Michael Ma

I am an uninvited guest living and working on the territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ-speaking peoples, including the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, and the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. I am a sociologist and community-engaged researcher with over 25 years of experience studying, teaching, and organizing around race and racism, community advocacy, and harm reduction. I hold a PhD in Social and Political Thought from York University. After more than a decade teaching in the Department of Criminology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, I am now Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria where I examine the social dimensions of substance use and harm reduction. My current work includes peer-driven research with drug users; with a specific focus on the social returns of overdose prevention and supervised consumption in Victoria, BC, funded by the Ministry of Health. I am also developing an Inside-Out Prison Education course that co-locates UVic students with incarcerated learners at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre.