PAST CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

 David was born and raised in Fredericton New Brunswick and attended High School at Ecole Sainte Anne in 2013. After graduating he moved to New York for University where he graduated from Siena College in 2017 with a bachelor’s in finance and a minor in Information Systems! In 2019 he returned to his hometown to complete a master's in engineering in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of New Brunswick. Itoafa joins the McKenna Institute after 3 years of work with LifeTrack Safety Systems where he worked as the Chief Financial and Operations Officer.

David is passionate about soccer and speaks French, Romanian, and English, and loves learning about how emerging technology can positively impact the world.

 Dan Smeby is an advocate for ‘mental health’ through the arts. He facilitates mindfulness and arts

programming for the dis/ability community as a support worker for Key Industries in Saint John, NB. He has

completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Art Education and Psychology. And most

recently has completed Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum Training with the Institute for

Development of the Arts (IDHA) in New York City.

Dan’s film #Kreyzee, co-directed/produced with Robyn Badger, was distributed by the Canadian Mental Health

Association (Halifax-Dartmouth Branch) during Mental Health Awareness Week in 2022. The film was

presented as a workshop during the 24th Annual Collaborative Mental Health Conference in Vancouver, BC, in

2023. And most recently, has been awarded official selection at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival and

the New York Tri-State International Film Festival upcoming this year, in 2024.

Dillon Long grew up in Bathurst, NB.  By the time he graduated from high school he had experienced a number of different types of drugs, but addiction and becoming a full-blown drug addict had never been on his radar until the day he was introduced to opiates. (Specifically Diladid)  His world was turned upside down as he tried to survive the roller-coaster ride of chaos which had become his life.  He now shares with others the details of his crazy life that once revolved around opiates, how he got to his "rock bottom", and the rehabilitation process that helped him get on track to a road of recovery. 

 Niko Coady (she/her) graduated from UNB with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Gender and Women's Studies and Psychology, alongside a certificate in family violence issues in May 2022. She is currently working as a Partnership Coordinator for REES and will be attending McGill University for her Masters Degree in the fall. 

 Renée Matte is a mental performance consultant with the Canadian Sport Center Atlantic and has been working with athletes, coaches, and sports organizations for the past decade. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Psychology at UNB and has completed a Master's in sport psychology as well as Bachelor degree in the field. Her research has focused on performance enhancement, coach and athlete behaviour, and hazing in athletics. In addition to consulting and completing her graduate studies, Renée also teaches a Psychology of the Internet course at UNB and coaches artistic swimming in Woodstock and Oromocto. 

 "My name is Justice Gruben, I am a Wolastoqiyik man from the traditional Territory of the Wolastoq people. I grew up in the small community of Kingsclear First Nation, and I have lived there all of my life. I love my home and my people, and a big focus that I have is assisting in community development and changing the narrative for Indigenous Peoples. A central focus in my day-to-day life is on social justice, human rights, and community engagement. I am currently going onto my fourth year of university, with a major in Latin American History and a minor in sociology at St. Francis Xavier University. I attended the 2019 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and I currently work within my own community doing cultural revitalization work through basketry/basket-making, as well as working closely with at-risk-youth. Along with this, I’ve established great relationships with elders, community members, chief and council, and traditional and ceremonial knowledge holders abroad." 

Keyaira Gruben is a 24 year old Inuk and Wolastoqiyik woman, mother, student, and leader in her community of Kingsclear First Nation. She graduated from St. Thomas with her Bachelor of Arts and majored in Indigenous studies and psychology, as well as minored in sociology. 

She is a current social work student who is passionate about social justice, advocating for Indigenous rights. Keyaira is a single mother to a beautiful daughter named Cedar, a strongly rooted Indigenous woman within community, family, and is committed to be lifelong learner of language, and traditional and ceremonial knowledge.

