CONFERENCE 2003 PRESENTERS' BIOGRAPHIES

Thank you to all the outstanding speakers at Conference 2003 for their exciting and insightful presentations!

Jill Ash, BA (Hons)
Consultant
Healthy Futures Group

Jill Ash is an innovative leader and strategic thinker with over 15 years experience in education, employment counselling and management. Prior to joining Healthy Futures Group, Jill was a senior manager in the not-for-profit sector where she led major partnership efforts to bring projects from concept to completion. An experienced motivator, coach and catalyst, she forms high performance teams expertly focusing the efforts of diverse groups onto common goals. She has considerable experience executing comprehensive performance management processes that are aligned with organizational values and goals. A recipient of the Ontario Federal Council Leadership Award, Jill was recognized publicly for her contribution to developing intergovernmental relations and partnerships amongst senior executives in the not-for-profit sector.

Julian Barling, PhD
Associate Dean
School of Business
Queen's University

Dr. Julian Barling is the Associate Dean of the School of Business at Queen's University and a professor of organizational behavior and psychology. He is involved in research on leadership, human resources, work stress and safety at work, and has worked with numerous private and public organizations such as CIBC, Telus and the Health Corporation of Newfoundland. He has received numerous awards including the "most popular professor" ranking in MacLean's magazine's annual survey of Canadian universities, the "Excellence in Research" award from the School of Business at Queen's University, and the National Post's "Leaders in Business Education" award. Dr. Barling has authored several books, including Employment, Stress and Family Functioning, The Union and its Members: A Psychological Approach (with Clive Fullagar and Kevin Kelloway), Changing Employment Relations: Behavioral and Social Perspectives (with Lois Tetrick, and Young Workers (with Kevin Kelloway). He is currently completing a book on "The psychology of workplace safety" (with Mike Frone), and is the author/editor of more than 100 research articles and book chapters.

Melissa Barton, BSc, MBA
Wellness Consultant
Human Resource Management and Education
Ontario Hospital Association

Melissa is the Wellness Consultant for the Ontario Hospital Association and is currently working to promote the vision that hospitals should be models of healthy workplaces and their employees' champions of health. She has developed a comprehensive Healthy Hospital Initiative to help hospitals implement the changes required to achieve this vision. Melissa has a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and holds a Masters in Business Administration. Passionate about wellness, Melissa strongly believes in the health-promoting power of positive attitudes and compassion in the workplace.

Angèle Bilodeau, PhD
Researcher, Public Health Branch
Montreal Health and Social Services Regional Directorate/National Institute of Quebec Public Health

Angèle Bilodeau obtained a doctorate in applied social science from the Université de Montréal, and a Masters degree in sociology, from Université Laval (Québec). She is a researcher at both the Institut national de santé publique du Québec and the Direction de santé publique de Montréal. She is also an associate researcher with the Institut de recherche pour le développement social des jeunes and the Groupe de recherche et d'action sur la victimisation des enfants et Alliance de recherche en développement des enfants dans leur communauté located at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her research field is programme evaluation with a particular emphasis on participatory planning, inter-sectoral collaborations and social innovation.

Don Bisch
Editor, Canadian Healthcare Manager

Don is editor of Canadian Healthcare Manager, an integrated health publication that addresses the common challenges faced by the diverse group of stakeholders in Canada's healthcare industry. He joined the magazine in March 2001 after serving as editor of special projects for Rogers Media, Healthcare and Financial Publishing. Previously, Don was editor of a quarterly newsletter for the group benefits industry, and editor of a financial digest for Canadian physicians. Don holds a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa.

Kelly Blackshaw, BPE, PFLC
VP Corporate Relations and Business Development
Foothills Health Consultants Ltd.

Kelly is a specialist in exercise testing and prescription. She has been associated with Foothills Health Consultants since 1979 and was the Director of Fitness for the Trym Gym Program at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine from 1980 to 1992. Foothills Health Consultants is a Corporate Health Care Company specializing in executive health assessments, organizational health management, peak performance seminars, international medical travel and acts as corporate medical advisors for the Calgary business community. She believes that everyone has the potential to improve performance, maintain high energy levels and have the lowest health risks by maintaining a healthy lifestyle through a balance of job, personal and family commitments.

Dave Borsellino
Vice President, Manufacturing
Dofasco

Dave Borsellino joined Dofasco in 1971 after graduating from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Metallurgy. He held a variety of positions in both Manufacturing and Technology prior to being appointed to Vice President, Manufacturing in 1994. He was 1996/97 and 1997/98 Honorary Chairman for the Lung Association Corporate Campaign as well as 1999/2000 Campaign Chair of the St. Joseph's Hospital and Villa "Miracles & Modern Medicine" Capital Campaign. He is Chairman of the Hamilton Industrial Environmental Association, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of St. Joseph's Hospital and Chairs the St. Joseph's Governance Committee.

Diane Buckner
Host and Reporter
CBC Television's Venture

Dianne Buckner is the host of CBC Television's Gemini award-winning weekly business and current affairs series Venture. This is her fifth season hosting Venture, and her tenth as a reporter for the program. Ms. Buckner joined the CBC in 1991, after reporting for the CTV National News and working as backup host for Canada AM. Before joining CTV News, she was co-host of the popular CTV series Live It Up!, a magazine style program best known for its off-kilter take on consumer and lifestyle issues. Some of Ms. Buckner's memorable stories for Venture include her coverage of the economic crisis in Japan, a report from New York one week after September 11 on the effect on businesses, and a segment on work-life conflict in Canada and abroad.

Tom Charlton
Senior Vice President, Operations
Canada Post

Tom C. Charlton became Senior Vice President, Operations of Canada Post in January, 2001. He joined CPC in 1971 after graduating from Simon Fraser University and held various positions in Operations Research, Operational Planning and Real Estate. Prior to being Vice President, Mail Operations from October 1996 to January 2001, he was General Manager, Central Region from March 1995 to October 1996, General Manager, Network and Transportation and Corporate Manager, Real Estate Development.

Terrie Conway, MPA
Regional Manager
Organization Development and Leaning
Vancouver Island Health Authority

Terrie has focused her 25-year career on facilitating learning and developing potential - in herself and in others. Her early work included roles as a career counsellor, corrections officer, learning-centre coordinator and training director. For the past 11 years she has focused on leadership and organization development in healthcare.

Terrie is currently Regional Manager for Organization Development and Learning and Leader for the Centre for Excellence in Learning with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, in Victoria, BC, Canada. She is responsible for implementing VIHA's world class Leadership Development program and is the creator of "Molten Metal - The Synergy of Shared Vision." She holds various professional degrees (BA, BSW, MPA) and certifications (Certified Human Resource Practitioner, Inner Quality Management Facilitator (Heartmath), Executive Coach (LIOS), Open Space Facilitator (Harrison Owen), and Master Trainer (Achieve Global).

Terrie is frequently called upon to deliver workshops to external organizations and agencies including: The Office of the Auditor General, BC Human Resource Management Association, Tourism BC, The Empress Hotel and Vancouver Island Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology.

Dan Corbett
President and CEO
NQI

As President of the NQI, Dan Corbett's mandate is to share the vision of the Institute's "Inspiring Excellence in Canada" by demonstrating the power of a strategic focus on excellence to leaders in the private sector and the public sector. NQI is the national organization for Canada's Excellence Frameworks, based on an internationally recognized set of principles, criteria, and practices for quality and for a healthy workplace. The case for Excellence is clearly demonstrated through the organizations that have received the Canada Awards for Excellence.

Prior to joining the Institute, Dan was President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Lawrence College. During his term there, St. Lawrence College became the first college in North America to be registered to the ISO 9001 standard. In the private sector, he gained an international perspective, starting with a chemical plant in Newfoundland, and progressing to senior corporate offices in Toronto, London, England and the USA. His corporate experience includes organizational development, human resources, quality systems, health and safety management and leading strategic change.

