Faculty EDI Lead Members

Chair, Dr. Malinda Smith is the Vice-Provost & Associate Vice President Research (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) in the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and a Professor, Faculty of Arts.

Dr. Malinda S. Smith, Vice Provost and Associate Vice President Research (EDI) | University of Calgary

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Chair

Dr. Malinda Smith is the inaugural Vice Provost and Associate Vice President of Research (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and a full professor of political science at the University of Calgary. Prior to joining UCalgary, she was a full professor of political science at the University of Alberta, where she held various roles, including Provost Fellow (EDI Policy) in the Office of the Provost and Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) in the Department of Political Science.

Dr. Smith has served on numerous higher education governance committees, including Vice President (Equity Issues) for the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and Chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion External Review Committee for the Canada Research Chairs. Currently, she serves on SSHRC Governing Council and Executive; as Vice Chair of the Inter-Institutional Advisory Committee for the Scarborough Charter, on Statistics Canada’s Immigration and Ethnocultural Statistics Advisory Committee; and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s External EDI Advisory Board.

Dr. Smith is the coauthor, editor, or coeditor of 7 books, numerous articles, book chapters and reports and has given dozens of invited keynotes and public lectures in the areas of equity, diversity, human rights, and decolonization in higher education, African political economy, and international relations. Dr. Smith is the coauthor of The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities (2017); coeditor of Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics (OUP 2023); the Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy (UofT Press, 2022); States of Race: Critical Race Feminism for the 21st Century (BTL 2010). and three books on Africa, including Securing Africa: Post-9/11 Discourses on Terrorism (2010).

Dr. Smith is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including Calgary Black Chambers’ Lifetime Achievement Award (2023), an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Simon Fraser University (2021), Compelling Calgarians (2021), the International Studies Association’s  Women’s Caucus’s Susan S. Northcutt Award (2020), 100 Accomplished Black Women Honouree (2020), the ISA-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award (2018-19), P.E. Trudeau Foundation Fellow (2018), the HSBC Community Contributor of the Year Award (2016); and the Canadian Association of University Teachers’ Equity Award  (2015).

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Dr. Getachew Assefa

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My doctoral research at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, focusing on the Sustainability Assessment of Technical Systems, drew on my sustainability philosophy that connects back to what I believe is the historical backyard of the sustainability concept and approach. The origins of the ideas of utilizing resources at a sustainable rate can be traced back to different ancient literatures, including the Scripture where a two-dimensional command says: 'and the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it,' Genesis 2:15. For me, the  'dress' dimension represents designing and using technologies for human economic and social development.  The 'keep' dimension accounts for the environmental sustainability of the activity of development and utilization of technologies.

By having a holistic approach, my research strives to avoid problem-shifting and sub-optimization in designing and developing technical systems, including buildings, energy systems, etc.  Sustainability can't be realized without making the whole world sustainable through environmentally benign, economically viable and socially equitable utilization of resources. During my many travels around the world, I have seen the importance of addressing developmental needs on one hand and environmental sustainability on the other. It is not an either-or; it is both that we, as human beings, need to deal with. I am confident our common will and effort have the power to make a positive difference.  

Out of work, I enjoy participating in different activities of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. My other interests include swimming as well as reading and writing on sustainability and a spectrum of other issues.

Dr. Kristin Baetz

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Dr. Baetz holds a PhD (2000) from the University of Toronto in medical genetics and microbiology and a BSc Honours (1995) from Queen’s University in biochemistry. She currently sits on the board of Research Canada, a national, broadly based alliance dedicated to advancing health research through collaborative advocacy. She is the former president of the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences, whose mandate is to advance and promote molecular biosciences in Canada. 

Dr. Baetz has served extensively as both reviewer and chair at many funding agencies, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). In 2017, the CIHR College of Reviewers recognized her as an outstanding reviewer. 

She is passionate about science and delivering future-focused programs that will allow our graduates to participate in and drive the transformation of the Calgary and Alberta economy. Her guiding principle is that innovation and excellence are built on collaboration and diversity. She has a long-standing commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenous engagement and looks forward to continuing her advocacy and reconciliation journey at UCalgary.

Ms. Tessa Baker

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Tessa Baker completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Biology at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC in 2006 and graduated with a DVM from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 2010. After graduation in 2010, she worked in both rural mixed animal and urban companion animal practice in Alberta for 6 years. Between university years and during short career breaks, she pursued her interest in One Health and access to veterinary care on a volunteer basis, traveling to both Kenya and Laos. To further explore this interest, she completed a Masters of Science in 2018 at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM). Her thesis evaluated the impacts of the provision of subsidized veterinary services in five remote northern Indigenous communities on dog health and welfare and community concerns about dogs. 

After completing a masters, she worked from 2018-2021 at the UCVM promoting and advancing education and research in One Health, globalization, and Indigenous engagement and cultural awareness. In June 2021 she successfully wrote the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM) board exams to become a Diplomate of the ACVPM. 

Most recently, she has been a Postdoctoral Associate at UCVM working on a number of projects related to increasing equitable access to veterinary care, dog population management with Indigenous communities, and improving diversity and equity in the veterinary curriculum and profession. In September 2024, she joined the UCVM as an Assistant Professor (Teaching), as one of two people hired to develop and implement a community care clinic at the UCVM’s Spy Hill Campus.

Dr. Añiela dela Cruz

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Dr. Añiela dela Cruz holds a PhD in Nursing and an MSc in Health Promotion Studies (University of Alberta). She has over 25 years of professional experience in public health, health policy, and health and program evaluation research. In her career, Añiela has worked with Alberta communities, provincial and federal governments, and non-government organizations focusing on areas of public health such as HIV/AIDS, chronic disease prevention, pre-natal nutrition, Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC), and child and youth health promotion and illness prevention. She has worked extensively with diverse and resilient communities in Alberta and across Canada including women, children, people living with HIV, marginalized immigrants, First Nations communities, urban Indigenous communities, and urban and rural populations.

Añiela has expertise in qualitative research, contributing to the body of knowledge that concerns the health of migrants (in Canada), pre- and post- migration experiences, cultural safety, social determinants of health, and relational ethics. In her doctoral work, Aniela used narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly) as methodology to inquire into the experiences of sub-Saharan African immigrants living with HIV in Alberta. Currently, Añiela is the Calgary site lead for the national project, Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment (ACE) Intervention: Reducing HIV Stigma and Promoting Community Resilience through Capacity Building. Añiela also currently chairs the Newcomer, HIV, Immigration, treatment Engagement and Stigma in Canada (NewHITES) Community Based Research Team.  The team comprises community leaders, people living with HIV, government, AIDS Service Organizations (ASO), community-based and academic-based researchers working together towards health and social equities within the intersections of HIV, stigma, migration and settlement. She also served as past co-chair to the Canadian HIV/AIDS Black, African and Caribbean (CHABAC) Network. Aniela’s work in HIV began in 2002 in Alberta, and continues this work in the broader context of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection (STBBI) prevention, care and support, health promotion, social determinants of health, and community-based research.

At the Faculty of Nursing, Añiela also provides leadership in the areas of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) as it relates to student experiences, learning, and nursing practice. Initiating EDIA initiatives at the Faculty since 2014, Aniela launched the first Faculty of Nursing EDIA Advisory Committee in 2022, working alongside students, staff, and faculty to advance EDIA in nursing.

In the community, Añiela serves in various volunteer roles and service work. She currently serves as a member on the Canadian Nurses Association Anti-racism Action Council, as well as the Academic Liaison and Advisor to the Philippine Canadian Nurses Association.