About
Marianne Vander Dussen, M.Ed, OCT
Marianne Vander Dussen is a licensed educator with the Ontario College of Teachers, and has completed her Master of Education through the Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University. In addition to her work as an artist, she is also employed as a part-time instructor in the Schulich School of Education, and a teacher with the Near North District School Board.
As a researcher, Marianne’s work has focused on the relationship between storytelling and empathy in schools, specifically through encouraging marginalized students to reclaim power and identity through personal narratives, group discussion and creative work. Her MEd thesis, Telling Stories: Narrative Pathways to Character, Empathy and Belonging, was shortlisted for the 2017 LLRC (Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada) Master’s Thesis Award.
As an artist, Marianne is inspired by the landscapes and wildlife of North Bay and the surrounding area. She is fascinated by light, and strives for her paintings to feel luminescent, as if they’re being lit from within. Her efforts to capture the lighting and colours of a single moment also include creating a sense of belonging, as if the viewer could step through into the painting and smell the air, feel the textures, and see themselves as being within that place and time. Her work is currently featured in the front lobby of the Ontario Northland building in downtown North Bay, in addition to private collections throughout the province.
For any inquiries, please visit her contact page.
Additional Information
EDUCATION
- Master of Education – Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University
- Bachelor of Education – Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University
- Bachelor of Arts Honours – Queen’s University
AWARDS
- Shortlist: LLRC Master’s Thesis Award (2017) – Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada
- Dave Marshall Leadership Award (2016) – Nipissing University
- Three Minute Thesis, People’s Choice Award (2016) – Nipissing University
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2015) – Nipissing University
- Nipissing University Faculty Association Learning Opportunity Award (2015) – Nipissing University
- Don Galbraith Award (2014) – Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario
- Nipissing University Graduate Scholarship (2014) – Nipissing University
- Alan and Lois Schmidt Award (2014) – Nipissing University
- Lorne Greene Award (2009) – Queen’s University
- Arts Administration Award (2009) – Queen’s University