2021-22 Black Graduate Student Fellowship and Scholarship Awards

Isak Vaillancourt, Media Production MA

Isak Vaillancourt is a multidisciplinary artist and community organizer whose practice includes filmmaking, photography and arts-based programming. Currently, he is completing his master's of arts in media production where his research explores Black and Indigenous relations and solidarity on Turtle Island. During his graduate studies, Isak has been mentoring a group of undergraduate students with the support of faculty to facilitate meaningful discussions about anti-racism practices within higher education. He is a recipient of two program awards including the OUTtv Award and Aditya Jha Graduate Award in Media Production. Isak is also a co-founder of Black Lives Matter - Sudbury, a non-profit organization committed to dismantling systemic racism and supporting cultural creation in Northern Ontario.

Oluwatosin Aladekoyi (Joseph), Environmental Applied Science and Management PhD

Oluwatosin’s research aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which ensures the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. His PhD research employs an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate the impact and the management of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in wastewater, with a focus on the risk that the presence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater poses on aquatic health. He hopes that his research will lead to the development of innovative and cost-effective wastewater treatment options. Within Canada, Oluwatosin volunteers with non-profit organizations such as Young Water Professionals. He leads a scientific writing workshop for University students, and he has also mentored students through the International Student Support and Tri-Mentoring program. Outside Canada, he has participated in several community development-related projects and intervention programs in Africa (Niger republic, northern and southwestern states of Nigeria). He is also a recipient of the university's Graduate Scholarship.

Renée Nichole Ferguson, Policy Studies PhD

Renée Nichole Ferguson is a trained and Registered Social Worker (RSW) and Project Manager Professional (PMP) who has worked in the community mental health sector for over a decade. She holds an MSW from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto and is completing a PhD (ABD) in policy studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is curious about the intersections of race and policy and the application of critical race theory and Black feminist thought to policy analyses. 

Renée’s dissertation is an exploratory examination of mandated treatment, looking at the experiences of Black women with Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) in Ontario. Ultimately, her research opens space for us to learn about the intersections of race, gender, and mandated psychological treatment, and for this knowledge to contribute to CTO research and policy making in this country.

Emilie Jabouin, Communication and Culture PhD

Emilie Jabouin is a PhD candidate in the joint communication and culture program. Her doctoral dissertation explores Black women's intellectual histories, organizing and expressive cultures in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century English-Canada. As a curious and intuitive researcher and dance artist, Emilie merges research and performance to share stories with the public that are under-explored and locked away in libraries. She founded Emirj Projects in 2020, a multi-faceted research and performance production company that enables her to do that work (www.emirj.ca). Emilie collaborates with artists and creative minds to share new research, and is currently featured in Camille Turner’s piece, “Nave” showcased at the Toronto Biennial until June 5, 2022. Digging through the archives, her work is a source of information for collective healing in service to her community and to society. Emilie pursues this work while exploring early twentieth-century black health and black dance history as well. In 2020, Emilie co-choreographed a solo piece on Mary Ann Shadd that created impactful dialogue, collective processing and ownership of a past that in our present is consistently weaving our future.