TEAM
Rebecca Gagan(She/Her)
UVic Bounce Founder and Director
Associate Teaching Professor, Department of English, University of Victoria
Since 2004, I have had the privilege of teaching primarily first-year classes in literature and academic writing in the Department of English at UVic. In 2022, I was honoured with the University of Victoria’s Harry Hickman Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching and Educational Leadership and with the Faculty of Humanities 2022 Engaged Scholar Award. Developing and directing UVic Bounce has been the most meaningful work of my life, and it has taught me about the profound power of community and of sharing our stories with each other. I continue to learn and to grow through this initiative and I am grateful to all who have contributed to the transformative work of building more compassionate and connected campus communities. You can hear more of my story in Season 2 Episode 17: A Love Letter to Students.
When I’m not making podcasts or teaching classes, I love to explore northern Vancouver Island, the traditional territory of the Kwakwaka‘wakw peoples, with my family. I’m supported in all that I do by a large crew at home that includes three cats (Shiloh, Luke, and Leia) and Audrey, our amazing pup.
Madison James
(She/Her)
Communications Specialist
January 2022 – September 2023
Madison is a recent graduate from the University of Victoria with a BA (2021) in English and Professional Communication. Madison has spent the last few months working with team Bounce where she has been using her passion for design and storytelling to bring UVic Bounce to the next level. When she’s not working, you can find her getting in a run along the coasts of North Vancouver or enjoying time with her family, friends, and her pup, Bill.
Izzy Almasi
(She/Her)
Associate Producer and Sound Editor
January 2021 – June 2023
Izzy Almasi graduated from UVic in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Film Studies. Before UVic Bounce’s Waving, Not Drowning, Izzy worked on podcasts as an audio production volunteer and interviewer for the campus radio station CFUV. Through her co-op with Perpetual Motion Productions, she continued to hone her audio skills as an Associate Producer on the podcasts Skaana and Orca Bites. In the last two years of her undergrad, Izzy also wrote for the student blog MyUVic Life. Izzy hopes to continue to pursue her passion for learning and education. She hopes to develop a career where she can combine her love of storytelling and creativity, with activism and social justice.
Delicia Marie-Jacobs
(She/They)
Social Media Assistant
January 2023 – Present
I am thrilled to be a member of the UVic Bounce Team where I bring my innovative spirit, passionate advocacy, and focused commitment to improving the experience for all students and staff. For the past few years, I have worked in various roles and supported research at the University of Victoria (UVic), providing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) consultation and learning support focused on inclusivity, accessibility, and equitable accommodations for diverse learners in complex learning environments. After completing a Degree in English, I started graduate work in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UVic, where I focus on EDIA and micro-activism. My research highlights the importance of representation and inclusion of neurodiverse and disabled people as leaders of research about themselves and their communities. My practice fosters positive disability identities and employs inclusive pedagogy to challenge dominant discourses. As a team member at UVic Bounce, I bring my lived experience, intentionality, and a deep desire to generate new pedagogical ways of thinking and learning that disrupt dominant narratives and innovate academia and our world at large.
In my spare time, I enjoy practicing yoga as a registered yoga teacher, creating art, and exploring beaches on the traditional territory of lək̓ʷəŋən (Esquimalt and Songhees) and W̱SÁNEĆ (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) peoples homelands, with my boxer, Milo (following in the pawprints of Coco, my late French Bulldog pictured here).
Rae Dawson
(They/Them)
Communications and Research Assistant
September 2022 – Present
Rae Dawson is a white settler born and raised on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Nation, who now resides on the unceded territories of the WSÁNEĆ Nation and Lekwungen speaking peoples since 2019. They are in the final year of their BA in English and Art History at the University of Victoria, and began working with BOUNCE after meeting Rebecca, their very first English professor at UVic and resonating deeply with BOUNCE’s mission of mental health advocacy. When they are not working with BOUNCE or on their studies, Rae is a local artist, dancer, queer advocate, barista, gardener and all around tree-hugger!
Adaezejeso Ezeaku
(She/Her)
Bounce Student Ambassador
2021
Adaezejeso Ezeaku is a recent graduate from UVic with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. She is currently the UVic Bounce Student Ambassador, a role that came to be after her experience with overt anti-black racism on campus. After this incident, she joined the UVic Reflection and Challenge Committee (RCC) to help create action-oriented plans to tackle issues of racism, inclusion, and diversity on campus. Her experiences with racism and her passion for healthcare and its systemic role in the broader community led her to a path in the legal profession. In the future, she hopes to obtain a legal education and pursue a career in medical and animal law where she can advocate and create policies that are fair, humane, and just.
Deborah Ogilvie
(She/Her)
Communications and Research Assistant
2021
Deborah Ogilvie earned a BA (2013) and MA (2021) in English from the University of Victoria, and an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons University in Boston (2016.) To Deborah’s surprise, life didn’t pause during her studies, and instead threw some unexpected events her way. She spends most of her time these days having conversations about dinosaurs with her very favourite plot twist, who is about to turn six.
A Special Thank You To
Grace Guiney
A huge thank you to Grace Guiney for providing UVic Bounce with amazing West Coast photography. Grace has been a part of the Bounce family since the beginning. She continues to inspire others with her stunning photographs, and we are so grateful to have her in our community.