December 2024 Mentors
Justin Deonarine, PhD PsychologyJustin is an Organizational Psychologist, and the founder of Culture Shift Consulting. He specializes in the application of data-driven decision-making to recruitment, leadership and engagement/retention. Essentially, he uses data to help companies improve their corporate culture, and make their workplace somewhere that employees find meaning and value. Justin has worked with organizations varying in size from local to multi-national, across 5 continents and within multiple industries and spheres (for-profit, non-profit and government). He also writes about his work, publishing articles about leadership, corporate culture, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Alexandra Whate, BA Psychology, MSc Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience)Alexandra is the Co-Founder of The Brainwell Institute, a dementia-focussed think tank dedicated to advancing brain health and dementia advocacy across Canada, sustained by its consulting arm, Brainwell Consulting. As the head of Brainwell Consulting, Alexandra leads a team of research and evaluation consultants who provide strategic guidance, research expertise, and program evaluation services to diverse organizations, empowering them to make data-driven decisions that enhance program effectiveness and achieve meaningful outcomes. With over a decade of experience in research and evaluation, Alexandra specializes in helping organizations demonstrate program impact and leverage insights for strategic improvement. Her expertise spans program evaluation, KPI development, and mixed-methods research. She brings a strong foundation in quantitative and qualitative analysis, development of measurement tools, knowledge mobilization and community engagement. Before founding Brainwell, Alexandra held research roles at the University of Waterloo and managed clinical trials at the Population Health Research Institute and in other hospital settings.
Sarah Moroz, PhD PsychologySarah is the Director of Institutional Reporting and Analysis at York University. She leads a team of data analysts in reporting on university data, including enrolment, student demographics, research funding, faculty and staff complements, and many other facets of the university. Prior to working at York, Sarah earned a PhD in social psychology from Western University, conducting research on attitudes toward LGBTQ+ individuals while pursuing part-time work in assessment and evaluation across various fields. Sarah went on to work in assessment at the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy, shaping the new role of Associate Director, Assessment. Toward the end of her time at the School of Pharmacy she completed a brief stint as Director, Admissions and Undergraduate Affairs. Additionally, Sarah has spent several years doing consultant work as a lead associate with Ahria Consulting, analysing candidate assessments for high-level leadership roles.
Simon Baldwin, PhD PsychologySimon is the manager of the Operational Research Unit of the RCMP and has worked in the areas of police use of force and evidence-based policing for the last 15 years. He is an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and holds a PhD in Psychology from Carleton University’s Police Research Lab. His research focuses on the areas of police training, stress physiology and performance, crisis intervention and de-escalation, body-worn cameras, and the prevention of arrest-related deaths. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work on police use of force reporting and improving oversight, accountability, and evidence-based decision-making. He was also awarded the International Association of Chief’s of Police (IACP) 40 Under 40 award for exemplifying leadership, dedication, and service to the law enforcement profession.
Jean Mary Zarate, PhD NeuroscienceJean is the Chief Scientist for Communication and Engagement Strategy at The Collective for Psychiatric Neuroengineering (CPNE). A native New Yorker, Jean received her B.S. in Neural Science from New York University, obtained her M.S. in Neurological Sciences from McGill University after examining the genetic factors underlying schizophrenia-related traits and treatment responses in mice with Drs. Patricia Boksa and Ridha Joober, and earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from McGill after investigating the neural correlates of auditory-motor integration during singing under the supervision of Dr. Robert Zatorre. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at New York University with Dr. David Poeppel, Jean worked for 10 years as an editor at Nature Neuroscience, focusing on cognitive and social neuroscience, systems and computational neuroscience, network neuroscience, and human-centered brain mapping techniques. Jean is excited to contribute her editorial experience towards developing more effective scientific communication and engagement skills at CPNE. Outside of CPNE, Jean enjoys working on her music and acting.
December 2023 Mentors
Dr. Michael Arfken, PhD, Experimental Psychology
President & Chief Grievance Officer, UPEI Faculty Association
Keynote address – « Negotiating an Employment Contract »Dr. Michael Arfken is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) and President and Chief Grievance Officer for the UPEI Faculty Association which represents all UPEI academic staff. He is also the Chair of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee and member of the CAUT Executive Committee.
