The University of Alberta banner is flying at half-mast from December 14–17, 2020 in remembrance of Ms. Charlene Martha Knudsen, Graduate Student-Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Human Ecology in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.
Charlene had deep roots in the University of Alberta community. She completed her Bachelor of Science Nursing with distinction (1994) and her Masters of Education in Educational Psychology (1998). She began her PhD in Human Ecology in 2017.
She was passionate about improving wellbeing of vulnerable people. In her role as Dementia Strategy Practice Lead with Alberta Health Services, Charlene developed a successful proposal for a multi-year project to assess wellbeing of older persons with dementia, their family carers and the coalitions of community members that support them.
Charlene’s dissertation research complemented this work, creating a wellbeing framework and empirical evidence of its components. Together this work was poised to contribute to the evidence-base of the World Health Organization’s Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020–2030).
Charlene’s friends and colleagues greatly miss her scholarship, commitment and collegiality.
By Norah C Keating
Director, Global Social Issues on Ageing (GSIA), International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics