24th Annual Mental Health Conference

Natasha Bowman is a counsellor at GBC who holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Toronto with a specialization in mental health as well as an undergraduate degree in psychology from Queen’s University. Passionate about international student mental health as well as the intersection of physical and mental health, Natasha believes strongly in the power of movement as a necessary tool to self-regulate, process, connect with inner wisdom, and experience wellbeing. Natasha has supported Nadia in implementing The Inner Well group at GBC.

Maneet Chahal-Gill (RN, BScN, MSc) is a passionate community change-maker, who has  a decade of mental health nursing experience and has closely witnessed her family and friends struggle with mental illness. Along with working in the field of mental health, Maneet finished her Masters of Nursing in 2018 which looked at the South Asian Punjabi community's experience of accessing mental health services for depression in the Region of Peel.
Maneet co-founded Soch Mental Health in 2017 and has been working to eradicate the mental health stigma in the South Asian community.

Ronnie's journey through the post-secondary education landscape spans over 18 dynamic years, enriched by her diverse experiences as a former international student. From her roots in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she pursued studies in Human Nutrition, Dietetics, and Management, to her current role at the Student Association of George Brown College, Ronnie's trajectory is a testament to her commitment to student well-being. As the visionary leader of the Equity and Advocacy department, Ronnie has pioneered transformative initiatives, most notably the Student Nutrition Access Program (SNAP). With a steadfast mission to nourish both body and mind, SNAP has distributed over 40,000 food hampers and nutritious meals, as well as nearly 1 million pounds of sustenance since 2021 alone, directly uplifting the George Brown College community. Beyond her dedication to addressing food insecurity, Ronnie's boundless passion for making a difference knows no bounds. Fueled by her love for travel, keen understanding of globalization, and an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, she has spearheaded a range of initiatives, from Financial Literacy programs to personalized nutrition meal planning and invaluable insights into Income Tax benefits. These endeavors reflect her firm belief in empowering students with the tools they need to conquer adversity and emerge resilient, empowered, and ready to thrive. In Ronnie's world, challenges fuel growth, setbacks spark innovation. Her compassion, vision, and relentless drive leave a lasting mark, inspiring a brighter future. She firmly believes in empowering people to overcome obstacles and emerge stronger than ever.

Maurizio Dodaro has been a professor at GBC in the General Arts and Science program since 2002 and program coordinator since 2011. He has taught courses in all semesters from Critical Thinking to Canadian Literature. As a student and professor of several disciplines and a child of immigrants, Maurizio can speak about the valuable growth and academic skills preparation that the program brings to its diverse student body. Maurizio has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Italian Studies (York University), a Master of Italian Studies, a Master of Drama, and PhD (abd) in Drama and Theatre studies (UofT.) 

Naiima Farah is an African Canadian/Black, registered clinical social worker, educator, and mental health advocate. She is currently a Faculty Counsellor, at George Brown College’s Counselling and Student Well-Being, where she promotes a campus wide approach to mental health and well-being. She has over a decade-long experience providing counselling and support to diverse communities which includes, Persons across the lifespan, those of varying abilities, newcomers/refugees, and international students. Naiima is deeply committed to cross sectoral collaboration and works with individuals, groups, and communities from a trauma-informed, health equity, and asset-based approach to promote community driven solutions to support groups, including students, in navigating systemic barriers to help them reach their full potential. She has provided trainings to various organizations, such as, hospitals, school boards (including student-led groups), post-secondary institutions (e.g. George Brown College), and non-profit organizations, in the City of Toronto and across Ontario, to support and promote the mental health and well-being needs of individuals, children, youth, and families. As a clinician, to promote student mental health and well-being, at George Brown College and beyond, Naiima borrows from various traditions and approaches, such as, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Afro-Indigenous frameworks, such as, Storytelling, Talking Circles, and African women’s drumming circles.

Kimberly Garrett is the Business Development Manager at ACL Student Benefits, working with WeSpeakStudent/Morcare covered students and key stakeholders for over eight (8) years. Exclusively designed for Domestic and International Students, WeSpeakStudent/Morcare solutions focus on keeping students healthy and enabling their personal and academic success.

