ACAF Scholarship Endowment Fund Award Recipients 2025

Travel Bursary

Megan Moore (she/they) graduated from McGill’s School of Information Studies in 2024 and is a visual artist based in Tiohtià:ke-Mooniyang / Montreal. As an academic and artist their practice critically examines the role of photography in contemporary society. In 2016 they received the Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS Master’s Scholarship and the FRQSC master’s scholarship in 2017. In 2023 & 2024 Moore was the recipient of the McGill Ingenium Research Fellowship during which they conducted research on photographic records from the Second International Polar Year of 1932. They also hold a Bachelors of Fine Arts in photography from Concordia University (2015) and a Masters of Fine Arts in studio arts from University of Guelph (2018). Megan will be presenting their research on the photograph sharing practices of archivists at Canadian archives as part of the poster presentation session at this year's ACA conference. 

Miranda McGilvery is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Northeastern Alberta. She works at University nuxełhot’įnethaaʔehots’įnistameyimâkanak Blue Quills or UnBQ, a former Residential School as an Administrative Assistant for the Language Faculty. Previously the Data Collections Manager for the Language Faculty to assist in creating and learning about Archiving within First Nations Communities while using the Natural Laws and mandates of UnBQ. Currently, she still oversees the Archiving Department while UnBQ’s Language Faculty strives to complete the progress and have a working Archives. 

Kaila Fewster is a recent graduate of the DUAL Master of Archival Studies and Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of British Columbia School of Information, on the stolen territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. She currently works as a research assistant for InterPARES Trust Al, developing educational modules for archival professionals working with Al and investigating the role of paradata in capturing Al records. Her workshop, co-hosted with Dr. Alexander Ross and Dr. Richard Arias-Hernandez, explores how participants can apply concepts, theories, and methods to critically, ethically, and pragmatically incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into their workflows, with a particular focus on upholding Indigenous data sovereignty principles, respecting Indigenous protocols, and using paradata for AI accountability in archival settings. The goal of this workshop is to explore how archivists can critically evaluate and incorporate new technologies like AI/ML into their work while still upholding their responsibilities as stewards of cultural memory.

Emerging Scholars Award

Carolyn Smith, Dalhousie University - Presented: What Response? A Systematic Review of Truth, Reconciliation, and Progress in Canadian Archives 

Emily Ing, University of Toronto - Presented: Submerged, Beheaded, Survived - An Archival Perspective of the Destruction and Relocation of Controversial Monuments

Brenna Roblin, McGuill University  - Presented: Children are the Future: A Comparison of Outreach Strategies for the Preservation of Children's Archives

Ancestry Continuing Education Award Recipients

ACAF Scholarship Endowment Fund Award Recipients

2024 - Gifty Asamoah (Msc, MA., Archivist).

"My project seeks to address the role of community archives in cultural preservation, particularly focusing on the perceptions of Ghanaian immigrants in Manitoba, Canada. While the importance of community archives for cultural preservation is recognized, there remains a lack of understanding regarding how individual migrant perceptions influence data collection and archival practices. Such is the case among the Ghanaian community in Manitoba Canada, where evidence on the relevance of archives in their cultural heritage preservation, and how this shapes conscious efforts towards the creation of appropriate records keeping and archival systems is not significantly established. There is therefore a limited presence of archival records among these black communities, thereby threatening the preservation of their cultural heritage, identity, and collective memory. In response to this scholarly gap, my project seeks to adopt a case study approach to explore migrant perceptions on how archives and record-keeping can contribute to preserving culture and maintaining identity, particularly among Ghanaian immigrants in Manitoba".

Emerging Scholars 2024

Cheuk Kit Chung, University of British Columbia - Presented: Combining Synthetic Data and Name Entity Recognition to Protect the Personally Identifiable Information of Archives

Natasha Fisher, McGill University - Presented: Exploring the Archivist's Role in AI Restoration

Vaishali Mishra, McGill University - Presented: Reintegrating Traditional Knowledge Through Collaborative Archiving: A Case Study of the Sri Lankan Ola Manuscripts

2023 - Melissa Nelson

Melissa Nelson is an Archivist at the Archives of Ontario, is a noted and respected anti-racist educator and the winner of the ACA’s 2023 New Professional Award.

2017 - Ms. Leesha Cowan

Ms. Leesha Cowan is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan History department. Ms. Cowan was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where she has deep family roots which vary from Cree to Welsh and everything in between. Leesha deeply values history and archives, and the role that they play in her life.  

Ms. Cowan had been working in archives since 2013 when the staff of the University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections took a chance on her. Since then she has worked in a handful of archives. In addition to the University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections she has worked at the City of Saskatoon Archives, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, and the National Centre of Truth and Reconciliation. She is also avidly involved in the professional community as a former co-chair of the University of Manitoba Student Chapter of the ACA, member-at-large on the executive board of the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists. Ms. Cowan is passionate about history and archives and would like to see the importance of archives more widely accepted outside of the archival community.  

At the time of writing, Ms. Cowan was working on completing her thesis for her Master’s degree, which encompasses themes of provenance, archival standards, and Indigenous archives. The selection committee was impressed by Ms. Cowan’s thoughtful application and her passion for archival work.  This award will help her continue her graduate studies.

2016 – Jayde Duranleau 

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