Speakers | First Responders Mental Health Conference

Master of Ceremonies

J’lyn Nye

J’lyn Nye is an award-winning journalist who spent 33 years in television and radio newsrooms across Western Canada. She went on to work as a civilian employee of the Edmonton Police Service for three years, before joining Integrated Strategic Partners in August. As a Senior Consultant, she brings decades of strategic communications, storytelling and public sector experience to the firm’s work with clients across government and industry.

J’lyn has long supported those who serve in uniform, including through her work with Wounded Warriors Canada. She is the Honourary Colonel of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron with the RCAF and Patron of the Edmonton Garrison Military Family Resource Centre. She was awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation in 2022 and received the Queen Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023 for her steadfast commitment to the military and veteran community.

Plenary Speakers

Scott Maxwell

Executive Director
Wounded Warriors Canada

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.

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Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton Ph.D., R.D. Psych

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 $72M 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.PSPSNET.ca).

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.

Lane Douglas-Hunt

Lane Douglas-Hunt has spent 19 years in policing and currently serves as a full-time explosives technician with the RCMP. Over the course of her career, she has worked in a wide range of roles, including the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team, Special Victims Unit, Patrol Sergeant, and the Professional Standards Section.

But some of the most important lessons of her career didn’t come from tactical training or a classroom.

After experiencing her first major critical incident early in her career, Lane began to understand both the importance of mental health and the significant gaps that existed in education and support for first responders. She will be the first to admit that she made plenty of mistakes while trying to navigate her own experiences. Eventually, however, she found Dr. Tim Black and Wounded Warriors Canada—and learned something that changed the trajectory of her life.

From there, Lane made it her passion project to turn pain into purpose.

She founded a peer support team within her organization, went on to lead its Critical Incident Stress Management team, and became an Ambassador for Wounded Warriors Canada. Since 2021, she has also proudly participated in the Wounded Warriors Canada Vancouver Island Run, helping raise awareness and funds for the programs that have meant so much to her and countless other first responders, veterans, and their families.

Outside of policing, Lane is a beekeeper, gym rat, motorcycle rider, dog mom, and firm believer that life is better when it involves a little dirt, horsepower, and dog kisses.

It is an honour for her to share some of the stories, lessons, mistakes, and hard-earned perspective from her two decades in policing. Her hope is simple: to keep the mental health conversation moving forward, remind other first responders that asking for support is a strength, and share some of the incredible work being done by Wounded Warriors Canada for the every day heroes that give so much of themselves in public service.

Workshop Sessions

Dr. Rosemary Ricciardelli, PhD

Professor and Research Chair: Safety, Security, and Wellness
Memorial University of Newfoundland

Dr. Rosemary Ricciardelli is Professor (PhD) and Research Chair in Safety, Security, and Wellness, at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Fisheries and Marine Institute. The winner of the 2023 International Corrections and Prison Association’s Research Excellence Award and the Canadian Sociological Association’s Angus Reid Applied Researcher Award, Ricciardelli was also elected to the Royal Society of Canada and is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Her research centers on evolving understandings of gender, vulnerabilities, risk, and experiences and issues within different facets of the criminal justice system and among mariners. She has published 17 books, 285+ journal articles and 70+ chapters all in the areas of police, firefighting, correctional workers, public safety communicators, and criminalized persons, and wellness – broadly defined. As a sex and gender researcher, her interests lay in the social health, identity construction, and lived experiences of individuals. She leads a longitudinal study on the mental health and well-being experiences of correctional officers employed by Correctional Services Canada.

Emma Vester

EHN Guardians National Research Coordinator
EHN Canada

Ms. Emma Vester is a registered psychotherapist and research coordinator who works exclusively with first responders and their loved ones. She also is a family member of a first responder who has grown up understanding the family tie to this workplace culture.

Shawn Carter, M.ADS., BCBA, D.Sc(c)

National Director, EHN Guardian Clinical Programs
EHN Canada

Mr. Shawn Carter is a doctoral candidate and National Director of EHN Guardians Clinical Programs as well as Executive Director of EHN Guardians Gateway. His research efforts explore bridging the gap between first responders and their significant others while they’re receiving residential care for trauma and substance use issues.

