2024 Speakers

Discover our 2024 Speakers, a lineup of esteemed professionals dedicated to addressing the mental health challenges faced by first responders. Gain valuable knowledge and practical tools from their sessions to enhance resilience, reduce stigma, and promote a supportive community for those who serve and protect us.

Neil Dubord

Chief Constable

Cheif Dubord joined the Delta Police Department on June 29, 2015 after three years as Chief of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police and 25 years with the Edmonton Police Service where he was the Deputy Chief in charge of Community Policing Bureau.

Chief Dubord brings to the Delta Police a career of working closely with the community. Some of his career highlights include: the development and implementation of Community Action Teams, the management of the Neighborhood Empowerment Team, implementation of “The Spirit has No Colour”, a cultural competence program in support of police working in diverse communities and the advancement of a community based service delivery model.

Chief Dubord is recognized nationally as an expert in critical incident command and was the Incident Commander in the Workers Compensation Hostage Taking in Edmonton. He is past president of the National Incident Command Working Group Association, has taught nationally at the Canadian Police College and is published internationally on the topic of Incident Command and Tactical Operations. He has been awarded the Police Officer Order of Merit from the Governor General of Canada, the Police Exemplary Medal and the Queens Diamond Jubilee medal.

He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, FBI National Academy, and FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association, and serves on committees for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Chief Dubord holds a Master’s degree in Leadership & Training from Royal Roads, graduated from the FBI National Academy and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development program, is a Canadian Human Resource Professional (CHRP) and successfully defended his dissertation to fulfill the requirements of his Doctor of Philosophy Degree in business from Northcentral University.

Ben Vernon

Captain and Paramedic

Benjamin Vernon is a Captain/Paramedic for the San Diego Fire Rescue Department. He has proudly served the citizens of San Diego for over a decade. During his career, Ben Vernon has become a member of the Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue Teams and is an outstanding member of FEMA California Task Force Eight Urban Search and Rescue Team (CA-TF8).

He holds five specialist positions on the team: Rescue Specialist, Hazardous Materials Specialist, Technical Search Specialist, Communications Specialist, and Medical Specialist.On June 24, 2015, Ben’s life changed when he was stabbed while responding to a “routine medical assistance” call. The incident and the ensuing ordeal left Ben with a changed perspective. He shares his story so that others, who may be going through a similar situation, can know that what they are experiencing is not their fault and that they are not alone. He wants others to know the impact that this kind of event can have on a person, and how best to help someone who is going through crisis.

Daniel Sundhal

Artist and Author

Daniel Sundahl (DanSun) is a published artist and writer with four (4) art books produced of his works. Articles of his work are featured in several international publications, and his art is recognized worldwide. Daniel travels internationally,speaking about his art and personal experiences with occupational stress injuries and post-traumatic growth; he is an advanced care paramedic, pre-hospital educator, retired firefighter, photographer and photo editor.

He is the president and founder of The Recovery and Resiliency Foundation, a charitable organization thathelps support people living with symptoms of trauma.Daniel was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Taking up a global residency as an English language teacher in Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia and Japan, he now works fulltime as an artist, photo editor and public speaker. Daniel became a full-time paramedic and firefighter in 2003 and retired from his full-time position in 2022. He is now enrolled in a two-year counselling therapist program and will graduate in 2024 as a registered counselling therapist with the Canadian Professional Counselling Association.

Jodie Baulkham

RCMP Spouse

Jodie shares a powerful story as the spouse of an RCMP police officer, who faced the loss of my first husband who was killed in the line of duty during her maternity leave with their 8-month-old, and who now supports her second husband as he deals with PTSD from his service, as well as a child who lives with OCD.

As a teacher turned RCMP leadership and mental health curriculum design specialist, Jodie became a mental health champion and advocate. She shares insights on overcoming traumatic grief, navigating mental health challenges within a family, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. These are shared in her best selling book “Choosing My Tomorrow: Surviving Murder, Navigating Mental Health, and Harnessing the Power of Choice.”

Jodie is dedicated to fostering resilience, reducing stigma, and showing that joy can coexist with pain, emphasizing the power of choice in our decision making.

Jodie offers practical lessons learned and inspires others to embrace self-discovery for growth and healing and to use the tools for themselves and those they love and serve. She provides a sense of connection and hope. We look forward to hearing her message about the power of choice in building resilience and finding joy and meaning while living through adversity.

Casey Ward

Sergeant

Sergeant Casey Ward is a 25-year member of the Regina Police Service. He oversees the Vice Unit, which investigates sex crimes and human trafficking. In the past 25 years, he has been a SWAT team member for 16 years. He dedicated 14 years to the Regina Police Association (including six years as President) and ten years to the CPA Board of Directors. He also joined the Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers ten years ago and currently holds position as President.

