Cohort 3

Ash Lowenthal (she/her) is a recent PhD graduate of McGill University’s School of Social Work, where she worked under the supervision of Dr. Delphine Collin-Vézina. Until recently, she served as a Research Coordinator with the Canadian Consortium on Child and Youth Trauma, where she led national training and knowledge mobilization initiatives and collaborated with partner organizations to strengthen trauma- and violence-informed practices across Canada. With over fifteen years of experience in the social work field — spanning mental health, addictions, parent support, community development, and outdoor education — her practice has centered most deeply on work with children, youth, and families, as well as on training, supervising, and mentoring those who work directly with young people. Her research examines adult–child power dynamics and the implementation of trauma- and violence-informed care in youth residential care settings, with a particular interest in what makes genuine transformative change both possible and elusive. She is also a mother and considers her child her greatest teacher. Their relationship is the living laboratory where her theories about child liberation and unlearning control can be tested and practiced. She holds an MSW from Wilfrid Laurier University and a BA in International Development and Gender Studies from the University of Guelph.