Our team
We’re a multidisciplinary team focused on student mental health. Our team includes mental health professionals, educators, system leaders, subject matter experts, and implementation scientists. The majority of our team supports School Mental Health Ontario part time. We also have committees to provide advice and feedback to help improve the effectiveness of our work. We are guided by a CODE (Council of Ontario Directors of Education) Advisory Team, ensuring our provincial school mental health strategy is aligned with priorities and practices in Ontario school districts.
Mental Health Promotion and Literacy
Deanna Swift
Mental Health Promotion and Literacy – Area Lead
dswift@smho-smso.ca
Mentally Healthy Systems
Denise Andre
System Leadership Consultant
Joan Kantola
System Leadership Consultant -northern focus
Louise Moreau
System Leadership Consultant
Monique Chartrand
System Leadership Consultant
Mentally Healthy Schools
Judith Desjardins
School Leadership Consultant
Monique Chartrand
System Leadership Consultant
Simone Rose-Oliver
Special Education Consultant
Toni Lauzon
Identity-Affirming School Mental Health Consultant
Wellness Promotion and Literacy
Deb Shackell
Mental Health Promotion Consultant – Wellness Promotion and Literacy
Stephanie Oliver
Mental Health Promotion Consultant – Wellness Promotion and Literacy
Susan Sweet
Mental Health Promotion Consultant – Wellness Promotion and Literacy
MH78 Implementation
Deb Shackell
Mental Health Promotion Consultant – Wellness Promotion and Literacy
Stephanie Oliver
Mental Health Promotion Consultant – Wellness Promotion and Literacy
Susan Sweet
Mental Health Promotion Consultant – Wellness Promotion and Literacy
Toni Lauzon
Identity-Affirming School Mental Health Consultant
Tony Calarco
Communication and Technical Services Consultant – Learning Management System and Information Technology
Early Identification and Student Support
Lindsay Bunn
Early Identification and Student Support – Area Lead
lbunn@smho-smso.ca
Student Support Staff
Camila Gonzalez
Early Identification and Support Consultant – Child and Youth Care Practitioner
Connor Lafortune
Indigenous Student Mental Health Consultant
Emily Taylor
Healthy Relationships Program for 2S/LGBTQIA+ Youth Program and Research Consultant
Special Education
Deb Crawford
Special Education and Mental Health Consultant
Simone Rose-Oliver
Special Education Consultant
Guidance Teachers
Edith St. Arnaud
Early Identification and Support Consultant
Theresa Wilson
Early Identification and Support Consultant
Prevention and Early Intervention
Gwendolyn Fearing - Afflick
Prevention and Early Intervention – Area Lead
gfearing-afflick@smho-smso.ca
Addictions Prevention
Gem Lee-Herder
Prevention and Early Intervention Consultant
Sylvie Ella Noutie
Prevention and Early Intervention Consultant
Eating Disorders Prevention
Ashley Hendy
Prevention and Early Intervention Consultant – northern focus
Learning and Training
Barbara Ward
Prevention and Early Intervention Consultant – Learning and Training
Elizabeth Paquette
Prevention and Early Intervention Consultant
Tracey Grose
Prevention and Early Intervention Consultant – Culturally Responsive Services
IA-SMH, Student and Parent/Caregiver Engagement, and Partnerships
Equity, Reconciliation, and Identity-Affirming SMH
Michelle Coutinho
Identity-Affirming School Mental Health Consultant
Saleem Haniff
Identity-Affirming School Mental Health Consultant
Toni Lauzon
Identity-Affirming School Mental Health Consultant
Student and Parent/Caregiver Engagement
Leshawn Benedict
Area Lead
Alina Medeiros
Student Engagement Consultant
Connor Lafortune
Indigenous Student Mental Health Consultant
Elo Igor
Student Equity and Mental Health Consultant
Gillian Gray
Parent/Caregiver Mental Health Literacy & Engagement Consultant
Huda Adnan
Newcomer Student Mental Health Consultant
System Collaboration
Heather Carter
Area Lead
Ashley Hendy
Youth suicide prevention / life promotion focus