Currently, he holds a pivotal role as the co-chair of CIPSRT’s Public Safety Steering Committee. In this capacity, he continues to make significant contributions to the field of public safety personnel mental health and wellbeing, furthering the mission of public safety.

Sgt Ward will update us with key initiatives and research around public safety wellness and also share on his journey in policing… “My story…Our story”.

Sinead Holstein

Dispatcher and Call Taker

Sinead Holstein shares about the realities that Dispatchers and Call Takers have with psychological traumas. Sinead is a recently medically retired civilian member of the RCMP. She spent her 16-year career working as a Dispatcher and Call Taker in Alberta.

Through the years, she witnessed the tragedy that surrounds police officers and the public alike, all while trying to manage her own mental health and undiagnosed PTSD. Sinead shares her story of navigating her career while being told she couldn’t experience trauma in her position, ultimately realizing that she was suffering in silence and needed help.

Ashley E. Pedde

Counsellor

Legacy Place Society is thrilled to have Ashley E. Pedde chat with us on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the Edmonton First Responders Suicide Awareness Conference on September 25th. Ashley graduated with a Master of
Counselling and joined the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association in 2021. For the past three years, she works as a counsellor for Telus Health (formerly Morneau Shepell) employee assistance program. She is a mother of two young daughters whom she raises with her husband.

Over the years, she developed an interest in self-defence skills (since 2009), her purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and her passion for helping heal from trauma. This has motivated her to pursue embodied recovery. She believes the body and mind are required to heal the impact of traumatic stress and its various manifestations.

Joe Casciaro

Corrections

Joe’s career started with Corrections Canada in 2008 at the Edmonton Institution until 2017 and then from 2017 when he transferred to Bowden Institution where he currently works. He was on the CISM teams at both institutions from 2010-2020 and as a member of the Edmonton institution fire team from 2013-2017.

While at Bowden, Joe has been involved with 2 different union executives as both a shop steward and a occupational health and safety representative. He has also acted as a correctional manager of the structured intervention unit and operationally as a duty manager. Joe is going to share how Jiu-Jitsu has the ability to help you get control back over your mind and body – bolstering confidence and assertiveness – both required in the field of being a first responder.

Robyn Rees

Veteran – Canadian Armed Forces

Robyn is a mom to 3, and the spouse of a medically released Canadian Armed Forces Veteran of 15 years with tours to Bosnia and Afghanistan. She has been active in supporting military families across Canada since 2006 and came to the role of Family Peer Support Coordinator with OSISS (Operational Stress Injury Social Support) in Edmonton in 2015. Drawing from lived trauma experience, she has connected with hundreds of families, military members and first responders.

Realizing how prevalent burnout is in the community, she sought out education in non-clinical facilitation of nervous system awareness and grief support techniques. She is passionate about raising awareness for mental health and supporting people where they are in their journeys. She has been awarded a Commander’s commendation for exemplary service while working as a Civilian with the Canadian Armed Forces.

Dr Helena Hawryluk & Jerris Popik

Social Workers

Legacy Place Society is pleased to have Dr Helena Hawryluk and Jerris Popik speak at the upcoming First Responders Suicide Awareness Conference in Edmonton on September 25.

Dr Helena Hawryluk RSW, PhD and Jerris Popik MSW, RSW, are program developers and Directors of the Warrior Kids Programs. Helena and Jerris have been working with families of Veterans and First-Responders within Canada as clinicians, researchers and more importantly disrupters for change around designing evidence-based high quality programs for young people within the community of Trauma Exposed Professionals.

Warrior Kids was designed to support youth who are living with a loved one impacted by the unique exposure to operational stress. Building healthy families starts with kids, as opposed to ends with kids. Warrior Kids is a one-of-a-kind mental health program supporting resilience in the unique lives of public safety families. As directors of the Warrior Kids Program they are honored to lead the team of camp facilitators and camp counsellors across Canada to support the youth in families impacted by operational stress injuries.

Helena completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Concordia University, a Bachelor of Social Work from University of Calgary, followed by her Master of Clinical Social Work and PhD with the Faculty of Social Work at University of Calgary. She has practiced as a social worker for over 15 years with families of the Canadian Armed Forces and Public Safety Personnel. Helena was awarded the Wounded Warriors Doctoral Scholarship for her research entitled “Through our Eyes”, showcasing the unique perspectives and needs of youth in military families impacted by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, post-Afghanistan war.

Jerris Popik, received an applied psychology degree from Concordia University and a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Calgary. She has practiced as a social worker for over 15 years with families of the Canadian Armed Forces and Public Safety Personnel.

