CV – The Drawing Board

The Drawing Board is what you come back to when you need to refresh and enliven.

Nakita Valerio is the owner, editor-in-chief and head writer/researcher for The Drawing Board. Her information can be found below.

Present and past contributors for The Drawing Board can be found here.

Bio

Nakita Valerio is an award-winning writer, researcher, and Muslim community organizer based on Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton. She serves as the Research Director for the Institute for Religious and Socio-Political Studies (I-RSS), as well as the Editor-in-Chief for the RSS Journal and the Edmonton Heritage Council’s ECAMP collection. Nakita is the founder and facilitator of The Nusaibah Collective (a holistic study group for sisters) and is a student of Arabic, tajweed and calligraphy. Her graduate studies were in Islamic-Jewish historical studies at the University of Alberta and she continues to act as an academic strategist/mentor for students in the arts. Nakita serves as an advisor and research fellow to the Chester Ronning Center for the Study of Religion and Public Life at the University of Alberta and is the sponsor for the Fatima Al-Fihri Graduate Award in Islamic Studies. She is currently writing a creative non-fiction book and a novel.

Education

Master of Arts (2017), University of Alberta, Department of History & Classics, 4.0+ Remembering the Departure of Moroccan Jews (thesis)
Advisors: Professors Jocelyn Hendrickson and Andrew Gow

Bachelor of Arts (2009), University of Alberta, Department of History & Classics, 3.8

Experience

Employment

Research Fellow (2022- present), Chester Ronning Center for the Study of Religion and Public Life
Community Needs Assessment Project

Research Director (2021- present), Institute for Religious and Socio-Political Studies

Editor-in-Chief (2021-present), Religious and Socio-Political Studies Journal

Research Fellow (2020-21), Mercy Mission Canada
Youth and Wellness Focus Groups Research Project

Research Fellow (2020), Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities
The Impact and Growth of Muslims in Alberta from the Late 19th Century to Now

Research Fellow (2019), Institute for Religious and Socio-Political Studies
Primary Challenges Faced by Muslim Youth in Canada & Pathways to Resilience

Research Fellow (2018), Tessellate Institute
Jewish Responses to Anti-Semitism in Canada: Theoretical Foundations for Comparison and Lessons for Anti-Muslim Hatred
Supervisor: Dr. Katherine Bullock

Development Coordinator & Consultant (2017 to 2019)
Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta (ATIA)

Research Assistant (2016 to 2017), University of Alberta, Dept. of History & Classics
Medieval Mediterranean Pilgrimage and Encounter (Muslims, Christians, and Jews)
SSHRC-funded research
Supervisor: Professor Jocelyn Hendrickson

Affiliations

Run for Palestine Volunteer Coordinator (2019)

Advisory Committee Member (2017 to present)
Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life

Committee Member (2016 to present)
Young Indigenous Women’s Circle of Leadership Cree Women’s Camp

Vice-President of External Affairs (2016 to 2018)
Director of Public Policy (2015 to 2016)
Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council

Director (2017 to 2018)
Edmonton Heritage Council

Awards

Academic

Government of Alberta Graduate Scholarship (2017)
Sir Guy Carleton Graduate Scholarship (2016)Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC – 2016)
Walter H. Johns Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC – 2016)
Frank W. Peers Graduate Research Scholarship (2015)
Queen Elizabeth II Award for Graduate Studies – Master’s Level (2015)
State of Kuwait Award for Graduate Students in Islamic Studies (2015)
Canadian Federation of University Women Female Student Bursary (2015)

Community

University of Alberta Alumni Horizon Award (2018)
Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship for Excellence in Service to Humanity (2016)
Edmonton Journal Difference Maker (2015)
Alberta Council for Global Cooperation – Top 30 under 30 (2015)

Publications

Academic

Primary Author, Peer-Reviewed Article
Pathways to Resilience for Muslim Youth in Canada
IRSS (Forthcoming 2020)

Primary Author, Peer-Reviewed Article
Primary Challenges Faced by Muslim Youth in Canada
IRSS (Forthcoming 2020)

Book Review, Al Rashid Mosque: Building Canadian Muslim Communities (Earle Waugh)
Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, University of Calgary (2020)

Co-Editor and Introduction Co-Author (with Professor Andrew Gow)
Critiquing Secularism, Special Edition Volume (September 2019)
Past Imperfect History Graduate Student Journal, University of Alberta

Primary Author, Peer-Reviewed Article & Policy Report
Jewish Responses to Anti-Semitism in Canada: Lessons for Anti-Muslim Hatred
Tessellate Institute and IRSS, (2018)

Primary Author, Peer-Reviewed Article
Jewish Responses to Anti-Semitism in Canada: Theoretical Foundations for Comparison with Anti-Muslim Hatred
Tessellate Institute and IRSS, (2018)

Editor and Co-Author, Historical Pedagogical Resource
Building Acceptance: A Resource about Coexistence, Cooperation and Early Multiculturalism in Medieval Spain
Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council (2016)

Primary Author, Peer-Reviewed Article
The Absent Hagiography: Investigating Mary Magdalene’s Disappearance in Islam
On Religion. (2016)

Selection of Press Publications & Interviews

Conferences/Panels/Public Talks

Public speaking events are too numerous to list here but include academic conference presentations, panel discussions, keynote speeches, and training workshops on the following subjects:

Moroccan History (General, Jewish, Interfaith)
Andalusian History
Islamophobia, Anti-Muslim Hatred
Islamophobia’s Intersections & Crosscurrents
Islam (General, Communities of Interpretation, History)
Islam and Women
The Hijab
Islam, Muslim Women and Secularism
Secularism (History, Genealogies)
Religious Literacy
Anti-Semitism
Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism and Racialization
Hatreds in a Canadian Context
The Holocaust
Feminism
Writing
Marketing
Building Your Own Business
Freelancing

For speaking engagements or trainings, email hello@thedrawingboardcanada.com