Mallory Cole

Occupational Therapist, Psychotherapist, Psychotherapy Clinical Supervisor

FunctionAbility Rehabilitation Services

Mallory is a registered Occupational Therapist and Psychotherapist providing direct therapy services as well as Psychotherapy clinical supervision at FunctionAbility Rehabilitation. Mallory has worked with public safety personnel for the duration of her career in both inpatient and community settings. Mallory has completed an Honors Bachelors of Arts degree and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Toronto. She has completed advanced training in several areas including: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy certification, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, public safety personnel-focused courses, and is presently working towards a Trauma certificate. In Mallory’s current work with FunctionAbility Rehabilitation Services she provides clinical services to clients in the community with a focus on restoring function and enhancing quality of life. She uses interventions in her work including Exposure Therapy, psychotherapy skill building, and return to or stay at work supports. In her role as a Psychotherapy Clinical Supervisor, Mallory supports the growth and development of over 40 OT’s who are developing their psychotherapy practice. In this role, Mallory provides 1:1 support and mentorship as well as facilitates group supervision and provides regular education sessions on a variety of OT psychotherapy interventions for supervisees.

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. Greg Anderson

Dean of Health

Thompson Rivers University

Dr. Greg Anderson is a Professor and Dean at Thompson Rivers University and a founding member of the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment. His research interests lie in occupational health and wellness, and occupational physiology of high-stress low-control physically demanding occupations. In his roles, Greg carries his passion for improving the well-being of Canadian public safety personnel and frontline health care professionals, their colleagues, their organizations, and their families through world class research resulting in evidence-informed practices, policies, and programs for all public safety personnel in Canada.

Steve Farina

Steve Farina is a retired Fire Captain whose 32-year career in the British Columbia fire service shaped him into one of Canada’s most trusted voices in First Responder mental health, resilience, and peer support. Beginning in 1992 as a Paid-on-Call firefighter in Langley Township and later serving with Coquitlam Fire Rescue from 1997–2025, Steve spent more than two decades supporting members through Peer Support and CISM teams, where his ability to show up authentically during crisis, transition, and recovery became a defining part of his leadership.

As Executive Vice President of the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, Steve championed province-wide initiatives in psychological health and safety, occupational wellness, and legislative advocacy. He represented the BCPFFA on the WorkSafeBC-chaired BC First Responder Mental Health Committee, helping advance meaningful improvements in how First Responders are supported throughout their careers.

Steve is also a co-founder of the Blueprint First Responder (Firefighter) Resiliency Program, a groundbreaking cohort-based mental wellness program launched in 2017. He helped shape the program’s early development, recruited participants, secured seed funding through successful WorkSafeBC grants for the first 10 pilot cohorts, and promoted the program through speaking engagements, including for Movember Canada. Today, he continues this work as a peer support facilitator for U.S. Firefighter pilot programs funded by Movember USA, expanding the model across borders.

Although retired from active service, Steve’s commitment to First Responders and Veterans remains central to his mission. He serves as a Director with the Legion Veterans Village Research Foundation, and as an Advisor to Roots to Thrive and Diversified Rehabilitation Group, guiding cutting-edge approaches to trauma recovery, psychedelic-assisted therapy, moral injury, and community-based healing.

His contributions have been recognized with the King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025), a Certificate of Commendation (2025), and the CIPSRT Champions of Mental Health Award (2022).

In the classroom, Steve brings a grounded, relational, and deeply human teaching style, shaped by decades of frontline experience, system-level leadership, and thousands of conversations with First Responders navigating trauma, grief, moral injury, and return-to-health. Retirement has simply opened a new way to serve: building systems, communities, and programs that support the whole person—mind, body, and spirit.

Kimberly Dyson, MA, RCC
Senior Manager, Clinical Services | WorkSafeBC

Kimberly Dyson is the Senior Manager of Clinical Services at WorkSafeBC, leading teams that provide clinical advisory services and direct supports to injured workers across British Columbia. Her career has included clinical practice, program development, operational leadership, and strategic service delivery in both public and private sector organizations. Kimberly currently serves on the Board of the BC Association of Clinical Counselling and is a longstanding advisory member of the First Responder Mental Health Committee. As a Registered Clinical Counsellor, she is passionate about improving access to quality mental health care, fostering psychologically healthy workplaces, and supporting recovery, resilience, and successful return-to-work outcomes.

Christian Lane

Christian Lane is a retired Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Chief of Intelligence and Enforcement Operations. Throughout his 24-year career, Christian managed complex, high-stakes environments, leading frontline personnel and navigating the intense pressures inherent in protecting Canada’s borders and responding to public safety challenges.

Christian continues his commitment to the broader service community as a Board Member of the Canadian Peace Officers’ Memorial Association (CPOMA) and an Ambassador and Advisory Committee Member with the True Patriot Love Foundation. In this role, he actively champions the Canadian Walk for Veterans, helping bridge the gap between national organizations and grassroots support networks to ensure military members, Veterans, first responders, and their families are never left to walk their recovery journeys alone.

