K.S. Joseph MD, PhD is a Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Pediatrics at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Canada. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System (Public Health Agency of Canada).

Martin Liberio, a graduate from McGill University, who has taught both at the primary and college level for eleven years. He is the co-author of Educators in Native Childcare Services from St-Felicien College, and author of The Educational Program: Learning through Play, as well as of the planning guide Planning for Child's Play. Martin is a dynamic & inspiring speaker who will leave you energized and excited about the way you care for young children.

Doug Norris, Ph.D., is a Senior Vice President and the Chief Demographer of Environics Analytics, where he assists companies, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations in using census and other statistical information for planning and marketing projects. Doug brings to the position nearly 30 years of experience in social and demographic analysis at Statistics Canada, most recently as the Director General of Social and Demographic Statistics. Throughout his career, Doug has continued to conduct research and publish articles in areas such as demographics, immigration, ethnicity and the family.

Linda is the Child and Women's Health Diversity Program Coordinator at the Alberta Children's Hospital and provider of multicultural training.. She is very knowledgeable from a clinical, research and service delivery perspective and provides leadership to enhance cultural competent and responsive health services. She is also a Training Affiliate with the Canadian Psychology Association and the American Psychology Association.

Dr. Volpe is a faculty member at the Institute of Child Study, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. His research focuses on the relationship between early experience and later life and how children cope with major life challenges and transitions. His areas of interest include life span human development; socialization and social development; self concept; social cognition; family relations; child abuse; theory, policy, and practice connections; prevention and human services delivery; school-community interface; history and systems; evaluation research; qualitative methods.

Dr. Judith Bernhard's research has focused on the needs of children and families in early childhood education and care settings, with a particular emphasis on how the field responds to diversity and inclusion. Much of her work has addressed the development and education of bilingual groups. Judith is presently engaged in studies of transformative family literacy, transnational families, and developing a model for collaborative work between early childhood personnel and Canadian families.

Alexander McKay, PhD is the Research Coordinator for SIECCAN, the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, Associate Editor of The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality and an instructor at Ryerson University. His work focuses on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and the development of high quality sexual health education programming for youth.

Mary Bissell, PhD, is the Information Services Coordinator for the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada. She has written on such subjects as teen pregnancy and parenthood, the female condom and human rights and sexual orientation. Her research on sexuality related issues is informed by social justice and feminist concerns. Recently she researched and wrote a report for the Best Start Resource Centre called "Update Report on Teen Pregnancy Prevention".

Cathryn Fortier, BScN, is Project Manager for Ottawa's CAPC and CPNP projects, Buns in the Oven and Brighter Futures, on behalf of the Young/ Parent Support Network. A graduate of the University of Ottawa, Ms. Fortier has devoted her entire career to maternal and child health. Her experience includes paediatric oncology at Vancouver General Hospital, public health nursing with the City of Ottawa, coordination of the Birth Companion Service at Canadian Mothercraft and for the last 11 years, front-line work and project management with the CPNP and CAPC projects in Ottawa. She is a member of several community committees and coalitions that relate to perinatal health. She currently chairs the FASD Coalition of Ottawa. Cathryn is married and is the mother of three young adults. She enjoys playing soccer, reading and outdoor activities.

 

I am originally from Chile but have been in Canada for most of my life. I lived in Calgary until 1987 at which time I came to Toronto. I had my first child at the age of 18 and dropped out of high school as a result. However, I remember knowing that I wanted to be a social worker since I was eleven years old; hence I went back to school to pursue my studies in this area. I have now been working in the field for twenty years. I initially worked as a community worker in the Jane and Finch area, where I ran a family resource centre. I then moved onto a community health centre where I worked as a mental health counsellor. For the last eleven years I have been working at Jessie's Centre as a teen counsellor and in the last year I have also taken on the role of the Executive Director Assistant.

