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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
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2025 / 2026
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ALYSSA DEURWAARDER
President
ABOUTI am a MSc student studying how landscape features within a permafrost thaw affected watershed influence the biogeochemistry of freshwater systems. Through this work I have gotten the opportunity to travel up to Inuvik multiple times and I just keep wanting to go back! I'm an outdoor enthusiast and enjoy backcountry camping, rock climbing and fishing.
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BAILEY GRONDIN
Secretary
ABOUTHi everyone! I'm Bailey and I'm just starting my MSc this year. My research focuses on understanding the relationship between surficial geology, ground ice, and thermokarst features near Tuktoyaktuk. I'm looking forward to a great year!
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SHELBY ROBERTSON
Treasurer
ABOUTMy MSc research focuses on changes to water quality in peatlands and their downstream waterbodies in the Northwest Territories, with a focus on watersheds experiencing fire and permafrost loss. These questions are linked with community concerns in the north, including the mobilization of nutrients and metals like mercury that have ecosystem and human health implications. Outside of the lab and field, you can catch me in the gym, scuba diving, with a good book, or exploring some new hiking trails.
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MÉDÉRIC LORRY
Events Coordinator
ABOUTSecond year PhD student in PACS Lab under Duane Froese. I am studying the relationship between recent wildfires and permafrost degradation (thermokarst) in the Sahtu Region, NWT. Working close to Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells and Tulít'a. I did a Master's degree in Natural geological hazards and risk and discovered permafrost through a group project and now I aspire to contribute to the resilience of Northern communities!
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JAROD McLEAY
Events Coordinator
ABOUTI am Jarod McLeay, an Indigenous Master’s student from Dr. Lanoil’s lab. My focus and connection to the North is to understand how microbial communities are changed due to thaw slumps and how the communities react over the course of years. I have just done my first field work in the Peel Plateau region and hope to work and cooperate with the communities further in the future. I am also happy to take on the role of Event/Social organizer with the U of A Northern Students’ Association.
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HANAA YOUSIF
Events Coordinator
ABOUTI’m a PhD student in climate sciences in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. I’m originally from London, UK, and moved to Edmonton for graduate school. My research explores ice cores from glaciers in the Yukon Territory and Nunavut, including Mount Logan. I’m especially interested in how volcanic signals - like aerosols and ash particles - are preserved in the ice and what they can tell us about Earth’s past climate. With the Northern Students’ Association, I hope to support a safe and engaging environment for students working (or just interested!) in the North.
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GABRIELLE HATTEN
Academic Outreach Coordinator
ABOUTI am a PhD student working with Suzanne Tank. I have been working in the Northwest Territories since 2022 investigating the influence of landscape variability on northern freshwater chemistry. Through the NSA, I hope to support students in securing and managing fieldwork funding, encourage meaningful engagements with northern communities, and connect students with the academic resources they need.
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FINN KURYLOWICZ
Funding Coordinator & Speaker Series Coordinator
ABOUTI am a second-year PhD student working in Dr. David Olefeldt's Catchment and Wetland Sciences Lab. I use the eddy covariance technique along with hydrological monitoring to study carbon cycling dynamics in fens and marshes of the discontinuous permafrost zone. I am especially interested in understanding carbon fluxes outside the summer growing season - which entails frequent field work in nipping winds and waist-deep snow.
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SARAH ELLIS
Speaker Series Coordinator & YukonU Liasion
ABOUTMy initial exposure to the North was helicopter fly-in field mapping in the Yukon in 2016 during my undergraduate studies and I was immediately drawn to the remoteness, strong sense of community, and deep connection to nature that the North offers. In 2018, I made the move to Whitehorse, Yukon, and have since held a variety of roles in industry and the geological survey which have given me the unique opportunity to experience, explore and engage with people across the Yukon and Northern BC. I am currently pursuing a Master of Science at the University of Alberta, where my research focuses on developing a geologic and metallogenic framework for Oligocene to Miocene magmatism in southwest Yukon.
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EVAN FRANCIS
Speaker Series Coordinator
ABOUTHi everyone! I'm Evan, a first year MSc student with Duane Froese and now a Speaker Coordinator for the NSA. I worked with Duane for three years as an undergrad doing Pleistocene-Holocene transitional palaeoecology in the Yukon as well as analysing CT scanning data of permafrost cores, including an internship with AWI in Germany. I'm now developing an updated ground ice content model for the Mackenzie Valley Highway Corridor! Fun fact about me: I was born in Whitehorse, YT and grew up in Drumheller, AB.
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GABBY STASZUK
Communications & Social Media
ABOUTHi everyone! I’m Gabby, a fourth-year undergrad about to finish my degree in biology and chemistry. My interest in Arctic research started when I got a job working in Dr. Suzanne Tank’s lab (and I haven’t been able to leave since!). I am now working on my undergraduate thesis, investigating sulfur biogeochemistry in a thawing NWT watershed. I’m so excited to get more involved in the NSA this year!
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HANNAH ANDRONYK
Communications & Social Media
ABOUTI'm Hannah, a fourth-year undergraduate studying Biological and Earth Sciences. Over the past year, my research has focused on biogeochemical cycling in Arctic freshwater ecosystems affected by permafrost thaw. When I'm not immersed in northern research, you'll likely find me lifting heavy weights or befriending any cat that crosses my path.
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JOIN OUR TEAM
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The Northern Students' Association is always seeking new members. Email us at [email protected] to learn more about how to get involved.
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