We respectfully acknowledge the territory in which CLEAR works as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, and the island of Newfoundland as the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk. I would also like to recognize the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan, and their ancestors, as the original peoples of Labrador. We strive for respectful relationships with all the peoples of this province as we search for collective healing and true reconciliation and honour this beautiful land together.*

CLEAR is a collective of researchers from a wide range of disciplines (from ocean science to filmmaking), career levels (high school students to full professors), and skillsets. As a feminist and anticolonial science laboratory, we understand introductions as a way to articulate our accountabilities and make our relations apparent.

These are the people that make CLEAR possible:

Max Liboiron

(Michif-settler, they/them) Taanishi! Max Liboiron dishinihkaashoon. Lac la Biche, Treaty siz, d’ooshchiin. Métis naasyoon niiya ni (Woodman, Turner). Hello! I grew up in Lac la Biche, Alberta, Treaty 6 territory. CLEAR as my lab as a Professor in Geography at Memorial University. Welcome! (maxliboiron.com)

Jess Melvin (on leave)

(settler, she/her) Hello, my name is Jess and I am a settler who grew up and currently resides in Bauline East on the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, on what is now known as the island of Newfoundland. Following an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology, I completed a Master’s thesis in plastic pollution under the guidance of CLEAR in 2017. Since then, I have focused my work primarily on marine plastic pollution and community-led environmental research and advocacy. Now, I am excited to return to CLEAR as the lab manager. 

Melissa Morgan

(she/her) Hello – I’m Melissa! I come from Tema, Ghana and I currently reside in St. John’s on the island of Newfoundland, the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq. I graduated from my BSc (Hons) Chemistry degree in 2023 from Memorial University and, shortly after, began working with CLEAR on the Nunatsiavut plastics monitoring project, as a lab technician. Currently, I am CLEAR’s lab manager.

Christina Crespo

(settler, she/her) Hi! My name is Christina Crespo. I am a Cuban American originally from Florida, USA and a doctoral student in anthropology at the University of Georgia. I am interested in how scientists strategically transform scientific practices towards more equitable processes. In particular, my research explores the ways feminist science shapes how knowledge is produced and how scientists are made. I am indebted to Latinx, Chicanx, and Latin American feminist scholars whose work has shaped my understanding of and engagement with the world. I’m excited to be joining the CLEAR community and extend my gratitude for the opportunity!

Edward Allen

Atelihai, my name is Edward Allen (he/him) and I am Kablunangajuk; a person of blended Inuit and settler ancestry who identifies locolineally with Nunatsiavummiut. I am currently a visitor on the ancestral homelands of the Beotuk, where I draw on early, located values in negotiating my privileged semblances and personal complicities. I am interested in wellness as a function of the relationships that Nunatsiavummiut have with the Land and, as a student in Department of Geography at Memorial University and member of CLEAR.

Veronica Madsen

(she/her) IndigeLab Network Coordinator. 
I am a mixed settler/Mi’kmaq member of the Metepengiag Mi’Kmaq Nation, New Brunswick. I grew up geographically closer to Wolastoqey First Nations, NB. My love for travel has taken me to many places in the northern hemisphere, and for many years I called Denmark home. A work opportunity brought my family to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2006 where we have lived ever since. It is here at Memorial University where I received my B.A and am continuing my education towards a M.A in Cultural Geography. My research interests lies in community-led housing initiatives in northern Indigenous communities, more specifically, Rádey??l?? kó (Fort Good Hope, NWT). Where I have had the honour to work with and research for the K’asho Got’ine Housing Society (KGHS).

Alexander Flynn

Hello, my name is Alexander Flynn (him/his) and I am from Forteau, a small fishing community on the south coast of Labrador. I am a member of NunatuKavut and have settler ancestry as well. I am currently doing a master’s program in biology at MUN, researching population dynamics and stability of Labrador lake trout and contributing to other wildlife genetics projects. I am a research assistant at CLEAR working on plastic pollution samples from Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut.

