Our Professional Advisory Council

Celia

Dr. Celia Atkinson, MHSc, PhD, MD, RCPSC

Chief of Paediatrics – Michael Garron Hospital

Celia is Chief of Paediatrics and the Medical Co-Program Director of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Services at Michael Garron Hospital. Dr. Atkinson oversee the neonatal and paediatric services for east Toronto’s diverse population. She supports an expert team of paediatricians, neonatologists, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, speech language pathologists, social workers, lactation consultants and child life specialists to provide comprehensive care to children from birth to 18 years of age and their families.

She is a paediatrician in the Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics at Sick Kids Hospital and a Lecturer at the University of Toronto. Celia has many peer-reviewed publications in glucose transporter research and the molecular mechanisms of type II diabetes. She is also the recipient of many teaching awards. She received her medical degree from the University of Toronto and completed her paediatric residency at Sick Kids Hospital.

She also has completed a master’s degree and a Doctorate in Biochemistry and Cell Biology at the University of Toronto.  Celia has many peer-reviewed publications in glucose transporter research and the molecular mechanisms of type II diabetes. She is also the recipient of many teaching awards.

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Dr. Bruce Ballon, BSc, MD, ESPC, FRCPC

Award Winning Psychiatrist & Illusionist

Bruce is an award-winning psychiatrist with over two decades of experience in experiential education, creative clinical program development for complex populations and evidence-base care with specialities in addictions, youth, and family psychiatry. He is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health at the University of Toronto and an Adjunct Professor at the Ontario Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

As the Director of Education for SIM-one, he developed numerous programs and fostered the next generation of simulationists. Dr. Ballon works with industries involved in technology and games to understand their impacts on people’s lives, has written books for children, parents and the public on mental health issues and functions as a media consultant to create accurate portrayals of psychiatric issues. Bruce is an illusionist who performs to educate the public on mental health issues.

In addition to performing at Stratford and Canada Stage, he collaborates with professional illusionists from around the world. The games he has created dealing with mental health issues have gardened awards from the Games Manufacturers Association and international literary and academic associations. He has launched a small board game company to develop “off screen” games that involve an understanding of the human condition and to raise awareness of mental health issues.

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kathryn

Kathryn Bouey, MA, Economics

Management Consultant & Member of Several High-Profile Boards

Kathryn is the Founder and President of TBG Strategic Services. She is a recognized as a high performing senior Executive and board director. She has a proven record of excellent leadership, sound judgment and reliability in achieving results and first-rate customer satisfaction. She has strong conceptional abilities and interpersonal skills, as well as skills in planning operations and project management.

Kathy has led a wide-range of complex projects and programs in the public sector involving millions of dollars, and has had extensive experiences with large scale business transformation projects and the associated project management, such as the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, Public Health Ontario and Computer Ontario.

During a stellar public service care at the provincial and federal , Kathryn rose to the rank of Deputy Minister of the Ontario Management Board Secretariat, where she made recommendations on all the Ministries’ business plans and government risk, expenses and performance management. Kathryn is currently on the Board of the Canadian Revenue Agency Board of Management and has served on the boards, including Hydro One, Sheridan College, the Ontario Pension Board, the Ontario Power Generation Board, the Ontario Pension Board, the Ontario Financing Authority, the Canadian Comprehensive Auditing Foundation and St. Joseph’s Health Care Centre (Toronto).

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John Brewer

John Brewer, BA, English (University of Sussex)

The Conference Bard and Conference Chair: Wellbeing at Work World

As The Conference Bard at Wellbeing at Work World, Mr. Brewer combines his passion for poetry, storytelling, and human connection to create engaging and memorable events for wellness leaders and professionals. For more than a year, he has been hosting the Wellbeing at Work World podcast, featuring inspiring guests from around the world who share their insights and best practices on wellbeing at work. John is also the Conference chair of the Wellbeing at Work Summits in New York City and in San Francisco, where he moderates panels, emcee sessions, and perform spoken word. In addition to his role as the Conference Bard, he is a certified facilitator of LEGO®SERIOUS PLAY®, a powerful and playful method for team building, problem solving, and innovation. Under his leadership, LEGO is a fun filled time for children and youths. John designs and deliver workshops that help teams and organizations unleash their creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. John also write poems, conduct fireside chats, source great speakers, and raise funds for Ukraine. John’s mission is to use the power of words and play to spark positive change and wellbeing in the world. Resilient Kids Canada is honour to work with Mr. Brewer to provide unique workshops for parents, caregivers and educators and for kids.