 

Melissa is the mother of an eleven-year-old boy and a past participant of the Jessie's Centre for Teenagers. She has been working at Jessie's in the capacity of Children's Program Coordinator for the past two years. Melissa has extensive experience working with young children at summer camps, after school programs, daycare centres and nursery schools. She has a diploma from Seneca College in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from York University and is currently pursuing a certificate in Advanced Counselling Skills at George Brown College.

 

Jennifer Miller graduated from the College of Nursing at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. For the past five years, she has been the lead in the Child Health program at Algoma Public Health. Her responsibilities include high-risk home visiting, facilitating prenatal classes, and working with families that access the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program. In 2005, she became involved in the development of Young Parents Connection--a community based prenatal and parenting education program for those 21 years of age and under. Currently, she is co-chair of the Young Parents Connection committee and is dedicated to working with the community to sustain a program tailored to meet the special needs of young parents.

 

Liz has been working in the Social Services field since 1999. In 2002, she became the Learning, Earning and Parenting (L.E.A.P.) Special Services Case Manager with Ontario Works. The L.E.A.P. program was created for parents 21 years of age and under, who are ongoing with Ontario Works, do not have their grade 12 diploma and are willing to participate in parenting programs. It is her responsibility to ensure that these clients have schooling, access to daycare facilities, parenting programs, and other services. Currently, she co-chairs the Young Parents Connection committee with Algoma Public Health. The committee works in partnership with local agencies to provide prenatal and parenting programs for youth.

 

Brian is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Children's Exercise & Nutrition Centre, McMaster University, with expertise in pediatric exercise physiology and physical activity for preschoolers. Our research program is funded, in part, by NSERC Canada to identify mechanisms that translate physical activity into health during growth.

For the past twenty years, Carol Gott and Jane Wilson have worked towards improving access to quality early childhood experiences for rural remote and northern children locally, provincially and nationally. Advocating for community ownership and the participation of community parents in the development of flexible, responsive local services, Carol and Jane have worked with rural remote and northern communities across the country. They both volunteer their efforts to co-manage Rural Voices for Early Childhood Education and Care, a national network which provides a means for rural communities to benefit from knowledge, learning and best practices in ECD services.

Mark Harrison holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Marketing and brings 17 years of experience in sponsorship, event marketing and consumer promotions. As the Founder of TrojanOne, Mark is passionate about events, sponsorship, sports marketing and promotion. Mark has worked with brands such as Coca-Cola, CFL, Philips, Rogers, NFL, BMW, Esso, Hershey, Johnson & Johnson and has developed properties with many sport organizations. Mark also created the Canadian Sponsorship Forum to bring Canada's marketing elite together on an annual basis.

Virginia McEwan is Manager of Community Services at St. Clair Child and Youth Services ,a children’s mental health centre in Lambton County. She has an extensive background in community-based services to children and families, having worked in children’s mental health, child welfare, and education. Virginia is highly involved with the Best Start initiative in Lambton County, one of three provincial demonstration sites. St. Clair Child and Youth Services has developed a innovative approach to meeting the needs of women with postpartum depression and their families. Virginia’s passions include creative community-based program development and family mental health.

Jodi works as an Individual & Family Therapist on a multi-disciplinary Postpartum Adjustment Team at a children’s mental health centre, St. Clair Child and Youth Services. The Postpartum Adjustment Team specializes in providing support, counselling and education to women and families who are experiencing difficulties related to their life with a new baby and specifically, women who are at risk of or are experiencing postpartum mood disorders, such as postpartum depression and anxiety. The PPA program offers a range of innovative, multi-faceted services that clearly reflect the team’s understanding and deep commitment to the total well-being of women and families in the postpartum period. The short-term therapy Jodi provides is guided by approaches such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy. Additionally, Jodi and the PPA team devote much effort to raising public awareness around PPMD in their community as well as educating other professionals in identifying and supporting parents who are at risk of or experiencing postpartum mood disorders.

