The ROC Leadership Team

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Dr. Victoria Burns, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the University of Calgary, director of the UCalgary Recovery Community, and Recovery On Campus (ROC) Alberta. As a registered social worker, educator, researcher, and engaged activist she has worked in the homelessness and addiction-recovery sphere for over 15 years. She combines her lived experience of addiction, recovery, and disability with a passion for storytelling and the arts, including documentary film, to raise awareness and combat stigma for marginalized populations in scholarly and mainstream spaces. She lives in Calgary, Alberta with her husband Hervé and Pinot, their grumpy poodle-bichon.

Victoria Burns, Ph.D., RSW

Pronouns: He/Him/His



Dr. Andrew Szeto is currently the Director of the Campus Mental Health Strategy at the University of Calgary responsible for guiding the implementation of the 28 recommendations within the strategy. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary and also a Principal Investigator at the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Dr. Szeto’s research involves the development, implementation, and evaluation of mental illness stigma reduction and mental health promotion programs for various audiences across Canada. He also conducts research and publishes on various topics related to post-secondary mental health and the stigma of mental illness.

Andrew Szeto, Ph.D

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Chelsie is the Project Coordinator Recovery On Campus Alberta, a registered social worker, and a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Social Work program at the U of C. Her work history centered previously around disability support and has since evolved to other avenues of advocacy for the dignity of people. She encountered Victoria Burns in a Self and Social Care Class during her studies and was introduce to the UCRC in the last year of her studies. This introduction changed the course of her career, her attitudes towards recovery and problematic substance use, and brought her gladly to this project.

Chelsie Graham, BSW, RSW

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Tabitha is the is the Project Coordinator for the UCalgary Recovery Community. Tabitha is a proud Cree-Métis woman who has called Moh’kinsstis home since her birth. She is a registered social worker who has a passion for working alongside unhoused community members. She has spent the past two and a half years developing the Downtown Ambassador program which works to create a safe and inclusive downtown for unhoused and housed community members. Tabitha’s lived experience of both mental illness and addiction drives her passion for helping others.

Tabitha Pruden, RSW

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Noor Hadad is the Research Coordinator for the University of Calgary Recovery Community. She recently earned her B.A. (Honours) in psychology from the University of Calgary and is also a research assistant within the Faculty of Social Work. She is an aspiring psychologist and mental health/substance use advocate, with her current work focusing on harm reduction and recovery drawing from her own lived experience. She hopes to pursue graduate studies to conduct research and further explore these topics through an intersectional, trauma-informed lens.

Noor Hadad, B.A. (Honours) Psychology

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Lisa Gareau comes to her work as a "Connection Strategy Coach" after over 30 years of event planning joys and hard knocks. She founded Candy Event Consulting in 2008 and is still driven by the dream to see in-house and do-it-yourself event planners and their teams embrace their brilliance, activate their experience, and cultivate meaningful connections for their businesses, organizations, or groups. Lisa knows - without a doubt - that events can become energized connecting points where communities can gather and grow. It's her joy to work with the ROC Team and coach ROC's network of post secondary institutions to sweet - recovery-friendly, substance-free, on-campus - event success!  www.CandyConsulting.ca/Clarity

Lisa Gareau - Connection Strategy Coach