Master of Ceremonies
Ron Tite
Speaker. Author. CEO.
Church+State
A best-selling author, speaker, producer, and entrepreneur, Ron Tite has always blurred the lines between art and commerce. He has been an award-winning advertising writer and creative director for some of the world’s most respected brands including Air France, Evian, Fidelity, Hershey, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Intel, Microsoft, Volvo and many others.
He is founder of Church+State, host and executive producer of the hit podcast, “The Coup”, and publisher of This is That Travel Guide to Canada – a best-selling and award-winning satirical book. He has written for television. Penned a children’s book. Wrote, produced and performed a hit play. Created a branded art gallery. And was executive producer & host of the award-winning comedy show, Monkey Toast.
In demand as a speaker all over the world, Ron speaks to leading organizations about leadership, disruption, branding, and creativity.
Ron’s first book, Everyone’s An Artist – Or At Least They Should Be (Co-written by Scott Kavanagh and Christopher Novais), was published by HarperCollins in 2016. His most recent book, Think Do Say: How to Seize Attention and Build Trust in a Busy Busy World, hit store shelves in October or 2019.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Myron Demkiw
Toronto Police Chief
Myron Demkiw, a Member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (M.O.M.), joined the Toronto Police Service in 1990, and became Chief in December of 2022. As head of the largest municipal police service in Canada, and the fourth largest municipal police service in North America, Chief Demkiw oversees 5300 police officers, 2200 civilian Members, and a budget of $1.2 billion.
Over the course of his career, he has served as the Unit Commander of Intelligence Services and the Officer in Charge of Strategy Management Corporate Projects, the Second in Command of 32 Division, Duty Senior Officer, and fulfilled several supervisory roles in various units throughout the organization. He has also participated in several Service-wide initiatives, including as an integral member of the Police and Community Engagement Review (PACER) Team, since its inception in 2012.
As a Staff Superintendent, he was responsible for two different pillars of the organization. He was in charge of Detective Services, which includes the Service’s high-profile investigative units, such as the Homicide Squad, Integrated Guns and Gangs Task Force, and the Hold-Up Squad. He also oversaw Corporate Risk Management, which includes Professional Standards, Professional Standards Support and the Toronto Police College.
Mike Wionzek
Warrior Health
Mike Wionzek joined the Warrior health team as Director – Operations and Partner Support, following a 35-year career as a soldier, paramedic and Deputy Chief. Mike served as the Deputy Chief of Toronto Paramedic Services (TPS), the largest municipal Paramedic Service in Canada with over 1,600 staff that respond to over 320,000 emergency calls annually. Mike’s portfolio included the TPS communications centre (CACC), education and quality improvement, IT and systems engineering, hospital liaison, and system performance.
During the COVID pandemic Mike was seconded to Toronto Public Health and the city’s Immunization Task Force as the Director responsible for managing the COVID-19 Mass Immunization Clinic and mobile response plan. Mike led the design, implementation and operationalization of the largest successful Mass Immunization Clinic (MIC) plan including the hiring and developing of over 2,000 new staff that vaccinated hundreds of thousands of clients, while working collaboratively with provincial, municipal, and local partners and organizations.
Mike has served over 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and is currently serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Health Services. Mike has held various positions including most recently Commanding Officer of 25 Field Ambulance and Deputy Commander and Reserve Advisor for the 4 Health Service Group. Mike also served internationally as a military observer and peacekeeper in Sudan, Africa.
Mike has been awarded the Order of St. John, Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Medal, Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, King’s Coronation Medal, Canadian Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medal, and long service medals for the Canadian Armed Forces, St. John Ambulance, and Toronto Paramedic Service. Mike is also Knight in The Order of St. George where he volunteers his time in raising funds for veterans’ organizations.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Health Science in Pre-Hospital Care from Charles Sturt University and a Masters of Defence Studies degree from Royal Military College.
Mike believes in supporting our front-line public safety professionals (PSP) and advocates for the reduction of barriers to education and support. Leveraging his ability to build teams and processes Mike will assist in the Warrior Health team in ensuring that every PSP has ongoing and continual access to the best resources available.
Plenary Speakers
Scott Maxwell
Wounded Warriors Canada, Chief Operating Officer
Scott is a dedicated public servant, mental health champion, and not-for-profit leader. Scott’s unique experience intersects public policy, national and provincial government, and non-profit business strategy and development.
