Our Team

Executive Director

Françoise Mathieu

M. Ed, RP
Kingston, Ontario

Françoise Mathieu is a sought-after speaker and educator in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. With over 25 years of work in the field of mental health, she brings with her extensive experience as a crisis counselor, and nearly a decade of working with Health Canada’s CFMAP (Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program).

Françoise co-founded TEND Academy with Dr. Patricia Fisher and divides her time between public speaking engagements and working with organizations looking to train their teams on topics such as burnout, empathic strain, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, high stress workplaces, self-care and provider wellness.

Françoise is the author of The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, published by Routledge in 2012 as well as the author of several feature articles. She is a co-founder and regular contributor to the the TEND Toolkit.

TEND Associates

CAMBRIA WALSH
LCSW San Diego, California

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Cambria Walsh has been working in the field of child abuse and trauma for the past 20 years. She worked for the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Childrens Hospital and was the Project Co-Director of the Child Welfare Trauma-Informed Practices, Program and Policy Center in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) Cambria is a founding member of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium and has been active with the group since its inception in 2015. As part of the TEND team, Cambria is an Organizational Health Specialist for the Roadmap to Organizational Health program, and provides training to a wide range of audiences on the topics of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Compassionate Leadership.

DIANA TIKASZ
MSW, RSW Hamilton, Ontario

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Diana Tikasz has worked in the teaching and health care sector for over 30 years. Her helping work began as an early childhood educator, nurturing children and their families to reach their fullest potential. This work developed into a desire to do trauma-focused work. Diana has worked as a Resilience Specialist in a large Ontario-based hospital. Her extensive career has involved facilitating many organizations, groups, and individuals to foster optimal well-being while doing trauma-exposed work. As part of the TEND team, Diana is an Organizational Health Specialist for the Roadmap to Organizational Health program.

DONNA SHANOR
LCSW, LCDC Austin, Texas

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Donna Shanor is the Director of Clinical Social Work at University of Texas Dell Medical Center and UT Health Austin in Austin, Texas. She has served on the Trauma-Informed Care Consortium of Central Texas since 2013 and has lead efforts in the implementation of becoming a trauma informed organization. Donna is also a Board Approved Clinical Supervisor in the state of Texas. Donna has over 15 years of experience working with cross cultural issues, domestic violence, substance abuse, mood disorders, and trauma. She has experience working in interdisciplinary integrated primary care settings and is bilingual in English and Spanish.

DORON GOLD
BA, JD, MSW, RSW, CPCC Toronto, Ontario

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Doron Gold is a registered social worker, a certified professional coach, and psychotherapist. He practiced law for 10 years, primarily as a family and civil litigator. Since 2006, Doron has assisted lawyers, judges, law students, and other professionals in managing and addressing personal and work-related challenges including addiction, depression, anxiety, and career stress. Doron has written for and has been quoted extensively in Lawyers’ Weekly, Law Times, Precedent Magazine, Canadian Lawyer and LawPro Magazine on topics related to mental health and wellness. He is the co-author of the Canadian Bar Association’s “Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Profession” online course and is the recipient of the 2016 Canadian Bar Association Wellness Forum Award of Excellence. Doron is also a member of the steering committee for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada National Study on the Health and Wellness Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada.

JOHN BORTHWICK
BA, M.Div Guelph, Ontario

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John Borthwick is the Director of Lifelong Learning at Knox College (University of Toronto). Prior to taking on this role, John served as a congregational minister in The Presbyterian Church in Canada for over 25 years. He is an experienced teacher and facilitator, specializing in the areas of: traumatology, resilience, empathic strain, moral distress, conflict mediation and coaching skills, and leadership development.

KATE HEFFERON
BA, BA (Hons), MSc, PhD Stella, Ontario

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Kate Hefferon (PhD) is an academic, researcher, author, speaker, and educator who has studied and worked in the fields of well-being and trauma for 20 years. She has created, evaluated and offered resilience training to professionals from a variety of backgrounds including military, mental health, medicine, higher education, and within the public sector. Since completing her studies, Kates career has focused on understanding resilience and transformative growth following challenging circumstances. She has extensive experience teaching and supervising in post-secondary education and founded a Post-traumatic Growth Research Unit at the University of East London. Kate has presented her work at conferences nationally and internationally and is the author/co-author of numerous peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and textbooks including Positive Psychology and the Body: The Somatopsychic Side to Flourishing.

