Anne-Marie E. Fischer, BA (Hons), M.Ed. has been working within and alongside nonprofits since 2003, finding ways to blend her educational pursuits with her community-oriented mind and goals to create a more just and equitable world.

After obtaining a Combined Honours Bachelor of Arts in English Language & Literature and History from Wilfrid Laurier University, which first made her ponder who gets to create and disseminate knowledge, Anne-Marie went on to achieve a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management from Lambton College.

Between 2007 and 2010, Anne-Marie worked within recruitment, labour relations, and training and development within the Human Resources Department at Western University, moving into the then-named Student Success Centre in 2010. Within a role as Community Engaged Learning Coordinator, Anne-Marie introduced incoming university students to community engagement through local and international community engaged learning initiatives.

Anne-Marie achieved her Master of Education in Curriculum Studies, focused on Community Engaged Learning, Engagement, Scholarship and Research, and finding ways to make research activities more applicable to real-world issues rather than creating knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

During her time at Western, Anne-Marie created the Campus-Community Connections Working Group to develop more engagement between WesternU and London, Ontario and received the 2011 Vice Provost’s Innovation Award for “Out in the Office: Being Queer in Your Career”, a program that helped 2SLGBTQIA+ youth transition into the workforce as their authentic selves, and advocated for community-based scholarship and research to be considered in faculty tenure policies.

In 2016, Anne-Marie saw an opportunity to translate her skills and experiences to the newly forming legal cannabis industry, working with over 150 clients on business development, cannabis education, and medical cannabis patient communications and contributing to many cannabis publications through her company CannaWrite. Through this role, Anne-Marie gained significant experience in marketing and creating content for the web and social media, including SEO, web design, and writing for the web and for the intention of creating impact.

Between 2021 and 2022, Anne-Marie worked as an Ally Lead Researcher with the Anishinabek Nation to conduct a feasibility study for the regulation of cannabis across the 39 Anishinabek First Nations, which included a survey, forum/focus groups, case studies, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and reporting with recommendations alongside the Anishinabek Nation’s Economic Development Department.

Anne-Marie had an opportunity to return to her Community Based Research roots when introduced to Lisa Isaac HR Professional Services, where she conducted a qualitative and quantitative data analysis and wrote a report with recommendations for a five-member First Nations nonprofit on social assistance using a substantive equality lens to decolonize systems.

With a personal dedication to contributing to Truth & Reconciliation for the Indigenous peoples of Canada, Anne-Marie has taken a keen interest in understanding how we can decolonize, dismantle, deconstruct, and democratize systems of knowledge, information, research, data, and education while developing her Indigenous Relations skills and knowledge.

Since 2023, Anne-Marie has been focusing on developing her grant writing skills, taking “Writing Effective Grant Proposals” from Conestoga College and has worked with various collaborators in creating effective grant applications around food security and public health programming.

Anne-Marie resides on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, but considers herself a citizen of the world with work, volunteer, and living experiences in Ireland, Guatemala, Kenya, Rwanda, Costa Rica, and the United States. In her spare time, Anne-Marie enjoys researching rock and roll history, physical exercise, and exploring nature on the magnificent island on which she has settled.