She obtained a PhD in Educational Studies from the University of British Columbia. Her areas of research interest include social exclusion and community development education; issues of public engagement and citizenship as they relate to youth, young adults, gender and class, and critical and performative ethnography and arts- based inquiry. She has presented and published work in these areas. A mother of two young boys, Tanya is also a community volunteer and educator on Cape Breton Island where she lives and works. Her community work includes the design and facilitation of interpersonal and public communication training for school children, community groups, and organization. She is actively involved in community economic development initiatives as a community-based researcher, a group facilitator, and communication consultant.