October 1, 2025
Dean Jan Hare is pleased to announce Alannah Young, MA’06, PhD’15 as the 2025 UBC Faculty of Education Reconciliation and Decolonization Alumni Award recipient.
The award acknowledges extraordinary alumni who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, respect, and commitment to furthering decolonization efforts or reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples or communities, or who have inspired others to continue decolonization or reconciliation efforts. Learn more about the award and nomination process here.
Alannah Young, MA’06, PhD’15
2025 Reconciliation and Decolonization Alumni Award recipient
Her work spans decades of leadership in decolonizing and reindigenizing education, health, and community across Turtle Island. At UBC, she serves as a Research Associate with the Centre for Indigenous Education, Research, and Wellness at xʷc̓ic̓əsəm and has guided students through the First Nations House of Learning, the Medicine Collective, and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. Through her scholarship, mentorship, and ceremonial leadership, Dr. Young has inspired generations of students, colleagues, and community members to engage in reconciliation and decolonization.
At UBC, Dr. Young serves as a Research Associate with the Centre for Indigenous Education, Research, and Wellness at xʷc̓ic̓əsəm, where she generates and applies Indigenous knowledge through land-based learning and community collaboration. She has guided students and colleagues through her work with the First Nations House of Learning, the Medicine Collective, the Culturally Relevant Urban Wellness program, and the FACULTY of Land and Food Systems. Beyond UBC, she has been a mentor, teacher, and knowledge keeper for youth, Elders, and communities, sharing traditional medicine practices, leading ceremonies, and fostering spaces of belonging and healing.
Dr. Young’s prolific academic contributions include more than 17 scholarly publications and ongoing work that continues to shape decolonial and reindigenizing approaches in education. She has inspired generations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and colleagues to engage deeply in reconciliation, equity, and transformative education, leaving a profound and lasting impact on UBC and communities far beyond.
Learn more about Faculty of Education Alumni Awards.
Read more about the new initiative: The UBC Faculty of Education Indigenous Education Alumni Network.