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Patricia

Patricia Carson, B.Sc., B.Ed., MA (Public Administration)

Professional Research Management

Pat Carson has served with honour as the Vice-Chair: Programatic Research & Education.

Pat has served as a member of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Covid-19 Response Team, and, is engaged in several research projects, such as a linguistics project for the Island of Teanu and the “More Than Words: Equity, Information and Social Impact Assessment” project

With a 20+ professional research management career, she demonstrates exceptional subject matter flexibility and a broad range of methodological skills including but not limited to, systematic review, policy development and analysis, evaluation, risk identification and mitigation(TRA), cost/benefit, analysis and knowledge translation.

She applied these skills to health, social equity and safety and security issues in research, academic and professional settings. Pat is recognized for her research into the effectiveness of interventions for pre-school children at high risk for ADHD.

 

 

 

 
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barb

Barb Chrysler, BA, MA

Program Manager, College Professor, Author of Children's Books

Barb is the Program Manager at St. Mark's Place Indwell which provides housing for Individuals who are homeless. In addition to being a Professor at the Conestoga College, Barb is the author of several popular children’s books and the Founder of her own publishing company. Her career and educational pursuits have focused on how to facilitate change and increased revenues for social enterprises. As the Managing Director of BDC Research & Consulting, Barb has had opportunities to work on several local and international projects.

She has had experiences at various levels from the frontlines to planning, education, management, director and acting executive director. She has worked in the fields of homelessness, mental health, addictions, hospital restructuring, Aboriginal healthcare and criminal justice. Her professional experiences include roles as Director for the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre, and Program Manager/Bail Supervisor with Community Resources for People in Conflict with the Law.

Having achieved an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in Psychology, Ms. Barb is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy with the University of Waterloo’s Environmental Studies Planning Department, in the arena of homelessness for Indigenous Peoples. Her research interests include understanding processes to facilitate change in communities and organizations, community economic development, social enterprise development, revitalization of marginalized neighbourhoods, active transportation, food waste management and social justice. Currently, she is completing her Ph.D. in housing for Indigenous peoples.

 
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Susan Chuang

Dr. Susan S Chuang, BS, MS, PhD

Full Professor: University of Guelph

Dr. Chuang has served RKC with distinction as a Board Member.

Dr. Chuang received her BA in Criminology & Sociology from the University of Toronto and a MS in Elementary Education, and a MS and PhD in Human Development from the University of Rochester, New York, followed by becoming a Postdoctoral Fellow, Section on Social & Emotional Development with the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development , National Institutes of Health, US.
Prior to her role as a Full Professor, she held several positions as Assistant/Associate Professorship roles in the US and at the University Guelph.

Susan’s first line of research including parenting, fathering, parent-child relationships, child and adolescent development and school readiness in various sociocultural contexts (e.g., cross-cultural work on Chinese families in Canada, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan; Latino families in Paraguay and US; Black families in Jamaica, Brazilian families). She organized the 7th “On New Shores” conference on immigrant Families: “The Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Families in Global Contexts: Moving Forward”.

Susan’s second line of research focuses on youths and parents views on cannabis use and the impact on familial dynamics and relationships. More recently, Dr. Chuang is leading two research projects that explores the under-researched topics of intimate partner violence against men, false allegations, child custody and access, high conflict relationships, parenting alienation and the impact on individual and family well-being. As the lead organizer, Susan and four colleagues from three provinces hosted international scholars, community organizations and practitioners from 21 countries and regions to present their work at the first International Interdisciplinary Conference on “Fatherhood and Men’s experiences with Violence and Victimization”.

Susan is the co-author of the Canadianized version of the “Essentials of Lifespan Development” and the Series editor on two series: The Advances of Immigrant Family Research” and “Men, Family and Society. She as edited four books for the series (three as lead editor), as well as, two other edited books. She is the Associate Editor for the Journal of Family Psychology and the Journal of Adolescent Research. Susan provides numerous free community workshops for parents with children of all ages, as well as workshops for school-aged children, youth and merging adults. She also conducts free workshops for service providers and teachers since her primary goal is to bring greater attention to mental health issues.

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Leah

Leah G. Davies M.ED

Creator of Kelly Bear

Leah received her Master’s Degree from the Department of Counseling and Counselling Psychology, at Auburn University. She has been dedicated to the well-being of young children for more than 44 years as a teacher, counselor, prevention specialist, parent and grandparent. Her professional experience includes teaching, counseling, consulting, instructing at Auburn University, and directing educational and prevention services at a mental health agency. She is the creator of the award-winning Kelly Bear character – a friendly, life-size green bear who interacts directly with children. Kelly Bear serves as both teacher and hero while children master new skills and understand new concepts. Children readily identify with the bear who makes mistakes but keeps on trying to do his best. Kelly Bear books and video resources support adults how to teach children 3-9 essential life skills. Besides the Kelly Bear resources, Leah has written articles that have appeared in The American School Counseling Association Counselor, The School Counselor, Elementary School Guidance and Counseling Journal, Early Childhood News, and National Head Start Association Journal. She has presented workshops at the following national professional meetings: American School Counselor Association; Association for Childhood Education International; National Association for the Education of Young Children; National Child Care Association; National Head Start Association; National School-Age Child Care Alliance Conference.
Visit Kelly Bear on our website’s Kids’ Zone.

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Raelynn

Raelynn Douglas, MBA, CHE

Former Board Member and Executive Director: Saskatchewan Ministry of Health

Raelynn is the Executive Director, Drug Plan and Extended Benefits Branch, Saskatchewan Ministry of Health. She is also the CEO of Raesoleil Consulting, a company she launched after completing her Global MBA in Health and Life Sciences at the Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto. After 25+ years working in the Saskatchewan Ministry of Finance and in healthcare leadership, she pursued her MBA to hone her financial and strategic leadership skills and developed a passion for the healthcare human resource crisis. She created her company, in 2018, with a clear intention to build resilient teams and to co-design exemplary employee experiences for employees and leaders. Her vision is to build a ‘league of resiliency champions’ across the healthcare ecosystem, create excellent patient experiences, retain engaged employees, and drive large systems savings. She offers workshops in resiliency and leadership through her website and in partnership with the Canadian College of Health Leaders, Healthcare Excellence Canada, and the National Institute of Health Informatics, in partnership with McMaster University.

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Bernice

Dr. Bernice Downey, BScN, MS, PhD

Associate Dean, Indigenous Health

Bernice has led the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Indigenous Health Initiative at McMaster University since 2017 and was recently appointed as the Faculty’s first Associate Dean, Indigenous Health.  She oversees the development of an Indigenous Health Learning Lodge, encourages the development and support of Indigenous health programming, addresses barriers to Indigenous faculty recruitment, and works with associate and assistant deans to integrate Indigenous health education into program curricula.

She is also the Acting Director of McMaster’s Indigenous Research Institute and an assistant professor at the School of Nursing and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences.  She has a 40-year+ career as a healthcare leader, educator, researcher and joined the McMaster Faculty in 2017.  

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Jennifer Johnston

Jennifer Johnson, BA, BEd, MA

Co-Founder of Captains and Poets

Jennifer joined Resilient Kids Canada as a Professional Advisor and has served RKC with distintion as a Board Member. Jennifer will continue to serve RKC as a Professional Advisor. As the co-founder of Captains and Poets, Jennifer has led the organization with a unique K-12 curriculum that bridges Social Emotional Learning with inclusion programming. As a parent, a former educator, an entrepreneur and a passionate change-maker, Jennifer is on a mission to empower young people to be their best selves to create a better world. She has an M.A. in Education in Curriculum, Teaching and Organizational Learning and has been a curriculum writer and designed and implemented numerous transformational programs over the span of her career.

As a parent of two children, her focus is on nurturing self-leadership skills and the ability to navigate an increasingly dynamic world with compassion, resilience, and authenticity. Captains & Poets programming highlights the importance of the Superpowers of empathy, compassion, curiosity, gratitude and courage and how they all work together to help us be resilient! The organization is on a mission to catalyze the sense of belonging and agency young people feel and to ignite their innate abilities to thrive in a complex world.

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sean

Sean Kelly, B.Com

Former Board Chair and Senior Executive

Sean served as our Board Chair, and now we have the benefits of his expertise as a Professional Advisor. Sean is a senior executive in the Pharma/Med Technology arena where he consistently demonstrated high performance and cross functional leadership. He is currently the Director of Corporate Accounts and Commercial Operations with Becton Dickerson. With highly developed sales, marketing and Government relations skills, Sean effectively manages commercial challenges including health policy reforms, produce launches and non-traditional communication campaigns. In Sean’s various roles with Pfizer Canada Inc., he led the Ontario Public Affairs team and significantly increased Pfizer’s leadership in “innovation policy forums with government and NGO stakeholders by leveraging thought leadership and strategic partnerships with leading organizations

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Heather

Dr. Heather Knoepfi BS, MEd PhD

Children’s Educations Programs

Heather is a renowned advocate for young children and their families. For over 41 years, she was the Director of Brant Children’s Centre, an extraordinary children’s early learning centre in Burlington, Ontario. Her aim is to provide a safe, healthy environment where children can develop their knowledge and skills for success in primary school.  Heather has served as lecturer at the University of Toronto, followed by positions at Fanshawe College, Sheridan College, University of Guelph, and for over 20 years at Ryerson University in the Early Childhood Department.

While at Ryerson, she evolved a course, Children’s Television, in association with the Radio and Television Arts Department, and conducted several research studies on the viewing habits of children and the impact of television violence on children. She is a well-respected consultant to several TV stations in Canada and focused her research on the impact of television of young minds. As a Board member of the Vanier Institute of the Family, Dr. Knoepfli assisted with the evolution of the Institute’s programming direction, emphasizing the importance of family on the socio-emotional development of children.

Dr. Knoepfli was a consultant to ADCO’s Early Year’s Project, developing a practical guide for parents and childcare professionals regarding alternative Early Years’ Learning Approaches.  As a consultant to the Early Literacy Project conducted by the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa, she helped develop a video and guide, “Precious Minds: Nurturing Literacy in the Early Years”.  Dr. Knoepfli was a member of the Steering Committee for the Federal Government’s Sector Study on Child Care.  She has been a consultant and keynote speaker at conferences related to children, and written guides and manuals for parents around issues such as “Daycare: A Crucial Issue for Parents” and “Communicating with Children”.

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Jill

Dr. Jill Konkin, BA (Hons), MCISc, MD, CCFP, FCFP, FRRMS

Professor at the University of Alberta

Dr. Konkin’s entire career has been focused on rural medicine, from full-time comprehensive rural generalist practice for almost 20 years in Alberta. Jill was the first Associate Dean, Admissions and Students Affairs at the Northern School of Medicine. More recently, she served as a locum in rural communities after becoming a full-time academic at the University of Alberta. Jill is the Interim Rural Integrated Community Medical Clerkship Coordinator and the Co-lead of the Social Justice Community of Services and Scholarship. Jill developed the longitudinal integrated clerkship program that guided medical students to spend their entire third year living & learning in a rural Alberta Community, with a focus on building social accountabilities. Previously, Dr. Konkin served as the Associate Dean and Division Director of Community Engagement with a focus on health equity, social justice and social accountability. Jill also served as the Associate Dean Rural & Regional Health. Dr. Konkin currently provides a rotating family practice service I Fort Chipewyan and locus for comprehensive rural family physicians and their patients.

