Geography faculty member Dr. Gisela Frias has been recognized with the 2025 SALTISE Best Practices & Pedagogical Innovators Award. This honour celebrates Gisela's transformative impact on teaching, learning, and community engagement at Dawson and beyond.
A Pedagogical Innovator
Gisela Frias holds a Ph.D. in Geography from McGill University and has been a cornerstone of Dawson's Geography Department for over a decade. Her teaching, research, and activism are grounded in critical pedagogy, experiential learning, and a deep commitment to solidarity and social justice.
As the founder of the Sustainable Campuses Initiative and former coordinator of the North-South Studies profile (now Social Change and Solidarity), Gisela has secured major grants to support international student mobility and innovative field experiences. Her leadership has brought students from Mexico to Canada and taken Dawson students on transformative journeys to Nicaragua and Cuba, forging lasting transnational partnerships.
Transforming Learning Through Experience
Gisela's teaching philosophy is rooted in inclusive, experiential learning. She sees her students as co-creators of their educational journey, aligning their goals with program competencies through self-reflection, peer knowledge exchange, and critical thinking. As SALTISE notes, "She practices radical transformative generative inclusive pedagogies and provides her students with the gift of deep learning that will enable them to think more critically as they navigate a complex world."
Her innovative methodologies include participatory mapping and action research, where students collaborate with community partners to address real-world issues ranging from sustainability to health and education. This approach not only enriches student learning but also empowers the communities involved.
Navigating Challenges with Vision and Compassion
When political turmoil made travel to Nicaragua impossible, Gisela pivoted the North-South field trip to Cuba, establishing vibrant new partnerships. During the pandemic, she recreated the field trip experience online, connecting Dawson students with Cuban community leaders, musicians, and artists in virtual "site visits." As colleagues Mari Heywood and Cory Legassic wrote: "The commitment needed to engage in this level of work at the height of lockdown we believe to be unrivaled at Dawson and elsewhere."
Gisela's care for her students extends beyond the classroom. She organizes weekly seminars, brings in local activists and alumni, and hosts community-building events like the North South Soirée in 2023, which drew over 150 participants to celebrate the profile's 30th anniversary.
Championing Social Justice and Solidarity
Gisela's work is deeply informed by her commitment to social justice. She has developed anti-colonial curriculum resources, centered voices from the Global South, and led the transformation of North-South Studies into the new Social Change and Solidarity profile. This reimagined program now offers both global and local experiential learning streams, ensuring Dawson students continue to engage with pressing societal and ecological challenges.
Her activism extends into the community as well, through her involvement in La Colectiva: Crear Poder Popular, a feminist memory and textile art collective recognized by the Canada Council for the Arts and CALQ.
Inspiring Students and Colleagues Alike
The impact of Gisela's work is perhaps best captured in the words of her students and colleagues:
- Student Olivia Helguero: "She puts so much passion into constantly pursuing what she considers just and fights for her values, which I really admire She inspires me to critique structures around me, to become a more perceptive and analytical person."
- Graduate Sophia el Bakir: "I used to think of geography as a bit of a dry subject I saw after my first geography class with her that it was so much more It showed me how fascinating geography can be and how present it is in the social science districts."
- Chris Adam, Associate Director of Sustainability: "Her knowledge of the academic world, combined with her research abilities and her empathy for others is a powerful combination She is a mentor, models civic responsibility to all who meet her, and has positive energy that is contagious."
- Diana Rice, Pedagogical Counsellor: "(She) expertly facilitates students to think at a higher systems level to account for the impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples around the world, therefore connecting the personal and the local experience to global realities. Providing space for non-western forms of pedagogical practice in her classroom is one of a multitude of reasons why Dr. Gisela Frias is an incredible pedagogical innovator and outstanding teacher."
Gisela's colleagues sum up her impact: "Gisela rises above the expectations of what it means to be a teacher today and is a role model for the kind of teaching we all hope we can do."