His passion for those who bravely serve Canada stems from his high school friend, Trooper Darryl Caswell, from Bowmanville who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on June 11, 2007.
As CEO of Wounded Warriors Canada, the country’s largest non-profit mental health training and counselling provider for Veterans, First Responders and their families, Scott successfully transformed what was a local volunteer-based initiative into a national organization that provides support to over 30,000 trauma exposed professionals and their families each year.
Scott has been awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medallion and the King’s Coronation Medal for Service to Canada.
Alison Cocking BSC. PT, M.ED.
Managing Director, Insight Health Solutions, Trillium Health Partners
Alison Cocking is a strategic healthcare leader who serves as Trillium Health Partner’s Managing Director, Insight Health Solutions, one of Canada’s largest hospital-based disability management third-party programs.
As a senior leader in the healthcare sector, Alison has over three decades of experience leading high functioning teams and programs in their delivery of impactful value-based quality services. The ability to financially contribute Insight’s profits to the hospital’s programs and services to help create a new kind of healthcare for a healthier community, is what drives and inspires her. Alison is a UK-trained Physiotherapist with a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Toronto. An avid kayaker, hiker, traveler and general enthusiast of the great outdoors, Alison’s goal is to have visited 100 countries by 2045.
Workshop Sessions
Dr. Megan McElheran, R.Psych
Clinical Psychologist & CEO
Wayfound Mental Health Group
Dr. Megan McElheran is a Registered Clinical Psychologist and the CEO of Wayfound Mental Health Group. She completed her graduate training at the PAU-Stanford University Clinical Psychology Consortium, where she obtained specialized training in the treatment of PTSD through the National Center for PTSD in Menlo Park, CA. Dr. McElheran is passionate about arming frontline workers with the tools they need to help manage their workplace stress and has been in practice in Calgary, Alberta since 2008. She continues to focus on work with first responders, and her clinical practice involves work with active-duty members of the Canadian Forces, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, members of the Calgary Fire Department, medical personnel, and others who are directly or vicariously impacted by traumatic events. Dr. McElheran founded the Before Operational Stress (BOS) program to address the gap in preventative mental health training and support for public safety personnel and frontline workers. She routinely engages in teaching and supervisory activity to ensure the sound dissemination of empirically grounded interventions for trauma. Dr. McElheran is regularly engaged in speaking events, both locally and internationally.
Joe Burrows
OHS Consultant
Government of Alberta
Joe is a Forestry Occupational Health and Safety Consultant with expertise in safety and mental health program development. He currently serves as a Safety Officer for Wildfire Operations with Alberta Forestry. His career includes service as a Correctional Peace Officer at the Edmonton Remand Centre and as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Dr. Tim Black PhD, R. Psych.
National Clinical Director
Wounded Warriors Canada
Dr. Tim Black, R. Psych. is the National Clinical Director for Wounded Warriors Canada. During his more than 20-year career as a tenured Associate Professor at one of the top graduate counsellor education programs in the country, Dr. Black has been a researcher, clinician, program developer, program co-founder, and clinical supervisor specializing in group counselling approaches for working with Trauma Exposed Professionals (TExP) and Trauma Exposed Family (TExF) members. As National Clinical Director, Tim supports and oversees the development and delivery of WWC’s group counselling programs in Canada, as well as WWC’s TExP education and training programs, alongside an extensive team of dedicated mental health professionals committed to serving the needs of TExP and TExF communities.
Dr. Nadia Aleem
Psychiatrist, MD, MHSc CCFP, FRCP
Mental Health Lead
Insight Health Solutions, Trillium Health Partners
Dr. Nadia Aleem initially worked as a Family medicine Doctor and Addictions Physician prior to retraining and starting her work as a Psychiatrist. She is currently the Mental Health Lead Physician at Insight Solutions, Trillium Health Partners and was formerly the Medical Head at the Work Stress and Health Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Nadia works exclusively in the field of Occupational Psychiatry, specializing in disability management and providing consultation and education on workplace mental health policies. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto and provides education seminars to organizations and medical training programs across Canada.
Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton, Ph.D., R.D. Psych.