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Dina

Dr. Dina Kulik, MD, FRCPC, PEM

Former Board Member,
Paediatrician and Founder & CEO of Kidcrew

Dr. Kulik was one of our founding Board Member and has held the title of “Canada’s Most Powerful Women – WXN Top 100”). Dina is a mother of four boys, a pediatrician and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. She is the Founder and CEO of Kidcrew, a multidisciplinary kids’ health clinic (www.kidcrew.com) that is a “One Stop for Kids’ Health” in Toronto with over 50,000 patients. Kidcrew is the first of its kind in Canada and is a forward-thinking, innovative clinic focused on patient experience, family centred-care and wellness for children of all ages. With essential health services for kids under one roof, Kidcrew is able to provide medical and health services for essential general and consulting pediatric services, as well as, a variety of pediatric sub-specialities. Until recently, Dina was a renowned pediatric emergency and staff physician at the Hospital for Sick Children. She describes herself as a runner, a spin fanatic, an adrenaline junky, and a serial entrepreneur who encourages other women founders to follow their dreams. In addition to functioning aa a Pediatric Consultant on medical-legal cases, Dr. Dina is a Health Advisor with The Globe and Mail and the Director of the “DrDina Kids Health Blog” (www.DRDina.ca)with over 60 parenting and health experts joining Dr Dina in sharing tips and tricks for parenting and raising healthy kids. As one of Canada’s leading child health media experts, Dina uses organized chaos to thrive!

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Mancini

BG Mancini AP, FMP, MS

Children’s Physiological/Neurological Development
Creator of The Family Nervous System

BG Mancini is a Neurodevelopmental Specialist, Advanced Certified in Functional Medicine, an Acupuncture Physician/Primary Care Provider, and founder of The Brain & Gut Institute. She works with children and their families through trauma-informed functional medicine and neurodevelopmental practices to help each individual find a deeper connection to themselves, their families, and the world around them so they can reach their potential.

Her work is rooted in the belief that empowering children to understand their body and mind enhances their ability to navigate the world joyfully. Through her teaching, she emphasizes the importance of understanding Interoception, Proprioception, and Neuroception as tools to create a sense of safety in the world. “Internal & External microtraumas, and the feedback loop between them, can install a lens of threat through which we will continually perceive and experience our inner and outer world.”

Dedicated to promoting awareness and collaboration in Autism and children's mental/physical health, she emphasizes the importance of nutrition, minimizing systemic inflammation, and utilizing neuroplasticity to support children feeling better in their brain and body. BG currently educates medical providers and therapists globally to adopt a more comprehensive approach to children’s health and common childhood diagnoses (ie Autism, ADHD, anxiety), advocating for referrals that include nutrition, movement, and nervous system support as crucial elements for positive outcomes.

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Mariemay

Marie May, CHRP

President of May & Company

Marie May is an incredible business system developer and the owner and President of May and Company. As a consultant and advisor, she brings more than 15 years of experience in developing and managing business solutions large and small businesses and, especially for Not-for-Profit/Registered Charities. Marie has received a Canadian Human Resource Professional designation and is a tremendous source of financial information, ideas and insights for Resilient Kids Canada. She has volunteering her time, skills and knowledge to Resilient Kids Canada to ensure that our financial and document management systems are well-managed. Marie has handled every request and every problem we have faced as if we were her only customer. Donors and government agencies can be reassured that our finances are in Marie’s great hands.

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Chanice

Chanice McAnuff, BSc. MHSc

Visionary Child Welfare Leader

Chanice is a visionary leader with lived experience who is attempting to revamp the child welfare sector. She is an experienced peer advisor with a history of working in the child welfare system as an expert consultant. While attaining her degree in Psychology Neuroscience and behaviour with minors in social psychology and business,  Chanice held multiple jobs in retail settings and became a primary consultant to Children First Canada where she was the lead organizer for a National Ant-Black Racism event.  Currently, Chanice is a member of the Youth Steering Committee for the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies and influences policies and programs as a youth advocate and public speaker. She is well-respected as the Founder and CEO of Project Outsiders – a youth led social organization that works towards better outcomes for youth in and from the child welfare/foster care systems. She is also a Board member and advocate with the York Regional Children’s Aid Society and a peer mentor with CHEERS at the Queen West Community Health Centre

