51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ

Melanie Nichele

Research Assistant

Melanie is a Research Assistant at the Inclusive Environments Lab at 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ, contributing to the COPE and NeighbourABLE studies. She is currently completing her Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Counselling and Human Development at 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ. Melanie is passionate about supporting the agency and resilience of older adult populations through increased accessibility of education and intergenerational dialogue.

 B.Arch, MSc,

Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator/ Reseach Assistant 

Samna's educational background is in architecture, followed by a research Master's in Urban Management & Development from Erasmus University, Rotterdam. Her professional training has focused on interdisciplinary and collaborative planning approaches for sustainable cities. Her research interests include design of inclusive public spaces, accessibility and walkability within neighborhoods.  

Junghun Hoonie Byun

Research Assistant

Hoonie is an undergraduate student at 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ majoring in Computing Science and minoring in Economics. He has a background in working at criminology and engineering labs. His interests lie in quantitative work and learning how surroundings can affect individuals’ quality of life.

Hailey Thomas Ford, BA, BScN, MA

Hailey has a passion for working with older adults, and for the discipline of gerontology. She completed her Master’s degree in Gerontology under the supervision of Dr. Atiya Mahmood, and her research focused on the self-management health practices of those aging with spinal cord injuries. Hailey is interested in applied and community-based research, where she can foster public engagement and mentor students to learn about this vibrant form of knowledge production.

Jean Paul Ramírez Echavarría

M.A Student / Research Assistant.

Jean’s educational background is in Psychology from the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. He is currently completing his Master’s degree in Gerontology at 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ in Vancouver, where he works as a Project Coordinator in the Inclusive Environments Lab under the supervision of Dr. Atiya Mahmood on several different projects, including NeighbourABLE, COPE, and Aging in the Right Place.

His research and work focus on older adults across a range of topics, including housing, homelessness, accessibility, mobility, climate change, and the intersections of aging and identity.

Letitia Zhu

PhD Student

Letitia holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from Beijing Forestry University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Gerontology at 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ. Her research interests lie at the intersection of art-based methods, community-engaged research, and technology, with a focus on older adults with disabilities.

Wendy Sarkissian

Older Adult Advisory Board

Wendy is an award-winning author, community planner, educator, activist, and environmental ethicist who has received over 40 professional awards. She holds a doctorate in environmental ethics from Murdoch University in Western Australia and is a Life Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia.

Wendy's research and writing focus on climate breakdown, as well as community engagement and empowerment. She is the lead author of the award-winning book Kitchen Table Sustainability: Practical Recipes for Community Engagement with Sustainability. Now at age 81, she focuses on taking personal responsibility for sustainability issues such as climate breakdown, ways of nurturing an engaged citizenry, and fostering public judgement. Wendy has authored several professional books. Her memoir, Creeksong: One Woman Sings the Climate Blues (Tellwell Talent, 2023) emerged in part from her 1996 doctoral dissertation.

In the COPE project, as a member of the advisory board, Wendy seeks to empower the voices of older adults, highlighting their unique perceptions and experiences of cities, climate breakdown and heat stress.

Charmian Bursill

Older Adult Advisory Board

Now retired, Charmian was born in East Sheen, London, UK, but spent most of her life living overseas with her family. She attended the National Theatre School in Montreal, where she completed a course in technical and stage management before going on to work professionally in theatres across Canada and the UK.  After eight years, she returned to the Maritimes and became a student at University of New Brunswick (UNB), where she graduated with first-class honours in English and German, and a postgraduate degree in Education. She later returned to the UK, where she undertook a variety of roles, ultimately becoming Export Administrator for a robotics firm in London.

Members of the Bursill family have resided in the West, mainly Vancouver, since approximately 1910, and it seemed natural to Charmian to return to Vancouver, where she has been living for about 25 years, tutoring English, after a year teaching English in South Korea. She enjoys writing poetry and short stories and has successfully published a small selection. Her other interests include non-credit courses at SFU, supporting wildlife, voluntary work with her local constituency office and most recently her Strata Council.  As a born stage manager, Charmian enjoys organizing, planning, and participating in projects, with the COPE project being an important one as she enters this later stage of life. It seems clear that climate change, which appears to have resulted in much hotter temperatures globally, is affecting many,particularly seniors' health and well being. 

Charmian is therefore very pleased and honoured to have this opportunity to make any useful contribution that she can.