Dr. Linda Gillis has been working as a Professor at George Brown College in Toronto since 2016 after spending 20 years at McMaster Children’s Hospital as a clinical Registered Dietitian and Researcher in the field of Childhood Obesity.  Her research interests included how milk protein and exercise interacted to treat obesity and its complications.
As a nutrition professor at the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts, she educates students, not only on the health benefits of eating wholesome foods, but on how sweet delicacies can be incorporated into a healthy diet when we are truly mindful of that indulgence. Her current research encompasses how culinary nutrition education can help ameliorate the symptoms of depression and/or anxiety when combined with traditional treatment modalities.

Salah Gouriguer works as a Student Success Assistant at The School of ESL, George Brown College and is also a certified Personal Trainer, with over ten years’ experience as a Personal Trainer for both aviation firefighters and the military in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Salah holds a bachelor’s degree in Sport Science, and recently earned a postgraduate certificate in Sport and Events Marketing at George Brown College, adding a strategic dimension to his passion for sports. As a former athlete and national record holder of the Moroccan universities’ 200m sprint, Salah represented Morocco on the track and field team at different national and international sports competitions. Having called Canada home for the past six years, Salah is also a proud parent of a girl and a boy.

Dorothy van Grootheest is a Professor and Coordinator of the Student Success Program at the School of ESL, George Brown College. Dorothy holds a joint Master of Education in Comparative, International and Development Education (CIDE) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, and a joint Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and French from York University. She has had the pleasure of teaching overseas in Japan, France, and Panama, and has engaged in volunteer projects in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines while living in Japan. Dorothy has been teaching at George Brown College since 2004 and is keenly passionate about being a collaborative community builder with the Student Success Team at the School of ESL to co-create and share knowledge and learning. Informed by critical pedagogy, socio-cultural approaches to innovation, and intercultural learning, Dorothy is interested in engaging in Communities of Practice (CoP) that value the significant role international students and newcomers play in forming supportive networks, empowering each other, enhancing learning and personal development, and that recognize the importance of informal learning as part of professional development.

Torsten Hamelin is the Good Food Coordinator at Student Life and a former student from the Community Worker Program. He has worked at GBC since 2015, both as student staff and regular part-time staff. During that time, he has run a variety of student food security programs, including the Good Food Market (founded 2013), Supper Club (founded 2015), a Covid response Emergency Student Good Food Box program (2020-23), and a range of student free meal programs both on campus and at the George Residence (2018-20). Torsten believes that dignified access to food and housing are essential to mental health, and that these are best achieved through economic security. He advocates for food justice and food sovereignty, and strongly believes that more meaningful action is necessary for Canada to meet its Right to Food obligations under the UN Covenant of Economic, Social & Cultural Rights. Torsten lives in Toronto with his partner and their cat. In his free time, he enjoys reading, going to the gym, hiking, and camping.

As a global-minded researcher and educator, Dr. Eva Huang undertook her undergraduate education in China, got her MBA and MA degrees in England, and obtained a PhD in Australia. She has extensive education and work experience globally, so far, China, England, Australia, and Canada, with positions including HR managers, Assistant health and safety manager, research associate, and HR consultant. She promotes evidenced-based people management solutions, helping professionals and organizations enhance their people management and leadership capacities to maximize organizational gains. She has a passion for teaching and research and enjoys experiencing the differences. She has expertise in human resources management, public sector management, and multiculturalism, with extensive research and publications in these areas.

Yisra Al-Haj Hussein is a Success Coach at the School of English as a Second Language, George Brown College with a background in social sciences and over five years of experience coordinating and facilitating storytelling clubs to improve the mental health of children, adolescents, and adults. Yisra has completed her studies at the School of ESL, and is currently in the Media Foundation program at George Brown. As a Success Coach, Yisra facilitates storytelling workshops focused on self-awareness, resilience, and social engagement.

Katrina Lagacé (she/her) has taught a wide range of courses in several programs at George Brown College from ESL and Communication to Film Studies and Pop Culture general education electives before joining the General Arts and Science program team in the Fall of 2023. Katrina is an enthusiastic adopter of the UDL framework and co-facilitator of the college’s UDL training initiative. She has a BA in Cinema Studies and a TESOL certificate from the University of Toronto, an MA in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory from McMaster University and an Instructional Design certificate through Ontario Learn.? 