Dr. Parissa Bunin, ND, graduated with a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of New Brunswick in 1994. She is certified in Massage Therapy by both the Dunedin College of Health (New Zealand) in 1995 and Kine Concept (New Brunswick) in 1996. Dr. Bunin further completed the four-year, full-time post-graduate program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, the only accredited Naturopathic College in Canada at the time. she is also an active member of the New Brunswick Association of Naturopathic Doctors.  She serves on the Board of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors and is also a member of the Association of New Brunswick Massage Therapists.  In addition to having a full time practice, which she shares with her husband, Dr. Judah Bunin, she also lectures at the Atlantic College of Therapeutic Massage.  Her passion is to provide naturopathic care to underprivileged communities in Africa and Haiti. 

"My name is Chelsey Daley and while originally from Moncton NB I’ve been calling Fredericton home for the past 7 years. I’m 2015 I graduated from St. Thomas university and married my high school sweetheart. 2017 I decided to dive into the world of entrepreneurship and opened Sequoia Fredericton a successful health food store in the heart of downtown. 2018 was the most amazing year as we welcomed our beautiful baby girl Hadley into the world. These days if I’m not at the store you can find me spending time with my family, running with my dogs, and enjoying the outdoors. I’m passionate about wellness, nutrition and fitness and hope to inspire others along the way." 

Merina Farrell, owner of Merina Wellness is passionate about inspiring and educating people to lead healthier lives. After graduating from the University of Guelph in Ontario with a degree in Nutrition, Merina decided to sell it all and bike around the world for almost 5 years, touring 64 countries and covering over 72,000km. She decided to call New Brunswick her home and has carried her energy and enthusiasm into her career as a Wellness Coach, Nutritionist, Motivational Speaker, Personal Trainer, Fitness and YOGA instructor, Essential Oil Wellness Advocate and raising her two beautiful daughters. 

Merina is also an active outdoors person and a competitive triathlete and preparing to head to Netherlands this fall to compete in the the World’s Multi-sport championship representing Canada for the third time.

With over 30 years in the Wellness business, Merina knows how to help people rise up and  live their best lives. 

Merina’s focus has shifted to mental-health as it is challenging an increasing number of her clients and people in general.  She has found a significant positive shift in her clients depression, anxiety, panic attacks using a multitude of holistic modalities including: exercise, nutrition, gut healing, YOGA and mediation, mindfulness, counseling, essential oils, connectivity, etc...

Non-medicinal approaches have been found to be as effective or more effective in helping people dealing with mental wellness with no side effects. 

Her message: Please do not suffer in silence; there are powerful, fast-acting, effective, all-natural and inexpensive solutions available for you!

 Michelle is a Hypnotherapist and Mindset Coach, and owner of Starbright Mind.

Her knowledge and skills come from a variety of backgrounds. With degrees in Engineering and Applied Arts as well as certifications in Fashion Design, Reiki, Hypnotherapy, and Life Coaching, Michelle is always exploring the nuanced connection between seemingly unrelated things.

She helps clients ‘connect the dots’ within their minds to discover and release unconscious blocks, and align to their desires… making the process of achieving their goals effortless and enjoyable.

With a mind-over-matter approach, Michelle emphasizes and promotes the power of self-compassion in all areas of life.

  Cristian Sanabria Vera (he/him/il), is a Peruvian lawyer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and Master of Political Science from the University of New Brunswick. He works as a caseworker at the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre NGO. His research focuses on the discrimination suffered by temporary Latin American workers in rural areas of New Brunswick. He is also a member of the Latin Community of Fredericton since 2022.  

 Matthew MacLean is the Mental Health Strategist at the University of New Brunswick and lives with his wife and son in Mactaquac, NB. With a background in counseling, mental health and accessibility, Matt has worked in Higher Education for fifteen years across multiple provinces and institutions. Matt has a particular interest in peer-based support, international student wellbeing, belonging, EDI, mental health literacy and positive psychology. 

 Alyssa Boudreau (she/her) has recently graduated from the Master of Education in Counselling program at UNB and is now a Licensed Counselling Therapist Candidate and Canadian Certified Counsellor who works from a strengths-based and interpersonal process approach, and has received introductory training in Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy. 

