Team Member

Team Lead

alyciagarcia@uvic.ca

canassist@uvic.ca

Alycia is passionate about inclusive and meaningful education for children. She has spent her career working to address and remove barriers to children receiving the education that is most suitable for their needs.

Alycia was a schoolteacher in Arizona for five years before joining CanAssist. Although she intended on teaching for the remainder of her career, the inequities she witnessed in the public school system (particularly amongst racial minorities and children with disabilities) sparked a motivation to make changes. She began her role at CanAssist as a Special Projects Coordinator and Content Writer for the Behaviour in the Early Years Initiative and is now the Special Projects Team Lead. 

Alycia is a PhD candidate in Educational Studies at the University of Victoria, and her dissertation topic involves a critical educational policy analysis and semi-structured interviews to determine how policies impact newcomer assimilation to Arizona public schools. She has a Master of Education in Educational Foundations and a Bachelor of Science in Special and Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about anti-racist pedagogy, critical race theory in curricular design, and inclusivity for people with all abilities.

When she isn't advocating for inclusive educational opportunities for all children, Alycia can be found spending time with her dog, reading mystery novels, or attending group workout classes. She is inspired by teachers, families, and children.

Alycia was born and raised on the land belonging to the Hohokam peoples, also known as Arizona, and currently lives and works on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen peoples, where the Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSANEC peoples continue to nurture and learn from the land today. She is committed to the lifelong learning off decolonization practices, Indigenous ways of being, and historical barriers for Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit communities.