Christina Honeywell has been a Genetic Counsellor at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario since 2002. Christina received a Master of Science in Genetic Counselling from the University of Toronto and is certified by the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors (CAGC). More recently, she was involved in the development of an inherited arrhythmia clinic in Ottawa and worked as a Cardiovascular Genetics Counsellor for the Oxford Genetics Knowledge Park in the UK. Christina is an active member of the CAGC board of directors and participates in clinical supervision of graduate students. She is an Associate Investigator with the CHEO Research Institute with funded studies in her areas of special interest, cardiac genetics and health services research. Christina is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Ottawa.

Mireille Cloutier completed a Master of Science in Genetic Counselling from the University of Toronto in 2006. She has been a genetic counsellor in the C
hildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Regional Genetics Program since 2006. More recently, she began a shared role as genetics educator for the Genetics Program and the Ontario Newborn Screening Program. Mireille was recently involved in the development of a Neurogenetics Clinic at CHEO. She is an active member for the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors as co-chair of the French Language Committee. Mireille participates in teaching medical trainees, clinical supervision of graduate students and pursues clinical research interests in the field of genetic counselling.

Ms. Rideout is a certified genetic counselor with the Atlantic Medical Genetics & Genomics Initiative at the IWK Health Centre in Nova Scotia. Her experience spans clinical, research and education in a variety of specialties: prenatal, newborn screening, adult and psychiatric genetics. Her interest is in genetics education for health care professionals.

Louise Hanvey is a researcher in women's and children's health. She has conducted four surveys of obstetrical hospital practices in Canada and edited the Family-Centred Maternity and Newborn Care: National Guidelines (Health Canada, 2000). Louise has written a number of reports describing the well-being of Canadian children - The Health of Canada's Children: A CICH Profile and The Progress of Canada's Children. She is a public health nurse practicing in sexual health.

Sharon Bartholomew is an epidemiologist for the Maternal and Infant Health Section in the Public Health Agency of Canada. She is currently working on projects related to maternal health such as: The Maternity Experiences Survey and Maternal Mortality and Severe Morbidity in Canada.

Ritu Sharma has around thirteen years of experience as an IT professional in NGO sector. Having completed Masters in Computer Applications from a reputed institute, she has handled a unique blend of projects in maintaining Intranets, administering websites, developing database applications and delivering capacity building workshops for professionals in NGO sector. She has also given talks on IT technologies for non-techies on various topics like Introducing Computers, Using Internet, Intranets and Knowledge Management. Currently, she is working as Intranet Facilitator for the Ontario Health Promotion Resource System and maintaining Livelink and other tools to facilitate communication links between the OHPRS member organizations.

Mary Graham (B.A. - Hons) has worked in the health promotion field for 8 years, focusing on facilitating adult learning through conferences, workshops, and short trainings. Additionally, she explores and assists with adapting computer technologies to enhance work within health promotion. She has previous coursework and work experience in adult learning and volunteer training. Her interest in technology and e-learning continues today and has led her to take courses online via the University of Calgary on Online Education. Currently she is Program Assistant for FOCUS Resource Centre.

Louise Choquette is the Bilingual Health Promotion Consultant. Her formal education is in Communications and Educational Technology. Over the past few years, she has been involved in a variety of health promotion initiatives in public health and for not-for-profit organizations in the areas of heart health, physical activity, tobacco use prevention and substance abuse prevention.

Judith A. Colbert, PhD, is an early care and education consultant, with extensive experience as a writer, researcher and training specialist. She has drafted child care licensing rules and written reports on both indicators of quality and risks to children in child care settings. Major areas of interest include child care regulation, curriculum, and best practices for immigrant children. As a consultant to CMAS, she is the principal author of the National LINC Childminding Requirements and Occasional Child Care Requirements, both developed to serve as standards of care in programs for newcomer children whose parents are receiving services funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. She has also written articles for a variety of early childhood publications and presented at conferences throughout the United States and Canada.