Wayne Corneil, ScD
Senior Consultant
Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada [APEX], and Associate Scientist, Institute for Population Health, University of Ottawa

Prior to his joining APEX in 2000, Dr. Wayne Corneil was a Director in the Occupational Health and Safety Agency of Health Canada. Over the past decade Dr. Corneil has conducted research examining the effects of workplace practices on health. He is currently working on the replication of the benchmark study he conducted in 1997 for APEX on the Work Habits, Working Conditions and Health Status of Executives in the Federal Public Service. Dr. Corneil has a doctorate in Occupational Health Psychology from the School of Hygiene and Public Health at The Johns Hopkins University. He also has professional degrees in social work, counselling, criminology and adult education.

Doug Cowan
President
Health Systems Group

Doug is the current President and the original founder of Health Systems Group (HSG). Since 1978, the company has worked with over 100 organizations in every province of Canada and in all industry sectors to set up fitness and health promotion programs. With offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary, the company currently employs over 250 staff in its various projects.

Doug has 25 years of experience in the health, work and wellness field. He has direct experience working with senior executives to understand the impact that corporate culture has on employee health, the impact that executives have on corporate culture, and how they can consciously alter the corporate culture to create more healthy and productive workplaces.

Doug was honoured with Canada's Workplace Wellness Pioneer Award in 2000.

Susan Cruse, MSc
Manager
Employee Health Support and Resilience
GlaxoSmithKline (UK)

Susan Cruse is responsible for health enhancement and work/life programs and services in the UK division of GlaxoSmithKline, a major pharmaceuticals company.

In partnership with Human Resource colleagues in the UK, Sue works to understand the diverse needs of the 23,000 individuals who make up the company's UK workforce. She is a founding member of CHAP - Corporate Health and Performance - a UK collaboration between a group of national/multi-national organizations together with the Department of Health, and the Health and Safety Executive which is making an explicit link between health, human performance and productivity. Ms. Cruse has a background in managing health promotion within the National Health Service, public health nursing, university lecturing and school teaching, as well as a first degree in French and Ancient Greek.

Graham Dickson, PhD
Executive Director
Leadership and Learning Collaboratory (LLC)
Royal Roads University

For over 20 years, Dr. Dickson has facilitated leadership competency for individuals, teams and organizations (including projects in Japan, the United States, and China). He has received outstanding evaluations on his instructional performance while at Royal Roads University. In the past year, Graham has been actively involved in designing leadership programs for Global Payment Canada, Johnson & Johnson, Mount Royal College of Business and Fine Arts, the B.C. Provincial Government, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the City of Vancouver, and a consortium of over 12 school districts in Alberta and British Columbia. Graham has a doctorate in educational administration, with a special focus on program evaluation and organizational performance measurement. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Victoria Hospitals Foundation.

Sophie Dubé, MSc, CHRA
Disability Management Consultant
Watson Wyatt Canada

Sophie Dubé is a consultant in Watson Wyatt's Group & Healthcare practice. She advises clients on disability management issues, more specifically on work attendance studies and research, work/life balance, promotion of health and well-being in the workplace, stress management and work organization.

Sophie does a diagnosis and then develops strategies for implementing policies and programs in these different areas. She leads workshops, directs projects, supports the process for choosing a supplier (insurer/employee assistance program), conducts benchmarks and evaluates the qualitative and quantitative impact of the measures adopted in the organization.

She holds a Master of Science in industrial relations with a major in stress management from Université de Montréal. She has also completed two training courses: one with Essi Systems Group on the use of StressMap and one with the HeartMap Institute on emotional intelligence. Sophie is a member of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines et en relations industrielles agréés du Québec.

Margaret Eckenfelder
Assistant Deputy Minister
B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection

Margaret Eckenfelder has worked for the Province of British Columbia since 1993 in a variety of capacities in both central agencies and with the Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection. With a background in public administration and law, Margaret has 22 years of wide-ranging experience in the public and private sectors at both the national and provincial levels. She has been an Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry since August 2000.

Margaret's public sector experience covers environment and land use, aboriginal affairs, cooperatives and cooperative development, finance, information management, legislation and strategic planning.

In the private sector, her focus was on the financial services industry, first working as Senior Advisor, Legal Services for the Trust Companies Association and later, as Regional Director for British Columbia and Alberta with the Canadian Bankers' Association. She also practised corporate commercial and administrative law, including work for the Law Reform Commission of Canada in Ottawa.

Margaret has a Masters in Public Administration from Queen's University and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan and is a member of the Law Society of Saskatchewan. Margaret was born in Montreal and, before settling in British Columbia, lived in Alberta, Brazil, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and overseas.

Pat Ferris
President
Pat Ferris Consulting

Pat is an organizational consultant with over 20 years of experience. She has worked in the employee assistance program, psychiatry, and training fields, developing an expert knowledge base in organizational, personal, and traumatic stress. She is currently researching an expanded model of job stress that includes both employee and employer factors.

Pat works extensively in the oil and gas industry providing leadership coaching for managing fast paced environments. She has been the national critical incident debriefer for a major international gas company for the past six years. Pat has developed training programs for stress management interventions and programs for industry. She has conducted numerous stress audits in various types of organizations.

Pat follows a scientist-practitioner model in her work. She believes in evidence based practice and contribution to knowledge through research. Pat also researches and provides intervention in workplace bullying, a common and traumatizing form or work stress. Pat has recently presented at the Labour, Arbitration and Policy conference, and the International Conference on Workplace Bullying.

Denis Garand, PhD
Professor, Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management
Faculty of Administration Sciences
Laval University

Laval University professor Denis Garand has an extensive background in entrepreneurship, small business management and HR management. A frequent speaker and facilitator at academic and professional conferences, he has also participated in more than a dozen research projects on SME and HR management in Quebec and Europe, and published several scholarly articles on HRM, strategy in SMEs and entrepreneurship development. Denis is president of the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and co-editor of the Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

He completed his PhD in Management Sciences at Université de Metz (France) in 1999. Prior to his academic career, he held various private-sector positions as a manager and consultant to organizations in several sectors.

Ghislaine Guérard, PhD
Professor
Applied Human Sciences
Concordia University

Ghislaine Guérard teaches conflict analysis, conflict management and organizational consulting both at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Her present research is mainly focused on identifying organizational factors that contribute to mental health problems. The organizational dynamics analysis model that she has developed is presently used in two research projects centered on organizational factors linked to mental health problems. This research also seeks to develop collaborative modes of intervening on these factors. She has a M.A. and a Ph.D. in organizational communication.

Ghislaine has worked in the health and safety field, in the union world as a union advisor and has been involved in organizational consulting and training for the past 20 years. She has trained more than 500 health and education professional workers in conflict and organizational analysis, intervention and everyday negotiation. She is Director of the Center for Human Relations and Community Studies at Concordia University.

Kelly Howey, BPE
Health Promotion Consultant
City of Saskatoon

Kelly Howey originally came from Dauphin, Manitoba and has lived most of his life in Saskatoon. He has a Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of Saskatchewan, is a professional member of the Saskatoon Human Resources Associations Inc., and is a professional member of the Saskatchewan Association of Recreational Professionals.

Kelly has held various positions with the City of Saskatoon where his most recent direct experience has been as the Health Promotions Consultant. Within this position, he has demonstrated and attained a progressive strategy for all City employees in the area of wellness and injury prevention. Kelly has consulted with over 200 employees in 2002 with respect to workstation assessments and education to prevent long-term injuries. He continues to work with both senior management and union employees to foster a healthy working environment.

Over the course of fourteen years with the City of Saskatoon, Kelly has made presentations in the areas of stress prevention, nutrition, back care prevention, health promotion in workplaces, workstation assessments, program planning, leadership, and staff training and development.

