Speaker Bios

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

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  Dr. Robert Quinn

  Robert E. Quinn, holds the Margaret Elliot Tracey Collegiate Professorship at the University of Michigan and serves on the faculty of Organization and Management at the Ross School of Business. He is one of the co-founders and the current Director of the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship. He has published 16 books. He is particularly known for his work on the competing values framework. It has been used by organizations across the planet and thousands of managers have been trained in the use of his methods. He has thirty years of experience consulting with major corporations and government agencies. He is a fellow of the Academy of Management and the World Business Academy. He was a co-recipient of the Academy of Management’s 2010 Martin Trail Blazer Award for opening new directions in the field of organization theory. He is also the recipient of the 2011 Marion F. Gislason Award, presented by the Executive Development Roundtable for life-long contributions to the field and practices of leadership.

• 

  Dr. Michael A. West

  Dr. Michael West, Europe’s leading expert on teamwork and patient care, is Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology at Lancaster University Management School, Senior Research Fellow at The Work Foundation and Emeritus Professor at Aston University. He was formerly Executive Dean of Aston Business School. He graduated from the University of Wales in 1973 and received his PhD in 1977.

  He has authored, edited or co-edited a number of books including The Psychology of Work and Organizations (2010); The Essentials of Teamworking: International Perspectives (2005); Teamwork, Teamdiagnose, Teamentwicklung [Team work, team diagnosis, team building] (2005); Effective Teamwork (3rd edition, 2012) the first edition of which has been translated into 12 languages; Building Team-Based Working: A Practical Guide to Organizational Transformation (with Lynn Markiewicz, 2004); The Secrets of Successful Team Management (2004); The International Handbook of Organizational Teamwork and Cooperative Working (2003); Effective Top Management Teams (2001); Developing Creativity in Organizations (1997) and the Handbook of Workgroup Psychology (1996,). He has also published over 200 articles for scientific and practitioner publications, as well as chapters in scholarly books. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, the American Psychological Association (APA), the APA Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the International Association of Applied Psychologists, the British Academy of Management and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He is an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences.

  His areas of research interest are well being and effectiveness at work, and team and organizational innovation and effectiveness, particularly in relation to the organization of health services. He lectures widely both nationally and internationally about the results of his research and his solutions for developing effective and innovative organizations.

CONFERENCE MODERATOR

• 

  Marie Mac Donald

  This year’s moderator, Marie Mac Donald, has been a delegate, ambassador, moderator or presenter at almost every conference since Health Work & Wellness™ began over 15 years ago. Marie has more than 20 years of facilitation experience, much of it focused on creating experiential learning opportunities to support organizational culture shifts. She has served on the faculty of the Social Service Worker Program at Langara College in Vancouver BC, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Dalhousie University. Marie is a coach, leader and speaker in the area of workplace change. She works with senior executives through her consulting company, guiding them and their employees through challenging business situations. Marie’s practice is grounded in a philosophy of personal resilience using leading-edge techniques to bring out the best in people at work.

PROGRAM SPEAKERS

• 

  Mark Attridge

  Dr. Mark Attridge is a social psychologist and research consultant in independent practice as President of Attridge Consulting, Inc. Based in Minneapolis, he consults with clients throughout Canada and the United States. He has experience with a range of employee health management specialty services but has been most active in the field of workplace mental health and the area of employee and family assistance programs in particular.

  Mark is a prolific writer, scholar and teacher. He has authored more than 100 peer-review papers, book chapters, white papers, trade articles and conference papers on topics in health care, psychology and communication. As an academic, Mark taught over 50 sections of university courses at the undergraduate and graduate level on a variety of topics in communication and psychology.

  He currently leads professional trainings and workshops in the area research-based best practices in workplace health services. These trainings are done both in-person onsite at client and conference settings and also online via the Internet.

  Previously, Mark was the Director of the National Data Cooperative for the U.S. market at the employee health benefits consulting company Watson Wyatt Worldwide. For 10 years he was a principal consultant and managed the applied research department at Optum, a division of United Healthcare. Optum provides EFAP, nurse advice line, Internet health resources, self-care books, newsletters and other specialty health and disease management services to employers, health plans and organizations.

  He holds a Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota, a M.A. degree in communication from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and a B.A. degree in psychology (cum laude honors) from the University of Minnesota at Duluth.

  Mark was Chair of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) Research Committee for several years. He was the co-recipient of the 2009 Member of the Year Award from the Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA) for editing and co-authoring the EASNA report Selecting and Strengthening EmployeeAssistance Programs: A Purchasers Guide. He is co-editor of a research-based book in 2005 on the integration of employee assistance, work/life and wellness and has written chapters on EFAPs in five recent books on workplace health and organizational wellness.

  Mark serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Employee Assistance, the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health: Employee Assistance Practice and Research, EASNA Research Notes, and is also a scientific merit reviewer for the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. government.

  He has written a series of major white papers for business and professional audiences that have reviewed the academic and applied industry literature on workplace mental health, addiction, disability and related topics for Homewood Human Solutions, the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health (American Psychiatric Association) and Watson Wyatt Canada.

  In 2010, he was the rapporteur for two major research to practice symposia for the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (sponsored by the Norlien Foundation) on the topics of early child development and the links to the development and effective treatment of addictions later in life. Mark was also a presenter on mental health and addiction issues in the workplace at the first two annual Action On Wellness conferences in 2010 and 2011 sponsored by the government of Alberta. He is a frequent keynote and plenary speaker at various international conferences in the field of employee assistance.

• 

  Mary Ann Bayton

  Mary Ann Baynton is the principal of Mary Ann Baynton & Associates Consulting. She works with employers, organizations, unions and associations that wish to improve, address or resolve workplace issues related to individual or organizational mental health issues. She is the author of Resolving Workplace Issues and co-author (with Dr. Martin Shain) of Preventing Workplace Meltdown: An Employer’s Guide to Maintaining a Psychologically Safe Workplace.

  She currently serves as a member of the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Workforce Advisory Committee, co-chair on the Technical Committee for the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace and as the Program Director for the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, which is a long-term public service commitment by The Great-West Life Assurance Company.

• 

  Michelle Bourgoin

  Michelle Bourgoin has 28 years of experience in the field of health and wellness holding a number of senior positions in both the public and private sectors including hospitals and regional health authorities in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.

  She has acted as a consultant for various national and provincial research projects related to education, health and wellness along with coordinating and writing a number of health and wellness strategic plans, the most recent of which dealt with addictions services for the Province of New Brunswick.

  Michelle has a long history of working directly with populations at risk in the context of applied research and has helped in the wellness management of individuals and communities.

  Since joining the Department of Culture, Tourism and Health Living, Michelle has shared an expanded vision of wellness, and her aim is to work closely with partners to pursue the development of wellness in New Brunswick and the Atlantic region. She is leading the Government of New Brunswick four year Comprehensive Workplace Wellness initiative with approximately 5,000 participating employees.

  Michelle Bourgoin has a Master’s degree in Health Administration and a Bachelor of Education degree.

• 

  Dr. Pierre Durand

  Dr. Pierre Durand holds a doctorate in epidemiology & Biostatistics from School of Occupational Health at McGill University and an executive MBA from the Université de Sherbrooke. He is a full professor at the School of Industrial Relations, University of Montreal, and is in charge of the D.E.S.S. program in Occupational Health and Safety management. He also conducts research at the Université de Montréal’s Public Health Research Institute, for which he partners with multinational companies in the mining, manufacturing and financial industries. His research interests have included company health and employee assistance programs. He has published a number of scientific articles and his current research focuses on the impact of occupational factors on mental health.

• 

  Alan Fine

  Alan Fine is founder and president of InsideOut Development, an innovative and fast-growing professional services firm specializing in corporate training, executive coaching, and organization consulting services. In addition to being a popular trainer and speaker, Alan has spent the last 25 years as a mental performance/focus coach to top professional tennis players and golfers, musicians, and corporate executives.

  Twenty-five years ago, Alan developed the GROW Model, a basic performance model considered by many to be the gold-standard approach among executive coaches and corporate leaders worldwide. Alan?s approach to performance breakthroughs comes most often, not from acquiring additional knowledge, but from removing internal interference that allows people to act on what they already know. Good decisions lead to effective actions leading to productive results. In addition to his work consulting with Fortune 500 leaders, Alan is also very much in demand as a speaker and thought leader, where he incorporates an engaging mix of humor and commentary drawn from the performance-driven world of the professional athlete.

  During his presentation, Alan will share his experiences from the arenas of professional sports and business on how people learn and perform?even under pressure. He will introduce and explore the world-renowned GROW Model he co-developed that has been applied successfully to individuals, teams, and organizations in many industries and fields. His unique combination of humor and raw-edged truth will resonate deeply with employees.

• 

  Emmanuelle Gaudette

  Emmanuelle Gaudette is Prevention & Health promotion manager at Standard Life and has been working for more than 8 years in designing, implementing and evaluating workplace prevention and health promotion programs. Those programs have been implemented in different types of organizations with different realities. She has been involved in the research project called “Making the business case for workplace health and wellness” with the Conference board.

• 

  Vince Gowmon

  Vince Gowmon, CPCC, BBA is the founder of Remembering to Play Events, a company dedicated to provided fun and interactive learning experiences for communities and organizations.

  Throughout Canada, Vince leads custom designed, experiential workshops, as well as keynote presentations, on all aspects of well-being. Topics include: Leadership, Communication, Intuition, Inclusion, Community Engagement, Creativity, Teambuilding, and Play. His clients include Parks & Recreation, Ministry of Social Services, Government Municipalities, Health Care, Education, and Aboriginal Communities.

  Vince also has a thriving coaching practice where he supports everyone from single mothers to executive directors to live healthy and balanced lives.

  Vince is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach trained through one of the world?s top accredited coaching programs, The Coaches Training Institute, and their Leadership Program. He has also received advanced training in Organization Relationship & Systems Coaching through the Centre for Right Relationship. And he is also a graduate of Simon Fraser University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration focusing on Human Resources, Marketing and International Business.

  Vince has been featured in the media several times including BCTV, City TV, CKNW Radio and The Coaching Show.

  Vince volunteers his time for various organizations including the North Vancouver Recreation Commission, Friends for Life for people with life-threatening illnesses, the NorVan Boys & Girls Club, and the Canadian Cancer Society.
  For complete information on Vince and his services please visit www.rememberingtoplay.com.

• 

  Steven Hughes

  Steven Hughes, M.Ed. is the Manager of Education and Training for CTI Canadian Training Institute in Toronto. Steven has worked in the social service support system for over 25 years. As a life-long learner, Steven has interests in adult education, accelerated learning, dialogue methods, violence prevention in organizations, Appreciative Inquiry, and practices that help individuals cultivate self-awareness and unlock their full potential. Steven is committed to bringing positive energy to organizations so that individuals in the workplace can flourish and make their unique and valued contributions to the world.

• 

  Val Kinjerski

  Val Kinjerski, PhD, principal consultant with Kaizen Solutions, has a passion for spirit at work that is rooted in her long-standing interest in personal and organizational wellness. She is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of spirit at work (that sense that our work is fulfilling, engaging, and energizing). An inspirational speaker, facilitator and consultant, Val helps employees to re-engage with their work, have renewed enthusiasm for their company and be more productive. She has shown that spirit at work is not a pipe dream or the result of lucky circumstances. It is available to anyone; it can and should be fostered.

  Val’s knowledge stems from results-based research and on-the-ground testing. She holds a PhD from the University of Alberta where she researched spirit at work, what it is, how it develops, and the personal strategies and organizational conditions that foster the experience. Based on this research and experience, Val developed and tested her spirit-at-work program.

