These incredible leaders are paving the way for supporting perinatal families through social change! We highly encourage you to reach out to them to see how you can also make small adjustments with huge impact in the support you offer!
Ann Douglas
The mother of all books
Ann Douglas (she/her) sparks conversations that matter about parenting and mental health. She is the creator of Canada’s bestselling series of pregnancy and parenting books, The Mother of All books series, and the author of two critically acclaimed parenting guides: Happy Parents, Happy Kids and Parenting Through the Storm. Her most recent book is Navigating The Messy Middle: A Fiercely Honest and Wildly Encouraging Guide for Midlife Women.
If you've already met Ann via one her books, you know what you can expect from one of her presentations: to be inspired, informed, and entertained. Not only will she shift your thinking about what the challenges that parents are facing in 2023: she’ll move you to action as well. Website and social media coordinates Website: anndouglas.ca Blog: www.anndouglas.net/blog/ Twitter: @anndouglas Instagram: @annmdouglas Facebook: @themotherofallbooks/ |
Michelle McVittie
Child Life Specialist and Parenting Coach
Michelle Mcvittie (she/her) has had a lifelong career working with children and families. Michelle is the parenting expert for CHCH Morning Live. She has worked in pediatric medical and mental health for over 20 yrs and has a B.A in sociology and post graduate diploma in Child Life Studies, both from McMaster University. Michelle sees parents 1:1, has on-demand parenting programs and does training for caregivers and professionals. Michelle's experience also comes from being a mom to two teenagers, she has been married to her husband for 20 years.
Website and social media coordinates Website: www.momthemanager.ca Instagram: @momthemanager Facebook: @momthemanager |
Deborah Bluestein
Surrey Place
Deborah Bluestein (she/her) has an undergraduate degree in Rehabilitation Services and a Master’s degree in Developmental Psychology and Education. For the past 25 years, Deborah has been working as a Parenting Enhancement Program Therapist at Surrey Place Centre in the Parenting Enhancement Program (PEP). She works with Parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), providing support and education around parenting skills. Recently, the PEP program received a 3-year grant from United Way. Deborah has taken on a grant management role and is currently developing prenatal, postnatal, and early childhood curriculum for parents with an IDD. Deborah is also a part-time professor at Seneca College in the Faculty of Continuing Education and Training.
Website and social media coordinates Website: www.surreyplace.ca Instagram: @surreyplace Facebook: @surreyplace |
Cheyenne Scarlett, ECE, BCD, MA ECS
Cheyenne Scarlett (she/her) is a perinatal health advocate, speaker, educator and mother to 4. Her advocacy work focus on improving the childbirth experience for Black birthing people in Canada. She is a co-founder of the Black Birth Project, a community research collective that focuses on advocating for the collection of race based data in Canada. While completing her Master’s degree in early childhood studies, Cheyenne conducted research with 30 women in the GTA about their childbirth experiences, a first of it’s kind. Cheyenne prioritizes supporting both families as well as health care professionals in order to create sustainable change within perinatal spaces.
Website and social media coordinates Website: Www.babyplanner.ca Email:[email protected] |
Sam Leeson
BabyReady
After working in the Standardized Patient Program at UWO, instructing medical students on the subtle nuances of performing physically and emotionally safe pelvic examinations, Sam Leeson (she/her) began a career as a birth worker (CBEd., Doula, LS, Fertility C&E) and has worked in that capacity for over 20 years. As a proud member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community she has focused her work in educating and assisting members of her community as they start and grow their families. Additionally, Sam works alongside care, providers and professionals alike to ensure that all of their communication, signage and web resources reflect dynamic DEI initiatives.
In 2022 Sam launched babyREADY’s “Not the Other” baby event. Comprised of interviews with professionals who work alongside couples and individuals as they seek to start or grow their family as well as conversations with parents of intentionally created families this ongoing, virtual event is created specifically with 2SLGBTQIA+ people in mind. All of the individuals interviewed share that identity. Website: https://www.babyready.info TikTok: @babyREADYlgbtq Instagram: @babyREADYlgbtq Facebook: @babyREADYinfo |
Paula D. Morrison
BORN Ontario
Paula (she/her) is a clinical content specialist at BORN Ontario with a focus on Public Health. She has had a diverse career in healthcare working in both community and hospital. She has devoted most of her career focused on maternal-child health. She is a registered nurse and holds a master's degree in Psychology specializing in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In her role at BORN, she has been the BORN clinical project lead of a partnership with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) with the provincial rollout of the BORN & HCD-ISCIS Integration Initiative (eHBHC). She has had a key role in the revitalization of the OMama website and app.
