Decarcertation Beyond the Prison

Ishika Bhambhani (she/her) graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Biology from The University of British Columbia – Okanagan in 2022. As the Research Assistant at the Contraception and Abortion Research Team at UBC, Ishika is involved in various research projects focusing on women’s reproductive health globally. She is particularly interested in addressing the barriers in mental health services, particularly for those with personality disorders, and sexual dysfunction. Ishika hopes to pursue her graduate degree in Clinical Psychology, and eventually provide culturally safe psychological services for those with stigmatized mental health challenges.

Nyki Kish (she/elle) is the Associate Executive Director with the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, and graduate student at the University of Victoria in Sociology. She focuses on social institutions and organization, with a focus on structural violence. She holds many publications and often called upon as an expert of issues related to Canadian incarceration.

Stacy Gomez is Manager of the Migrant Workers Program with No One is Illegal – Nova Scotia (NOII-NS), which provides rights education, support services, and organizes with migrant workers throughout the province. Stacey has worked with several community-based and national organizations, in roles ranging from frontline service provision, communications, public engagement, government relations, advocacy and more. Stacey holds an MA in Development Studies from York University.

Cara Steele, BScN, Rn, SANE has been a Registered Nurse (RN) for nearly 10 years. She completed her undergraduate and nursing degrees at Dalhousie University in Halifax. After spending most of her nursing career in Postpartum Care at the IWK, while also obtaining two years’ experience as a member of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) response team, she accepted the position of SANE Program Manager at Avalon Sexual Assault Centre in July of 2023. She is driven to educate communities and organizations about sexual assault and improving equitable access to care and supports for survivors. She enjoys spending her free time sipping tea, connecting with family and friends, and chasing her two dogs: Stella and Chewie.

Devan Bell is currently enrolled in the Master of Planning program at Dalhousie University, where she is also working as a research assistant on projects related to surveillance, data collection and racial justice in major urban centers. She hopes to continue to work on initiatives that further equity and justice in planning theory and practice.

Devan is deeply passionate about community building, and her past volunteer commitments have been with community-based organizations both internationally and at home. She is interested in participatory planning approaches that involve community engagement and decision-making at all stages of the planning process and in planning for the development of sustainable, housing- and food-secure communities in rural and remote locations.

Dr. Lisa Berglund is an associate professor in the School of Planning at Dalhousie University. Her research lies at the intersections of neighbourhood change, urban design and community development. She focuses on community organizing and social movements in the context of neighbourhood change, including processes like gentrification, displacement, and redevelopment. This research engages with communities to understand the policy obstacles and design practices that disenfranchise, and physically and culturally displace some groups from changing neighborhoods, and how these communities resist exclusionary planning practices. Her current work explores the role of urban planners and urban designer professions in surveillance of public and semi-public spaces, aiming to uncover clear avenues for activism within the profession and through community partnerships for just and democratic public spaces. 

Helen Yao grew up in Chengdu, China and now lives in Stanstead, Quebec with her family. She completed her Honours degree with a major in Sociology and a minor in Political Science at Mount Allison University. Currently, she is completing her Master's in Women and Gender Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University with Dr. El Jones. Her research involves prison abolition, gender violence, and transformative justice.

When Lisa Adams graduated from high school, her life was on a path of post-secondary study and scholarships at St. Thomas University, with plans for law school on the near horizon. Unfortunately, the course of her life changed dramatically when she became enmeshed in a relationship with an abusive partner. As a result, was unable to attend university as planned and instead her life would become an over decades long roller coaster ride of toxic relationships, addiction and mental illness. She was eventually arrested and then later plead guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and was sent to serve her federal sentence at Nova Institution for Women in Truro, NS. 

While incarcerated, Adams began a legal challenge in Nova Scotia Supreme Court after being placed in a "dry cell" upon suspicion of smuggling contraband into the institution. Adams’ case was heard in the Supreme Court and resulted in the judge ruling in favour of Adams and her lawyers' arguments that the law allowing dry cells breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is discriminatory on the basis of sex. The law was struck down and, as a result, Parliament has been tasked with creating a better law to govern what happens when an inmate is suspected of being in possession of drugs.

Adams is now an advocate for decarceration and abolition, fights against the over-criminalization of women, and speaks about her experience and those of other women who have had their rights and freedoms discriminatorily breached.  

She works with the Elizabeth Fry Society in Saint John, NB. Two regional projects are especially close to her heart. It’s My Life is an advocacy, awareness, and support program for survivors of human trafficking, where Adams witnesses first-hand the incredible capacity for recovery of women like herself. She is also a member of the Advisory Council for On Our Terms, a three-year WAGE grant researching the criminalization of women in domestic and intimate partnerships. Her first voice input has been invaluable to the work.  

Adams lives and works in Saint John, NB and is the proud mom of two young boys, Mason (14) and Hudson (10).  She has an interest in anything fashion or beauty-related and loves to journal.

Clare Heggie is a health researcher and health promoter, currently working as a health promotion specialist at IWK Health. She has a MA in Health Promotion from Dalhousie University and has been a volunteer doula for three years.