  Using a heart-centered, people-first approach, Val works with organizations to transform them into purpose-driven, value-focused companies where employees are fully engaged and productive. She facilitates individuals, teams and organizations to rethink their work and “get to the heart of what matters.” Participation in the program leads to a profound sense of well-being, renewed enthusiasm for work and increased job satisfaction. Morale improves, commitment to one’s work and organization increases, and teamwork is enhanced. At the same time, absenteeism and turnover goes down; productivity goes up. Simply by rethinking work.

  The original Spirit at Work Scale she developed is gaining international recognition and demonstrated to be effective in diverse employment sectors. The scale has also been central in establishing firm evidence of correlation between spirit at work and wellness, performance and retention. Val’s work and research have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and featured in the national press. She has presented at several national and international conferences.

  Prior to dedicating herself to the creation of spirit at work, Val enjoyed an 18-year career in the public service—from front-line positions to senior management. She knows first-hand the challenges and rewards of working in demanding environments. Val also knows that, through rethinking work and getting to the heart of what matters, spirit at work can be cultivated, addressing workplace challenges such as employee engagement and productivity, high rates of absenteeism, low employee morale and burnout, team building, and recruitment and retention.

  Today, Val works with organizations—especially in the public sector, health care, and social work—to create the conditions that foster and sustain employee engagement and spirit at work. Knowing that the creation of spirit at work is a shared responsibility between the employer and employee, she also shows employees how to take responsibility for the creation of their own spirit at work.

  Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work: Getting to the Heart of What Matters and accompanying guidebook.

• 

  Georgina MacDonald

  Georgina MacDonald is the Vice President of Planning and Improvement in the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). In this role, Georgina and her team are responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organization as well as leading community engagement, process improvement, performance monitoring and providing advanced analytics. VIHA recognizes the need to significantly change the way services are delivered into the future as a result of the aging population and workforce. Georgina’s team plays a critical role in providing leadership, as well as involving and supporting the organization on this transformative journey. Georgina has held senior health leadership roles in both Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

• 

  Jean-Marc MacKenzie

  Jean-Marc MacKenzie is Senior Vice-President, Health Management at Morneau Shepell. A key leader in the development, growth, and success of the health management line of business, Jean-Marc works with organizations to provide integrated, effective health programs that manage the wellness of organizations and their employees.

  Prior to joining Morneau Shepell, Jean-Marc spent nine years at Medcan Health Management where he managed the Medcan Clinic, serving as Senior Vice-President and General Manager, Corporate Services. In this role he led the development of working relationships with First Nation communities to advance health management projects in their communities and establish joint venture opportunities for the delivery of health management services. He continues to serve as the President of Innu-Med (a joint venture between the Innu population and Medcan) which was awarded an Atlantic Canada Aboriginal Award for its commitment to the aboriginal business community.

  Jean-Marc is a member of the Ontario Bar (Osgoode Hall) and has a Masters in Health Administration and a BA from Dalhousie University.

• 

  Catherine Morisset

  Catherine Morisset is a Wellness & Performance Coach and training consultant with over 20 years of experience. Catherine is a passionate, dynamic facilitator who aims at helping individuals and organizations plan and integrate efficient changes to improve wellness and resilience. Her purpose is to make positive change strategies easy and practical, with the least time and energy investment for the best outcomes. She brings to her work dedication and a broad view of individual and workplace wellness, fuelled by her expertise in wellness-related fields. Her focus is to encourage healthy, resilient leadership and individuals in healthy organizations.

  For the past five years, Catherine has been the wellness coach on faculty for the Canada School of Public Service Senior Leadership Programs, delivering group sessions and individual coaching to thousands of executives in the federal public service. She has designed and delivered training and group interventions in: resilience-building, change management, team-building, work-life balance, stress management, dealing with change and uncertainty, healthy leadership and performant/resilient organizations.

  Some of her government clients are: Library & Archives Canada, CIDA, Canada Revenue Agency, Privy Council Office, DFAIT, Treasury Board, Justice Canada, HRSDC, Health Canada and the RCMP. Other clients include the Osteoporosis Society of Canada and the City of Ottawa.