Email Paula - RN BScN, MSPsy |
Julie-Anne Mauno
Perinatal Support Worker & Educator
Julie-Anne Mauno (she/her) is a Registered Perinatal Support Worker (PNSW) with over 24 years of experience providing perinatal support and education to families and parents. She is a faculty member of the PNSW program at Mohawk College and the Perinatal Resource Project Lead on the research team for the Iligiingniq: Inuit Perinatal Health & Wellness Project in Arviat, Nunavut. Her work includes developing innovative perinatal programming, facilitating perinatal workshops and classes, and developing peer support groups for parents affected by perinatal mental health and infant and pregnancy loss. Julie-Anne has also facilitated Home Hospice Association’s Infant and Pregnancy Loss Doula program and is the founder of their Our Babies, Our Grief peer support group. Her values include empowerment, self-advocacy, and compassion. Julie-Anne strives to adopt a trauma-informed and decolonizing approach to her perinatal work.
Website and social media coordinatesInstagram: @positive_postpartum Facebook: @positiveperinatalservices website: www.babeez.ca website: www.pnsw.org |
Michelle Buckner
Breastfeeding Buddies
Michelle Buckner (she/her) is the mother of 3 breastfeed children, holds a degree in Social Work, was a La Leche League Leader for 15 years and currently coordinates the Breastfeeding Buddies Program in Waterloo Region, Canada. Michelle has been supporting women, parents and families for 20 years, has spoken at conferences across Canada on the topic of peer breastfeeding support, reaching priority populations, and engaging community partners in a collaborative peer lead model of support. Michelle is the co author of several provincial Best Start peer breastfeeding training courses, is a BFI Level 1 facilitator and the 18 hour WHO peer breastfeeding course. Michelle sat on the RNAO breastfeeding advisory panel, secured a large grant for breastfeeding advocacy, was awarded the Ontario Elementary Teachers Federation “Women Working in Social Activism” award and the Laurier University “Social Inclusion award” for her work with parents and children who face barriers to healthcare and breastfeeding/chestfeeding support.
Website and social media coordinates Website: www.breastfeedingbuddies.com Email: [email protected] |
Laurel Crossley
B.A. Child Studies, Faculty of Mindfullness
For over 25 years, Laurel's (she/her) teaching and speaking has spanned the globe. She is a Certified Adult Teacher having taught many campuses at Sheridan College for 14+ years.
She has made it her mission to ensure that families are well - mind, body and spirit. Her speaking and teaching come from lived experience as well as her 30+ years coaching families (parent and child). She teaches from the heart, incorporating humour and real life experiences that connects to every audience (adult, student or parent) in a way that stays with them long after they’ve heard her speak. She is the Founder of The Little Wellness Company Inc and the creator of numerous mindfulness initiatives including Meditating Munchkins™, Crazy for Crystals™ and Yay! Yoga™ in support of mental health. Laurel currently produces and co- hosts the podcast Boobs, Bods and Brains (dedicated to women’s wellness) and produced 2 tv series “Help! We’ve Got Anxiety” ™️ and “MomU!” Website and social media coordinates Website: www.laurelcrossley.com Email: [email protected] |
Shawn Gallagher, BCH
Shawn (she/her) entered the world of midwifery in the early 1980s as a volunteer for the Midwifery Task Force of Ontario (MTF-O), a consumer support group that was the precursor to the Ontario Midwifery Consumer Network (OMCN). As a part of the group of midwives who were grannied-in with the 1994 legislation, she is also a co-founder of Midwife Alliance in west Toronto.
She became a Board Certified Hypnotist (NGH) and retired from being an RM in order to do hypnosis full-time. She trained in HypnoBirthing® with the founder, Marie Mongan. She created the ChildbirthJoy Prenatal Hypnosis series that she has taught since 1999, is a HypnoFertility practitioner, and provides hypnosis for a range of presenting issues. Shawn had two homebirths with midwives in 1990 and 1996. Ever since Dr. Lamaze’s book Painless Childbirth, generations of women believed that if they just breathed in a certain way, they were guaranteed a pain-free birth. Doctors then started using hypnosis for birth preparation in the 50s and 60s with good success. Fast-forward into the 21st century and hypnosis is back in favour again. Website and social media coordinates Website: www.childbirthjoy.com Email: [email protected] |
Kamika Sylvester, BScN
Kamika Sylvester (she/her) is an Emergency Department travel nurse and consultant from Ontario currently working in Northern Alberta. She holds a BScN and a BSc in Life Sciences.While completing research during her nursing education, Kamika noticed the lack of race based data to support the narratives of black birth persons experiencing systemic racism in healthcare. She co-founded the Black Birth Project to improve reproductive health outcomes through community based-research, advocacy and developing educational materials.
Over the past 10 years, Kamika has worked with community and healthcare agencies to create affordable and culturally sensitive programming to positively engage racialized and vulnerable populations. Transitioning from urban to nursing in rural and remote communities, Kamika aims to find innovative solutions to overcome barriers to accessing perinatal care for persons experiencing poverty, addictions, mental health and racism. She offers culturally competent care in her personal nursing practice and workshops focused on advocacy and healthcare system navigation for patients. Kamika strives to find innovative solutions to support perinatal providers and pregnant persons in navigating the current healthcare climate with more efficiency and ease. Website and social media coordinates LinkedIn: Kamika Sylvester Website: www.rennel.co Email: [email protected] |