In 2021, Christian recognized a critical gap within service culture and founded The Team Ten Eight Podcast. More than a professional platform, the podcast was created as a space for honest conversations that challenge the culture of stoic silence often found among those who serve. Through candid discussions with military members, Veterans, first responders, healthcare professionals, and community leaders, Christian helps model the vulnerability, connection, and shared understanding that make healing possible.

Christian’s passion for mental wellness is rooted in his own lived experience. Throughout his career, he accumulated the compounding effects of chronic operational stress and unresolved trauma, much of it originating long before he entered public service. In 2024, he experienced a profound mental health crisis that challenged long-held beliefs about strength, identity, and self-worth. Choosing to step out of the shadows, Christian immersed himself in recovery through therapy, journaling, meditation, and deep self-reflection. What followed was a complete re-examination of purpose and a realization that healing is not about returning to who we once were, but about becoming more fully ourselves beneath the roles, expectations, and survival strategies we adopt along the way.

His contributions to public safety and community advocacy have been recognized with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, the Peace Officer Exemplary Service Medal, and the CBSA President’s Award for Management Excellence. Christian also brings his commitment to service into his work as a mortgage professional, supporting the financial wellness of the communities he spent decades protecting.

Christian offers a perspective grounded in vulnerability, self-discovery, and the belief that even our deepest struggles can become catalysts for healing, post-traumatic growth, and meaningful personal transformation.

Cst. Jessica Brown

Constable Jessica Brown is a serving member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with more than a decade of frontline service, the majority of it in rural Alberta.

Throughout her career in public service, she has also served as a Lieutenant with a volunteer fire department and as an Emergency Medical Responder, giving her a unique perspective on the realities faced by first responders across multiple disciplines.

In addition to her frontline policing duties, Jess is a firearms instructor and an active member of the Alberta RCMP’s Ceremonial Troop, reflecting her commitment to professionalism, mentorship, and service within the organization.

Jess is a passionate advocate for first responder mental health and psychological wellness. She serves as a facilitator with the RCMP’s National Reintegration Program, supporting officers as they return to work following critical incidents or extended leaves. Through mentorship, practical guidance, and peer support, she helps members rebuild confidence and successfully transition back to operational policing.

In 2022, Jess faced the fight of her life. Charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault following a fatal officer-involved shooting, she was thrust into a relentless legal storm. As the world watched, she endured not only the courtroom battles but also the profound personal toll of trauma and public scrutiny.

Ultimately acquitted, Jess emerged from the experience with a renewed sense of purpose and a deep appreciation for the role that resilience, connection, and positive psychology play in recovery.

Jess now shares her powerful story with audiences across Canada, offering an honest and deeply personal perspective on trauma, resilience, and the unbreakable human spirit. Her presentations challenge stigma, encourage meaningful conversations about mental health, and remind audiences that healing is possible, even in the aftermath of life’s most difficult experiences.

Paul Hills

Paul Hills has spent over 27 years on the front lines as an Advanced Care Paramedic in Saskatoon, SK. A career that has covered care from the ground, air to ERs and ICUs, he’s seen the best and worst of humanity — and carried the weight that comes with it. Beyond the job, he’s served as a union leader, advocate, and relentless voice for first-responder mental health and wellbeing across Saskatchewan and Canada.

In 2016, Paul was diagnosed with Complex PTSD and depression after years of trauma exposure. He fought to return to work but in 2020, a struggle with suicidality forced him to step away again. This time, the path back wasn’t just about survival — it was about transformation.

Paul began to rebuild with the support of his wife and two sons and the right people around him searching for healing modalities. He stopped pretending he was fine and started living the truth: that real strength is asking for help and that healing takes a community and time.

Paul brings lived experience, leadership, and a deep sense of purpose. His passion is clear: to shift hearts and minds, open doors to support, and ensure that no First Responder — or their family — has to carry the weight alone.

Lisa Smith, MACP, RCC
Director, Special Care Services | WorkSafeBC

Lisa Smith is the Director of Special Care Services at WorkSafeBC, where she oversees case management for workers in British Columbia who have experienced serious physical injuries and mental health injuries. A Registered Clinical Counsellor, Lisa holds a Social Service Worker Diploma, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. She brings extensive experience in social and community services and has developed significant expertise in return-to-work strategies for individuals affected by trauma and workplace mental health injuries. Lisa is passionate about supporting vulnerable populations, promoting equitable access to services, and advancing inclusive employment opportunities. She also serves as a volunteer board member with the Canadian Association for Supported Employment.