Speaker’s Corner

Educator, Transformation Agent, Health Coach with a focus on holistic wellness, Inspirational Facilitator/Speaker and Seminar Leader.

Charlene is a Jamaican Canadian who lives in Ontario Canada since 2002. Her primary role above all others is to be the best and most positive influence to her two sons. Second to that is her passion for people by sharing her stories of triumph over adversities.

Her career spans a wide scope of activities, which in its early stages includes serving as a college counsellor and facilitator to first generation students at Florida Memorial University – One of the United States Historical Black Colleges (HBCU). There is where she spent an inordinate amount of time working alongside First Generation African American students as a counsellor and facilitator in a federally funded programme. This was primarily designed to assist them in assimilating into college life. Additionally, she spearheaded a peer-mentoring programme for senior students to guide and mentor freshmen and sophomores by providing them with academic support.

After emigrating to Canada in 2002, Charlene was faced with the challenges of transitioning from familiar to unknown territory. Many of those challenges came with moments of disillusionment and at times regrets. Through it all she persevered. In 2008, she garnered a position of college professor at Sheridan College in Ontario. There she delivered courses to a diverse student population in the areas of Human Relations, Living and Working in a Diverse Society, and Sociology.

Her current roles include Empowerment and Keynote Speaker, Workshop Facilitator, Adjunct College Professor, and Health and Wellness Coach. By working in the field of health and wellness, she works to support and enable her clients to successfully advance through the process of personal transformation, using a holistic approach to mental health and wellness.

Her contribution to the black community in Ontario has enabled her to develop and expand her repertoire. As a speaker and workshop facilitator, Charlene has delivered seminars and workshops on a variety of platforms and in several subject matter, primarily in the field of mental wellness, personal development. As a facilitator, her mission is to provide education and encouragement which she does by sharing her personal stories of humility and hope. Charlene states that, although she has faced many barriers as a woman of colour in Canada, by persevering and self belief, she was able to overcome some treacherous times.

Added to her repertoire is the title of Author, of 2 publications:
“25 Of Life’s Simple Pleasures – that make life worth living.” (2012)
A Sista’s Journal of Gratefulness - 2020

Noreen Sibanda was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Canada, where she has spent the last two decades working in the community supporting refugee and immigrant families. Some of her notable work includes working on youth participatory research projects with the University of Alberta- Community-University partnership, coordinating summer youth programs for newcomers, and more recently focusing on bringing awareness to mental health to marginalized individuals. Her passion to destigmatize and increase access to mental health services has led her to work within schools and with community-based organizations offering counselling services at a sliding scale to eliminate barriers. After years of working within the system, she recognized the need to have allies and a network of black therapists, this led to the creation of the Alberta Black Therapists Network (ABTN). The ABTN are a group of licensed and regulated professionals working in the field of mental health and addictions that aim to normalize experiences, destigmatize accessing therapy within the black community and reduce barriers and inequalities experienced by people of color. Noreen currently serves as the Executive Director of ABTN. She is an experienced speaker having facilitated multiple psycho-educational presentations, presented at conferences both locally and intentionally and an anti-racism and mental health curriculum reviewer and developer. She also seasoned guest appearances on podcast, tv and radio engagement.

She is a University of Alberta Alumni, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women and Gender studies. She also holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and is a practicing Registered Provisional Psychologist in Edmonton.

Judy is a Registered Social Worker with over 25 years of experience working with vulnerable youth and adults. Judy has started her career as a Family Service Worker with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. She then moved on to focus her work with individuals experiencing mental health and addiction challenges providing one on one support and counselling. Judy has worked with the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) , North York’s Women’s Center, Toronto Community Housing, Scarborough Centre for Healthy Families, The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and Fred Victor to deliver mental health workshops and trainings to both front line workers and service users. Her work also includes participation in research studies that have helped to shed light on the racial inadequacies of service delivery within the mental health justice system, usage of the mental health recovery model and the use of the CBT model endorsed by CAMH. Judy is a certified Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT). She has co-created and facilitated many groups one of which was the CBT group for those who hear voices. Judy has also spent many years working with the criminal justice system where she managed and supported various programs in the Toronto mental health court diversion programs. Judy is passionate about working with people in a trauma focussed way while upholding an anti-oppressive and anti-racist perspectives. Judy now runs wellness retreats, giving individuals an opportunity for reflection, refinement, and relaxation.

The psychology of optimal experiences is what drives Dr. Vidoll Regisford to serve as Principal of a private corporate consulting and clinical counseling practice. His work is to alert the self in each of us to that higher-purpose thought of one’s existence, igniting the value, meaning, and worth of our divinity, in human form, knowing if we are one then we are the same. The body of his work straddles both the public-non-profit and private sector, intersecting his career as an executive leader and his complimentary knowledge of people with skills as coach, psychotherapist & counsellor, and corporate consultant in the area of EDI/Anti-Oppression. Vidoll entered the senior and executive ranks in other public and private sector institutions such as Vice President, Human Resources & Mission Services for Goodwill Toronto, National, Director for Diversity & Inclusion for Purolator Canada and Clinical Director for Across Boundaries. In these organizations Vidoll has developed corporate strategies in the area of diversity, anti-oppression, community development and mental health to name a few, and translated them into policies and procedures using an equity lens.

Vidoll has in-depth knowledge of human rights, having investigated, managed, and resolved complaints at the Ontario Human Rights Commission. He is a thought leader in the anti-oppression/anti-racism community, where he incorporates an ecological paradigm for change, speaking, presenting, coaching, and strengthening the capacity of learners.

My name is Shani Ellis-Alman and I am a 1st generation Canadian, a displaced African of Caribbean descent with roots in Barbados, Trinidad and St. Lucia.

I have a Bachelors degree in psychology and a Masters degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in Social work. I have been practicing as a registered social worker for 13 years, with my career thus far focusing in mental health and wellness, addiction and maladaptive coping, and concurrent disorders. I have worked in DEI, academia, healthcare, crisis and community mental health capacities, developed and facilitated mental health and addiction groups, as well as gender specific groups focusing on gendered experiences.

While my life currently consists of work and parenting, I also enjoy taking part in community events and festivals, vegetable gardening, running outdoors and trying out new recipes.