Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence
MSW, RSW, BSW, BA (Hons)
Meet Lana Wells
Founder and Director of Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
Fellow and Faculty Member of the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary
Co-founder, Shift To Learn
Lana Wells is a top-ranked and internationally recognized expert on gender-based violence prevention, social work, and public policy.
Lana’s ability to work across disciplines, translate knowledge into action, meaningfully advance systems change, and develop innovative policy and practice solutions has positioned her as a distinguished changemaker in Alberta and beyond. As an Associate Professor in the UCalgary Faculty of Social Work and the Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Lana founded Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence in 2010 – the first primary prevention research hub in Canada to focus solely on stopping domestic and sexual violence before it starts. In leading this work, Lana has collaborated with community leaders and policymakers to produce over a hundred violence-prevention reports used by various orders of government and community organizations throughout Canada and abroad with a focus on advancing primary prevention. Lana actively supervises graduate students within the Faculty of Social Work and is a research fellow with the School of Public Policy.
Lana holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Calgary and a combined honours degree in Religious and Women Studies from McMaster University. In her spare time, you can find Lana on a bike with her family in the Rocky Mountains.
Hear from Lana about violence prevention
Lana is a seasoned and sought-after speaker, regularly invited to deliver keynote presentations and contribute expert commentary in media interviews.
CTV News Interview, April 2025, 2:14
Government of Alberta Announcement, May 2025, 35:48
“It takes all of us to end gender-based violence. At Shift, we’re making prevention a shared responsibility.”
– Lana Wells
Lana’s Work at Shift
Currently, the research agenda Lana oversees at Shift is focused on:
- Engaging and mobilizing men and boys to advance equity and inclusion in the places they live, work, learn and play
- Developing an innovative approach to ending gender-based violence in rural communities
- Leveraging technology to work with parents and adolescents on building healthy relationships to prevent violence
- Working with governments to build new policy
- Amending legislation to advance primary prevention.
Lana is also spearheading first-of-its-kind research in Canada on the trajectories of domestic violence perpetrators, working with data from the Calgary Police Service and RCMP to understand patterns of criminality and opportunities for early intervention and prevention.
Since her appointment as Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Lana has…
- Secured over $14 million in research funding, grants, and awards
- Raised over $22.5 million to support violence prevention efforts across Canada
- Served on 34 committees and boards
- Been appointed by federal and provincial ministers to 5 expert panels and delegations
- Delivered 85 peer-reviewed conference presentations and poster sessions
- Featured in 45 keynote speeches, panels, and moderator roles
- Published 32 refereed journal articles, book chapters, and other scholarly works
- Authored 97 research and professional reports
- Engaged in over 124 media interviews to raise public awareness about violence prevention
Shift to Learn: from violence prevention to social innovation
In 2022, Lana co-founded Shift to Learn, an online learning platform that is focused on building a violence-prevention workforce.
Awards & Recognition
- Killam Annual Professor Award, University of Calgary; 2023
- Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, Government of Alberta; 2022
- The Order of the University of Calgary, Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Social Work; 2022
- Tulips Award, Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter; 2019
- 150 She Who Dares, YWCA Canada; 2017
- Teaching Award, University of Calgary; 2017
- John Hutton Memorial Award for Social Action and Policy, Alberta College of Social Workers; 2016
- Alberta Inspiration Award in Family and Community Safety, Government of Alberta; 2015
- Peak Scholars in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Knowledge Engagement Award, University of Calgary; 2015
- The Spirits of Gold Award for Social Innovation, United Way; 2015
- Carthy Foundation Leadership Award; 2013
Publications
Shift acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 4, Treaty 6, and Treaty 7 territories and the traditional meeting grounds and home for many Indigenous Peoples, including Cree, Saulteaux, Niisitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, and Nakota Sioux, the Siksika, the Piikani (Peigan), the Kainai (Blood), the Tsuut’ina (Sacree), Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, Dene, Mountain Cree, and the Stoney Nakoda First Nations, including Chiniki, Bearpaw, and Wesley First Nations. It is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 and Region 4. We respect the Treaties that were made, we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past and we dedicate ourselves to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.
Initiated by The Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence
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