Professor of Clinical Psychology
University of Regina
R. Nicholas Carleton, Ph.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and a registered clinical psychologist in Saskatchewan. His work is focused on supporting the mental health of first responders and other public safety personnel. He has published more than 270 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters exploring the fundamental bases of anxiety- and trauma-related disorders. He has completed more than 500 national and international conference presentations. He also serves as an active member of several national and international professional associations. As principal or co-principal investigator he has been awarded more than $100M in competitive external funding. He has received several prestigious awards and recognitions, including induction to the Royal Society of Canada’s College and as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and he was awarded the 2023 Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Mid-Career Award and the 2020 Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research. He is principal investigator for the RCMP Longitudinal PTSD Study (www.rcmpstudy.ca) and the associated extension study for Saskatchewan public safety personnel (www.saskptsistudy.ca), and co-investigator on the Federal Internet Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program for public safety personnel (www.PSPNET.ca).
Justin Mausz, Ph.D.
Paramedic-Scientist
Peel Regional Paramedic Services
Adjunct Professor
Department of Family and Community Medicine, the University of Toronto.
Dr. Justin Mausz is a clinician-scientist with Peel Regional Paramedic Services and adjunct faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Mausz’s research occupational health well-being among paramedics.
Elizabeth Donnelly, Ph.D., NREMT
Professor
School of Social Work, the University of Windsor
Dr. Elizabeth Donnelly is a professor of social work at the University of Windsor and a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician. Dr. Donnelly’s research focuses on workforce mental health and well-being among paramedics.
Dave Wakely, LLM
President
OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277
Advanced Care Paramedic
Peel Regional Paramedic Services
Dave Wakely is an Advanced Care Paramedic and President of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277, representing paramedics and logistics technicians in the Region of Peel.
Mandy Johnston, ACP
Commander
Peel Regional Paramedic Services
Mandy Johnston is a commander with Peel Regional Paramedic Services and lead of the External Violence Against Paramedics Program.
Cory Tkatch, BBA
Deputy Chief, Operations
Peel Regional Paramedic Services
Cory Tkatch is the Deputy Chief (Operations) at Peel Regional Paramedic Services.
Mike Annan
Director of Service Dogs
BC & Alberta Guide Dogs
Mike Annan resides in Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. Mike, began his career in 2004 by founding Sal Pacific Canine Obedience, where he led a team of trainers and developed puppy and competition-level obedience programs. His LIMA-based, positive training methods attracted up to 120 dogs in classes each month.
In 2008, Mike partnered with Dr. Jeff Grognet, DVM, to launch the Academy for Canine Educators (ACE), a behavior clinic and online education platform serving veterinarians, pet owners, and shelter workers. Their programs included seminars, e-books, and training courses delivered to organizations such as the BCSPCA.
In 2013, Mike was invited to pilot a service dog program for military veterans with PTSD. The project grew rapidly, leading to the creation of VICD Service Dogs. Mike oversaw the program’s first Assistance Dogs International accreditation in 2017—making it one of the first organizations in the world to be accredited under ADI’s Military-Related PTSD Service Dog Standards.
In 2019, VICD Service Dogs merged with BC & Alberta Guide Dogs, expanding operations to include Vancouver Island, Vancouver, The Lower Mainland, Edmonton and Calgary. Mike now serves as an ADI Accreditation Assessor, trainer certification committee member, and Wounded Warriors Canada National Service Dog Advisor. Mikes passion for championing collaboration and excellence in service dog programs has led him to help build OSI PTSD programs around the globe mentoring programs across Canada as well as Japan, Sweeden, USA, Australia and Poland.
Heather Humphrey, BSW, MSW, RSW
Social Worker & Psychotherapist
Insight Health Solutions, Trillium Health Partners
Heather is a mental health clinician (Registered Social Worker & Psychotherapist) in the WSIB Mental Health Specialized Care program and Community Mental Health Program, providing first responders experiencing psychological injuries with meaningful, evidence-based therapies to support their recovery and return to work goals. She has prior years of experience in several inpatient, outpatient, public and privately funded mental health and addiction programs. Her clinical work focuses on first responders who are impacted by psychologically traumatic events, and she was inspired to work with first responders after her experiences as an ER crisis worker and a volunteer in a correctional institution. Recently, she has enjoyed facilitating Warrior Health educational and training sessions to various Public Safety Organizations across Ontario.
She has a Sociology degree from Queen’s University, a Bachelor’s of Social Work from McMaster University, and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Waterloo.
