Staff members are drawn from the Dalhousie faculty, the university community, the wider community and from among Nova Scotia's Black and First Nations community members. Guest lecturers are often brought in as well to speak on specialized topics relating to Native and Black culture and history.
Patricia Doyle-Bedwell, LLB, Assistant Professor and Director of TYP. Patricia is a Mi'kmaq woman from Bangor, Maine. She has a BA with Honours in Sociology, a law degree from Dalhousie Law School, and will soon have her Master's degree in Law. In addition to her administrative duties at TYP, Patricia teaches "Indigenous Peoples and Natural Resources" in the School of Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie. Patricia is also the Chair of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. She is married with one son.
The instructors in the program include:
Lesley Choyce, BA, MA, MA, English Instructor. Lesley holds two masters degrees from Montclair State and City University of New York. He has taught at a dozen universities in the United States and in Canada and currently teaches in the English Department at Dalhousie as well as TYP. He is the author of 35 books of fiction, poetry and non-fiction.
Kathrine Lincoln, MSc, Strategies for University Learning Instructor. Kathrine has an MSc in Clinical/Community Psychology from Acadia University. In addition to her part-time private practice as a psychologist, she works part-time as a counsellor and therapist at Dalhousie's Counselling and Psychological Services.
Terri Sabattis, BSW, MSW, Native Studies Instructor. Terri is a member of the Maliseet First Nations community at Oromocto, New Brunswick. She has six children and twelve grandchildren. She has a CSW from Saint Thomas University in Fredericton, a BSW and a MSW from Dalhousie. She has a strong interest in the areas of using traditional methods as well as community resources in implementing modern-day curricula. Her research activities have been in Aboriginal history, ceremonial practices, and methods of teaching, learning and healing. She is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Maritime Centre of Excellence in Women's Health. Her teaching philosophy is: "personally defined family, community and peer support groups are necessary to survive the realities of university life," as well as: "the lone goose gets cooked."
Isaac Saney, BA, MA, LL.B, Black Studies Instructor. Isaac has roots in the Caribbean and Black Nova Scotia. He has an MA in International Development Studies (focussing on political economy and historical analysis) and intends to pursue doctoral studies. The analysis and interpretation of the Black historical tapestry has been a major area of concentration in his work: from pre-colonial African history to the African Diaspora to the Black Nova Scotian experience. Extensive research into the processes and structures of the international political economy is another area of activity. Mr. Saney graduated with his LLB from Dalhousie Law School in May, 2000.
Alan Surovell, BA, MA, Math Instructor. Alan was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in New York. He was involved in the Civil Rights movements during the 1960s and 1970s. After finishing his undergraduate degree in math, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following his military experience, he returned to university to complete his Master's degree in math. Alan came to Canada in 1975 seeking a more humane society and has lived in Halifax ever since. Having spent the next twelve years working with computers, he decided he preferred to work with people and joined the TYP as Math Instructor. He liked the people and remains to this day.
Four TYP faculty members have offices in the TYP house at 1400 LeMarchant Street. Their telephone numbers are as follows: Lesley Choyce (902) 494-6694, Terri Sabattis (902) 494-1530, Isaac Saney (902) 494-1531, Katherine Lincoln (902) 494-1530/(902) 494-2081. The Director, Professor Patricia Doyle-Bedwell, may be reached at (902) 494-8810.
The Halifax-area Native Education Counsellor has an office at 1220 LeMarchant Street, ground floor, and can be reached at (902) 494-8863.
Linda-Lee King, the Black Student Advisor, is located in the Student Union Building, Room 100, phone (902) 494-6648.
