About the Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring

Indigenous Ways of Mentoring and Supporting Youth

The 2025 Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring will be held in Canada! The 2025 Summer Institute, focusing on Indigenous ways of mentoring and supporting youth, will be hosted at the University of Calgary from July 28-31, 2025. Our distinguished presenters are listed below.

For event information and application instructions, please visit the Mentor Canada website.

Alexandra Arellano, PhD, is Associate Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Human Kinetics in the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Ottawa. Her research, including the project “Building meaningful programs for Indigenous youth,” addresses sport for development programs for Indigenous youth. She has evaluated the Promoting Life skills in Aboriginal Youth (PLAY) program featuring after-school, sport, leadership development, and diabetes prevention activities led by community mentors. Dr. Arellano employs a critical perspective in examining how these programs contribute to empowerment among Indigenous youth and resurgence among Indigenous communities. 

Marlyn Bennett, PhD, is Anishinaabe from the Treaty 1 community of Sandy Bay Ojibway Nation in Manitoba and holds the Canada Research Chair Tier II in Indigenous Child Wellbeing and is cross appointed to the Faculty of Social Work and the Werklund School of Education at University of Calgary. She is a noted scholar on the lived experiences of Indigenous children, youth, and women involved with the child welfare system. Dr. Bennett has served as National Director of Research for the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and as Editor-in-Chief of the First Peoples Child & Family Journal. She has a distinguished record of uplifting Indigenous knowledge within research, policy, and practice to promote the rights of children and families.

Véronique Church-Duplessis, PhD, is Senior Director of Research and Impact for Mentor Canada. Dr. Church-Duplessis leads the organization's "Research and Data" strategic priority and oversees its research portfolio on effective, equitable, and high-quality mentoring relationships and programs. To improve the extent and quality of the evidence base about mentoring in Canada, Dr. Church-Duplessis works to foster meaningful connections between research and practice. 

Thomas Keller, PhD, is the Duncan and Cindy Campbell Professor for Children, Youth, and Families in the School of Social Work at Portland State University. Dr. Keller is the Founder and Director of the Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring and the PSU Center for Interdisciplinary Mentoring Research. His research interests include the development and influence of youth mentoring relationships, social networks in mentoring interventions, evaluation of program innovations and enhancements, and the influence of program staff and program infrastructure. 

Tasha R. Mousseau, JD, Pejuta Cangleska Win (Sacred Medicine Circle Woman), is an enrolled member and elected leader of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and is Kiowa, Caddo, and Hunka Oglala Lakota. Ms. Mousseau serves as the Chief Officer of Advancement and Tribal Relations with the National Office of Friends of the Children, a long-term, paid professional mentoring program for youth facing the greatest obstacles. Ms. Mousseau collaborates with indigenous communities across the U.S. to implement the Friends of the Children model through culturally grounded approaches. 

Adam Murry, PhD, (Chiricahua Apache, Ukrainian, Irish) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calgary, where he leads the Indigenous Organizations and Communities Development Research Lab. He served as a Co-Principal Investigator for the Alberta Indigenous Mentorship in Health Innovation (AIM-HI) network and Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research. His scholarly focus includes Indigenous employment, mentorship, allyship, education, and Indigenous Studies. Dr. Murry has conducted research on the mentoring of First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) scholars engaged in health research training. 

Teena Starlight, EdD, (Dzinisi guja, sizi Ádadadló Ts'ika at'a. Dr Teena Starlight is a member of the Tsuut'ina Nation. She is the National Director of the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program that is housed under Ever Active Schools. Dr. Starlight is an active participant in the land-based culture and traditions. She shares her knowledge with students and colleagues. She has an MA in FNMI Curriculum and Leadership Development, an EdD in Learning Sciences, and has taught at Mount Royal University.

Kate Storey, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, a CIHR/PHAC Applied Public Health Chair, and Distinguished Researcher--Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. Kate is a Centre for Healthy Communities Scientist and Lead for 'Healthy Schools.' Dr. Storey's research program SIRCLE (Settings-based Intervention Research through Changes in Lifestyles & Environments) focuses on school- and community-based strategies to promote wellbeing, prevent chronic diseases, and reduce health inequities. She has studied the effectiveness, sustainability, and scaling of the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (IYMP), a communal, relationship-based, after-school healthy living program.