Candidate Statements / Déclarations des candidats

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Ben Woodward

Master's Student

University of Waterloo

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Dear CAG Members,

My name is Ben Woodward, and I am a Master’s student studying coastal geomorphology at the University of Waterloo. My research uses boat and drone surveys, archival research, and machine learning to better understand bluff erosion in Lake Huron. I have also contributed to research on transportation equity, food insecurity, Indigenous digital mapmaking, and emerging geospatial technologies.

I became a member of the Canadian Association of Geographers during my undergraduate studies, and I am grateful to CAG for opening many doors for me. I had the pleasure of presenting research at the 2024 CAG conference in St. John’s, as well as at the two most recent CAGONT conferences at TMU. This year, I will be assisting CAGONT with their ongoing website revitalization and their inaugural undergraduate research conference.

Outside of CAG, I help get high school students interested in geography and GIS as a volunteer. I have been a presentation judge for the Ontario Envirothon competition since 2021 and have taught GIS lessons to eight high school classes this fall through Esri Canada’s GIS Ambassadors program. I also working with Canadian Geographic Education to help train Canada’s top geography students for the International Geography Olympiad, alongside other Olympiad alumni. My outreach work has been recognized with the Forests Ontario White Pine Award, an induction into the RCGS College of Fellows, and, this past fall, with a King Charles III Coronation Medal.

At the university level, I served as the president of Waterloo’s geography student society for three terms. Our amazing council built community through weekly events and collaborated with other groups to secure ~$30 000 in grant funding for a computer lab revitalization, a new Indigenous learning space, and other projects.

If elected to the CAG council, I would use my outreach experience to help CAG engage graduate and undergraduate students from across Canada. Our diverse membership is engaged in a wide range of important, interdisciplinary, and impactful geographical research. I hope to contribute to the amazing work that the CAG does bringing scholars together and integrating young researchers into the discipline.​​

Evan Cleave

Associate Professor

Toronto Metropolitan University

Dr. Evan Cleave (he/him) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. He has a PhD (2019) and MA (2014) in Geography from the University of Western Ontario, a M.GIS from the University of Calgary (2013), and a BA (Honours) in Geography from Queen’s University (2009).

Evan is an urban and economic geographer, who’s primary research focuses on local economic development, place branding, and immigration. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, Evan explores these topics from a perspective of governance, policy, and practice, as well as through a lens of individual and community-level change, impacts, and adaptation.

Since 2013, Evan has been an active member within the CAG-ACG. At the regional level he is currently the President of the Canadian Association of Geographers – Ontario Division (CAGONT), and has previously served as Vice President (2021-2023), Treasurer (2016-2021), Secretary (2014-2016), and student representative (2013-2014). At the national level, Evan has served on the CAG-AGC Executive Committee as the Ontario representative since 2023. Throughout his various roles, Evan has been a strong advocate for supporting student research and involvement within the CAG-AGC. Within CAGONT, he worked to provide travel funding for students to CAG-AGC and CAGONT meetings, and increased student representation in the CAGONT executive. He has also worked to increase the platforms for students to meet, network, and share their work. Moving forward, Evan wants to continue working to strengthen participation of students in all facets of the CAG-ACG.

Since 2016, Evan has chaired the CAG-AGC Urban Geography Study Group. In this time, the study group has been active at national CAG-AGC conference organizing talks and special sessions to bring together the community of urban geographers in Canada. Finally, he was the lead organizer for three conferences: the national CAG-AGC conference in 2022, and regional CAGONT conferences in 2023 and 2024. Through these conferences and special sessions, Evan has worked for greater inclusivity among geographers, with the goal of ensuring that anyone who wants to participate has the opportunity to do so. This core value is something that he will continue to advocate for.​

Kathi Wilson

Professor

University of Toronto, Mississauga

Kathi Wilson is a Professor in the Department of Geography, Geomatics, and Environment at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Over the course of more than 20 years Professor Wilson has established a highly successful internationally recognized research program. Through a community-based research lens and innovative research methods, her research focuses on identifying and addressing geographic disparities in health and inequities in access to health care/social services for historically marginalized populations including Indigenous peoples and immigrant populations. Her early work on Indigenous health has been credited with the development of the subdiscipline of the Geographies of Indigenous Health. Kathi prioritizes a commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice in her teaching and mentoring of students, in the various administrative positions she has held, and in her research program. 

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Kathi has an extensive record of service to the profession and to the CAG/ACG including serving as:

• Vice-Dean, Faculty, University of Toronto Mississauga 2020-2025

• Chair of the Department of Geography and Programs in Environment, University of Toronto Mississauga 2010-2017;

• National Councillor for the Canadian Association of Geographers, 2011-2014;

Her teaching and scholarly contributions to the profession have been recognized by several awards including:

• Inaugural Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) Robin. P. Armstrong Memorial Prize for Excellence in Indigenous Studies, 2002

• CAG Award for Excellence in Teaching Geography 2011

• University of Toronto Mississauga Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2011

• Desmond Morton Research Excellence Award, University of Toronto Mississauga 2020, which recognizes outstanding career achievement in research and scholarly activity by faculty members of the University of Toronto Mississauga.

• Melinda S. Meade Distinguished Scholarship Award in Health and Medical Geography, Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers, 2024. The award “seeks to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancements of health and/or medical geography research”​