Guest Speaking & Facilitation
Sharing expertise, valuable insights, new perspectives & health frameworks, alongside practical focus of specialized knowledge, through the evidence-based modality of Orofacial Myology & preventative dental health, to improve community public health outcomes globally.
With over 15 years of post-secondary education across the spectrum of human health and development, Katrina uses her expertise to bridge the gap between the Speech & Language Sciences, Human Development and Behaviour, Oral-Systemic Health and complementary modalities, reconciling scientific clinical experience and ancient wisdom to aid in disease prevention and restoration of individual and global health & wellbeing.
Cultural perpetuity is the idea that even though individuals will eventually be forgotten, their role in preserving and passing on cultural and family teachings ensures its continued existence, contributing to the communal wisdom and teachings that shape a culture. This concept is central to the Blackfoot (Siksika) Nation of Alberta, Canada, who emphasize the importance of each generation adding to the collective knowledge and ensuring its survival for future generations, while also highlighting that individual action supports the flourishing of many.
Indigenous teaching and storytelling are interconnected, using oral narratives passed down by Elders and Knowledge Keepers to transmit cultural beliefs, values, practices, and a holistic understanding of life. Storytelling is a dynamic, inclusive method for community building and cultural continuity, engaging multiple senses and fostering deep listening. It serves to preserve knowledge & language, build resilience, and provide moral and practical instruction, from spiritual obligations to environmental awareness, ensuring knowledge and identity are passed on to younger generations.
It is through story telling, teaching, facilitation and communion with one another that knowledge for the future can be shared in the present. It is through collaboration and connection, within our organizations, colleges and communities, that we create the new ways of being.
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but rather the lighting of a fire" – William Butler Yeats.
“The mouth is a microcosm of the whole body” is a truth that extends past the individual to include the body to which we all belong- Earth. The health of the individual mouth reflects not only daily habits and dietary choices, but also our relationship to ourself and the collective humanity to which we belong.
Our oral health and the health of the earth are linked through a complex, bidirectional relationship under the "One Health" framework, which recognizes that human health is directly reflected in and connected to the health of our shared environment- the land, air, water, living and non-living beings. Environmental issues like pollution and climate change can harm our teeth and gums, while the dental industry's practices can, in turn, contribute to planetary degradation. Daily hygienic practices of the individual extend past caretaking for the self, and are impactful to the greater good.
Through public health education initiatives and academic teaching, my hope is that foundational practices and frameworks for living in right relation can be shared and adopted by institutions & associations, thereby guiding community public health practices for healthier smiles and healthier life on Earth, honouring both scientific, evidence-based information alongside the voice of nature- the wisest of all sciences-to create unification and holistic integration between knowing, doing & being.
“The mouth is a microcosm of the whole body.”
Dr. Robert O. Becker
