Dalon Taylor: Making Change through Social Work

The following is an exceprt from Laurier's Office of Research Services' 2025-26 Annual Research Report. The full report can be read online. 

Making change through social work

Through her research, Dalon Taylor (Social Work) is amplifying the voices and lived realities of Black and racialized people to help “outshine the stories that are meant to stigmatize and mislead.” She is exploring a range of topics connected to race and anti-Black racism, including immigration and health inequities, to “change the course of experience that results from them.”

“I hope my research will inform and educate, highlight empowering discoveries and perspectives, and help move societal systems, institutions and structures toward social justice,” says Taylor.

Currently, she is employing virtual reality technology to create immersive pathways for social work education and practice. One project uses mixed reality to build safe spaces for racialized youth exposed to violence.  

Taylor is also interested in the effects of climate change on individual well-being in Small Island Developing States, a group of nations facing unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities. In Jamaica, she has partnered with local researchers and representatives of a primary school impacted by a recent hurricane to study community resilience and social stability in relation to climate action.