Profiles
Lew Golding – Keynote Speaker – March 29, 2010
Lew Golding is an expert on Youth Gangs, highly sought after for consultation and training of Law Enforcement, Legal professionals, Government departments, School Boards, and Mental Health professionals across Canada and Internationally. Passionate about promoting best practices within the prevention framework in Canada, Lew has presented at numerous conferences in Canada and his community engagement success with hard to reach youth has been cited by the United Nations as a best practice of community-based substance abuse prevention.
Lew is a member of the CAMH Drug Policy and Research Committee and is the Manager of the Substance Abuse Program for African-Canadian and Caribbean Youth. His expertise encompasses the full range of the social determinants of health as he manages clinical services, treatment, early intervention, prevention as well as community engagement and partnerships with relevant stakeholders.
His other past and present community commitments include: Member of United Way Toronto’s Board of Trustees, Co-Chair of CAMH Youth Violence Public Policy Development Committee, Chair of City of Pickering Youth at Risk Committee and Scarborough Mayor’s Special Committee on Drugs and Alcohol. Since completing his master’s thesis on Alternative Approaches to Youth Violence Prevention, he has written for various publications including Healthy Knowledge Magazine and the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health.
He is pleased to have been invited to bring his expertise to working professionals engaged with youth at all levels of the Barrie Community at the MOBILIZEBarrie Conference.
Bernice Trudeau – Presenter, March 30, 2010
Bernice comes from a First Nation Community called Wikwemikong, Ontario which is situated on Manitoulin Island. Her Spirit name is Gaa Taan Jiigeh Kew (Woman of Compassion) and is from the Bear Clan. Bernice has been with her soulmate for 25 years and is a mother to one son who will be 21 years of age in June and an Auntie/Great Great Auntie to over 131 nieces/great nieces and nephews. She comes from a large family of 12 and was very fortunate to be raised with a strong cultural background, values, ethics and her mother tongue (Ojibway) which she speaks fluently. Elders from her community and others she has met on her path have given her life teachings and guided her to live in balance and walk in a good way on her life journey.
She graduated from Cambrian College in 1992 as a scholar and has taken various courses throughout the years. She has been employed for 5 years at the Barrie Native Friendship Centre as the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Coordinator and also teaches at Georgian College in the Native Studies Department. Prior to relocating to Barrie, she worked as a Child Welfare Prevention Worker and Band Court Representative (representing families in court whose children were apprehended), for her husband’s home community for 13 years. She also worked with youth in the same community for 5 years facilitating a youth group which she found very rewarding and educational.
Bernice believes that we are all teachers to one another on this life journey and all lessons learned are meant to help us grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually so that we can always support one another.
Lilia Shillingford – YouthSTART, March 31, 2010
YouthSTART is an innovative program created to help reduce aggressive tendencies in children and youth; YouthSTART provides youth with instruction on enhancing social skills necessary for positive and healthy interpersonal communication, anger control and decision making.
“A pivotal intervention and prevention program…it helps young people gain the skills they need to manage difficult situations and control their anger” The Toronto Star
The program content is comprised of 3 Coordinated Components:
SKILLS STREAMING: Youth are taught a selection of pro-social skills to use in anger producing situations.
ANGER CONTROL TRAINING: Young people are taught skills and techniques necessary to control their anger and feelings.
MORAL REASONING: Through the process of debating moral dilemmas, youth learn how to view their world in a more just, fair and equitable manner.
Graduates of YouthSTART learn how to:
- Build and Maintain healthy relationships
- Prevent and resolve conflict
- Develop leadership skills
- Control anger
- Manage emotions
YouthSTART provides the opportunity to learn valuable lessons which are transferrable to everyday life. With constant repetition, role-playing and practice, skills are ingrained and lives are changed.
Sarah Morano – Performer, Tuesday March 30, 2010
Sarah Morano started in music at a very young age with the study of violin and throughout the years has taken to playing various other instruments. She is an avid performer and recording artist within the community, exploring many musical genres with a range of performers. Sarah believes in the empowering abilities of the arts in all forms and is passionate about learning, teaching and the healing power of music.
Ato Seitu – Keynote Speaker – Arts as a Tool of Resilience – March 31, 2020
The arts play an important role in both traditional and contemporary society. However, it is in contemporary society that the function of the arts is most diverse. The arts are created not only for aesthetic purposes, social rituals, entertainment, and commercial usage, but as tools to reflect, express and bring to light the ongoing injustices of society. It’s also a way of bringing people, communities or special interest groups together to address a particular social issue or concern.
Artists are excellent social animators’ in presenting, reflecting and exposing the strands of history, experiences, traditions and diversity, which knit a community into a distinct entity regardless of the marginalizations. In addition , the arts can help people to break the cultural silence and at the same act as a tool of resilience that can convey cognitive skills, which can be used to document and tell stories about the social issues that impact our lives. Arts also provide an opportunity to create a new vision and new memories.
Ato Seitu is a York-Finch based visual artist and educator with several decades of experience in arts practice, community development, and educational and employment bridging programs. Ato is a member and Executive Director of Six Ah We Artists’ Collective, undertaking a series of exhibitions across the city showcasing the best of African-Canadian artists’ concepts, creative ideas and works of art, outside of the confinement of Black History Month. The Collective addresses a long history of complex, systemic, social, political and cultural conditions that have given rise to the isolation and disconnection of African-Canadian artists from the Canadian artistic mainstream. Ato was a key participant in the initiation of the University of Toronto’s academic bridging programme, now in its 30th year. A graduate of the MES program Ato also has considerable and ongoing experience with government and non-government agencies arranging employment internships for youth within the post-secondary education system, as well as for youth alienated from the post secondary education system and using the visual art as a tool of resiliency. Ato is well known also for creating visual art addressing social-political issues from the sixties to present.
Mobilize Barrie: A Path toward Finding and Mobilizing Community Partners Conference 
I am the Prsident of APSGO The Association of Parent Support Groups of On. inc. and would like to add the support to parents and familys is critical to helping our youth to make better choices. Please check this grass roots web site http://www.apsgo.ca As a Psychotherapist I have conducted many workshops to help parents build skills and techniques in many of the areas you are addressing. I would be very interested in talking with you further in support of your quest.
Thank you. This is one of the reasons we are hosting this conference. We look forward to meeting with you.