Sophie McKenzie (she/her) is a visual anthropologist, performer, singer-songwriter, photographer, and fine artist. She holds a Master of Arts (2023) from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Bachelor of Arts, Honours with Distinction (2019) from McGill University. She is a 2021 Canada Graduate Scholarship recipient.

Presently, Sophie works as both a choreographer/instructor for Pulse Dance Centre and a Research Coordinator on the Youth Health Team at the BC Centre on Substance Use under the supervision of Dr. Danya Fast and Dr. Rod Knight. She is the Knowledge Translation specialist on her team at the BCCSU and has contributed to efforts to make their work more accessible. She is also fluent in both French and English and supports in carrying out bilingual research activities.

Previously, Sophie has worked as an RA on the Peer2Peer (P2P) Project at the BC Centre for Disease Control and as a live-in harm-reduction oriented floor fellow at McGill University. She was responsible for many of P2P’s KT efforts including creating YouTube videos and designing/animating reports. 

Whilst advancing her skills and knowledge in harm reduction and drug policy, Sophie has simultaneously refined her artistic skills in dance, painting/illustration, singing-songwriting, and film photography. Sophie has been dancing for 15 years, and has been teaching dance for the last 10 years. She is passionate about mentoring the next generation of young artists and creating choreography that resonates with her audience. She is also signed to Premiere Talent Management as an actor and dancer. She is fortunate to have been featured on Season 7 of The CW Network’s Riverdale and on GoUSA TV’s “Lucky in Love”.

Sophie has been creating visual art since she was old enough to hold a pencil and spends much of her extra time developing her skills in painting and digital illustration. She is now a freelance illustrator and frequently does commissions. For her masters thesis project, she blended her skills in anthropological inquiry and fine arts to co-create “Peer Life: A Degree in Street Knowledge”. This comic book project was received with overwhelming enthusiasm, and Sophie is eager to engage in more projects which fully utilize her unique skillset.