I’ve worked in the Corporate Sector, Consulting and for the past 8 years, Academia. And the roles that I’ve really excelled at all have a few things in common. I’m helping people learn. We are free to do it creatively. And sometimes I get to be on stage and be a little zany. As a coach and facilitator, I’m known for my ability to connect with people and bring concepts to life with stories and practical ideas to try out. I’m a great synthesizer of data. I love to intertwine concepts from across disciplines to make learning events fun, informative and a little unique. I might make you laugh!

I began my career with a large Corporation. I had a variety of roles (human resources, consulting, marketing) over 10 years and then left to launch my own Learning and Development practice. I did that for 8 years and then joined a terrific consulting firm in Toronto as a Senior Consultant and Director of Leadership Programs, before returning to my own practice. A major life event changed my view of things and gave me a new passion and purpose.

My younger brother died suddenly, and I realized how challenging it was to integrate back into the workplace and for people to feel comfortable around me. I was in the midst of completing my PhD, so I switched my research to Sibling Loss, and ultimately went on to found Solacium. And Solacium is all about helping organizations put supports in place to help educate and guide their employees on how to support those who are grieving. Along the way, I wrote two books and did some interesting research and creative projects in this field too.

I love speaking to audiences about grief in the workplace and how easy it is to put some simple steps in place to help everyone feel more comfortable. As a “regular” consultant, I’ve coached established and emerging leaders, developed and led high potential leadership programs, run team building events, training events and developed many leadership programs. Currently, I am full time faculty in the Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (Management and Leadership) degree at Georgian College. And I’m continuing to work on grief related projects as part of my role. We now include the newly created course “Loss, Grief and Bereavement in the Workplace” - as an elective in the business degree.

I have a PhD in Adult Education from the University of Toronto, an M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning from Brock University and a BSc. in Psychology and Criminology. In addition, I’m certified in a variety of assessment tools and have a Certificate in Solution Focused (Brief) Coaching. Lastly, I’m certified in Thanatology – the study of Death, Dying and Bereavement. And there you have a little information on me.

Member of: Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals (OAMHP) and the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC).