Our instructors

Maria Palomares

Maria Lourdes "Deng" Palomares, PhD, is Senior Scientist and Manager of the Sea Around Us research initiative. With a background in computer science and aquatic data sciences, she has held leadership roles in global research institutions, including as a postdoctoral fellow at the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management and a database scientist for the FishBase project.

Dr. Palomares’ work focuses on biodiversity information systems and marine resource management. She has contributed extensively to global fisheries research and serves on editorial boards for marine science publications.

Maria Lourdes Palomares

Maria Lourdes "Deng" Palomares, PhD, is Senior Scientist and Manager of the Sea Around Us research initiative. With a background in computer science and aquatic data sciences, she has held leadership roles in global research institutions, including as a postdoctoral fellow at the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management and a database scientist for the FishBase project.

Dr. Palomares’ work focuses on biodiversity information systems and marine resource management. She has contributed extensively to global fisheries research and serves on editorial boards for marine science publications.

Sagar Pannu

Mariana Paspuel Paredes

Mariana Paspuel Paredes, MSc, is a course coordinator with UBC Extended Learning, and a front end developer at Accenture. She began teaching in 2018, and has gained significant experience in teaching, mentoring, and course management over the last few years. She works closely with students and faculty to ensure a seamless educational experience. At Accenture, she applies her expertise in coordination and problem-solving to deliver impactful digital solutions.

Joenita Paulrajan

Joenita leads the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Intercultural and International Development programs at UBC Extended Learning (ExL). She conducts research, designs and develops curricula and course materials, and leads a team of approximately 30 facilitators. Joenita also optimizes the integration of new online learning tools, strategies and instructional design to make the online experience accessible and interactive for adult learners.

With a PhD in intercultural studies and extensive experience across international contexts, Joenita regularly presents at conferences and hosts EDI workshops, both at UBC, at other post-secondary institutions and for organizations that have included the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources, the Conference Board of Canada and Asia-Pacific Association for International Education. Her outreach activities help inform ExL programs, and ensure it stays at the forefront of current EDI practices.

Loghan Paylor

Loghan Paylor is a queer, trans writer whose first novel The Cure for Drowning (Randomhouse Canada 2024) won Canada Reads 2026, was long-listed for the 2024 Giller Prize, named a Globe and Mail Best Book, and a finalist for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and the Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes. Their work has also appeared in the Notre Dame Review, Room, Prairiefire, CBC Arts and on the long-list for the CBC Nonfiction Prize. A graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University, Paylor has an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and divides their time between teaching, writing, and co-owning a game company.

Annick Pellegrin

Dr Annick Pellegrin is a Sessional Lecturer of French at UBC. She holds a joint PhD in French and in Spanish and Latin American studies, and has taught at the university level for over 10 years. Throughout her teaching career, Annick has taught French language and grammar to native speakers, as well as students of French as a second language, and covered all levels from A1 to C2. Annick’s research interests include bandes dessinées (Franco-Belgian comics) and historietas (Latin American comics). She also serves as a member of the editorial board of Studies in Comics and as a columns and articles editor for the Comics Forum.

Regie Marie Plana-Alcuaz

Andy Poystila

Ajay Puri