Riley Cotter

(settler, he/him) Hi! I’m Riley Cotter and I am a settler who was born, raised, and works from the island of Newfoundland, which is the ancestral homeland of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq. Originally, I am from a small community called Melrose but I relocated to St. John’s to attend Memorial University. Since 2022, I have worked at CLEAR on a number of multidisciplinary projects across social and natural sciences. Currently, I am a M.Sc. student studying plastics in Nunatsiavut’s marine surface waters and how conceptualizations of place manifest in marine plastic pollution research. 

Sam Morton

(settler, she/her) Hello everyone! My name is Sam Morton. I grew up in Georgetown, ON, and now call St. John’s, NL home. I am a settler living on the traditional territories of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador. I am a PhD student here in the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. My research looks at how different animals (like cows, chickens, goats, among others) are enrolled into foreign aid circuits and international development projects. I joined the lab in summer 2022 and am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this collective.

Paul McCarney

(settler, he/him) Hello, I am an interdisciplinary conservation scientist. I visit, live, and work in the traditional and self-governing territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council in Whitehorse, Yukon. I ground my research in anti-colonial, feminist, Indigenous, and Western conservation science research methodologies to focus on knowledge co-production involving social scientists, natural scientists, and community experts. My work with CLEAR is with the community-based monitoring of plastic pollution in Nunatsiavut.

Lana Vuleta

(settler) Hello, I’m Lana. I’m a settler from the traditional unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. I’ve moved to the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq, the island of Newfoundland, to do my Master’s at CLEAR. I’m working on the Nunatsiavut plastic pollution monitoring project. I’m checking if there is plastic in the ice near Nain, and am researching anticolonial data visualization.

Bridget Nakyanzi Kakooza

(immigrant, she/her) Hello there! I am an immigrant from Kampala, Uganda and currently reside in St. John’s on the homelands of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq – the island of Newfoundland. Originally, I am from Busunju in Mityana District, central Uganda. Currently, I am a master’s student in the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland, studying wild food movements and contaminants of concern in Nunatsiavut. I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to be part of the CLEAR community.

Katrina Anthony

Hi, atiga Katrina (Inuit, they/them), amma Nunatsiavumiunguvunga. Hi, my name is Katrina, and I am from Nunatsiavut. I joined CLEAR as a Community Researcher, I enjoy on the land workshops and working closely with community members. Part of my role is to help, advise and advocate to ensure Inuit Values are upheld and heard. Some of this is done through authorship and attribution, particularly recognizing where community members are often excluded in recognition and the value of their collaboration.

Jeannine Boudreau

(settler, she/her) Hello! I am a settler from New Brunswick, the unceded territory of the Wolastoquiyik and Mi’kmaq peoples. I currently reside in St. John’s on the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk as a biology undergraduate. I am a lab technician participating in CLEAR’s plastic pollution monitoring project.

Rivers Cafferty

Hello! My name is Rivers Cafferty. I use he/him and they/them pronouns. I am a settler living and working in St. John’s on the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq on the island of Newfoundland. I am a B.Sc. Psychology graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. I am currently working as a lab technician at CLEAR lab and am passionate about strengthening my values and becoming a better researcher through anti-colonial, feminist, queer, anti-racist and anti-ableist methods. I am very grateful to be a part of the CLEAR collective.

Geraldine Andersen

Hi! My name is Geraldine Andersen (she/her) and I am an Inuk living in Nain, in my ancestral homelands of Nunatsiavut. I am currently in my final year of studies in Jens Haven Memorial School and plan to pursue an undergraduate science degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. As a research assistant with CLEAR my work is primarily focused on helping organize and facilitate authorship meetings with Katrina and operating the community freezer here in Nain.

Shawn Rivoire

Hello, my name is Shawn Rivoire. I am a white settler currently living on the traditional unceded territories of the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and Peskotomuhkati peoples on the shores of the Wolastoq river or Fredericton, New Brunswick. I am working with CLEAR as the spatial data and mapping lead. My interests lie in helping CLEAR acquire accurate spatial information and to produce beautiful accurate maps of the land we work with.

Ella Vivian

(settler, she/her) Hi! I’m Ella, a settler from the island of Newfoundland, the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq. I graduated from Memorial University with a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology in which I studied plastic pollution in the Gulf of Mexico. I’m excited to work at CLEAR as a lab technician on the pollution monitoring program. 