Jessica Lederman is a dedicated and passionate OCELT certified ESL/EAP educator with nearly three decades of teaching experience in adult education. She holds a Master of Education in Digital Technology from Ontario Tech University, a concurrent B.A/B.Ed. and an Additional Qualification in ESL from Queens University, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Classical Theatre from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in London, England. Jessica is currently a Professor and Academic Coordinator at George Brown College’s School of ESL and Immigrant Education where she works closely with both faculty and international and domestic students. To enhance her ability to address the diverse needs of the School of ESL student body, she recently participated in a joint TESL/Bow Valley College initiative to pilot the Vicarious Trauma Teacher Toolkit. She also earned certification from the Gerstein Crisis Centre in Diffusing Distressed Students and completed the Trauma Informed Facilitator Workshop with CiU (Change It Up). Jessica strives to foster an inclusive and supportive learning environment that encourages growth and diversity. She hopes her commitment to education, her extensive experience, and diverse skill set help promote positive change in the field of adult education at George Brown College and beyond.

Lara Lukaniuk is a registered social worker and a Faculty Counsellor, at George Brown College’s Counselling and Student Well-Being. Lara has over 13 years of experience in clinical mental health and community-based experience. She has a background in providing individual, family, and group counselling to diverse populations. At George Brown College, Lara promotes a campus-wide approach to supporting student mental health, including, promoting the mental health and well-being of newcomers and international students. At George Brown College, Lara has supported various college-wide initiatives, such as, student orientations and workshops to promote services by George Brown College’s, Counselling and Student Well-Being department.

Martin is the Student Support and Mentorship Coordinator at George Brown College. A graduate of York University and George Brown College, Martin believes that mental health education is important for lowering stigma and creating pathways to support. Mental Wellness is enabling students to not only recover from an absence of mental health; but also, to thrive in positive conceptions of self and community. Martin is passionate about creating broad-based and low-barrier mental supports for students. 

Agnes Orzechowski, currently serves as a Professor and Academic Coordinator at George Brown's School of English as a Second Language. Agnes holds a joint Master of Education in International, Comparative and Development Education (CIDE) and Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development (CSTD) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Education Degree from Trent University and a Bachelor of Science from Simon Fraser University. Internationally, Agnes spent four impactful years working abroad as an English language teacher in Japan (3-years) and as the coordinator of an intercontinental student partnership in Namibia (approximately 1-year). She also spent two years as the ESL team project lead for one of George Brown’s international partnerships with the Guilin Institute of Tourism in Guilin, China. Agnes embarked on her own language learning journey at the age of 6 when she immigrated to Canada. With her academic knowledge, international experience, and a personal journey as a language learner, Agnes brings a unique perspective to addressing the needs of international students within the academic community. Her approach underscores empathy and understanding, particularly regarding the challenges faced by individuals navigating language acquisition in an educational setting.

Marija Padjen is the Director for the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health and the Chief Clinical Officer for the Canadian Mental Health Association- Ontario Division. She holds a BA in Political Science and History from McGill University, and BSW and MSW from York University. Marija spent 18 years in the dementia field as a front-line social worker and as Chief Program Officer for the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. She has a strong commitment to person centred care and is a firm believer in collaborative relationship building. As Director for CICMH, the focus of her work is on enhancing the capacity of colleges and universities to support student mental health.

Ryan Sargent (he/him) is the Director of College Business Services & Procurement (CBS&P) at George Brown College. In his role, he provides leadership to a diverse portfolio of services that support the student learning experience and corporate activities of the College. As a forward-thinking leader, he continues to innovate services to meet the needs of current and future students while ensuring alignment with the College’s academic mission. Ryan is an active member in his community, serving on the Impact Council of the Michael Garron Hospital and advocating for safer streets through Cycle Toronto’s EastEnd4All taskforce. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University and post-graduate certificates and designations in the areas of project management and community leadership.