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Jayne

Jayne Morrish, BA.H, MA

Knowledge Mobilization Officer

Jayne is the Knowledge Mobilization Officer at Brock University’s Centre for Lifespan Development Research Institute. Knowledge translation and mobilization is an emerging field of research that affords her the opportunity to become a key member of the Centre for Lifespan Development Research Institutes’ team. The Lifespan Institute is focused on community-engaged research and partnership initiatives. Jayne engages with the community leaders and various stakeholders to support their organizations to utilize the Lifespan Institutes’ research findings in practice, policy, and public health.

The focus of her work is translating and co-creating new knowledge while building strong and authentic connections with the community/partners. Jayne has received multiple awards, including the SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master’s Scholarship, the Certificate of Academic Excellence from the Canadian Psychological Association, Brock University’s President’s Distinguished Staff Service Award, and a 40 Under Forty award.

She is Chair of the Board of the Niagara’s Learning Disabilities Association and Vice-President of the Brock University Alumni Association Board of Directions. Jayne volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and has spent time in Vietnam and Bali helping to build housing for families in need.

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Sarah Jane Patterson, BA, MSc, PhD

Full-Time Professor: Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University

Sarah is a full-time professor as the Curriculum Coordinator for the Masters of Science in Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. This program is the first of its kind in Canada to provide Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial care education at a graduate level. Sarah played a critical role in the co-creation of the design and content of the program from inception, development and establishment. Prior to this position, Sarah held several different leadership roles (Co-Director, Curriculum Coordinator, Instructor) in the Child Life Studies post-baccalaureate diploma program and undergraduate courses at McMaster University. Sarah completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton University and graduate degree at Illinois State University in Child Life and Child Psychology.

Sarah has practiced as a certified child life specialist for over 30 years, 26 years at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, in a number of clinical areas including Critical Care, Trauma, Respiratory Medicine, Complex Care, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Gastroenterology, GIFT (Group for the Improvement of Intestinal Function and Treatment), Nephrology/Dialysis with her main clinical focus with the solid organ transplant program. Sarah Is actively involved with Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP), holding a number of committee leadership roles, currently serving as a President-Elect. Sarah has a passion for psychosocial care and emotional safety initiatives within simulation-based education. She lends her expertise within simulation faculty development workshops, with committees at INSPIRE (International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, & Education), and IPSS (International Pediatric Simulation Society). In the last two years, Sarah was elected to the IPSS Board of Directors as the first child life specialist to serve on the board, and was invited to deliver the INSPIRE inaugural grand rounds in 2022 on unifying emotional and physical safety within simulation-based education.

Sarah is faculty for the Weill-Cornell/Columbia University Medical Center annual Simulation Basecamp in New York City. Internationally, Sarah is currently a subject matter expert consultant for Sick Kids International and has provided paediatric psychosocial training overseas in collaboration with the Association for Child Life Professionals. Within her career, Sarah has been involved in ongoing paediatric psychosocial training and education initiatives in Austria, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, South Africa, Ghana, Pakistan and Qatar.

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Jelena

Jelena Rakovac, BSc, BEd, OCT, RCM

Former Board Chair

As the proud mother of two young children, Jelena is aware of the struggles that parents, caregivers and educators endure on a daily basis. As our Board Chairs, Jelena is committed to making a difference in the lives, of parents, caregivers and educators and, the young children that are dear to them.

Jelena arrived in Canada from Serbia during the sensitive high school years and is now a high school biology and social sciences teacher with the Toronto Board of Education. She is also a piano teacher certified by Royal Conservatory of Music who has been managing a music studio with her mother for more than 20 years. Jelena has organized over 30 concerts to share her students’ talents with family and friends. Through fun-filled activities and playing music, she helps her students build self-esteem and confidence, overcome their fears of public performance, and explore the joy that music provides.

