emmyResearcher, queercademic, digital scholarship. They/them.
Work
About
Melissa Marie Legge, who goes by emmy, is a PhD student (abd) in the School of Social Work at McMaster University. They are proud to have grown up in Newfoundland, but have lived in Toronto since 2012. In their doctoral program, emmy conducts research on social work with other-than-human animals, and pursues interests in queer and posthumanist theory and digital scholarship. Since 2014, emmy is also a member of Re:searching for LGBTQ
Health, based out of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, a team that conducts community-based research to understand physical, emotional, and mental health experiences of LGTBQ people. emmy also loves spending time with their two adopted greyhounds, and enjoys emergent digital technology, film photography, snail mail, and is an unabashed bookworm.
Flanders, C., Tarasoff, L., Legge, M. M., Robinson, M., Gos, G. (forthcoming). Positive Identity Experiences of Bisexual and Other Non-Monosexual People. Journal of Homosexuality.
Kia, H., MacKinnon, K., and Legge, M. M. (2016). Exploring LGBTQ Microagressions in Social Work Practice Using Foucault’s Concept of Governmentality. Social Work in Health Care. DOI: 10.1080/ 00981389.2016.1231744 (Epub September 27, 2016)
Legge, M. M. (2016). The Role of Animal-Assisted Interventions in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice. British Journal of Social Work. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcv133 [Epub January 10, 2016]
Flanders, C.E., Robinson, M., Legge, M.M., & Tarasoff, L.A. (2016). Negative Identity Experiences of Bisexual and Other Non-Monosexual People: A Qualitative Report. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, 20(2), 152-172. doi: 10.1080 /19359705.2015.1108257 (Epub February 4, 2016)
Balch, E. (2016). How a dog named Boom is helping us learn more about the life of service animals. McMaster Daily News. Retrieved from http://library.mcmaster.ca/news/40865
I have 4+ years’ experience in community-based research, and I am available for part time or contract-based research work.
Some of the skills that I can offer as a researcher include:
REB application writing and management
anti-oppressive, justice-oriented project design
recruitment
qualitative and quantitative data collection
qualitative data analysis
descriptive statistical analysis
NVivo
systematic literature searching and reviews
academic and community report writing
collaborative writing
generation of academic and community knowledge translation materials (including basic graphic design using the Adobe Creative Suite, and basic web design using HTML5/CSS)
If you have other needs not listed here, or you are interested in working with me, please get in touch!
Consulting
Do you have a project, organization, or business that is seeking to become more social justice oriented, anti-oppressive, affirming of the LGBTQ community, or seeking to integrate animal-assisted interventions or therapies into your services?
My experiences:
I am a doctoral-level social worker with 7+ years’ experience in the field
I am a researcher with 4+ years’ experience
I have 5+ years’ experience working with and researching animal-assisted interventions and interspecies work environments
I identify as queer, non-binary, and polyamorous
I am neuroatypical
Testimonial:
The following is a testimonial from Kim Sedgwick of the Red Tent Sisters, an organization which provides holistic fertility, sexuality and contraceptive solutions for the eco-conscious woman. I recently consulted with them as they endeavour to make their work more queer and trans affirming. Their testimonial follows.
“When we reached out for support to make our business more trans affirming (a term we didn’t even know yet – we called it “inclusive” at that point) emmy offered to help. They sent us a comprehensive reading list, including both online and print resources, and made themself available for questions. emmy’s style put us at ease to admit what we don’t know and they always provide thorough answers when we ask questions. They also offered editorial suggestions for how to update the language on our website. In every case they explained the reasoning behind the change so that we can incorporate that feedback going forward. We’re grateful for all we’ve learned from emmy thus far, and look forward to continuing this journey towards being the allies we wish to be.”
Some skills and resources that I can provide that can help you or your organization to achieve your goals:
in-person or online training, workshops, or presentations on a variety of topics relating to my areas of experience or expertise
specialized, customized, and up-to-date resources and reading lists on a variety of topics relating to my areas of experience or expertise
organizational policy writing or amendment assistance
best practice consultation
respond to interview requests or media appearances
editing and revision for websites, brochures, informational pamphlets, etc.
accessibility queries, assessment, and recommendations
solo or collaborative academic or community writing (ie, blog posts)
If you have other needs not listed here, or you are interested in consultation, please get in touch!