Dr. John R. Z. Abela, PhD, McGill University
Workshop: Strengthening Youth Mental Health, York Region

Dr. John Abela is an Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at McGill University and Director of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Clinic at the Montreal Children's Hospital.  He also holds appointments as a visiting professor at Second Xiangya Medical College of Central South University and the University of Rome “La Sapienza.”  He received a BA in psychology from Brown University and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.  He completed his pre-doctoral internship at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital.  Dr. Abela's research focuses on cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability to depression in children, adolescents, and adults.  He has over 50 scientific publications in peer-review journals and 15 invited chapters/reviews.  He is on the editorial board of Cognitive Therapy and Research, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, and the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.  Dr. Abela is a two time recipient of a young investigator award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.  His research has also been funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation.  Dr. Abela has received New Researcher Awards from the Canadian Psychological Association, the Association of the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, the International Congress of Psychology, the Canadian National Research Council for the International Union of Psychological Science, and the National Institutes of Health.  He has also received McGill University's Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching and the Faculty of Science's Leo Yaffe Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Sherese Bleary, Community Youth Counsellor, Square One Youth Centre
Workshop: Youth Gangs, Peel Region

Sherrese Bleary is the Community Youth Counsellor at Square One Youth Centre, a program of Nexus Youth Services, located in Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre. Sherrese has been working for the past three years at Square One Youth Centre supporting youth programming, and has had experience in day treatment and residential settings at Peel Children’s Centre and JD Griffin Centre. Sherrese is a graduate of the Child and Youth Program at George Brown College, and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sociology at York University.

Dr. Sonia Chehil, Dalhousie University
Workshop: Evaluating Teen Depression and Suicide Risk - Training for Mental Health Professionals and Service Providers, Toronto, Peel and York Regions

Dr. Chehil is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University. She currently holds a joint faculty appointment in the International Section as well as the Child and Adolescent Division of the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry. She is also the Associate Head of the International Section and Assistant Director of the WHO Collaborating Center in Mental Health Training and Policy Development. Within the Child and Adolescent Division, Dr. Chehil is the Postgraduate Director for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training. Her clinical time is focused on outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry, shared care, and community mental health education. Dr. Chehil completed an Honours Bachelor Degree in Immunology and Neuroscience and a Masters in Educational Psychology prior to beginning medical school at Dalhousie University. Following medical school, she completed her postgraduate medical training in Psychiatry as well as specialty training in both child and adolescent and international psychiatry.  Recently, she has co-authored a book on suicide risk management for health professionals with her colleague Dr. Kutcher.

Dr. Claire V. Crooks, Ph.D., C.Psych., University of Western Ontario
Workshop: Youth Violence, Toronto

Dr. Crooks is the Associate Director of the CAMH Centre for Prevention Science and an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children at the University of Western Ontario. Her research involves the development and evaluation of the Fourth R, a relationship-based curriculum aimed at preventing violence and related risk behaviours in adolescents. She is particularly interested in gender strategic programming that meets the unique needs of girls and boys with respect to violence prevention. A national dissemination project is also underway, as well as efforts to adapt the program for use with aboriginal youth. Dr. Crooks is also co-director of a Trillium-funded project investigating sustainability of school-based violence prevention strategies.

Dr. Crooks is a co-developer of the Caring Dads program, a parenting intervention for men who have maltreated (or are at-risk to maltreat) their children. She co-wrote the Caring Dads manual, and has facilitated several of the pilot groups at the London site. Dr. Crooks is Faculty member of the US National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and frequently conducts training in the areas of domestic violence, child maltreatment, and custody and access. She is co-author of numerous articles and chapters on topics including children’s exposure to domestic violence, child custody and access, adolescent dating violence and risk behaviour, and intervening with fathers who maltreat their children. She is also co-author of Adolescent Risk Behaviors: Why teens experiment and strategies to keep them safe (Yale University Press, 2006).

Dr. Joanne Cummings, Researcher and Partnership Manager, Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network (PREVNet)
Workshop: Bullying and Victimization: The Relationship Perspective, Peel

Joanne Cummings received her Ph.D. in Clinical Developmental Psychology from York University and is a member of the College of Psychology of Ontario.  Her research is in the areas of the development of aggression, parenting, and parent-child relationships. Since 1995 she has consulted to schools, community agencies, and summer camps with the goal of creating positive social climates and reducing bullying.  Joanne was an Ontario Mental Health Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and a Researcher in the Infant Program of the Department of Psychiatry at The Hospital for Sick Children before joining PREVNet.  Her research evaluated a parent-child relationship focused treatment for aggressive and noncompliant behaviour problems in preschoolers, and an attachment-based group intervention for mothers and infants. As Partnership Manager with PREVNet Joanne’s work focuses on translating knowledge and brokering effective partnerships between university researchers and national nongovernmental organizations to promote healthy social development for Canada’s youth.   

