Dr. Kristopher Wells is an educator and a champion for the 2SLGBTQI+ community who has used research and advocacy to help advance diversity, equity, and human rights in Alberta and across the country.
Dr. Wells started his career as a teacher in St. Albert Public Schools, before completing master’s and doctoral degrees focused on sexual and gender diversity in education. He later worked as a diversity consultant for Edmonton Public Schools, where he helped develop the first standalone sexual orientation and gender identity school board policy in Western Canada. From 2012 to 2018, he was Assistant Professor and Faculty Director of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the University of Alberta. He then became MacEwan University’s first Canada Research Chair and served as the founding Director of the MacEwan Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity.
Dr. Wells has dedicated his life to the promotion of 2SLGBTQI+ rights, serving on a number of community organizations and boards, including the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, REACH Edmonton, the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee, the Edmonton Police Chief’s Community Advisory Council, and the LGBTQ2+ National Monument Committee. Dr. Wells serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the international Journal of LGBT Youth and has been an invited scientific expert for many national and international organizations. He has helped create initiatives such as Camp fYrefly, the Alberta GSA Network, and Pride Tape, which has been adopted by all teams of the National Hockey League and in other countries around the world.
In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Wells has received several awards and accolades, including the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Alberta Award for Study of Canadian Human Rights and Multiculturalism, the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Public Education Award, and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Dr. Wells holds a Bachelor of Education, a Master of Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy, all from the University of Alberta. He is a lifelong resident of Alberta.