Board of Directors

I had a 27-year career with the Government of Manitoba, including positions as CEO of Healthy Child Manitoba; Deputy Minister of Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors; and Deputy Minister of Children and Youth Opportunities. Subsequently, I became Research Chair, School of Health Sciences and Community Services at Red River College Polytechnic, where I led a team of researchers dedicated to ensuring that research is accessible and meaningful to those most impacted by it. Since retiring, I remain co-chair of the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council, active with the United Way of Winnipeg, and a member of the Stewardship Committee for the Boldness Project.

I am a semi-retired communications professional who specialized in parenting and fathering. A longtime regular writer for Today’s Parent magazine, I also developed parent education booklets and web content for the Psychology Foundation of Canada, Dad Central Canada, Pearson Canada and The MEHRIT Centre where I currently work part-time as Communications Officer.

I am an Associate Professor in Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. I hold a PhD in family resource management, and my research focuses on family economic well-being. My current research includes family financial health, family expenditures on children, and the economic costs of family caregiving to older adults.

I have a Masters in Organizational Leadership and more than 20 years experience in the non-profit sector, including 15 years with the Canadian Red Cross. I focused on developing, implementing, and scaling violence prevention and community safety programs in communities across Canada. I am currently working with the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to develop programming for the first territorial addictions and trauma treatment centre in Canada.

I hold a Master of Science degree in Community Health and helped operationalize Winnipeg’s first Indigenous-led Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine Clinic in 2023. Areas of specialization include anti-Indigenous racism work, trauma informed and healing informed principles and practices, child/youth development, family violence, program evaluation, and doing research in good ways for and alongside Indigenous communities.

I have a background in Early Childhood Education and spent most of my career at Red River College Polytechnic, first teaching and later in administration. I’ve had a strong interest in educational media and, among other projects, led the development of the Science of Early Child Development (SECD) initiative (www.scienceofecd.com). Since retirement I have worked as a consultant in a wide variety of Canadian and International projects. I now live and work on the unceded ancestral lands of the Squamish Nation in coastal British Columbia, Canada.

I hold a Juris Doctor and worked as a Crown Attorney with Manitoba Prosecution Service for 11 years. During this time, I handled a number of criminal matters involving child victims. I am currently with the Civil Legal Services Branch of Manitoba Justice.