Sydney Bennett

(settler, She/Her) Hello! My name is Sydney Bennett. I am a settler currently living and working in St. John’s, Newfoundland on the unceded, traditional territory of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq. I moved to Newfoundland in 2021 to attend Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. I completed my BSc in biochemistry with a major in nutrition in the spring of 2024. I am now working at CLEAR as a lab technician, and I am involved in sample processing.

Taryn Pernette

(settler, she/her/hers) Hey there! I’m Taryn, and I am a settler originally from the South Shore of Nova Scotia, the traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq. I am currently in my fifth year of my Bachelors Degree in Ocean Sciences with a Minor in Biology at MUNL and living on the traditional territories of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq on the island of Newfoundland. I am very excited to join CLEAR as a research assistant!

Inemesit Nyong

(immigrant, she/her) Hi there! My name is Inemesit (Inem) and I am an international student from southern Nigeria. For the past two years, I have been living, working, and schooling in St. John’s, Newfoundland, which is the ancestral homeland of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk Indigenous communities. I am in my third year of doing a Bachelor’s degree in Human Biosciences at Memorial University of Newfoundland and look forward to contributing to CLEAR’s vision and goals in my new role as a lab technician.

Erdanya Anderson (she/her)

Sekoh! My name is Erdanya. I am mixed Mohawk/settler with family roots in Tyendinaga. I grew up in Barrie, ON, though I currently reside in Toronto on the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. I recently finished my MA in philosophy where I focused on research ethics, specifically Indigenous research guidelines and their intersection with the TCPS-2. I am humbled and excited to be a part of CLEAR through my position as a research assistant for the IndigeLab Network. 

Alumni of our lab include: Tiaasha Naskar, Tammy Sheppard, Forough Emam, Zhe Shi, Celestine Muli, Carley Mills, Emily Wells, Tristen Morris, Melissa Novachefski, Natalya Dawe, Coco Coyle, Mikayla Downey, Erin Burt, Juddyannet Murichi, Natalie Richárd, France Liboiron, Marissa Van Harmelen, Taylor Stocks, Alexandra Hayward, Justine Ammendolia, Kate Winsor, Sam Wescott, Ignace Schoot, Nic Kuzmochka, Kelechi Emmanuel Anyaeto, Shramana Sarkar, Charlotte Muise, Lucas Harris, Jillian Chidley, Michael Broz, Luke Lucy-Broomfield, Megan Dicker, Jacquelyn Saturno, Lauren Watwood, Dr. Iwalaye (Ayo) Oladimeji, Emily Simmonds, Natasha Healey, Noah Hutton, Taylor Hess, Hridisha Arif, Melissa Paglia, John Atkinson, Anna Malone, Paddy Dawe, Abdul Rahat, Eli Earles, Kaitlyn Hawkins, Molly Rivers, Willa Neilsen, Morgan Davidson, Elizabeth Adeyemo, Alyson Park, Sarah Crocker, Jasmine Burt, Kiersten Gulliver, Emma Ford, Vidyashini (Vidhu) Thamodharan, Jefta Merkuratsuk, Alex Zahara, Morgan Manuel, Susannah Polack-Finley, Dr. Charles Mather, Dr. Nicole Power, Nadia Duman, Silvana Rodrigues Pereira, Sid Ford, Janine O’Rielly, Mukhtara Yusuf, Joe Wark, Charlotte Florian, Dani Nowosad, Paige LeDrew, Domenica Lombeida, Arif Abu, Sophia Jaworski, Dr. Girish Daswani, Dr. Deondre Smiles, Dr. Katherine Crocker, Julia Keeping, Haley Winsor, Draco Dunphy, Megan Costain, Tai Henderson, Mel Flynn, Rui Liu (twice!), Joseph Onalik, Ashley Hayward, Kelsie Senior, Mia Kocela, Hillary Bradshaw, Kayla Wyatt, Brittany Schaefer, CJ Hoegg-Phelps, Caroline Nochasak, Madison Malloy (thrice!) and Alana Derry (thrice!)

Artists in residence have included: Bojan Fürst, Mukhtara Yusuf, Emily Roehl, Prakash Krishnan, and Pam Hall.

* This Land acknowledgment for Memorial University, which has campuses in various parts of the province, was created by the five Indigenous groups in the province together in 2015.