Cathy Dyer, Youth Engagement Pilot Project, Children's Mental Health Ontario
Workshop: Youth Engagement and Mental Health, Toronto

Cathy Dyer coordinates the Youth Engagement Pilot Project, a joint initiative of Children’s Mental Health Ontario and The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she received an honours undergraduate degree in Political Science. She has worked in the field of youth engagement for nine years starting off in the child welfare sector. Cathy brings vitality and vision to wherever she goes and believes that youth are powerful agents for positive change.

Dr. Irvin Epstein MD, FRCPC, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Workshop: At Risk For and First Episode Psychosis, Toronto and Peel Region

Dr Epstein completed his residency in Psychiatry at Queen’s University in 1995 and completed his training in child and adolescent psychiatry at both Queen’s and Sunnybrook HSC. He was an Assistant Professor at Queen’s in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from 1995 to 1998.   He has been a staff psychiatrist in the First Episode Psychosis Clinic at CAMH College Street Site since 1998 and at the Fact Peel Clinic since 2002.  He has been staff psychiatrist at the Prime Clinic at CAMH since 1999 - an early intervention clinic and participated in the Prime Study, which is the first double-blind clinical study utilizing a novel antipsychotic olanzapine versus placebo.  His primary area of interest is the early detection and management of schizophrenia-spectrum and affective psychosis. Other research interests include the treatment of individuals at high risk of psychosis and the psychosocial and psychopharmacological treatment of adolescent/first episode psychosis.  He is the chair of the Section of Psychopharmacology of the CPA and has a regular column in Schizophrenia Digest entitled Ask the Doctor.

Bob Heeney, Child and Youth Worker, Whitby Mental Health Centre
Workshop: Dealing with Self Harming Behaviour in Schools, York Region

Bob Heeney has been a Child and Youth Worker for more than 30 years. He has worked in residential treatment centres, schools, community-based group homes and at one time he and his wife Barb were houseparents for 2 years in a half way house program for latency age children.  Bob has been employed with the adolescent department at Whitby Mental Health Centre for the past 14 years.  In that time he has worked front line in the Adolescent Stabilization, Treatment and Transition Program and the Adolescent Residential Rehabilitation Program.  He was the Intake Coordinator for the Outpatient Department for the past 9 years and now has the assignment of Community Education Consultant.   He is the chair of the Durham Talking About Mental Illness Coalition (T.A.M.I.).  This coalition consists of consumer survivors and service providers who deliver accurate information about mental illness and stigma to local high schools. This group has spoken to more than 3000 high school students in Durham about the importance of Stomping Out the Stigma associated with mental illness. He has also presented at conferences locally, provincially and nationally.

Bill Hogarth, Director of Education, York Region District School Board
Workshop: Strengthening Youth Mental Health, York Region

Bill Hogarth was appointed Director of Education for York Region District School Board in 1993, after serving as a superintendent of schools in the former North York Board of Education for over 10 years. 

He has dedicated his working life to the teaching profession and is deeply committed to the principle of lifelong learning. He has been active, not only as a teacher, principal, university instructor and education administrator, but also as a faculty advisor in the faculty of education and member of the senate at York University.

Bill holds a Masters degree in Education from the University of Toronto.  He is passionate about the importance of developing community capacity, not only in education but in all facets of social service.

Dr. Karin Jablonowski, M.D., C.M., F.R.C.P. (C) Psychiatrist HOPE Program, Canadian Mental Health Association - York Region
Workshop: Strengthening Youth Mental Health, York Region

Dr. Karin Jablonowski is the team psychiatrist for the HOPE (Helping Overcome Psychosis Early) program with the Canadian Mental Health Association in York region.  She has been with the team since its inception in January 2006.  Dr. Jablonowski also has a general psychiatric practice in Thornhill, Ontario.  Dr. Jablonowski completed her psychiatric training at McGill University and has had the opportunity to pursue research in the areas of psychosis as well as bipolar disorder.