Taylor Sayers
Director of Corporate Services
UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service
Taylor Sayers is a member of the Ketegaunseebee First Nation and currently works as the Director of Corporate Services with UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service. The police service serves six First Nation communities on and around Manitoulin Island. For the past 15 years she has provided senior leadership to the corporate functions of the police service, and has worked with the Police Service’s Commission, and the Chief of Police to meet and deliver the organization’s strategic objectives and meet its vision and mission. She is also a part of the negotiating team that secures the organization’s ongoing core funding with Public Safety Canada and the Solicitor General and also has served as a key part of ensuring pension parity Ontario Indigenous Police Service employees.
Taylor has been instrumental in being a part of the developments of culturally responsive policing initiatives for the organization, including most recently, the Lighting the Fire Within project. Under the Lighting the Fire Within initiative she developed the culture and trauma informed curriculum offered by the police service. The curriculum focuses on providing participants with crisis intervention and de-escalation training, responding to mental health and addictions crises in communities, trauma informed approaches to policing from a culturally safe lens, and ensuring a proactive approach to an individual’s own mental health as a first responder. This training has allowed individuals in the service to take part in seminars that focus on bettering their overall health and well-being from a holistic perspective – the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of an individual.
She is very passionate about mental health in the workplace and contributes as a member to various provincial and national working groups that focus on improving the mental health of public safety personnel (PSP). Some of the working groups include the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO), the Solicitor General’s Mental Health Secretariat – Joint Mental Health Collaboration Table, and the Executive Committee of the Canadian Public Safety Leadership. Taylor was also a part of the advisory panel for the IPCO Mental Health Review of the Indigenous Police Services of Ontario completed in 2021 and served as the police service representative during the review. Taylor is a graduate of Business Administration from Laurentian University – Algoma University College and holds certificates in Labour Law and Workplace Mental Health Law from York University.
Dr. Vivien Lee, C.Psych.
Chief Psychologist
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)
Dr. Vivien Lee is the Chief Psychologist for the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and concurrently served from 2021 to 2025 as the Bureau Commander of the OPP Healthy Workplace Team, a Bureau dedicated to the psychological, physical, and spiritual health for members, families, retirees, and auxiliaries. Dr. Lee has been the clinical advisor for Boots on the Ground – Ontario since its inception in 2018. She is a Board Director for Toronto Beyond the Blue, serves on the Psychological Services Committee of the Canadian Association Chiefs of Police (CACP), and is as a Contributing Editor for the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being.
Dr. Lee previously worked in the Psychological Trauma Program / Work, Stress & Health Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and as a clinician for Wounded Warriors Canada. She has previously served as a Board Director on the Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA), and as Chair of the Service Provider Reference Group with the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families. In 2025, Dr. Lee was awarded the King Charles III’s Coronation Medal.
Dr. Lee earned her PhD and Masters in Clinical Psychology at Western University and HBSc from the University of Toronto. She is a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Margaret Campbell
Assistant Professor, Department of Aging and Family Science
Mount Saint Vincent University, Garnet Families
Margaret Campbell holds a PhD in Social and Cultural Analysis from Concordia University. Following her doctorate, she completed a Mitacs postdoctoral fellowship with the Vanier Institute of the Family and the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s University. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aging and Family Science at Mount Saint Vincent University and a member of the Families Matter Research Group. Her research focuses on three areas: suicide and grief within military, Veteran, and public safety families; the intersection of work and family life; and families with disabilities. In collaboration with Dr. Heidi Cramm, she examines how families experience and make meaning of suicide loss, with particular attention to the organizational, cultural, and occupational conditions that shape grief and remembrance.
Dave McLennan
President, CEO
Boots on the Ground Peer Support for First Responders
Dave is a retired police constable having served over 30 years with Peel Police in Ontario. Dave is the founder and president of Boots On The Ground – Peer Support For First Responders. Boots On The Ground provides 24/7 peer support to all First Responders across the province of Ontario including Police, Fire, EMS and Corrections and Nurses. Boots On The Ground serves both sworn and civilian members of all services including serving and retired members.
Dave has answered hundred of calls on the peer support help line and he has intervened with many suicidal callers. He has seen first hand the effects of stress and trauma and has regrettably lost too many First Responder friends and colleagues to suicide. He has witnessed countless others struggle as they face the impacts of trauma, stigma, and reprisal. His continued call to serve has led to the path as Founder and President of Boots On The Ground, making suicide awareness, prevention, and intervention a priority for our anonymous peer support program run by First Responders, for First Responders. With 181 volunteers working the phone lines 24-7/365 and four trainers in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Boots On The Ground is passionate about creating safer communities for First Responders.