Dr. Cindy Letts is a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked at the Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinic in Fredericton since it opened in 2008.  As part of the OSI Clinic interdisciplinary team of professionals, Dr. Letts provides assessment and treatment services to Canadian Forces veterans and active and retired RCMP members.  She is a Prolonged Exposure Therapy certified therapist and supervisor, a quality rated Cognitive Processing Therapy provider, and CACBT-ACTCC certified in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Dr. Julie Devlin obtained her doctorate in psychology in 2010 from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. Her focus was conceptual model building in complex systems and questionnaire design and development. From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Devlin was the Research and Program Evaluation Officer at the Operational Stress Injury Clinic (OSIC) in Fredericton, New Brunswick. While in this position, she conducted operational stress injury research for the Canadian Forces and the RCMP. From 2014 to present, Dr. Devlin manages the OSIC. Dr. Devlin has also been working with the Wellness Unit within the Ontario Provincial Police since 2015. In this position, Dr. Devlin has aided in the development of their mental health strategy, an implementation plan, and ongoing program evaluation including collecting baseline data on operational stress injuries and their risk and protective factors. Dr. Devlin is also a Master Trainer with the Mental Health Commission of Canada and has trained extensively over the past five years with first responder and civilian organizations in The Road to Mental Readiness and The Working Mind. For the past three years, Dr. Devlin has also been working with the National Police Force in Ukraine to support the development of a mental health strategy. Most recently, she has been working with the Canadian Red Cross Risk Services as well as the Community and Public Service Union in Victoria, Australia in the development of their mental health strategy. For 10 years before obtaining her doctorate, Dr. Devlin conducted workplace audits and co-developed and delivered workshops in the areas of stress management, workplace conflict, and work/home balance across Canada and the United States. In October 2018, Dr. Devlin was appointed an Honorary Inspector of the Ontario Provincial Police. She is also a member of the Psychological Services Subcommittee within the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. 

The New Brunswick Association for Community Living NBACL is a provincial bilingual non-profit organization that works on behalf of children and adults with an intellectual or developmental disability and their families. It is through this work with individuals and families and through building capacity in communities that NBACL is leading the creation of opportunities for individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability to live full and valued lives in all aspects of society.

As Executive Director at NBACL, Sarah is responsible for the strategic and operational functions of the Association, staff management and development; fund development; public relations; government relations; partnership development; and volunteer recruitment. Sarah holds a Master of Arts in Sport and Recreation Studies from the University of New Brunswick and a Bachelor of Recreation Management from Acadia University.

This year, NBACL is placing a key focus on supporting individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability to access mental health services and support. Lack of access to appropriate supports and services for people with dual diagnosis is an emerging concern within New Brunswick and throughout Canada. Research shows that 30% of people with a developmental disability have a co-occurring mental health disorder and that youth with autism have rates of mental illness of over 50%.

In March 2019, NBACL released its Brief on Equal Access to Mental Health Services and Well-Being for People with an Intellectual or Developmental Disability, which outlines the main issues affecting the lack of mental health responses for this population and identifies concrete solutions to address these issues. Through Sarah’s presentation, “Mental Health and Intellectual/Developmental Disability,” you will learn more about NBACL’s current advocacy work on creating opportunities for a coordinated approach to ensuring that individuals with dual diagnosis have access to appropriate supports and services to address their mental health needs. 

Airica MacDougall recently graduated from UNB with a Bachelor in Arts in psychology. Currently, she works at the Centre for Innovation and Research in Aging (CIRA) as a research assistant and at the New Brunswick Community Residences (NBCR) as a mental health facility support worker. On her days off Airica enjoys spending time with loved ones, snuggling her cat, sipping tea, and watching Netflix. In the future, Airica aspires to be a social worker who supports those living with mental illness.

Justine Henry is the Manager of Research Services at the Centre for Innovation and Research in Aging (CIRA) housed within New Brunswick’s largest long-term care facility, York Care Centre. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Mount Allison University and a Master of Science in Kinesiology from UNB. She has extensive research experience in many fields including behavioural pharmacology, exercise psychology and human sexuality. Currently, she is involved in several research projects targeted at improving the quality of life of older adults in long-term care.