Program
Doctor of Education
Awards
UBC Go Global Group Study Programs Award
UBC Public Scholars Initiative Award
Please describe your research. What inspires you about your research?
My research explores how women of colour draw on ancestral wisdom to lead in ways that disrupt dominant norms, sustain communities, and create space for others to thrive. Using narrative inquiry and trauma-informed interviews with leaders across Canada, I examine how counter-narratives serve as turning points for equity and justice. Alongside my dissertation, I am producing a documentary film and practical toolkit so that this knowledge can live beyond academic shelves—sparking dialogue in classrooms, leadership programs, and communities.
This inquiry is both academic and personal. As a Black woman from Zimbabwe who has spent over two decades in Canadian higher education leadership, I know the weight of being in spaces not designed for us. Yet I have also witnessed how women of colour persist, resist, and transform through ways of leading rooted in culture, community, and spirit. What inspires me is knowing these stories have always been here, yet they are rarely acknowledged in leadership literature or policy. Bringing them forward is a gift to future generations.
What does being a Public Scholar mean to you?
Being a Public Scholar means refusing to let important knowledge remain locked behind systemic paywalls. It means committing to scholarship that is not only rigorous but also relevant, accessible, and transformative. For me, it is about building bridges between research and community, academia and the public, and story and policy, so that knowledge can inspire people to reflect, heal, and take action.
In what ways do you think the doctoral experience can be re-imagined with the Public Scholars Initiative?
The PSI challenges the notion that doctoral work is only valid if it culminates in a dissertation on a shelf. It redefines the EdD/PhD as a space of creativity, collaboration, and social change. By endorsing diverse methods of knowledge sharing, such as film, art, and public dialogue, the PSI creates new opportunities for scholarship to have a meaningful impact in the world. For me, it confirms that storytelling, ancestral knowledge, and lived experience are not just supplementary but fundamental to what scholarship can and should be.
How do you envision connecting your doctoral work with broader career possibilities?
My EdD is part of a larger vision: to redefine leadership and expand what counts as knowledge in institutions and organizations. Beyond the dissertation, I will continue building public-facing platforms through my podcast, Unspeakable Leadership, writing, speaking, and documentary work that mobilize research into tools for change. This trajectory allows me to bridge higher education, leadership development, and creative industries.
How does your research engage with the larger community and social partners?
Community engagement is integral to every aspect of this project. Participants are not just sources of data; they are co-narrators shaping how their stories are told. The documentary film, public screenings, and panel conversations ensure that knowledge circulates in spaces where it can spark dialogue, inspire action, and bring people together. The accompanying toolkit will embed changes in policy and practice.
Please describe how your award has impacted your academic and/or research endeavours
The PSI award is transformative with an expansive network and community of scholars. It enables me to bring the documentary to life. Equally important, the award affirms the value of pursuing scholarship that is creative, community-driven, and public. It has provided me with both the resources and the academic home to pursue the kind of work I have always envisioned: scholarship that breathes beyond the academy.
How do you hope your work can make a contribution to the public good?
I hope this work functions as both a mirror and a map. A mirror that reflects the brilliance, courage, and wisdom of women of colour leaders who have long shaped our worlds. And a map that guides organizations, communities, and future leaders towards models of leadership rooted in justice, care, and ancestral knowledge. By making this research public, I aim to broaden our collective imagination of what leadership can be and to remind us that liberatory futures are not only possible but already present in the stories we carry.
Rohene Bouajram is a UBC Okanagan Public Scholar. Learn more about the Public Scholars Initiative (PSI).