Longtime northern social worker Christina Dobson is the 2022 recipient of the Bridget Moran Advancement of Social Work in Northern Communities Award from the Northern Branch of the BC Association of Social Workers.
Dobson has lived and practiced social work in Northern B.C. for almost three decades. Most of her work during her social work career has been with Indigenous peoples and communities, providing mental health services including individual and family counselling, critical incident management, mental health education, and community consultation. Working with Carrier Sekani Family Services for more than 25 years, Christina is respected for her work and her dedication to Indigenous people and is deeply committed to supporting Indigenous peoples and communities in their quest for social justice.
She is the owner and operator of Brazonni and Associates Mental Health Services in Prince George, which she founded in 1994.
Dobson holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Calgary, a Master of Social Work degree from UNBC, and a Doctorate in Education from Simon Fraser University. She was part of the first group of master’s degree social work students at UNBC. Her doctoral dissertation focused on traditional Indigenous healing practices for mental illness.
The Bridget Moran Award was established in March 2000 to pay lasting tribute to her exemplary struggle for social justice. Moran was a tireless northern social work activist who was fired from her job in the 1960s for speaking out against the provincial government’s lack of appropriate social services for children and families. Although she won her fight and was reinstated, Moran never went back to her provincial government position. She worked in other social work roles and became a well-known author with books such as Little Rebellions and Stoney Creek Woman.
A statue of Moran can be found on Third Avenue in downtown Prince George.