Jelena also held a public service position with the Ontario Provincial Government assisting Dr. Eric Hoskins, in his roles as the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

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jenniferschipper

Jennifer Schipper, BA, MA

Healthcare Communications Strategist

Jennifer is a healthcare and life sciences communication strategist who is passionate about the power of communications and all that it can achieve – from shaping complex information into the arc of a compelling narrative to educating and engaging audiences, and inspiring action. Jennifer is the Founder and President of Arc Communications, a communications firm specializing in healthcare communications. Previously, she was the communications executive leader at two government healthcare agencies and a senior vice president at a North American communications agency.

 
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karen

Karen J Scott, BA, PMP

Empowering Muslim Children

Karen is the Executive Director of Muslim Children’s Aid and Support Services.  She is also Founder of Karen J. Scott PMP Solutions.   Previously, she was a project manager with EDS Deutschland GmbH where she spearheaded multiple international projects.  She has served on the board of several organizations devoted to the needs of vulnerable people including Sleeping Children Around the World and the Emajjim Children’s Foundation that supports children who are disabled or disadvantaged.

 
 
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michael

Dr. Michael Ungar PhD.

University Research Professor

Michael is the Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience and a Professor of Social Work at Dalhousie University. His role at Dalhousie University includes the Scientific Lead Researcher, Founder and Director of the Resilience Research Centre and President of the Resilience Research Centre Evaluation and Translation Institute.

The Resilience Research Centre collaborates with local, national and international institutions to carry out innovation research that explores pathways to resilience across cultures to explain how children, youth and adults thrive in family, school, workplace and community settings under stress. Dr. Ungar is also an acclaimed family therapist with experience working with marginalized populations of youth. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on resilience and is the author of 16 books for mental health professionals, researchers. and parents.

His publications include Change Your World: The Science of Resilience and the True Path to Success, a book for adults experiencing stress at work and at home, Working with Children and Youth with Complex Needs, a book for professional counselors, and I Still Love You: Nine Things Troubled Kids Need from Their Parents, an inspiring story of family resilience written for caregivers and educators. His blog, Nurturing Resilience, can be read on Psychology Today’s website.

 
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david

David Waitzer BA, MA, EdD

International Educator

David is an international educator who has a strong passion for youth empowerment, social intelligence and curiosity. His intellectual passions include social psychology and systems of inclusion, as well as organizational change. Currently a Regional Director at Synthesis School, David has helped lead international schools as well as startups related to online education and insect agriculture. With teaching and educational leadership experience in six countries, David brings a global perspective to our team. He is currently working on his Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration.

 
 
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lauren

Lauren Wootton, MS, PT

The Vertigo Therapist

Lauren is the founder of The Vertigo Therapist in Burlington and helps people of all ages from across Ontario who suffer from dizziness, vertigo and imbalance. Vertigo is not a diagnosis by rather a symptom of an underlying cause or condition. Knowing what condition is causing vertigo is key to getting proper treatment. By utilizing Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy, in person or on-line services, Lauren is able to treat an amazing array of problems that quite debilitating. Lauren is enthusiastic about helping people improve their physical and mental health. As Mom of three boys and a busy practice, Lauren models the joy and challenges of today’s Moms.

 
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Resilient Kids Canada

We do not provide mental health services.  If you require assistance, we recommend you contact:

Crisis Services Canada:  to help you to find distress centres and crisis organizations across Canada.  You can assess immediate help by calling 1-833-456-4566 (toll-free and available 24/7) or by Texting 45645 (4 pm – 12 am ET).

Kids Help Phone: available 24 hours a day for young people aged five (5) to twenty-nine (29).  Phone 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text Connect 686868.

Hope for Wellness Helpline: a 24/7 crisis counselling helpline for Indigenous people across Canada who are suffering from mental health issues. Contact them at 1-855-242-3310 or visit their chat line at www.hopeforwellness.ca

Resilient Kids Canada’s Registered Charity Number 718447477 RR 001

Land Acknowledgment: Our lands spanning from Lake Ontario to the Niagara Escarpment are steeped in the Indigenous History and Modern Traditions of the many Firsts Nations and Métis. The territory is mutually covered by the Dishwith One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy, the Ojibway and other allied Nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is part of the Tready Land and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

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