Announcing the 2026 Wellbeing Strategic Initiative Fund Grant Recipients

Recipient: Dr. Alois Sieben, Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication 

This project will pilot a neurodiversity-affirming model of academic writing support through a two-day accessible writing retreat, an academic writing workshop for neurodivergent students, and UDL-informed training for writing consultations. 

Recipient: Michelle Blown, Teacher Education Program 

Through arts- and inquiry-based workshops, the project supports Teacher Candidates in preparing and processing the emotional realities of practicum while fostering wellbeing and resilience. A facilitation toolkit will be developed and shared with Bachelor of Education instructors to scale these practices widely. 

Recipient: Dr. Lillian May, Department of Psychology 

This project aims to enhance belonging and wellbeing among a diverse student body by piloting a student-partnered initiative. Teams of supervised undergraduate students will identify potential Psychology course readings that include or focus on traditionally underrepresented or marginalized populations. 

Recipient: Dr. Anuja Doshi, Oral Biological and Medical Sciences 

This project aims to develop resources that support learner wellbeing in UBC Dentistry clinical environments. Grounded in survey findings, these resources will guide responses to patient mistreatment, including discriminatory comments, sexual harassment, and other harmful behaviours. 

Recipient: Dr. Siobhán Wittig McPhee, Department of Geography 

Building on Voices of the Unseen, a custodial audio piece already used in courses, this initiative shares immersive stories from another often-unseen UBC group, sessional lecturers. This will provide a lasting home in courses, campus spaces, and online to nurture belonging and spatial empathy. 

Recipient: Dr. Eden Fussner-Dupas, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 

This project will explore the relationship between instructor wellbeing, teaching practice, and student experience to better understand how strengthening educator wellness contributes to healthier, more supportive learning environments. 

Recipient: Dr. Jannik Eikenaar, School of Engineering 

This project will study undergraduate engineering students' use of AI tools and develop recommendations for best practices for their uses in supporting wellbeing. 

Recipient: Rishma Chooniedass, Faculty of Health and Social Development 

Students will collaborate with an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, Indigenous Programs and Services, and Sustainability Hub to co-create culturally respectful campus resources, including a map and QR-linked learning to foster reciprocal relationships with the land. 

Recipient: Anne Sinclair, SHS-Counselling Services-IMHW 

The IMHW Student Connection & Wellbeing Program is a bi-weekly initiative that supports Indigenous student wellbeing through shared meals and community connection. It promotes belonging, reduces barriers to support, and connects students with IMHW staff and resources. 

Recipient: Adrian Hingston, OKSE - Health, Safety and Environment 

This project implements free sunscreen dispensers across UBC Okanagan as a visible, preventative health initiative that promotes sun safety, reduces barriers to sunscreen use, and aligns with UBC's commitment to student health and wellbeing.

Recipient: Dr. Eduardo Jovel, Faculty of Land and Food Systems 

This project aims to establish recurring community wellness days at xʷc̓ic̓əsəm to strengthen relationships with the land, culture, community, and intergenerational cultural practices, while providing accessible, holistic Indigenous land-based wellness opportunities for UBC and urban Indigenous communities. 

Recipient: Dr. Leanne Currie, School of Nursing 

This project includes a welcome day and student-led monthly gatherings such as faculty-student lunches, Elder-led Tea & Talk circles, cultural workshops, and land-based wellness activities. Students will be guided by Indigenous Elders, Indigenous Faculty, and Indigenous Alumni. 

Recipient: Dr. Gilciane Ceolin, UBC Postdoctoral Association 

This project includes the launch of bi-weekly “Thrive Teams” for postdocs experiencing career-related anxiety, worry, and isolation. The peer accountability groups aim to foster community, reduce isolation, and worry by supporting participants through shared goals and mutual encouragement. 

Recipient: Annie Yim, Faculty of Arts, Dean's Office 

This project explores how everyday workplace communication and interactions shape psychological safety and wellbeing. Using faculty listening sessions to generate anonymized, theme-based use cases, the project aims to support ongoing dialogue and COP focused on strengthening employee wellbeing and psychological safety. 

Recipient: Dr. Shivani Kaushik, FHSD / Social Work  

This project is a peer-supported, community-based initiative that provides graduate students with a welcoming and non-judgmental space to discuss experiences of grief, loss, and life transitions with aims to reduce isolation, strengthen social connection, and nurture compassionate community care. 

Recipients: Marina Bockaj (student) and Dr.Peter Zandstra, Biomedical Engineering 

This project will develop and pilot a skills-based workshop that translates human-factors engineering, stress physiology, and communication science into practical tools for high-pressure research environments. The project will be piloted within a Biomedical Engineering research lab before broader dissemination. 

Recipient: Paula Verholen, Office of the Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Okanagan 

This project is designed to foster a healthy, connected, and engaged workplace culture through six Pit Stops. The series will bring faculty and staff together through healthy food, brief movement-based activities, informal connection and community engagement in support of the UBC Okanagan United Way Campaign. 

Recipients: Alison Ariss and Germaine Koh, Art History, Visual Art & Theory 

This project will establish a student-led network, drawing on the Slow Fashion Cluster’s multi-disciplinary collaborations to build skills, knowledge, and wellbeing through sustainable fashion. 

Recipient: Dr. Nadena Doharty, Educational Studies 

This project aims to advance a cross-institutional community of women-identifying, mid-career faculty to co-write in nature at UBC's Botanical Garden.

Recipient: Vanessa Linton, Health Equity, Promotion and Education 

In its 17th year, Thrive, UBC’s annual mental health literacy campaign, will support collaborative events and programming to increase awareness, connection, and community wellbeing at UBC Vancouver. 

Recipient: Amanda Swoboda, Human Resources, Workplace Health and Wellbeing 

Building off last year’s success, this project aims to continue offering Thrive grants to support student, faculty, and staff led Thrive events at UBC Okanagan.  

Recipient: Liska Richer & David Speight, SEEDS Sustainability and UBC Food Services  

UBC’s Food Systems Solutions initiative serves as a multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary hub that leads and inspires collaborative action for local and global change for just, secure, healthy, resilient and sustainable food systems at UBC and beyond. 

Recipient: Gabriella Scali, UBC Inspired 

Harvest Feastival brings the community together for an epic evening of friends, food and arts and culture. The post-feastival arts and culture programming is a key component of the event, supporting social connection and providing an important opportunity to explore arts and culture at UBC. 

Recipient Gabriella Scali, UBC Inspired 

Thrive by the Fire is the "kick off" to Thrive month, allowing the campus community to learn about, talk about, and explore ways to support mental health together. Funding will support a mental health resource fair highlighting that mental health is a year-round pursuit, and so are resources at UBC. 

Recipient: Abishek Kanagasabay, Office of Physical Activity 

Move UBC Grants are a stream of funding intended to support members of the UBC Community in their pursuit of integrating physical activity into their daily lives and the wellbeing of our community by moving more. 

Recipient: Oliver Lane, Sustainability Hub  

This project aims to empower faculty across disciplines to integrate climate change and wellbeing content and teaching practices into their courses to actively engage students and support meaningful learning.