Eric Bulmash, MA, Clinical Psychology
Director, People & Culture at Nicola WealthEarly in my career, I worked in mental health research labs and also completed a masters (and one year of a PhD!) in clinical psychology at Queen’s University. Since that time I’ve made the jump into the business world. I’ve worked the past 15 years or so in a variety of roles including as a leadership development consultant, non-profit leader and now as the Director of People & Culture / HR at Nicola Wealth, a Vancouver-based Wealth Management company. I leverage my foundation in clinical psychology each day – from my research and data-analytics orientation, to listening deeply to coach leaders towards higher levels of effectiveness, to analyzing larger-scale people and culture needs to move the business forward. Some of my favourite work now involves leading our compensation practice, having 1:1 coaching conversations with employees at all levels, building our leadership development and career growth programs across the company, and supporting leaders to build and grow their teams and our business.
Emily Cote, MA, School Psychology
School Psychologist at Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for EducationEmily Cote is a Psychologist (Candidate Register) working for the Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education in Nova Scotia. Emily completed a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Psychology at Dalhousie University in 2019, followed by a Master of Arts in School Psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University in 2021. She believes that schools are the best place for students to receive equitable access to mental health services and she is passionate about recruiting others with shared values to the field of School Psychology. Her services include, but are not limited to, psychoeducational assessment, small-group counselling, behaviour intervention, and consultation. In addition to being a practicing School Psychologist, Emily is actively involved in advocacy and research about recruiting and retaining psychologists in schools.
Nathaniel Barr , PhD, Cognitive PsychologyScientific Advisor at BEworks and Faculty at Sheridan CollegeNathaniel Barr, PhD, is a Professor of Creativity at Sheridan College and a Senior Innovation Advisor at BEworks. Prior to these roles, he earned his PhD and held a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Psychology Department at the University of Waterloo.In the academic sphere, Nathaniel is an award-winning lecturer and researcher who’s work on bridging creativity and behavioral science has been funded by multiple federal research grants. He has published popular and scientific articles on a wide variety of topics within the cognitive and behavioral sciences including creativity, innovation, the intersection of thinking and technology, how best to align human and artificial intelligence in the workforce, the psychology of belief, and how to apply behavioral science toward solving the greatest challenges of this era. His research has been covered extensively in the media, including Scientific American, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal and he frequently acts as an expert commentator for print, radio, and television. He brings his expertise in human cognition and behavior to BEworks in a variety of capacities spanning strategy, practice, and innovation. His contributions range from interfacing with clients in diverse sectors, fostering partnerships with various academics and organizations, and envisioning how behavioral science, and BEworks, can solve important challenges and drive innovation.
Sam Bienias, BScH, Psychology
Diagnostic Medical Sonographer and Echocardiographer at Guardian RadiologySamantha (Sam) Bienias holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Queen’s University, where she was committed to several department councils and research teams. She is a published author through her undergraduate research on women’s sexual and reproductive health. Sam then completed the Diagnostic Medical Sonography diploma at BCIT. For her early passion and commitment to the practice of sonography and echocardiography, Sonography Canada has awarded Sam with the 2022 Early Professional Achievement Award. She was most recently employed as an ultrasound technologist by Medical Imaging Consultants in Edmonton, Alberta, and Guardian Radiology in Wainwright, Alberta.
January 2023 Mentors
- Erin Maloney, Ph.D., University of Ottawa
- Nadia Martin, Ph.D., Brain Canada Foundation
- Carla Sowinski, Ph.D., Department of National Defence
- Chrissy Chubala, Ph.D., Department of National Defence
- Chris Nicholson, Ph.D., Shopify
- Dorna Rahimi, School Psychology
- Richard Bolduc, Ph.D., C.Psych., Mental Health and Well-Being Lead,
Special Education & Student Services Department
Ottawa Catholic School Board
November 2021 Mentors
Cynthia Tran, M.Sc.
