Heather Ochalski
Scholar-in-Residence

Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership: The Pilimmaksarniq/Pijariuqsarniq Project is thrilled to welcome our new 2021/2022 Scholar-in-Residence, Heather Ochalski!

Heather Ochalski is a resident of Ottawa originally from Baker Lake, Nunavut. She has an Honours B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and a Master of Arts in Education Degree from the University of Ottawa. Using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit as her epistemological framework, her Masters study titled, “Inuit Students' Journeys from High School into Post-Secondary Education” narrates the experiences of six Inuit students' education journeys and explores how they navigated cultural tensions between Western and Inuit worldviews to successfully reach and complete their post-secondary education.

She also holds Summer Research Institute certificates in Knowledge Mobilization: Affecting Change for Program and Policy Development as well as in Community-Based Participatory Action Research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Alberta and is a Laureate of the 2013 Arctic Inspiration Prize for the implementation of the National Strategy on Inuit Education. Among her many accomplishments is a publication on Inuit child welfare in Volume 5 of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada:  “Canada’s Residential Schools: The Legacy”.

She is a strong and passionate advocate for Inuit rights and Inuit-led education. Having worked at the national level to address Inuit education issues, she brings with her a wealth of knowledge, experience, and leadership on the implementation of education policies and programming.

She is currently the Early Years Director at Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth, and Families in Ottawa where she continues to build on Inuit pedagogical approaches and capacity in Inuit Education.