As part of the CanFASD trainee program we are excited to share a new series of “Where Are They Now?” blog posts, highlighting the journeys of our former CanFASD Trainees.  

In this edition, we’re featuring Kirsten Morrison, Celisse Bibr, Taylor Watkins and Ella Huber.  These four individuals are former trainees who have moved on to work with CanFASD in different capacities. Celisse, Ella and Kirsten were in the first cohort of trainees in 2022 and Taylor was in the 2023 cohort.  

Since completing their time as trainees, Kirsten, Celisse, Ella and Taylor have been busy contributing to the FASD field, and we’re excited to share what they’ve been up to! 

Kirsten Morrison 

Kirsten is now a research assistant at CanFASD. She became a trainee during her first year of employment as a way to increase her FASD knowledge and get connected with the community. Since her time as a Trainee, she has helped CanFASD with a variety of projects and tasks. This includes organizing the webinars you see on the CanFASD YouTube channel; writing issue papers and other knowledge translation pieces; helping to run meetings for different committees; and many other things that helps CanFASD operate. Being a trainee has provided her an opportunity to form connections making it easier to engage with the community and seek out information when needed. It also helped her build her writing and presentation skills, which she uses every day at work.  

Celisse Bibr 

Celisse is also now a research assistant at CanFASD. She was still completing her graduate degree when participating in the Trainee Program. During her PhD, she became involved with CanFASD through the CHOoSE housing project, where she conducted interviews and completed the data analysis for this research. Celisse is continuing to on the housing project, but is now primarily involved in coordinating CanFASD’s National FASD Database, which is a way to collect information about individuals assessed for FASD in Canada. The database now has over 5,000 records! Her time as a Trainee helped her learn how to translate research into practical knowledge, develop her reflection skills, and connect with peers (now fellow colleagues and researchers) with interests in similar areas. 

Taylor Watkins 

Taylor is a contracted research assistant with CanFASD and the Centre of Excellence in Women’s Health (CEWH). She joined the CanFASD Trainee Program during the second year of her Master’s degree. Her involvement with CanFASD began as a summer student, which led to her ongoing work with the organization. In her roles, Taylor has collaborated with many CanFASD members, contributing to issue papers, the development of FASD resources, and the creation of a prenatal alcohol exposure collection and confirmation guide in partnership with the Lakeland Centre for FASD. Currently, through her work with CEWH, she is focused on developing FASD prevention resources. Her experience as a trainee has provided valuable networking opportunities and has highlighted the importance of collaboration, reflective thinking, and knowledge translation. 

Ella Huber 

Ella worked for five years at the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and through the Centre, became involved in research and knowledge translation focused on perinatal substance use and FASD prevention. Ella was a member of the Prevention Network Action Team, a group of researchers, health and community partners, and people with lived/living experience who meet monthly to discuss all things prevention. Ella was involved in many discussions and knowledge product development with the group. Inspired by this work, Ella has recently decided to pursue a Master’s in Public Health at Simon Fraser University. She is excited to bring what she has learned from connecting with this diverse network to her studies, and will continue to apply trauma-, gender-, and FASD-informed principles into her work. 

The lasting impact of the program 

Being a CanFASD Trainee has provided Celisse, Taylor, Ella and Kirsten with valuable opportunities to build their careers within the FASD field while also connecting with like-minded people across the country. Some of them are excited to reunite at the Canada FASD Conference this month, where they look forward to seeing the other Trainees in attendance and hearing about the amazing work that everyone has been doing. While not everyone may stay in the field of FASD, CanFASD Trainees know that the skills and connections they learned through the program will help them achieve both their professional and personal goals.  

Stay tuned to hear more about what the CanFASD Trainees have been up to!