Lana Wells

Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work and Fellow and Faculty Member of the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, Canada

Lana Wells is a top-ranked and internationally recognized expert on gender-based violence prevention, social work, and public policy. Her 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. Currently, the research agenda she oversees at Shift is focused on engaging and mobilizing men and boys to advance gender justice, primary prevention of gender-based violence in rural communities, and leveraging technology to work with parents and adolescents on building healthy relationships to prevent violence. Lana is currently spearheading first-of-its-kind research in Canada on the trajectories of domestic violence perpetrators, working with data from Calgary Police Service to understand patterns of criminality and opportunities for early intervention and prevention.

Since her appointment to the Chair position, Lana has held over $13 million in research funding, grants, and awards and raised over $22.5 million in support of violence prevention efforts throughout Canada. In 2022, Lana co-founded Shift to Learn, an online learning platform that is focused on building a violence-prevention workforce. Lana actively supervises graduate students within the Faculty of Social Work and is a research fellow with the School of Public Policy. In 2022, she received the Order of the University of Calgary in recognition of her exemplary service and the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for her significant contributions to preventing family violence in Alberta. In 2023, Lana was awarded the prestigious Killam Professor Award. She has also earned the Alberta Inspiration Award in Leadership in Family Violence, was recognized as a PEAK scholar from UCalgary, and received the John Hutton Memorial Award for Social Action/Policy from the Alberta College of Social Workers. 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 in the rocky mountains.

Elena Esina

Director, Operations & Special Projects at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence

Elena is an accomplished leader with a profound commitment to fostering positive change in her community. With a Master’s Degree in Social Work and a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Management, she has built a solid foundation for her 20-year career contributing to both the non-profit and private sectors. As Director of Operations and Special Projects at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence and an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, Elena expertly manages operations for large-scale research projects in domestic violence prevention while supervising students, conducting research and leading the pioneering Immigrant Women Work-Integrated Learning Hub that offers work experience placements for internationally trained women within an academic setting. Beyond her role at the University of Calgary, Elena is also a co-founder of Shift to Learn, an online platform empowering users to create the conditions for violence prevention and equitable communities, as well as a co-lead author of the bestselling book Landed: Transformative Stories of Canadian Immigrant Women. Elena is also an experienced board member with a strong commitment to community leadership. She currently serves on the City of Calgary’s sub-committee on Gender Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and the Fund Development committee for the O’Brien Institute for Public Health. Elena’s commitment to community leadership has been widely recognized, including her status as a finalist for the 2024 Immigrants of Distinction Awards, the 2024 Alberta Newcomer Recognition Award, the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, and the 2016 Faculty of Social Work Management and Non-Academic Excellence Award. In her free time, Elena enjoys spending time with family, doing yoga, and camping. 

Lianne Lee

Director of the Alberta Healthy Youth Relationships Strategy at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence

Lianne is deeply committed to building conditions that foster equity, inclusion, and well-being for children, youth, and families. With a Master’s Degree in Educational Research and Bachelor’s Degrees in Education, Economics and Society, and English, she has spent nearly two decades leading transformative community programs and systems-change initiatives that center on enhancing the well-being of diverse youth. Early in her career, Lianne worked directly with immigrant and refugee children in after-school programs, igniting her passion for supporting their development within more equitable systems. She later managed the C.A.R.E. for Ethno-Cultural Children & Youth initiative at the Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary and led undergraduate programs and research projects at the Werklund School of Education’s Youth Leadership Centre. 

In addition to her extensive community work, Lianne has collaborated with the domestic violence sector and government to develop a policy framework to prevent domestic and sexual violence in Alberta, which currently guides the sector’s priorities and practices by addressing the root causes of violence. She has served on numerous advisory committees with the City of Calgary and the University of Calgary, advocating for policies that support equity-deserving children, youth, and women. Currently, her focus is on empowering parents and caregivers to foster their children’s healthy relationships and prevent adolescent dating violence. Her research interests include critical service-learning, equity literacy in education, and preventing dating violence by supporting parents through technology and their social networks and environments.  In her free time, Lianne enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying new foods, and playing with her dog, Bruno. 

Marina Ivanova

Business Coordinator at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence

Marina holds a Master’s Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Management. In 2014, she immigrated to Canada and joined the Shift team. In her current role as the Business Coordinator, she oversees research accounts, managing all areas of finance including budgets, expense transactions, accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, and reconciliations. She ensures the eligibility of charges, compliance with University policies, and alignment with agency rules. Marina also manages contracts and agreements with external vendors and consultants and coordinates with HR on staffing and project-related needs. In addition to her financial expertise, Marina is a recent graduate in Full Stack Web Development, which allows her to apply a strategic mindset to both financial management and software development, crafting transformative solutions for complex challenges. When not crunching numbers, she enjoys spending time with family and exploring new technologies. 

Winta Ghidei 

Postdoctoral Associate at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence

Winta holds a PhD in Public Health and a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology. She has over ten years of experience in mixed-methods research, contributing to various applied public health projects both in Canada and internationally. Since 2019, Winta has held several management positions, including Senior Research Associate and Research and Program Coordinator with Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence.

During her postdoctoral fellowship, Winta focuses on developing and supporting evaluation approaches to create safe workspaces for racialized women, enhancing their economic security as a protective measure against gender-based violence. Winta is also a proud mother of two incredible children and is dedicated to spending quality time with them. In her spare time, she enjoys creating nutritious recipes, baking desserts, and spending time with her family.

Rain Tian 

Administrative and Technical Assistant at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence

Rain holds a bachelor’s degree in economics with a major in International Business and Trade. Before moving to Canada in 2018, she worked as a Purchasing Assistant for a global automotive company in China. Rain joined Shift in 2024 as a practicum trainee and has since transitioned to her current role as an Administrative and Technical Assistant. In this position, she manages calendars, organizes and files documents, provides technical support, and contributes to various projects and research as needed. Her commitment to continuous learning and professional development drives her to embrace new challenges with enthusiasm. Outside of work, Rain enjoys baking, cooking, skating, and spending quality time with her loved ones.