Sr. Insights Project Manager at Rockwell Automation
An accomplished marketing research expert with over 25 years proven experience overseeing high-value projects, programs, and strategic initiatives across large enterprises; encompassing a wide range of methodologies and audiences – B2B and B2C, International and Domestic, supplier and client slide. Educated in both Cognitive Psychology and Marketing Research, I easily blend this knowledge to provide actionable insights to my business partners, at all levels of an organization, across multiple lines of business.
Ester Moher, Ph.D.
VP, Business Intelligence and Collective Impact
UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
Rick Lash, Ph.D.
Industrial Organizational Psychologist – Independent Consultant
Rick has worked extensively with many Fortune 500 CEO’s and their teams globally. His areas of expertise include leadership transformation, executive team alignment, corporate values, competency-based development, career pathing and succession planning. He is a highly engaging facilitator and sought-after keynote speaker. Rick has authored numerous articles for the Globe and Mail’s Leadership Lab series and has written other pieces for Harvard Business Review, Ivey Business Journal, Chief Executive Magazine and has appeared on national media outlets including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and other trade publications. He was a contributor in a global research initiative with the Harvard Business School on the book Senior Leadership Teams. Rick received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Toronto.
N. Zoe Hilton, Ph.D., C.Psych. (she, her)
Waypoint Research Institute
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa
Dr. Hilton is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and Senior Research Scientist at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. She earned degrees in psychology and criminology in the UK, and her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Toronto. Her research is primarily in the field of domestic violence risk assessment and forensic psychiatry, and involves multi-site, multi-stakeholder projects. She has given plenary presentations around the world, and received multiple competitive research grants and awards for research, teamwork, and community service.
Dr. Hilton is the Steering Committee Chair for the Fifth North American Correctional and Criminal Justice Psychology Conference (N5), taking place alongside CPA2023 in Toronto.
Helen Ofosu, Ph.D.
Industrial Organizational Psychologist and Consultant
I/O Advisory Services Inc
Dr. Helen Ofosu completed her studies at McMaster University and the University of Windsor. In addition to Career & Executive Coaching, her specialties include the assessment and development of leadership skills, inclusive recruitment and selection of staff and executives, and navigating the complex issues of workplace bullying, harassment, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Prior to starting her consulting practice I/O Advisory Services in 2012, Dr. Ofosu worked for the federal government at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada), the Department of National Defence, and the Public Service Commission. She has developed online screening tests, structured interviews, role-plays and simulations, etc. for evaluating job applicants’ skills and behaviours as part of the hiring and promotion process. She continues to do this work in the private, non-profit, and public sectors through her consulting practice. Her work has been recognized with three national awards and it has been used by hiring managers to identify talented job candidates across a range of occupations.
Website: https://ioadvisory.com/ | Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/IOAdvisoryServices | Twitter Handle: @drheleno_ca | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenofosu | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ioadvisory | Instagram: https://instagram.com/drheleno_ca/
Dafna Kohen, Ph.D.
Statistics Canada and the University of Ottawa
Dr. Dafna Kohen is Assistant Director at the Health Analysis Division at Statistics Canada and Adjunct Professor at the Dept. of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Trained as a developmental psychologist, her research areas include the use of secondary data for policy relevant research in the areas of child and youth health and well-being as well as social determinants of health particularly for vulnerable populations.
Erin Maloney, Ph.D.
University of Ottawa
Lisa Votta-Bleeker, Ph.D.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Psychological Association
Dr. Votta-Bleeker has a PhD in Psychology which she attained from Carleton University in 2001. Her areas of research have included youth homelessness, injury prevention, obesity, mental health promotion, and the social determinants of health.
Prior to joining the CPA in 2009, Dr. Votta-Bleeker held positions with the Canadian Institute for Health Information (Senior Researcher), the University of Ottawa (Research Associate, Research Fellow, Lecturer), and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Research Coordinator).
In her position as Deputy CEO, Dr. Votta-Bleeker is responsible for promoting excellence and innovation in psychological research, as well as for promoting the advancement, development, dissemination and application of psychological knowledge through numerous portfolios including the CPA’s annual convention, publications and journals, scientific affairs, career development activities, and science advocacy.
