Karleen is a settler joining Firelight as an intern for the summer on Treaty Six territory and the traditional lands of the Nehiyaw (Cree), Denesuliné (Dene), Nakota Sioux (Stoney), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), and Métis. Karleen’s personal experiences and academic interests have lead her to exploring the intersections of feminism, decolonial literature, and alternative knowledge systems in order to develop collaborative frameworks of relationship building and knowledge acquisition. Through this work, Karleen’s writing has been published twice in UBCO’s Gender and Women’s Studies journal; she has also held the position of Equity Ambassador at UBCO’s Equity and Inclusion Office and presented her work at a Gender and Medicine Symposium. 

Karleen looks forward to listening, learning, and growing alongside the Firelight team as she navigates her lived experience and positionality within negotiation and socio-economic work. She looks forward to continuing her studies in an interdisciplinary Master’s program soon. 

In her spare time Karleen enjoys baking, rock climbing, and skiing with her friends and family.