Brianna, known as “Bri” to some of her friends, grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she attended Southwest Senior High School. Growing up, Bri enjoyed the company of her 9 best friends, Minneapolis’ many lakes, her long-haired dachshund Darby, her job at The Malt Shop, and swimming for the Southwest High swim team. She was committed to connecting with others and expanding her worldview, spending a summer in Paraguay working on a service project with local youth as a part of the Amigos program. Bri loved yearly canoe trips with her family in the Boundary Waters and summer trips to visit her Canadian family in Georgian Bay, Ontario.
Bri moved to Montreal in 2007 to attend McGill University, where she studied History and was involved in McGill’s campus queer community and volunteering for Santropol Roulant. Brianna took a break from her studies in 2009 to volunteer with City Year, where she worked as a mentor and educator providing services for middle school students in central Los Angeles. In City Year, she worked to provide sensitive support for LGBTQ and marginalized students, and led a campaign to have the language in the program manuals converted to gender neutral terminology. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History from McGill University in 2011, after which she settled permanently in Montreal.
During her undergraduate studies, Brianna began training with the Montreal Roller Derby league and became a blocker with La Racaille and, later, the Montreal Sexpos playing under the moniker Banana Havoc. She was a driven and fun-loving person, who celebrated the challenge of learning a completely new sport and skillset. Bri remained a keen member of the Montreal Roller Derby community even after her illness prevented her from continuing to play.
Bri had a profound love of nature, and spent as much time as she could hiking, camping, and canoeing in parks and beaches in Canada, the US, and Europe. She was an avid reader of science fiction, history, queer theory and literature, as well as poetry. Bri loved crafting and board games, especially collaging. Throughout her adult life, Bri worked in kitchens and in hospitality in various Montreal restaurants and cafes. She loved playing host to memorable evenings with her friends, filled with home-cooked meals, board games, and lively conversation.
Teaching and social justice were Brianna’s true passions. She was accepted into the Master’s program in the Faculty of Education at McGill University with the goal of becoming a middle school teacher. Bri’s commitment to becoming a teacher never wavered in the face of her illness. She believed in education as a tool for social change, and encouraged her students to think critically and work collectively to solve society’s problems. Bri was a caring, insightful, creative, and collectively-minded educator. Even when hospitalized many times, Bri fought to complete her course of studies. In times of good health, Bri worked as a tutor to young people receiving treatment in Montreal’s hospitals who were unable to attend school. In the Fall of 2017, Bri completed her final internship in adult education, which she credited with refining her teaching style and strengthening her dedication to engaging her students through critical pedagogy in the public education system. She received her Master’s in Teaching and Learning from McGill University in a private ceremony on May 14th, 2018.
Bri will be remembered by those who loved her as a loyal friend, a fierce risk-taker, a humble and brilliant scholar, and a bright fighting spirit that lit up every room she entered. The last months of her life were filled with the love and companionship of her partner and her families, both chosen and given.
Brianna is survived by her parents, Louise and David, her younger sister, Megan, her partner, Lucile, her therapy dog, Emery, and the many friends who comprised her chosen family in Montreal, Minneapolis, and elsewhere.
It is impossible for me to fully capture the life and passions of my dear friend and confidant. Bri lives on through the people that love her, and the stories we all will share in this time of remembrance and mourning.
She taught me many things. As a friend, she taught me what it means to love others unconditionally and without judgement. In the words of one of her favourite authors, Ursual K. Le Guin-- "Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new."
