The CANSES Team
Behind every project, event, and publication, the CANSES Team ensures the network runs smoothly and effectively. This dedicated group manages the day-to-day work that connects our members and brings our initiatives to life.
The People Who Make It All Work
Amanda Champion
Amanda Champion is currently a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on psychological theory applied to criminological research questions and mapping pathways to suicide and violence. Her interests in the master’s program extend to the intersection of crime, computer-mediated communication, technology, and sexuality.
Sara Doering
Sara Doering is a PhD candidate in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University. She is also a researcher at the Organization for the Prevention of Violence. The majority of her research focuses on the quantitative study of terrorism, extremist violence, and hate crimes in Canada. Her research has been published in Terrorism and Political Violence, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, and by the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats.
Mackenzie Hart
Mackenzie B. Hart is a PhD candidate in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University. She completed an MA in Terrorism, Security, and Society at King’s College London in 2018 and subsequently completed an internship at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization. Mackenzie has also worked at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue on a longitudinal project mapping the online ecosystem of Canadian right-wing extremists, in addition to projects tracking the spread of hate, disinformation, and conspiracy theories online during election cycles in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Her current research focuses on right-wing extremism and conspiracy theories, with a particular focus on conspiracy theories concerning children, as well as youth radicalization, nihilistic violence, and the intersection between environmental criminology and terrorism and radicalization studies.
Noelle Warkentin
Noelle Warkentin is currently a PhD candidate at SFU. She has worked on projects related to cyber threats to Canadian critical infrastructure, identifying at-risk individuals in online forums, building trust in underground markets, and the experiences of Indigenous students at SFU. Additionally, she worked as part of a team in a Human Centric Cybersecurity Partnership summer program, where she participated in researching and reporting on human behavior as it relates to cybersecurity for government and private organizations. Her primary areas of interest include cybercrime, cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, and the psychology of cyber-offenders.
Vanja Zdjelar
Vanja Zdjelar is a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University and a recipient of the prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship. Her research explores the intersections between misogynistic extremism, online radicalization, and youth engagement in violent ideologies. She is also interested in broader trends in right-wing, nihilistic, and left-wing extremism, with a focus on developing effective disengagement and prevention strategies. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and published in Critical Studies on Terrorism.