Rich Janzen, Research Director, Centre for Research and Education in Human Services
Workshop: Culture and Mental Health, Peel Region

Rich Janzen is Research Director at the Centre for Research and Education in Human Services in Waterloo, Ontario. He has been involved in over 50 applied research projects that used a participatory action research (PAR) approach. For Rich, research is a tool for social change – to find new ways of bringing people who are on the edge of society to live within community as full and equal members. Much of his research has focused on issues of immigrant settlement, access to professions and trades for immigrants, community mental health, and family support. Rich has an academic background in Community Psychology (MA) and, as part-time faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario), has taught community-based research methods to graduate social work students.

Dr. Stan Kutcher, Dalhousie University
Workshop: Evaluating Teen Depression and Suicide Risk - Training for Mental Health Professionals and Service Providers, Toronto, Peel and York Regions

Dr. Kutcher is Professor of Psychiatry and the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health in the Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University. He is also Section Head of International Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and the Director of the WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center in Mental Health Training and Policy Development. He is a member of several Boards, including the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation (CPRF), and is a founding Board member of the Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR). He has been a national/international leader in mental health research, advocacy for adolescent mental health, mental health training, and policy and health services innovation. He is a reviewer for a number of scientific journals and research granting agencies nationally and internationally. Dr. Kutcher has published over 180 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, over 200 abstracts, numerous book chapters and has edited/co-edited a number of psychiatric monographs. His book Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology is the standard text in the field. He is an active advocate for adolescent mental health in Canada and abroad and has received many national and international honours for his work in research and in adolescent mental health. Dr. Kutcher is also a nationally and internationally active speaker, reviewer and consultant in psychiatry working in various countries around the globe and for various international groups, including the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization. His work in international medical development and research advances health sector knowledge development across the various
medical disciplines and health care delivery systems.

Megan Lummiss, Talking About Mental Illness (TAMI) Whitby Mental Health Centre
Workshop: Dealing with Self Harming Behaviour in Schools, York Region

Megan Lummiss is a 21 year old consumer survivor who has been involved in a community awareness program (T.A.M.I.) that provides high school students and staff members with accurate information about mental illness, while at the same time, she delivers a message to “stomp out stigma” associated with mental illness.  She has told her story to more than 3000 students and staff members over the past 3 years.  Megan has just completed the 2 year Social Service Worker program at Centennial College and is applying to university to take a Social Work Program.  She enjoys reading, traveling and photography.  She was the valedictorian in her Grade Eight year.  This summer she will be traveling to the States and Europe and will do volunteer work relevant to the field.

Stoney McCart, Director, Center of Excellence for Youth Engagement
Workshop: Youth Engagement and Mental Health, Toronto

Stoney McCart, Director, Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement. Stoney has been the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement since it was established in 2001. She is also Executive Director of The Student Commission, a national charitable youth organization. The  Centre is a consortium of partnering academics, youth organizations, and youth from across Canada. Dr. Linda Rose-Krasnor of Brock University is the Director of Research. Other partners include Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario, YouthNet, Wilfrid Laurier University, St. Mary's University, University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina, YouthLaunch, and the city of Vancouver.  The Centre assisting in the implementation of several major youth engagement strategies with partners such as the YMCA, the Canadian Sexual Health Federation, and the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health and Childrens Mental Health Ontario.



Dan McGann, Adolescent Team Social Worker, The Credit Valley Hospital
Workshop: Self Harm, Peel Region

Dan McGann is a social worker with over 20 years experience of working with children and adolescents in various settings. After graduating from The University of Toronto in 1987 with his master’s degree he worked for several years at The Hospital for Sick Children primarily on the Burn and Plastics Unit where he developed an expertise in pain management using distraction techniques and hypnosis. Dan has been at The Credit Valley Hospital for the last 16 years working in various areas but primarily in out-patient Child & Family Services on the adolescent team. He is an avid runner and last year completed his first two full marathons ~ The Mississauga and the Toronto. He is now working to blend his professional career and his love of running to help teens struggling with depression and anxiety through his Teen Run Group Therapy Program.

Carin McLean, Child, Youth and Family Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Workshop: Concurrent Disorders, Toronto

Carin McLean is part of the Child, Youth and Family Program, management team at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  She supervises the Youth Outreach Services aimed at preventing or reducing harms associated with substance use among youth in the City of Toronto.     Carin supervises a team of dedicated addiction therapists, who deliver presentations and brief treatment services to parents, professionals and youth.  The programs mission is to promote evidenced-based prevention and early intervention programs that reduce the difficulties and stigma associated with substance use and related mental health issues amongst youth. 