Marla Jackson King, MHSc
Associate Director
Workplace Health Research Unit, Brock University

Marla has over 10 years of experience in the academic and professional fields of Organizational Health and Workplace Health Promotion. She obtained her BA (hon) in Health Psychology and her MHSc in Health Promotion from the University of Toronto. Her professional career in Workplace Health Promotion has covered many areas including: health risk assessment, program planning and evaluation, employee assistance programs, corporate health training and strategic human resource management. Currently, Marla is the Associate Director of the Workplace Health Research Unit at Brock University, an academic and professional unit that focuses on developing and implementing information management tools and systems for strategic human resource planning.

Deborah Jones, MPE
Conference Chair
President, Well-Advised Consulting Inc.

Deb Jones has been in the workplace health business for over 13 years. She believes passionately that long-term business success is built upon the foundation of a healthy organization where mutual respect, fairness, and employee wellness-mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and social health-is valued. She founded Well-Advised Consulting Incorporated in 1991 with this idea-"what if wellness was not treated as a 'program' but as a way of doing business? How can this philosophy be incorporated into business practices to improve working conditions for employees and positive outcomes for organizations?" Under Deb's leadership, Well-Advised Consulting provides businesses with consultation on strategic planning for organizational health and works with a wide range of organizations including non-profit, government and private.

Before she went down the consulting path, Deb earned a Master's Degree in Health Promotion. She followed that with a great deal of writing, speaking and developmental work in organizational health.

A trailblazer in the wellness industry, Deborah had the vision to create the national Health, Work & Wellness Conference in Canada, an annual event now moving into its seventh year. Health, Work & Wellness has become the premier workplace health conference in Canada and attracts over 500 delegates to different Canadian cities each year. This conference has become international and this year has a partnership with the European Network of Enterprise for Health, bringing in speakers from three European countries to share their workplace health experiences with delegates.

An international speaker, Deborah speaks to audiences around the globe, and is on the faculty of the Royal Roads University Executive Leadership Program. She writes frequently for health-related publications such as Wellness Options, Canadian HR Reporter and Action Prevention magazines.

François Lagarde, MA
Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine
University of Montreal

François Lagarde, M.A. is one of Canada's best facilitators and consultants on health and well-being issues. From 1984 to 1991, Mr. Lagarde worked for ParticipACTION where he served as vice-president and manager of national media campaigns/special projects. Since 1991, he has worked as a consultant specializing in social marketing and communications for dozens of foundations, community groups, private companies, public health agencies and federal and provincial governments. A gifted orator in both of Canada's official languages, Mr. Lagarde is a trainer and frequent guest speaker at several Canadian and foreign universities and organizations. He is also an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Montreal where he teaches social marketing in the Master's in Health Services Administration program.

Marie MacDonald
Principal
MacDonald Consulting

Marie MacDonald is an experienced consultant, educator, facilitator, keynote speaker and coach who has managed her organizational development practice since 1989. Marie works with leaders from a systems perspective to empower the human potential in complex organizational change. She has worked extensively with groups to increase change resilience and maintain organizational health during challenging times. Marie has a passion for the area of change, wellness and organizational capacity and works 'in the trenches' with organizations during challenging changes to empower the human potential. She brings an infectious, humorous and powerful presence to the processes of change, transition and organizational health and is an experienced and effective coach.

Marion Menge, PhD
Communication and Stress Reduction Coach
Businessimpuls

Dr. Marion Menge founded GbR BusinessImpuls in 1999 to focus on performance-oriented management and teamwork. She has worked on contract with RWE Net to set up a preventive health promotion project called "Health & Well-Being at Work." Marion received her Doctorate in Education and Social Sciences in 1998 and provides coaching and communication training for personnel development.

Elizabeth S. H. Mills, MPA
President and CEO
Ontario Service Safety Alliance (OSSA)

Elizabeth Mills founded the OSSA in 1997. Designated as a Safe Workplace Association in 1998, the OSSA provides health and safety programs, products and services to over 4.2 million employees in over 76,000 firms (over 110,000 workplaces) in five service sub-sectors: retail and wholesale distribution, tourism and hospitality, restaurant and food distribution services, vehicle sales and service, and office and related services.

