About Ophelia
I’m an academic and writer by trade and community activist by choice. I studied history under Skip Fischer at Memorial University, earning an MA in 2015, and am currently working towards a PhD in ethnomusicology at Memorial’s Center for the Study of Music, Media, and Place. As a researcher, I’m interested in the ways that communities, especially music communities, work toward equity and justice; as an activist, I work to put those concepts into practise in our city.
I’m a passionate advocate for vulnerable people, and marginalised communities, right here in St. John’s. My work has largely been rooted in feminist and queer activism, with a particular concentration on sex worker rights, and I’ve worked extensively with groups advancing those causes. I’ve written a great deal on topics ranging from allyship with sex workers and trans people, to gun control and fatphobia, and have had pieces published in outlets like the St. John’s Status of Women Council’s “2018 Women’s Almanac.” I’ve spoken on similar issues on outlets everywhere from here to Alberta, and have been cited in, or been featured on, pieces from the Canadian Press and all major St. John’s media outlets.
I am a nonbinary woman; my pronouns are she/her. In 2020, I ran in the by-election to replace Hope Jamieson as Ward 2 councillor. In doing so, I became the first openly nonbinary person to run for a Ward councillor seat in St. John’s; in coming second out of eight candidates, I took a historically substantial vote share for a transgender candidate in Newfoundland and Labrador. If elected in 2021, I’ll be the first nonbinary woman elected to public office in Canadian history, the first openly transgender person elected in Newfoundland & Labrador, and the first out lesbian elected to St. John’s city council. I’m grateful for the work of powerful 2SLGBTQIA+ activists who have made this happen, and I hope my role as Councillor will inspire more queer and trans people to put themselves forward in future elections. We belong everywhere.