Amanda Bakke

I am deeply committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, social justice, and anti-oppressive practice, particularly within healthcare systems and community-based research. I have contributed to this work through a range of leadership, research, and volunteer roles, including serving as a Research Associate at the Dr. Gilles Arcand Centre for Health Equity at NOSM University, a Board Director with Guelph Community Health Centres, and as a PhD student in the Social Practice and Transformational change program. My doctoral thesis will focus on how transgender, non-binary and gender diverse individuals experience safe, wholistic and timely gender-affirming care (GAC) to understand the individual, social, structural, and systemic factors influencing GAC access within different geographic regions of Ontario, including Northern, rural and remote (NRR) communities.

The Social Practice and Transformation Change PhD program is founded on key pillars including intersectionality and decolonization, feminist, gender and sexuality perspectives, social justice praxis, and community-engaged scholarship. These ideologies have grounded my development as a researcher and shaped the work I am most passionate about. I believe the SOPR program welcomes this critical lens and pushing the boundaries of social science research and is therefore uniquely positioned to support work that challenges the status quo, crosses methodological boundaries, and advances social justice for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

I continue to work as a Research Associate at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Outside of my professional and academic pursuits, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, reading, travelling and finding new food spots to enjoy.