A strategic thinker and leader of stakeholder coalitions, Elizabeth was Director, Government Relations of the Retail Council of Canada from May 1995 to June 1997. In representing and lobbying on behalf of the Council's 7000 retail companies, she spent the majority of her time on issues related to employment standards, health and safety, workers' compensation and the environment.

Elizabeth's prior experience includes five years as an Ontario public servant working in policy related functions in both the Ministry of the Government Services and the Ministry of the Solicitor General. She left government to begin her career in association management with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association in March of 1993.

A native of Toronto, Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Arts, Political Science ('87) from Wilfrid Laurier University and her Master of Public Administration from Queen's University, ('89).

Dr. T. Larry Myette, BSc (Pharm), MD, MPH, DABPM (Occ Med)
Director and Occupational Medicine Consultant
Employee and Workplace Health Services
Healthcare Benefit Trust

Dr. Myette is a former Command Surgeon of the Canadian Navy and Regional Medical Officer (B.C. and Yukon) at the Occupational Health and Safety Agency of Health Canada. Since October 1999, he has held the position of Director, Employee and Workplace Health Services and Occupational Medicine Consultant at Healthcare Benefit Trust (HBT). He is Co-Chair of the Depression in the Workplace Collaborative which recently completed a research project to identify best practices for managing depression in the workplace.

Peter O'Donnell, MRE
President
Healthy Futures Group

Peter O'Donnell, the founder and President of the Healthy Futures Group, is a senior consultant with over 25 years experience in management and consulting, both in Canada and internationally. He has worked extensively in social services, community development, community health and higher education. Peter's focus is on leading organizational and system change, creating learning organizations, and developing leadership capacity. Peter, a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops in Canada and abroad, has also authored numerous articles. He co-led a half-day pre-conference workshop on Organizational Health at last year's conference in Lake Louise. Peter is a two-time graduate of McMaster University with an M.R.E. (Religious Education/ Leadership Development) and a B.A. (Economics & Psychology).

Michèle Parent, MSc A
National Manager
Risk Management
Health and Wellness
Standard Life

Michèle has been National Manager, Strategy, Health and Wellness for Group Life and Health at Standard Life in Montreal since July 2001. She is responsible for advising clients in the areas of disability prevention and health promotion. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Montreal University, a Master's Degree in Occupational Health from McGill University and a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from l'École des Hautes Études Commerciales of Montreal University.

Before joining Standard Life, Michèle spent 13 years with Bell Canada where she was Director Health and Safety, responsible for occupational health and safety, management of the employee assistance program and health promotion for Bell Canada and its subsidiaries.

Michèle is an honorary member of l'Association Québécoise pour l'Hygiène, la Santé et la Sécurité du Travail of which she was President in 1993. She is also a Certified Human Resource Professional, and is fluently bilingual.

Michael Peterson, EdD
Associate Professor
Director, Graduate Health Promotion Program
University of Delaware

Dr. Peterson is an associate professor at the University of Delaware with graduate degrees in Health Promotion and Behavioral Medicine from the University of Kentucky. He is also the founder and director of the graduate program in health promotion at the University of Delaware. He is widely published, a sought after speaker and consultant, and internationally recognized as a leading authority in organizational health, development, and assessment. Dr. Peterson has worked in a variety of countries, and with a variety of state governments within the continental United States in the areas of organizational and employee health promotion. He was an advisor to the American College of Occupational Medicine in the area of workplace stress and culture, and a frequent guest faculty member at renowned Medical Schools such as Thomas Jefferson University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Peterson is a senior consultant with Workplace Consultants Inc., an organizational health, development, and assessment firm based in Newark Delaware. He is also the creator of the Strategic Organizational Management (STORM) Index®™, an innovative, accurate, and critically reviewed and acclaimed tool for the assessment of organizational performance, health, and culture. His latest efforts include a book entitled "Creating the Dream Team: Skills to enhance productivity, profit and performance." ©

Lise Ricard, BSc
Disability Management Consultant
Watson Wyatt Canada

Lise Ricard is a senior consultant in disability management within Watson Wyatt Canada's group and health care practice. She acts as a strategic advisor primarily in the areas of integrated disability management and promotion of occupational health and safety, and wellness and audit processes. With 20 years of experience, Lise assists clients by identifying opportunities and developing strategies, processes and programs aligned with their business needs.