Carin has over 7 years of experience in developmental and children’s mental health service sector.  Carin’s academic achievements include a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from McMaster University (1991) and a Post Graduate Diploma at the Institute of Child Study, Assessment and Counselling Program, Faculty of Education, University of Toronto (1995).    Carin has worked in research, educational, and clinical settings providing counselling services to adolescents and assistance to parents in understanding and dealing with concerns at home, school and in the community.

Dr. Joana Ochocka, Executive Director, Centre for Research and Education in Human Services
Workshop: Culture and Mental Health, Peel Region

Joanna Ochocka Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Centre for Research and Education in Human Services and faculty member in the MA and PhD program in Community Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Her primary areas of research include mental health, cultural diversity and community supports for marginalized populations.  She is the author of numerous academic articles and co-author of the book: "Shifting the Paradigm in Community Mental Health." Joanna is one of the leaders in the use of a participatory action research approach and she practices community research as a tool to mobilize people for social change. She has directed a number of large-scale research projects involving multiple partnerships. Currently she leads the Community University Research Alliance (CURA) on culture and mental health.

Dr. Louis Peltz, Clinical Director, Child and Family Clinic, The Credit Valley Hospital
Workshop: Self Harm, Peel Region

Dr. Louis Peltz is the Clinical Director of the Child & Family Clinic at The Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga. He is also Staff Psychiatrist at The Hospital for Sick Children on the Medical Psychiatry Team.  Dr. Peltz has an interest and has published in the area of psychosomatic disorders in children and adolescents as well as behavioral disorders in children.  Before obtaining his medical degree at Mac Master University in 1983 Dr. Peltz was a social worker who had a keen interest in parent counseling and family therapy. He maintained these interests through his psychiatric training at the University of Toronto graduating in 1987.

Dr. Tara Smith, Child and Family Clinic, The Credit Valley Hospital
Workshop: Self Harm, Peel Region

Tara Smith received her Ph.D. from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto in 2006.  She has conducted and published research in the areas of program evaluation and predictors of siblings’ psychosocial functioning in families of children with autism.  Tara joined the Child and Family Services Clinic at Credit Valley Hospital in 2006 in a contract position where she is a member of a multidisciplinary team, conducts diagnostic assessments, and provides group, family, and individual treatment.  Tara also works as a Psychoeducational Consultant for the Toronto District School Board.

Dr. Heather Stuart, Queen's University
Workshop: Stigma Busting, Toronto

Dr. Heather Stuart received her PhD in epidemiology from The University of Calgary, Alberta.  Prior to that, she studied at the University of Western Ontario, where she graduated with a BA(Hon) and an Master of Arts in Sociology  She is an Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, with cross appointments to the Department of Psychiatry and the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queens University.   

Dr. Stuart’s main research interests are in the areas of community mental health and psychiatric epidemiology.  Her main goals have been to undertake research that could help policy makers and planners solve day-to-day problems and make more informed, evidence-based, decisions.  She has worked in both hospital and community based mental health treatment systems, and has worked on international projects with the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, and the World Psychiatric Association.  Project areas have included anti-stigma programming, assessing the needs of homeless populations, the criminalization of the mentally ill, needs assessments for mental health reform, and the effects of hospital restructuring.  She has also helped to develop data collection and information systems in community programs, hospitals, and regional health delivery networks.

Dr. Stuart has been the recipient of research funds from local, national, and international agencies and has made a number of contributions to the mental health literature.  She is currently actively involved in research related to the World Psychiatric Associations Global program to fight stigma and discrimination against schizophrenia and has a Premier’s Research Excellence Award to study consumer experiences of stigma.

Wende Wood, Drug Information and Drug Use Evaluation Pharmacist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Workshop: Concurrent Disorders, Toronto

Wende Wood graduated from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan in 1992, then moved to Toronto where she completed an Industrial Pharmacy Specialty Residency in Drug Information with The Upjohn Company of Canada and the University of Toronto.  She then worked as a staff pharmacist in general hospital, psychiatric hospital and community pharmacy settings.  She joined the pharmacy staff at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in January of 1999, where she is currently the Drug Information and Drug Use Evaluation Pharmacist.  In December of 2002 she became the first person in Ontario to achieve the designation of Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist.  Wende speaks frequently to a wide variety of groups, from community organizations, allied health professionals and university students, on topics including psychopharmacology, drug interactions and reducing the stigma of mental illness.