Staff

Photograph of Sam Karschti's dog.

Sam Karschti

Sam is a Lakehead University graduate with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in gerontology and women's studies, and a Master of Arts in social justice studies with a specialization in women's studies. She is excited to be working as a research and administrative assistant at CRaNHR, and is looking forward to working on a variety of projects.

Photograph of Shevaun Nadin.

Dr. Shevaun Nadin

Dr. Shevaun Nadin has a PhD in social psychology from Carleton University, and holds the Credentialed Evaluator (CE) designation from the Canadian Evaluation Society. As a program evaluator, her main research interests are in needs assessment and program evaluation. Dr. Nadin first joined CRaNHR as a Project Researcher for the Aboriginal Nurses Study in 2012, and most recently in 2015 as an Affiliated Investigator. She has worked on numerous applied health and program evaluation projects that focused on understanding the health needs, and improving health services for people living in rural areas. She also teaches program evaluation, and conducts research on the practice of evaluation itself. Dr. Nadin holds an appointment as an external adjunct professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Lakehead University, and is an active member of the Canadian Evaluation Society and American Evaluation Association.

Photograph of Rachael Zacharias Bezanson.

Rachael Zacharias Bezanson

Rachael Zacharias Bezanson is a Knowledge Translation and Exchange Assistant at the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research, Lakehead University (Thunder Bay). She and the CRaNHR team recently completed work for the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care on a Northwestern Ontario-wide engagement process, which collected addiction and mental health priorities and assessed support for a proposed Northern Centre of Excellence for Addiction and Mental Health. Prior to this, she worked on an evaluation of community-based opioid replacement programs for nine rural and remote Matawa First Nations. Rachael has previously undertaken research in newcomer settlement (Kitchener-Waterloo), HIV/AIDS treatment (Zomba, Malawi), community-based organization evaluations (Hamilton), and migration monitoring (Toronto). She holds a master's degree in Human Geography from the University of Waterloo, and dedicates her spare time to family, refugee sponsorship, birding and getting outside.