Before joining Watson Wyatt in December 2001, Lise managed occupational health and nursing at Noranda Inc, developing and implementing a comprehensive workplace- based integrated disability management program in ten Canadian locations. She was involved in the development and implementation of an environment, health and safety management system to ensure compliance.

Lise holds a Bachelor's of Science in nursing, a health and safety certificate and a community health certificate from the University of Québec at Abitibi Témiscamingue (UQAT). She has been a contract teacher at UQAT in the health and safety certificate program and was a member of the working committee that developed the code of practice for National Institute of Disability Management and Research. She has delivered conferences regarding disability management and psychological disabilities, toxicological issues and health promotion. She is a member of the Ordre des infirmiers et infirmières du Québec and of the Board of directors of the Association des infirmiers et infirmières en santé du travail du Québec.

Joseph P. Ricciuti
National Practice Director for Group and Healthcare
Watson Wyatt Canada

Joseph Ricciuti is responsible for overseeing the direction and performance of the group and healthcare practice in Canada.

A leading healthcare benefits expert, Joseph has nearly 30 years of experience in the field. He brings a wealth of knowledge on the Canadian health care industry, a strong focus on client priorities and business acumen to this role. Prior to joining Watson Wyatt, he was Vice President of Group Business Development and Marketing at a large Canadian insurer.

His previous experience solving Canadian and U.S. health care issues is extremely beneficial to Watson Wyatt clients, many of whom operate in both countries. From research to marketing to product development, Joe's health care expertise is tremendously well rounded, and his past successes integrating market and customer health and welfare insights help create innovative solutions.

Joseph holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University. He is on the Board of Directors at West Park Hospital, is a member of the Economic Roundtable on Mental Health and Addiction, and serves on the advisory board of Mind Media Group.

Steve Robinson, MA
Manager of Organizational and Staff Development
Georgian College

Steve Robinson is an experienced workplace coach, facilitator, teacher, speaker, and consultant in the field of organizational change and effectiveness. Steve has experience working with the health and human services and not-for-profit sectors through his consulting and training practice. Through his work and his teaching, Steve practices his calling of helping others discover their gifts and potential. His primary cause is reawakening spirit and values in education. Steve is a graduate of both Georgian and Humber College, has an undergraduate degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Arts in Education from Central Michigan University.

Chuck Rowe, MHA
Vice President Human Resources
Vancouver Island Health Authority

Mr. Rowe has over 25 years of experience in the health care industry. The Region has 16,500 staff and provides health services to a population base of approximately 706,343.

Prior to his current appointment, Chuck was a Vice President, Operations Support, with the Capital Health Region, Vice President with the Greater Victoria Hospital Society, and has worked with the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Saint Michael's General Hospital and the Ontario Ministry of Health.

He is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a post-graduate degree in Hospital Administration, and is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Care and Epidemiology at the University of British Columbia.

Mr. Rowe holds a Fellowship with the Canadian College of Health Service Executives and is a Past Chair of the Vancouver Island Chapter. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and was Regent for British Columbia and the Yukon (1994-98). In January 2000 he was awarded the "Regent's Award" from the ACHE in recognition of significant contributions toward the achievement of the goals of the ACHE and the advancement of healthcare management excellence. He is the Past-Chair of the Vancouver Island Regional Health Council of HEABC.

Christina Sinclair, PhD, C Pscych
Psychologist

Working in the psychological field for nearly 30 years, Tina's experience includes both the theoretical and applied aspects of understanding stress in the workplace. She has worked in research projects, has provided training and seminars in the corporate sector, and has an extensive knowledge of the complexities of occupational stress through years of EAP assessment and counseling work. Her experience providing therapy for occupational health issues stimulated her role in the creation and development of the wellness instrument used for this research (WWP - Worksite Wellness Program). This tool is an interactive online early detection instrument used to assess physical as well as emotional health and worksite satisfaction for employees in the workplace. Tina's current particular interest with this instrument is to further investigate the concept of 'resilience' in order to continue to assist employers understand the need to support employees with training programs to optimize wellness. Future development of the tool will focus on resilience parameters in different age groups - e.g. the elderly and adolescents.

Kim Snider
Senior Vice President
Health Systems Group

As the Senior Vice President of Health Systems Group, Kim is responsible for the development, implementation and evaluation for HSG's Health Promotion programs with its workplace clients. She also consults on the development of Business Plans for organizations on Integrated Health Management strategies. Kim has over 16 years of experience in the health, work and wellness field, and has directed health promotion initiatives in a variety of settings including the private and public sector, with large and small employers and in decentralized locations.

Linda Spence, BA (Hons)
Consultant/HR Specialist
Healthy Futures Group

Linda Spence has many years of experience in a variety of HR leadership roles. In addition to being a gifted facilitator and trainer, Linda has a unique ability to help organizations align their HR policies and practices with their mission, vision and core values. In recent years Linda has worked with organizations to develop performance management programs and tools, and she continues to design and deliver training on the subject.

With an honours BA in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario, she is also a talented actress, who combines her capabilities in these two diverse areas to turn ordinary learning experiences into engaging and memorable adventures.

Lynn Stoudt
Principal
Mercer Human Resource Consulting

Ms. Stoudt graduated from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and completed her fourth year studies at the University of Alberta as a Visiting Student. She is a Certified Management Consultant and a member of the Ontario Professional Association. Lynn is also a Certified Human Resource Professional and holds membership in the HR Professional Association of Ontario.

With over 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors in Human Resource management and consulting. Her background includes working directly with clients in the design of recruitment and selection programs and processes, comprehensive human resource and workforce planning, competency profile modeling, performance management and organizational change management. She has extensive experience in the areas of human capital and talent management, business change implementation and hr program design.

Bernd Tenckhoff, Dipl.-Ing.
Head of Plant Safety Management
RWE Net AG

Bernd Tenckhoff is head of operational safety at the largest European network for the transmission and distribution of electrical energy. He has become known as a trend-setting designer of innovative prevention projects, after many years of experience working in the fields of occupational health and safety, environmental protection and crisis management. Mr. Tenckhoff is the author of numerous technical publications and papers that have been presented at national and international conferences, and he is a frequent lecturer at training and continuous education programs for safety engineers and company doctors.

Kirsti F. Vandraas
Director of Research and Development
HÅG

Kirsti Vandraas has a postgraduate degree in Ergonomics and Industrial Hygiene and a specialist degree in "Health and Environmental Work". She has been head of the secretariat of the Norwegian National Council for Prevention of Musculo-Skeletal-Disorders, vice-president of the Norwegian Physiotherapy Association, President of the Nordic Ergonomics Society and a board member of the International Ergonomics Association. She represents Norway in the European and international standardization committees regarding office furniture and ergonomics and is a board member of the European Network of Enterprise for Health.

John K. Yardley, PhD
Director
Brock University Wellness Institute

John has worked for 19 years in a university environment, during which he has published 23 articles and numerous reports, been awarded over $3.0 million in academic and contract research grants, worked with corporations and public agencies, and presented to over 90 academic and professional conference presentations and workshops. Over the last four years he has focused on research and consulting with Canadian Workplaces.

As Director of the Workplace Health Research Unit he has spearheaded the development of a Canada-wide research project, entitled "The Human Resource Management Database Project" funded, in part, by Human Resources Development Canada and strategically supported by The National Quality Institute and GlaxoSmithKline.