Gail Shillingford has a strong background in urban design and landscape architecture, a combination that has allowed her to create successfully integrated and balanced built form and open space environments. Her focus on all projects is entrenched in building community and creating attractive high quality public realm spaces that foster socialization, inclusivity, cultural diversity, and healthy living. In each of her designs, the role and significance of the public realm is heightened to create notable places and destinations, to revitalize and build sustainable and resilient communities, and to position open space as catalysts for social and economic vitality and viability. With more than 30 years of experience, Gail’s work encompasses a variety of streams including all scales of city master planning and landscape design. She has developed award-winning visions, design frameworks, policies, guidelines, and detailed design for community improvement and secondary plans, heritage conservation districts, LEED ND neighborhoods, downtowns and waterfronts plans, and streetscapes design. Gail has played a significant role as project manager and senior urban designer on several award-winning educational projects including: the University District Community Plan for the University of Calgary; Seneca (Three Campuses) Master Plan, Toronto; the Campus Master Plan for Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario; and the 1998 Open Space Master Plan for the University of Toronto. In the past five years, she completed the Campus Master Plan for St. Michaels University School, Victoria; the 2020 Campus Master Plan for Toronto Metropolitan University (Ryerson University) in Toronto; Mohawk College’s Three Campus Master Plan, four of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s campuses; as well as a Real Estate Strategy for York University’s endowment lands and the Master Plan design of their academic Common. She is currently working with George Brown College, leading the development of their 2050 Campus Master Plan and Growth Strategy.

Professor Karen Sinotte, GBC, has been teaching in post-secondary education for fifteen years teaching marketing, strategy, research, and analytics at GBC Centre for business. She brings thirty years of global industry experience (most recently at American Express and TD Bank) in executive roles focused on data driven business strategy including the launch of one of the first targeted ethnic marketing programs for banks in Canada. Karen is more recently completing another NSERC funded research project on the Roadmap for Digitalization of Museums in Ontario. She also brings her industry and academic experiences to the non-profit sector, including a long-term role on the Board of Rexdale Women’s Centre and, most recently, on the Boards of the Toronto Railway Museum and the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre.

Nadia Stolpner is a counsellor at GBC and holds a Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Toronto. Nadia is passionate about supporting the wellbeing of international students with somatic therapy and therapeutic movement/dance. She has created and facilitated therapeutic movement/dance-based groups for the past 13 years.

Dr. Margrit Talpalaru (they/them) teaches English and Communication at George Brown College, and conducts research in cultural studies, with an emphasis on equity and inclusion. With academic publications in Biography, Critique, Reviews in Cultural Theory, Margrit’s commitment to making research accessible to the general public materialized bi-weekly in the podcast World of Stories. At GBC, Margrit’s leadership focuses on curriculum development, best practices in teaching and learning, and creating a culture of academic integrity. 

Kate Taylor is a professor in the Department of English and Communications (DEC) and the coordinator of DEC for the Centre for Construction and Engineering Technologies. Kate is an experienced educator with 13 years of teaching experience at the college level in both Canada and the United States and has completed Crisis Intervention Training or college faculty through the Gerstein Crisis Centre. She is concerned about resources to support international students’ academic success and overall well-being.  Kate has a BA (Queen’s), a Master of Creative Writing and a Master of English Literature (Kingston University) and a B. Ed (OISE/UofT). 

Ella Wiseman is one of the Knowledge & Research Leads at The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health. Her work revolves around supporting students transitioning to and from post-secondary institutions, international student mental health, and the changing landscape of care in a post-pandemic world. Ella’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Social Work.

Nazly Vasquez is an international student originally from Venezuela. She is an Electrical Engineer passionate about sustainability. She studied online at the School of ESL in Levels 8 and 9. Since 2021 she has been involved with the GBC community and has been an active volunteer since October 2022 when she arrived in Canada. She finished her Project Management Postgraduate certificate in August 2022 at GBC. She is the Administrative Coordinator of the Student Success Program at the School of ESL, while also studying in the BIM Management Postgraduate program at GBC and is an active member of the Sustainability Squad Club. In her spare time, she cooks, reads, and runs.

Kamal Alkalaldeh is from Jordan and has experience in the fields of Psychological & Career Counselling with youth. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Jordan. He is currently pursuing his studies in the Career Development Practitioner program at GBC. He has been in Canada for 6 months.

Arshneet Kaur Gandhi is a George Brown Early Childhood Education student in her final year of study. She is an international student from India and has spent three years back home working with children in an after-school care setting. She has experience with students on the spectrum as well as those who have certain learning disabilities and is aiming to gain professional confidence and broaden her experience in her program. She is passionate about dance and yoga.

Kamna Kartik is originally from India and is currently in her second year of the Honours Bachelor of Business Administration in Hospitality degree at George Brown College. She is also a pastry chef by profession, having completed an Advanced Diploma in Hospitality focused in Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in Melbourne. She has been in Toronto for close to a year and a half and knows the struggles of moving away from home and being an international student, trying to find your way.