Colleen Dell

Colleen Anne Dell is a Professor & Research Chair in One Health and Wellness at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Sociology and School of Public Health. She is also a Senior Research Associate with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Grounded in a community-based participatory approach, her research focuses on healing from addictions and mental health, with specific attention to Indigenous populations and animal assisted interventions (ranging from canine assisted therapy through to service dog interventions). She has two registered therapy dogs and a service dog who, alongside community and academic partners, are involved in various projects with Colleen examining how animals benefit human wellness. These projects include federal prisoners, university students, seniors, addictions treatment clients, war veterans and youth. Colleen has worked extensively at the community and national levels, including with the Elizabeth Fry Society, Correctional Service Canada and the Senate of Canada. Underlying Colleen’s work is a belief in bringing together different ways of knowing. Her commitment to facilitating understanding is recognized in the production of a variety of unique knowledge mobilization products from her funded studies, including music videos and paintings. In 2017, Colleen was named to the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, a part of the Canadian Honours System, in recognition of her humanitarian research and community service in the animal assisted intervention field. You can follow her therapy dogs on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaBelleSubiesAdventures/