog, two cats, and lizard.
Contact info: Molly_McGillivray@cbu.ca
Operations Team
Anabella Smith
Project Manager (CBU)
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Anabella Smith is the Project Manager for Homeward Bound Nova Scotia. In her role, she supports coordination across the project’s many research streams, helps guide planning and implementation, and works closely with academic, community, and operational partners to keep everything moving forward in a meaningful and collaborative way.
Anabella brings a strong background in project management from the tech industry, where she led cross-functional teams and delivered complex initiatives in fast-paced, innovative environments. She carries that experience into her work with Homeward Bound, bringing structure, adaptability, and a focus on meaningful outcomes to complex, collaborative work.
Living in Victoria County, Anabella is deeply connected to the communities this project serves. Her home continues to shape her perspective and commitment to community-centered work. She is proud to contribute to a project that aims to strengthen supports for rural Nova Scotians, helping individuals age with dignity, independence, and connection in the places they call home.
Contact Info:
Anabella_smith@cbu.ca
Brooke Collicutt
Research Coordinator (CBU)
Dr. Chandell Gosse
University Administrative and Strategic Support; Senior Research Officer (CBU)
Dr. Leslie Cove
Senior Strategic Advisor, Research Excellence and Capacity Development
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Dr. Leslie Cove (she/they) provides strategic leadership advice on research excellence, training frameworks, and capacity development to strengthen the impact and implementation of the Homeward Bound Nova Scotia research initiative.
Contact Info:
leslie@wildrosehouse.com
Solange Ackrill
Marketing, Communications and Knowledge Mobilization (CBU)
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Solange Ackrill is a marketing, communications, and strategy leader who is passionate about helping people connect with ideas, information, and one another in meaningful ways. With experience across major consumer and food organizations, including Walmart, Loblaw, Maple Leaf Foods, and Club Coffee, she brings a strong background in translating complex research, insights, and priorities into clear, engaging communications that support understanding, participation, and positive change. Her work is grounded in the belief that meaningful strategy begins with listening, valuing lived experience, and understanding the unique context of the communities involved.
Alongside her corporate leadership experience, Solange has contributed through thought leadership, advisory, and board roles, bringing a collaborative, relationship-focused approach to the organizations and initiatives she supports. She is committed to inclusive, respectful ways of working that recognize the importance of equity, shared learning, and making space for diverse perspectives and community knowledge to help shape decisions and outcomes.
Living in beautiful rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Solange is deeply inspired by the connection between people, place, and wellbeing. She is passionate about nature, sustainability, and building stronger communities. In her work with Homeward Bound Nova Scotia, she supports marketing, communications, and knowledge mobilization in ways that help make research more accessible, elevate local and lived expertise, and contribute to more responsive practice, policy, and long-term community impact.
Contact Info:
Rin Mullins
Marketing and Social Media Coordinator (CBU)
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Rin Mullins is a psychology student at Cape Breton University with an interest in social work and a strong passion for making a difference in rural Nova Scotian communities. She manages Homeward Bound’s social media, helping share stories, resources, and project updates. Rin also brings creative entrepreneurial experience through her own business, combining communication, design, and community-minded thinking in her work.
Contact Info:
CBU25BCYQ@cbu.ca
Join Our Team
Help Build the Future of Aging in Nova Scotia
We’re assembling a dynamic, interdisciplinary team committed to creating equity-driven care communities for rural aging. Join us in transforming healthcare, housing, and social support systems to meet the needs of aging rural Nova Scotians.