KATHLEEN GORMAN
MSW, RSW Treaty 6 Territory, Alberta

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Kathleen Gorman is a registered social worker, a certified trauma treatment specialist (CTTS) and a Somatic Experiencing® (SE) Practitioner. She has been working in the fields of trauma, grief and loss, mental health and addictions, and domestic and sexual violence for more than 38 years with Indigenous families and communities, government services, mental health and addictions services, and non-profit agencies. In addition to her private practice, Kathleen provides trauma-specific counselling at Aboriginal Counseling Services Association of Alberta and co-facilitates therapeutic groups for Aboriginal women. She is a sessional instructor for the University of Calgary Social Work Faculty, teaching and supervising in both the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs.

MEAGHAN WELFARE
BA Kingston, Ontario

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Meaghan Welfare is a conflict management practitioner at the Department of National Defence at CFB Kingston. She has a degree in criminology and criminal justice with a minor in law, a graduate certificate in dispute resolution from York University and a certificate in family mediation from University of Waterloo. Meaghan develops and delivers training in the field of conflict management, communication, workplace bullying and decision-making for board of directors. She has worked with several government departments in Canada including the National Parole Board, Veterans Affairs, Department of National Defence, Corrections Canada, and Canada Post.

MARLENE O'NEIL LABERGE
RSW Calgary, Alberta

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Marlene is an accomplished Child and Family Therapist and Organizational Health Specialist. Marlene has worked in a variety of settings, including health care, child welfare, child advocacy and community mental health. With over 20 years of experience, she has worked in front-line, consultant and leadership roles across sectors, as well as within multi-disciplinary teams. Marlene holds her Masters of Social work, is a Certified Circle of Security Parenting Facilitator, a Certified Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, and is trained in DBT Skills for Adolescents.

SARAH STEWART
RSW Guelph, Ontario

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Sarah Stewart is a Registered Social Worker, holding a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Victoria. She is a certified Mental Health First Aid Basic and Youth instructor, and a facilitator of the program Resisting Vicarious Trauma & Shouldering Each Other Up. Sarah is the founder and lead trainer of Open Minds Mental Health Training and Consulting. Sarah has developed trainings on trauma-informed practice, boundaries, and workplace mental health for grassroots agencies, non-profits, colleges, and corporations. She is passionate about promoting anti-oppressive approaches to wellness and sustainability in helping professionals, de-stigmatizing conversations about mental health challenges, and improving mental health-related accessibility.

SCOTT JONES
Edmonton, Alberta

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Scott Jones retired as a Superintendent from the Edmonton Police Service after a 30+ year career. He worked in numerous areas including patrol, recruit training, homicide, child protection, crisis negotiation, human resources, major crimes, and integrated community safety. Scott now serves as a wellness navigator in the Employee and Organizational Wellness Branch. As part of his own wellness journey, Scott has practiced yoga for over 10 years and became a yoga teacher with a focus on trauma-informed practice, mindful breath work, and deliberate cold and heat exposure. He is an instructor at NorQuest College and co-host of the podcast Just Us on Justice and Other Things.

TAMSYN BRENNAN
MSW, RSW, MBA Halifax, Nova Scotia

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Tamsyn Brennan has 12 years of experience working in social service and education settings including palliative care, pediatric oncology, child protection and welfare, public and private school settings and with Corrections Canada. She was the Director of Clinical Services at Chisholm Services for Children in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for five years. Tamsyn holds a BA from the University of Waterloo, a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Toronto, and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University. She is currently providing counselling in private practice, focusing both on operational stress injuries, as well as chronic illness.

Senior Advisors

DR. MIKE CONDRA
Ph. D., C. Psych Kingston, Ontario

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Dr. Mike Condra is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. He has taught in the undergraduate and graduate programs in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Law. For more than two decades, Mike was the Director of the Department of Health, Counselling and Disability Services at Queen’s University. He co-developed the Queen’s University Crisis Intervention Institute and has presented at national and international conferences on the topics of mental health, risk-assessment, stigma-reduction, crisis-intervention, and verbal de-escalation.

DR. PATRICIA FISHER
Ph.D., R.Psych.(Ret.)

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Dr. Patricia Fisher is a Senior Advisor and Co-founder of TEND. As a clinical psychologist and specialist in organizational health and workplace wellness in trauma-exposed workplaces, Patricia develops research-based training programs, assessment tools and solutions for trauma-exposed workplaces. Dr. Fisher has authored numerous books addressing trauma-exposed workplace issues including: Resilience, Balance & Meaning: Supporting our Lives and our Work in High Stress, Trauma-Exposed Workplaces and Building Resilient Teams: Facilitating Workplace Wellness & Organizational Health in Trauma-Exposed Environments.