Pre-Conference Speakers Jaynane Burning-Fields Jaynane is Aboriginal from Six Nations Reserve and was raised in the traditional culture.  She has spent 16 years working at the provincial level as a manager of the Aboriginal Children’s programmes that service the urban Aboriginal population.  Jaynane’s knowledge and skill set have been developed through this work and has been strengthened by her knowledge of traditional values and principles.  Jaynane has had the opportunity to use her skills and knowledge about culture based programming in various capacities, including working with Statistics Canada on the development of the Aboriginal Children’s Survey, Ministry of Children and Youth’s Panel of Experts (Early Learning Frame Work) and the Foundation of International Training- Egypt.  Jaynane is currently the Executive Director of the Niagara Regional Native Centre. Hiltrud Dawson, RN, BTech (neonatal nursing), IBCLC Hiltrud has over 25 years of experience in the maternal newborn field as a nurse, midwife as well as lactation consultant.  She currently works as a health promotion consultant for Best Start, Ontario’s Maternal, Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre and part-time as a lactation consultant at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, Burlington.  While she worked as coordinator of the Breastfeeding and Newborn Assessment clinic at St Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, 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.  Hiltrud has extensive experience teaching breastfeeding topics to audiences from various health and social service disciplines including physicians and medical students.  Her passions include breastfeeding, BFI implementation 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.  Hiltrud is the mother of 3 (breastfed) children and 3 (breastfed) granddaughters. Hannele Dionisi, RN, BScN, Public Health Nurse Hannele Dionisi has worked in public health for 20 years.  For the past nine years, her area of focus has been reproductive health and breastfeeding promotion.  She played a key role in the development of the Ontario BFI (Baby-Friendly Initiative) in the Community Health Services Committee and was its chairperson for four years.  Hannele was the BFI program lead as Algoma Public Health worked toward receiving BFI designation in January 2010.  She has assisted in the development of a Breastfeeding Surveillance System for the agency and is currently working on implementing a breastfeeding peer support program for Algoma. Eija Leinonen, RN, BScN, IBCLC Eija is a Public Health Nurse who has worked in maternal child health for over 25 years, including 20 years as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.  She is currently working at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit in the Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program and Breastfeeding Clinic with a focus on supporting families and community programs in the areas of breastfeeding and early child development.  Karen McQueen, RN, PhD Karen is an Assistant Professor at Lakehead University’s School of Nursing.  She has an extensive background in perinatal nursing including practitioner, educator and researcher.  Her research interests include breastfeeding promotion and the early identification and treatment of women with postpartum depression. Keynote Speakers Marilyn Junnila  Marilynn Junnila is a Métis woman, who was born in Fort Frances and has lived a majority of her life in Northwestern Ontario.  Marilyn is the Executive Director of Ka:nen Our Children Our Future, and has been with Ka:nen since the inception of the CAPC program in 1993.  She and her staff work with the off-reserve Aboriginal CAPC and CPNP projects throughout Ontario. Nicole Kenton Nicole Kenton is an evaluation consultant with the Public Health Agency of Canada, where she has been working on the evaluation of community-based programs since 2000.  Nicole is currently a member of the National Evaluation Team for Children.  Nicole obtained her Master’s degree in Community Psychology from Wilfred Laurier University, after completing a BASc in Child Studies from the University of Guelph. Annie Wilson Annie is a respected elder from Emo, Ontario who will talk about traditional prenatal teachings. Session Speakers Lynda Banning Lynda has worked in a variety of areas within Aboriginal organizations in Northwestern Ontario for the past 19 years.  In her role as the FASD Regional Program Worker at the Union of Ontario Indians, Lynda participated in the development of the First Nation Children’s Environmental Health Manual (2009).  This manual looks at some of the top environmental issues currently affecting First Nation children, living both on and off reserve, throughout Ontario.  This valuable tool supports service providers in addressing environmental health concerns in a culturally sensitive and strength based manner. Louise Choquette Louise Choquette est la Consultante bilingue en promotion de la santé.  Son rôle est de fournir des renseignements exacts rapidement à l’équipe Meilleur départ et aux intervenants, en français comme en anglais.  Sa formation est dans le domaine de la communication et de la technologie éducative.  Au cours des dernières années, elle a travaillé sur diverses initiatives en santé publique ainsi que pour des organismes à but non lucratif dans les domaines de la santé du cœur, de l’activité physique, de la prévention du tabagisme et de la prévention des abus de drogues et alcool. Dr. Jeff Daiter, BPHE, MD, CCFP, FCFP,  D,ABSM,  C,ASAM,  FASAM, C,CSAM MRO Dr. Daiter graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1991 and completed his Residency in Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.  Achieving certification by the Canadian and American Societies of Addiction Medicine as well as a Fellowship from the latter, he currently acts as the Chief Medical Director for the Ontario Addiction Treatment Centers, a group of 28 methadone clinics in the province.  In association with more than 35 other physicians, the Ontario Addiction Treatment Centers currently offers addiction treatment for over 7,000 patients throughout thirty communities within the province.  Dr. Daiter also sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine as well as on the Executive of the Ontario Medical Association Section on Addiction Medicine.  Lastly, Dr. Daiter is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, a Fellow of the American Sleep Disorders Association and Director of the York Region Sleep Disorders Centre. Judy Kay  Judy Kay coordinates the Healthy Generations Family Support Program in Sioux Lookout, Ontario.  This program supports families raising children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).  Judy has developed FASD educational materials, worked with a FASD provincial training program for early intervention programs, and is a trainer for Nurturing Change, a national FASD training initiative.  Judy has led various FASD community mobilization initiatives that have developed partnerships and collaborations with all sectors of the community. Kim McGibbon, MScCH, RD Kim is a Registered Dietitian with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.  Her degree in nutrition is from the University of Guelph and she completed a dietetic internship in Ottawa.  Originally from Peterborough, Kim has been in Thunder Bay for ten years working in both clinical and community settings.  This past year Kim completed a Masters of Science in Community Health with a specialization in public health nutrition from the University of Toronto. Kim currently works with the Family Health Team in the area of prenatal and child nutrition and chronic disease prevention. Karen O’Gorman, MSW Karen O’Gorman has worked in human services for thirty years.  For the last seventeen years, Karen has worked in the field of addictions and mental health providing direct service, program development, management, supervision and consultation.  Currently, she is in private practice providing training, consultation and counseling.  She has a Master’s degree in Social Work with a focus on women and substance use. Lyne Soramaki Lyne is a Public Health Nurse from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and a Local Champion with the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and the Environment.  She has worked with many First Nation communities in various capacities throughout Northwestern Ontario.  She is currently a member of the Aboriginal Working Group.