Francoise Mathieu

TEND Executive Director

Before becoming a specialist in organizational stress and trauma-exposed work, Françoise worked as a front-line mental health provider in a variety of complex settings including providing employee assistance to members of the Canadian Military. Over the last 25 years, she has worked with law enforcement, military personnel, health care, child welfare, social services, addiction support, education and other professionals in need of psychological support.

As the child of two French-Canadian educators, Françoise spent her early years in Nunavik in Arctic Quebec. Growing up in the Arctic had a powerful impact on her view of the world and shaped her social justice lens towards exploring the potentially negative impact of provider impairment, burnout and empathic strain on all members of a community.

Françoise is Executive Director of TEND, whose aim is to offer consulting and training to professionals on topics related to secondary trauma, empathic strain, burnout and organizational health. Françoise is a Registered Psychotherapist and a subject matter expert on topics related to empathic strain and secondary trauma.

TEND’s program has grown in size and scope since its early inception and TEND is now present across North America offering training and consulting to a wide variety of workplaces. Françoise has worked with the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police, Cirque du Soleil, the Chief Coroner’s Office and many other organizations who do high stress exposed work.

Françoise Mathieu is now a sought-after speaker and educator in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. In the words of some of her audience members, her presentations are “eye opening”, “validating”, and “life changing”.

One of her best qualities is the ability to impart valuable information in a way that resonates – with everyone. Mental health can be a sensitive subject laced with the issues of stigma and embarrassment, but Françoise’s sense of humour, and her stories, help engage even the most challenging groups. Françoise is a TedX speaker and is one of the founding members of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium. She is also the author of “The Compassion Fatigue Workbook” which was published by Routledge in 2012 as well as several articles and publications.

Ken McMullen

Chief of Emergency Services

For the October 24^th, 2024, First Responders Suicide Awareness Conference in Lethbridge, Legacy Place Society is thrilled to have Chief of Emergency Services with the City of Red Deer Ken McMullen contribute significant insights to the Conference. Chief McMullen joined the Fire Service in 1997 as a Volunteer Fire Fighter and progressed through the Officer roles of Training, Fire Prevention and Fire Safety, as well as certified Fire Investigator/Inspector.

In 2009, Ken became the Assistant Deputy Chief with the Calgary Fire Department and in 2018, the Chief of Emergency Services with the City of Red Deer. He continues to prove himself as a team leader/mentor, working with numerous municipalities, creating bylaws, reviewing quality management plans, fulfilling investigation/inspection roles, assuming incident command in emergency situations, initiating projects and forging partnerships with other agencies, all while following a community based emergency services delivery model.

This includes Harvard Graduate – National Preparedness Leader Initiative 2019, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) – Vice President and Mental Health Committee Chair, Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT), Public Safety Steering Committee (PSSC) – Co-chair, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR), Canada Task Force 2 (Can-TF2) and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) – Canadian Division Director. We are thrilled to have Chief McMullen speak on Moral Injury and initiatives supporting the Public Service Personnel with CIPSRT.

David Blackburn

Major Retired

Major retired, David Blackburn enjoyed a 25-year Canadian Armed Forces career as a commissioned officer in the Armour Corps, with regimental affiliation to Canada’s senior serving cavalry regiment, The Royal Canadian Dragoons. He commanded at various levels leading soldiers in tank, reconnaissance, heavy equipment engineering and other roles, and appointments in staff jobs in human resources and casualty management. His service included domestic operations at the Winnipeg Floods in 1997, and overseas to Germany during the First Gulf War in 1991, Bosnia[1]Herzegovina with NATO in 1998 and exchange with the United States Army at Fort Hood Texas from 2005 to 2009.

While serving as Second-In-Command with C Squadron, The Royal Canadian Dragoons in 1998, David was injured in an armoured vehicle roll-over training accident. Consequently, David due to service-related injuries, he retired medically from the Canadian Armed Forces in April 2011 and transitioned to the civilian sector.

David joined the Calgary based not-for-profit, Prospect Human Services in August 2016 assuming a then newly created role as the Director of Military Employment Services, overseeing the expansion of Prospect’s Forces@WORK military and veteran career transition program. Since 2019 David’s role expanded to a Senior Manager, Program Operations delivering contracted career and employment services across multiple client demographics. Residing in Edmonton, David directs an extensive portfolio of employment and career development programming and all Prospect’s business activities in the Edmonton region and other remote-to-Calgary offices, located in Airdrie, Strathmore, and Cochrane.

Legacy Place Society is thrilled to have Major retired David Blackburn share on “Changing An Outlook” at the First Responders Suicide Awareness Conferences in both Edmonton and Lethbridge.