Natalie is currently in her last semester of her undergraduate degree in geography and Circumpolar studies at Trent University where she currently supports the Laera Institute for Circumpolar Education. Natalie’s passion for the North developed over learning experience in Alaksa, Norway, Scotland, and Iceland. Natalie’s recent experiences have included working on the UArctic 2030 BANHER project facilitated by the The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) in Akureyri and Reykjavik where she worked on producing a policy brief on environmentally and economically sustainable Arctic blue economies during times of international tension and geopolitical uncertainty. Natalie also attended the NAADSN Alaska-Yukon Defense and Security field course which allowed her to explore her understanding of the connections between military, envrionemtal, and human security. 

Natalie is currently completing an undergraduate thesis project which is focused on understanding the geographical, political, and economic barriers to creating and facilitating post-secondary education programs in the North American and European Arctic with attention to offering culturally and locally relevant education opportunities for remote and Indigenous residents of the North. 

Natalie will be pursuing graduate studies to further develop her understanding of the intersection between human and environmental security in the North American Arctic with research interests focused on policy, human capacity, education, land claims, and subsistence rights.