Terry Gibbs

is a settler of Welsh/English descent although she aspires to be a global citizen with all that entails. She spent the early years of her childhood in the North West Territories (now Nunavut) in the Inuit communities of Igloolik, Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet. She then lived in Wales where her parents ran a tavern, the Three Horseshoes. At 15 she moved back to Turtle Island (Canada) and has lived in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and now, Mi’kma’ki (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia. She returned to live in the UK to complete graduate studies then after a year of teaching at Carleton University in Ottawa, she lived briefly in New York where she met her partner Garry. Terry has lived and worked around the world in various countries of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe and Palestine. Since 2004, she has taught international politics at Cape Breton University with a focus on social justice issues.

Through her life experience and travels, Terry has developed a deep commitment to making connections (local to global) and building bridges between various movements and communities. This has involved many years of experiential learning and teaching in the process of educating for social change. Prior to entering the university system, she spent many years working in the non-profit sector both in Canada and internationally and she continues to be involved in community work and social justice activism. Terry is a trained Dialogue for Peaceful Change facilitator and conducts workshops in self awareness, interpersonal communication, cross and intercultural communication, and conflict resolution.

In recent years, due to crises in her own family, Terry has become actively engaged in the mental health community and is trained as a Families Matter facilitator (a program supported by Nova Scotia Health Services) providing peer support to family members and loved ones of those living with mental illness and addictions. Her partner is living with PTSD and, with their two sons born in Cape Breton and a daughter and extended family in Panama, they are navigating the challenges as a family. For many years Terry has found herself providing support to students and colleagues dealing with mental health issues and has been engaged in workshops and educational events aimed at confronting stigma and providing spaces for safe dialogue on mental health topics. She is very interested in supporting efforts to enhance mental health and resilience in her community and beyond. Terry is also trained in meditation and spiritual guidance (in the Buddhist tradition with teacher Ani Pema Chödrön) and is a long-time practitioner. She is also an animal lover, amateur gardener and she loves to cook. She was a founding member of the Cape Breton University Community garden, the Animal Ethics Project and is active in the local food movement.