Stafford completed his B.Sc. at Queens University, where he did an undergraduate thesis in Environmental Studies on 'The Effective Incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge into Biological Field Stations/Place-based Research Institutes.' He is currently doing a Ph.D. at Queen's focusing on aquatic and sedimentary environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of fish populations to monitor spatial and temporal trends in in ecosystem health. His research works to advance current efforts in applying TEK to western scientific practices while promoting knowledge sharing with Indigenous communities.