  She is a regular service provider for Health Canada Specialized Organizational Services (SOS), and has provided hundreds of workshops, seminars and other group interventions focusing on individual and organizational wellness and resilience.

  Catherine holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Ottawa, a Life Coach Certification with the Institute for Life Coach Training; she is a professional member of the International Coach Federation and member of the board for the Ottawa chapter. She is a former fitness and lifestyle consultant, with expertise and certifications in areas of personal health practices, including aging and health issues; she is a certified yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (e-RYT); she is a certified fitness, wellness and nutrition specialist with CALA (Canadian Aquafitness Leadership Alliance) and Can-Fit-Pro.

  Catherine designs and delivers wellness, performance and resilience group and individual sessions through her own company, ImaginePLUS, and delivers services in French, English and Spanish both nationally and internationally.

• 

  Tammy Robertson

  Tammy Robertson is a leadership coach, coauthor of two books, and professional speaker to audiences across North America Tammy inspires and challenges her audiences to “Get Your Heart in the Game!”
  Tammy Robertson has a Masters Degree in Physical and Health Education from the University of Western Ontario, with over 25 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience. Tammy teaches at two universities and is presently part of an international team of coaches delivering the Coaching for Great Work Program?. She has trained with Coaching Training Institute and Newfield Institute and provides life and leadership programs to a diverse range of business groups, organizations and associations. Tammy is also a Founder of RealTalk, a global community committed to improving communication and relationships one real talk at a time. Known for her impact and the ability to ignite positive change and renewed energy in organizational culture, she is also a frequent commentator in the media on workplace wellness.

• 

  Nan Russell

  From minimum wage employee to former Vice President of multi-billion dollar QVC, Nan Russell knows what it takes to survive and thrive in this what-have-you-done-for-me-today world. In leadership roles transforming a corporate culture to heading a new subsidiary, the launch of which was reported in both the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, she offers real-world experience with a motivational and business context.

  Nan has spent over twenty years in management holding executive positions in human resources, communication, marketing and line management. She was the architect and influence leader of a culture transformation for 10,000 employees. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan.

  Leaving the corporate world to pursue a life-dream to work and write from the mountains of northwestern Montana. Today she is an award winning author, workplace expert, and professional speaker.

  Her third book, The Titleless Leader: How to Get Things Done When You’re Not in Charge launches in May 2012. Her second book, Hitting Your Stride won a 2009 Axiom Business Book Award, and her first book, Nibble Your Way to Success debuted in 2007. Her syndicated work insights column, Winning at Working, appears in over ninety publications. She also is the job loss recovery expert for Job-Hunt.org and a blogger for Psychology Today on the topic of Trust: The New Workplace Currency.

  Nan Russell is President of MountainWorks Communications LLC, a company she founded in 2006 to support her passion for helping organizations build winning work cultures, and helping people bring the best of who they are to the world, realize their dreams, and live their life’s potential. More about Nan and her work can be found at www.nanrussell.com

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  Billy Strean

  Billy Strean, Ph.D., Chief Exhilaration Officer – Psyched for Work Professor – Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. A former NCAA athlete and coach, Dr. Billy Strean has a doctorate in sport and exercise psychology from the University of Illinois. He is also a Certified Somatic Coach (Strozzi Institute), a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, a Certified Laughter Leader and a Certified Professional Co-active Coach. It is precisely this eclectic range of disciplines and fields of study — somatics, sport psychology, laughter and play, and his 25 years of teaching experience — that is the foundation of Dr. Strean’s success both in the classroom as well as outside the classroom as keynote speaker and workshop facilitator.

  In 2008, Dr. Strean received the University of Alberta’s Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. During the same year, he published The HoHo Dojo: Lighten Up and Love Life Laughing. In 2011, Dr. Strean won the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship.

  Dr. Strean has extensive education and experience in both the science behind healthy sleeping, eating, and moving and also in helping individuals and organizations to implement positive changes based on this information.