Connor Lafortune
Youth suicide prevention / life promotion focus
Edith St. Arnaud
Right Time, Right Care / northern focus
Joan Kantola
Youth suicide prevention / life promotion focus
Maureen Mackay
Youth suicide prevention / life promotion focus
Tanja Steinbach
Indigenous student mental health focus
Strategic Communications
Brian Woodland
Operations, Administration, and Human Resources
Racquel Peters
Area Lead
Kim Chapman
Executive Assistant
Michele Lambie
Exectuive Assistant
Research, Evaluation and Monitoring
Kevin Runions
Evaluation and Monitoring Area Lead
krunions@smho-smso.ca
SMH Research Hub
Tracy Weaver
Research Assistant Consultant
SMH Innovation and Scale Up
Alexandra Fortier
Innovation, Scale-Up, and Research Mobilization Consultant
Tracy Weaver
Research Assistant Consultant
Research, Evaluation and Monitoring Support
Elana Gray
Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring Support Consultant
Tracy Weaver
Research Assistant Consultant
Trish Woehrle
Research, Evaluation and Measurement Consultant
Research Mobilization
Alexandra Fortier
Innovation, Scale-Up, and Research Mobilization Consultant
Louise Moreau
System Leadership Consultant
Tracy Weaver
Research Assistant Consultant
Implementation and Leadership Support
Jacquie Brown
Leadership and Implementation Support – Area Lead
jbrown@smho-smso.ca
Board/Regional Coaching
Central
Jacquie Brown
jbrown@smho-smso.ca
Michael Giffen
mgiffen@smho-smso.ca
Louise Moreau
lmoreau@smho-smso.ca
Toni Lauzon
tlauzon@smho-smso.ca
East
Elizabeth Paquette
epaquette@smho-smso.ca
Theresa Kennedy
tkennedy@smho-smso.ca
Tracey Grose
tgrose@smho-smso.ca
Theresa Wilson
twilson@smho-smso.ca
London
Andréanne Fleck Saito
aflecksaito@smho-smso.ca
Gwendolyn Fearing-Afflick
gfearing-afflick@smho-smso.ca
Lindsay Bunn
lbunn@smho-smso.ca
Michael Giffe
mgiffen@smho-smso.ca
Deborah Crawford
dcrawford@smho-smso.ca
Northwest
Ashley Hendy
ahendy@smho-smso.ca
Edith St. Arnaud
estarnaud@smho-smso.ca
Joan Kantola
jkantola@smho-smso.ca
North
Barbara Ward
bward@smho-smso.ca
Edith St. Arnaud
estarnaud@smho-smso.ca
Deanna Swift
dswift@smho-smso.ca
Toronto
Andréanne Fleck Saito
aflecksaito@smho-smso.ca
Jacquie Brown
jbrown@smho-smso.ca
Michael Giffen
mgiffen@smho-smso.ca
Specialty Coaching*
Elizabeth Paquette
Early years mental health
Ashley Hendy
Eating disorder prevention
Gillian Gray
Parent/caregiver mental health literacy & engagement
Saleem Haniff
Identity-affirming school mental health
Tanja Steinbach
Indigenous mental health
Deanna Swift
Mental health promotion
Elana Gray
Research and evaluation
Heather Carter
Right Time Right Care system collaboration
Leshawn Benedict
Student engagement
Gwendolyn Fearing-Afflick
Substance use prevention
Maureen Mackay
Suicide prevention
*in collaboration with IS coaches
Mental Health Leadership Team Learning and Support
Alexandra Fortier
Andreanne Fleck Saito
Denise Andre
Elizabeth Paquette
Jacquie Brown
Joan Kantola
Louise Moreau
Monique Chartrand
Tracey Grose
Theresa Wilson
MH Leadership Team Learning and Support
Kathy Short
Executive Director
kshort@smho-smso.ca
Theresa Kennedy
Associate Director
tkennedy@smho-smso.ca
Communication and Technical Support
Dani Rathwell
Communication and Technical Support Area Lead
drathwell@smho-smso.ca
Digital Content/Social Media and External Communications
Ashley An
Communication Consultant
Sarah Stright
Communication Officer
Internal Communications
(Vacant)
Communication Officer
Shelly Upson
Communication and Technical Services Consultant
Technical Support
Chris Pagliari
Information Technology Consultant
Tony Calarco
Communication and Technical Services Consultant – Learning Management System and Information Technology
Translation Services
Christine Massoda
Translation Consultant
Lucie Lauzon
Translation Consultant
Marsha Gillis
Translation Services Coordination Consultant
Melissa Gagnon
Translation Consultant
Graphic Design and Video
Ashley An
Communication Consultant