Research chairs

Jaime brings a deep understanding of harm reduction policies, practices and research to our campus community having worked in the United States, Mexico and Canada. His previous work as Chief of Staff for the Ministry of Public Security in Quintana Roo, Mexico, helped him study topics around police and public health, particularly looking at law enforcement as a risk factor for HIV among people who use drugs. He has helped create the first safe consumption site in Latin America and the fourth in the world exclusively for women at Verter in Mexicali, Baja California. He also works in bringing other services, like community drug checking and naloxone distribution for the organization Prevencasa, in Tijuana, Mexico. Having started with UVic in September 2021 as a Canada Research Chair, Jaime's quest remains the same; to drive forward the implementation of live saving intervention in under-resource settings internationally.

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Emmanuel joined UVIc’s School of Public Administration in 2001 and served as the Jean Monnet Chair in European Urban and Border Region Policy from 2014-16 and as the Jean Monnet Chair in Innovative Governance from 2017-20. Currently, he is the Jean Monnet Chair in Policy and Governance. Emmanuel has been the director of the Borders In Globalization research program since 2013, director of the UVIc European Union Jean Monnet Center and Jean Monnet Network research programs since 2013. Previously, he worked for the French public sector for 10 years with the French Small Business Administration and the Nord Pas-de-Calais Regional Council. In both capacities, he worked with the European Commission and the European Union Directorate for Regional Policies in Brussels.

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As UNESCO co-Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, Budd works with the Society for Participatory Research in Asia, located in New Delhi, India. Together, they build capacity in community based research across the global South and the excluded North, collaborating with global networks, governments and funding bodies and through train-the-trainer programs. In particular, their creation of the Knowledge for Change (K4C) Consortium provides on-line, face to face and field work training where mentors are nominated by hubs, training partnerships between universities and civil society partners, who then train practitioners. More than 100 of these knowledge hubs have been established during Budd’s years of service with UNESCO. Budd is also the recipient of UVic’s David H. Turpin Gold Medal for Career Achievement in Research.

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Alan was appointed the UNESCO Chair for Early Childhood Education, Care and Development in 2008 and is now a tri-Chair with university colleagues in Africa. This Chair was established based on Alan’s long-standing work in early childhood education field which commenced in 1971—he joined UVic in 1980. In 1989 he was invited by a large tribal council in central Canada to be a partner in establishing what is believed to be UVic’s first, Indigenous community-based, community-led post-secondary program—the First Nations Partnerships Program. UNICEF headquarters then invited Alan to launch a similar education program with their support in the developing world. Over time, that initial invitation grew into a diverse set of capacity development initiatives in Africa funded by a number of UN and international organizations. In 2003, he was awarded UVic’s inaugural Craigdarroch Research Award for Societal Contributions and the International Education Leadership Award by the Canadian Bureau for International Education. In 2011, he was a finalist for the World Innovation Summit for Education award. Alan is currently an Associate Fellow at UVic’s Centre for Global Studies and remains actively engaged in support of early childhood education and development in Africa.   

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Michael joined the University of Victoria in 1987 as the inaugural Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy. Before that, he was a faculty member at Carleton University for several years teaching in the School of Public Administration. Michael teaches courses in public policy and practice as well as activism and advocacy. As a policy consultant, he has been an advisor to various federal, provincial, territorial and municipal government agencies as well as four Royal commissions. He is currently a member of a federal advisory group serving Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. He also remains an active volunteer, now with Community Living BC as board chair since 2018.

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Karen has been a researcher and faculty member at the University of Victoria since 2015. Previously, she was a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario, where she still holds a position as an affiliate scientist. Karen’s research focuses on the social determinants of substance-related problems and how these affect access to services and health. Her work aims to promote equitable access to substance use services and supports, including harm reduction and other treatment services. She has examined pathways to substance use treatment and the roles played by the legal and child protection systems in treatment entry, as well as how people’s perceptions of need for services affect their experiences and health outcomes.

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