We are pleased to announce our Keynote Speaker for the 2020 Information Without Borders conference, Dorene Bernard! She will be speaking about grassroots activism and environmental protection.
Dorene is a Mi’kmaq Grassroots Grandmother, Water Protector, Water Walker, and Survivor of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. She has a BSW from Dalhousie University, 1991 and MSW Aboriginal Field of Study, from Laurier University, 2013. Her 20+years Social Work career focused on Native Child Welfare and Community Support with survivors and families of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, documenting the history and legacy of the Indian Residential School and the IRS Commemoration Project. She was the Coady International Institute Chair in Social Justice 2017, working to educate on Indigenous issues, Environmental Racism, Climate Justice and Truth and Reconciliation. Dorene coordinates the Grassroots Grandmother Circle in social justice work, child welfare issues, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, cultural education, and Water teachings, inspired by her grandchildren and the late Grandmother Josephine Mandamin, Mother Earth Water Walker.