Satwinder Kaur Bains

Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains is the Director of the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley and an Associate Professor in Social Cultural Media Studies. Satwinder’s critical analysis of India’s multilingual policy and planning, has fueled her interest to study the impact of language, culture and identity on South Asian Canadian migration, settlement, and integration. Her research includes and intersects cross-cultural education with a focus on anti-racist curriculum implementation; race, racism, and ethnicity; identity politics; Sikh feminist ideology; migration and the South Asian Canadian Diaspora and Punjabi Canadian cultural historiography.

Satwinder has extensive years of professional work experience in community development and has worked extensively with not for profit organizations in the area of cross-cultural mental health, immigrant women, youth and families and board development on inclusion, diversity and equity, cross cultural development, women’s rights and socio-religious interfaith dialogue. She has served the community as a diversity educator, community developer and community activist in the field of anti-racism and immigrant settlement and integration. She is a consummate community advocate and volunteer and has assisted numerous community organizations develop and grow. She continues to serve on numerous committees and organizations locally, nationally and internationally and has been well recognized for her leadership, advocacy and mentorship.