Harding, Penina Sara-Lynn
B.A., PhD Candidate - Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Biography
Penína is a Secwépemc scholar from Esk'étemc First Nation, a short 3-hour drive south of Prince George, BC.
Penína is serving as the Interim Associate Vice-President, Indigenous from July 2, 2024 to December 31, 2025 while completing her PhD and raising the youngest of her 4 children. She is a recipient of the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship (2022-2025) and a former BC Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research (BC NEIHR) Doctoral Scholarship recipient (2020-21). Also in 2021, Penína completed the National Screen Institute's TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators certification program. She is now NSI Alumni and the Class of 2018 UNBC Alumni for her Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Administration & Community Development with an Environmental Planning Specialization. She was transferred from her M.A. NRES to the PhD NRES in May 2020 and has nearly completed her doctoral studies.
Research and Expertise
Indigenous Environmental Planning; Indigenous Research Methodologies; and Experience of Place. Penína is also contributing to the field of Indigenous Data Sovereignty by developing First Nation led research ethics policies that can be implemented within the Canadian research context.
She is in the 5th year of her PhD - NRES and her dissertation is titled: Documenting Esk'etemc Experience of Place to Prepare for Generative Land-Use Planning.
- Environment
- Indigenous Environmental Planning