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Our Team
Jasna K. Schwind, RN, PhD
Dr. Schwind, an award-winning educator, is an Associate Professor in the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. Guided by constructivist philosophy of experience, arts-informed narrative research, and reflective practice, she explores humanness-of-care within professional and therapeutic relationships in education and praxis. To that end Dr. Schwind has adapted a form of narrative reflection, calling it the Narrative Reflective Process (NRP). NRP may serve as a qualitative data collection tool, a teaching-learning approach, and a professional development instrument. This creative self-expression approach includes mindful self-awareness, storytelling, metaphors, drawing, creative writing, and reflective dialogue.
Based in a person-centered relational framework of mutual inclusivity, respect, and compassion, Dr. Schwind strives to build stronger communities within the context of higher education. She engages students in mindful practices to enhance their sense of wellbeing, thereby supporting their engagement in teaching-learning encounters. These practices further encourage mindful self-compassion, which strengthens empathy for self and for others.
Louela Manankil-Rankin, RN, PhD
Louela comes from a long history in teaching undergraduate nursing students. Her passion is in engaging students in reflection and reconstruction of their experiences within the teaching and learning relationship. She is an advocate of Narrative Inquiry as a foundational learning frame for becoming a nurse. Her educational interests are reflective practice, curriculum design, and program evaluation.
Louela is an Associate Professor with Nipissing University and teaches predominantly in the Toronto campus for the Scholar Practitioner Program. This program is based on Narrative Inquiry as its pedagogical frame. She is an Indigenous ally who has worked with Nipissing First Nation colleagues and members in understanding Indigenous wellness. She has been instrumental in the achievement of Nipissing University School of Nursing as a Best Practice Spotlight Organization. This designation is granted to organizational affiliates who commit to integrating Best Practice Guidelines into their organizational processes. This program is funded by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and administered by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.
Emma MacGregor, RN, MN
Emma MacGregor graduated from the Master of Nursing program at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2021. Her thesis, titled Women's Experiences of Their First Pelvic Exam: An Arts-Informed Narrative Inquiry, explored young women’s experiences of health care encounters. For her outstanding work, Emma received Toronto Metropolitan University's most prestigious award for academic excellence and community service, the Gold Medal Award.
Ms. MacGregor is continuing her graduate studies as a PhD student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her research program focuses on curriculum and pedagogy, specializing in holistic education with a focus on wellbeing. She is interested in the use of mindful practice and creative, arts-informed approaches to promote a love for learning through research and education. Grounded in a critical constructivist philosophy, Ms. MacGregor aims to invite contemplation and reflection, both in research and the classroom, to develop knowledge in order to promote mindful self-compassion and empathy for others.