Barbara Chapman is Project Manager, Perinatal and Child Health Systems. She is a registered nurse who has provided patient care, project and program management for the maternal newborn population for 30 years. She has managed the Niday Perinatal Database for the Child Health Network for the Greater Toronto Area since 2004. She was recently seconded to the Ontario Perinatal Surveillance System as a senior project manager. She is the co-author of the Niday Perinatal Database for the GTA: Annual Statisitical Reports (2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07)

Dr. Mark Walker is a Perinatologist and Clinical Epidemiologist. In 2000, he teamed up with Dr. Shi Wu Wen, a perinatal epidemiologist and together they founded the OMNI (Obstetrics & Maternal Newborn Investigations) Research Group. This is a group of investigators who are committed to the betterment of health for pregnant women and their infants. The main areas of research focus are fetal origins of adult diseases, perinatal health services research and global health. Maternal-fetal research is now one of the main themes of investigation within the Clinical Epidemiology Program. Dr. Walker has been successful in attaining funds from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Physicians’ Services Incorporated (PSI) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF). Currently, he and Dr. Wen are part of a new emerging team from the CIHR on pre-eclampsia. He has publish 102 peer reviewed papers.

Dr. Walker is currently the Program Director for the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinical Fellowship Education Program. He has supervised 22 Clinical Fellows and 9 Residents in his capacity as both Program Director and active staff member. Four of the Fellows/Residents have won peer reviewed grants to perform their research and five have won research awards at both the local and national levels. He has also supervised 8 International Postdoctoral Research Fellows, four Graduate and twelve Undergraduate students.

Vivian Holmberg is the Information Management and Reporting Consultant for the Ontario Midwifery Program of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The Ontario Midwifery Program funds the provision of midwifery services in the province and collects outcomes and utilization information on midwifery care.

 

Wendy has worked extensively on teen pregnancy, reproductive health risks in the workplace, health before pregnancy and the effects of tobacco smoke and alcohol during pregnancy. She assists communities across the province by providing presentations, consultations and designing new provincial resources.

Hiltrud has extensive experience in the maternal newborn field as a nurse, midwife as well as lactation consultant. She last worked as coordinator of the Breastfeeding and Newborn Assessment clinic at St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton. During that time Hiltrud pulled together a multidisciplinary team that implemented the Baby-Friendly Initiative. St Joseph's Healthcare became Ontario's first Baby-Friendly Hospital in March 2003. Her passions include breastfeeding and the adjustment of mothers and families after the birth of their baby and the impact of mother's physical, social and mental issues on infants.

Kathy began her career as a registered nurse and midwife. She became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) 1990. Since then she has been privileged to work with the International Baby Food Action Network and UNICEF and have experience in BFHI Assessment and Training both in Africa and Canada. Kathy is a member of the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada's Baby Friendly Initiative Assessment subcommittee.

Pat Hamilton is the Health Care Manager of the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton. Pat has been a Registered nurse for over 25 years working in various practice settings but most of her career has been in Corrections and Mental Health Nursing.

Julie Pickering is a Mental Health Nurse in the Intensive Management Treatment Unit at the Vanier Centre for Women. She is also the Regional co-lead for the Ministries Critical Incident Stress Management Team.

Julie Wilson is a member of the Turtle Clan, Mohawk Nation from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Julie graduated from McMaster University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Health Science degree in Midwifery. She became recognized as an Aboriginal Midwife by the Six Nations Band Council in 1999. Julie currently serves as the Supervisor of Tsi Non:we Ionnakeratstha Ona:grahsta' Maternal and Child Centre.

Dr. Carol Crill Russell provides leadership to Invest in Kids' two major research initiatives: The Parenting Initiative and The Community Vitality Initiative. She helps maintain Invest in Kids' ties with Canada's foremost researchers, academics, clinicians and policymakers in early child development; and, as a member of the Management Team, contributes to Invest in Kids' strategic, operational and fund development planning. She is the recipient of a multi-year grant from The Lawson Foundation to support the research and development of "how to" programs that translate research knowledge about social, emotional and cognitive development of young children into effective programs