Kyleigh Schraeder, PhD R.Psych
Team Lead, Health Services Research and Implementation Science /
Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction
Canadian Institutes of Health Research /
Government of Canada
Dr. Wendy Darr
National Defence / Government of Canada
Section Head, Director Research Personnel Generation 5/Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis/Chief of Military Personnel
Ms. Kaitlynn Dewhirst
Continuum North
Comprehensive Education and Health Services
November 2020 Mentors
The following mentors participated in the Virtual Career Fair on November 12th, 2020.
Meghan Norris, Ph.D.
Chair of Undergraduate Studies
Queen’s University
Anne-Marie Côté, MA
Online Learning and Team Development Coordinator at TakingITGlobal
Anne-Marie’s position requires her to coordinate the personal and professional development of staff, coordinate virtual field trips for remote Indigenous schools in Nunavut through the Connected North program, and lead and expand the Francophone counterpart of Connected North.
Sophie Kenny, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
VPixx Technologies Inc.
Somewhere in the world, right now, there are researchers using a specialized device manufactured by VPixx Technologies. These researchers might be working in a behavioural laboratory, an MRI or MEG space, or even working with non-human primates. That device might be an eye tracker, a video projector, a sound system or a calibrated visual display.
Whichever device they are using, there is a strong possibility that Sophie Kenny helped to bring their work to fruition. As a staff scientist for VPixx Technologies, Sophie works directly with the academic community. Her role is not only to understand the current needs of researchers, but also to identify research trends and opportunities for growth of the company.
More precisely, Sophie provides consultation services for lab setups. She writes work orders for custom software and hardware development, designs and presents product or technology-oriented workshops, and gives seminar lectures and invited talks. She also visits conferences (Society for Neuroscience, the Vision Sciences Society, the Psychonomics Society) to interact with academic clients and partners. It is there that she sets up independent and collaborative research projects, such as conducting literature reviews, methods papers, and perceptual/cognitive experimental research.
Sophie obtained her PhD in Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Sciences from Queen’s in 2017, and says that her academic studies have prepared her admirably for her current career.
Evangeline Danseco, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher
Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health
Evangeline Danseco, PhD, CE is a Senior Child & Youth Mental Health Researcher at the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health. She is also a Credentialed Evaluator through the Canadian Evaluation Society. She leads various projects relating to evaluation and performance measurement, working with government policy-makers and senior leadership in community-based agencies in Ontario. Prior to coming to Canada, she worked on various clinical research projects involving children and families such as homelessness, developmental disabilities, pre-natal cocaine exposure and childhood injuries in the U.S., Costa Rica and the Philippines. She obtained her masters degree in developmental psychology at The George Washington University and her doctoral degree in Applied Developmental Psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Nigel Gopie, Ph.D.
Director, Artificial Intelligence Applications and Blockchain Marketing
IBM
Mamata Pandey, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Saskatchewan Health Authority, Regina Saskatchewan
Dr. Mamata Pandey is a research scientist at Saskatchewan Health Authority Regina. She employs innovative research techniques to identify evidence-based strategies that can improve the quality of care delivered to patients in the health region and in rural and remote First Nations communities in Saskatchewan. Originally trained as a clinical psychologist in India, she then completed her second Masters and PhD in Experimental and Applied Psychology from University of Regina in 2013. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Indigenous Peoples Health Research Center. Her expertise lies in engaging First Nation communities, refugees and immigrants in health research. Taking a patient centered approach she employs health research as a tool to identify innovative solutions to improve the quality of care delivered to patients.
Naza Nalani, Ph.D.
CEO & Founder
Vibrant Minds
Dr. Naza Nalani is an entrepreneur running her online digital business, Vibrant Minds, from Vancouver, Canada. She has earned her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience and Master’s in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Waterloo. Her mission through Vibrant Minds is to help growth mindset individuals all over the world tap into their unlimited potential to create lives full of love, joy, purpose, and freedom! Naza is the creator of the transformative Intentional Dreamers program, designed to uniquely combine modern insights about the brain with ancient teachings. Through her digital program, Naza teaches motivated learners how to plan, set and achieve their goals, pursue their passions, and share their genius
