Dr. Susan Ramsundarsingh

Dr. Susan Ramsundarsingh is a first generation Canadian, six generations removed from her ancestors in India who lived for five generations in Trinidad before coming to Canada to enjoy the winter.  Her journey is one of reclaiming what was lost during through her family’s experience of colonization while also learning what it means to be an uninvited guest on these traditional territories.

Her practice experience includes social policy, community development, fundraising, nonprofit management, school-based wellness programming, and gang prevention with immigrant and refugee youth. Her practice is unique in that it she always strives to uplift the voices of individuals and communities to create meaningful change.

Her research mixes her background in business and social policy with her personal journey. One focus is on understanding how the management of human service organizations contributes to service user experiences of oppression with the goal of creating truly anti-oppressive organizations. A second focus is understanding beliefs about and practices relating to healing from spiritual and cultural groups to explore how they can be integrated into social work practice. Beginning with her personal practice of integrating Vedanta into her own practice. Other research areas include anti-oppressive practice, nonprofit management, social policy advocacy, community led practice, Vedanta and social work practice, culturally based approaches to mental health.