Caring for Communities Conference

Dacia Douhaibi is a strategic planner, facilitator, and organizational development consultant with more than 15 years of experience supporting organizations through change. As Founder and Lead Consultant of Foxfire Collective, she works with organizations across British Columbia to strengthen governance, workplace culture, equity, accessibility, and inclusive leadership. Dacia is recognized for creating learning experiences that bridge research and practice, helping organizations translate complex conversations about identity, power, and belonging into meaningful action and lasting organizational change.

This opening invites us to arrive with intention, reflect on what it means to centre workers as whole people, and explore how identity, power, accessibility, accountability, and cultural humility shape psychologically healthier workplaces. Together, we will establish the conditions for meaningful learning, dialogue, and collective care throughout the conference.

Len Pierre is Coast Salish from Katzie (kate-zee) First Nation. An award-winning entrepreneur, consultant and educator, he specializes in decolonization- and reconciliation-centred learning. He holds a master’s degree in education from Simon Fraser University and brings extensive experience in Indigenous education and program leadership across Canada.

Frontline community social service workers carry immense responsibility in supporting people, families, and communities through some of life’s most complex challenges. This keynote invites participants to explore how Indigenous Cultural Safety and decolonization can strengthen both the care we offer others and the care we extend to ourselves and one another.

Through the teachings of The Circle and The Box, participants will reflect on how colonial systems shape workplace culture, mental health, power, and relationships. Together, we will explore practical Indigenous Cultural Safety tools to support more relational, psychologically safer, and culturally responsive approaches to community care.

Jennifer Irwin, CRSP, RPC, is a seasoned safety and mental health professional with over 18 years of experience across various industries, including mining, road construction, container terminals, and municipal government. Currently, she serves as an Industry Program Specialist at WorkSafeBC, focusing on mental health injury prevention in the workplace.

Jennifer holds two diplomas and professional certifications; one in Occupational Health and Safety and another in Counseling, along with a certificate in Life Coaching. Her unique combination of expertise in both safety and mental health drives her passion for integrating psychological safety into the heart of occupational health and safety practices.

She is deeply committed to fostering a mindset that values both safety and mental well-being from the start of the workday to its close. Jennifer firmly believes that we work to live, not the other way around, and is dedicated to ensuring that everyone goes home healthy and safe every day.

This session examines resilience, psychological health and safety, and how workplace conditions can influence both mental and physical injury risks. Learn how reducing stigma, strengthening resilience, and connecting workers to supports can contribute to healthier workplaces, while exploring WorkSafeBC resources for injury prevention, response, and recovery.

Heather McCain (they/them) is the Founder and Executive Director of Live Educate Transform Society (LET’S), a disability justice–focused organization dedicated to advancing equity through lived expertise. With over 20 years of experience, Heather works across sectors, Heather works across sectors with communities, organizations, and leadership teams to build and strengthen accessible, neuro-affirming, trauma-engaged practices.

Heather utilizes their experiences as a person with intersecting identities (asexual/aromantic, disabled, neurodivergent, queer, trans) in their work as an educator, facilitator, and consultant. Their work is grounded in disability justice, neurodiversity, 2SLGBTQIA+ identities, and trauma-engaged practice. They are known for translating complex concepts into practical, actionable strategies.

Drawing on both professional and lived experience, Heather supports organizations to better understand how systems, assumptions, and everyday practices impact people differently – and how to shift those conditions in meaningful and sustainable ways. Their work centres accessibility, collective responsibility, and the value of diverse ways of thinking, learning, and being.

Front-line providers have a critical role in shaping whether services are experienced as accessible, safe, and responsive for neurodivergent community members and colleagues. Neurodivergent people (for example, people with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, and more) think, learn, communicate, and process information in a variety of ways. Many staff have lived experience navigating the same systems they now work within, often while continuing to experience similar barriers in their day-to-day work.

This session introduces a framework for neurodiversity at work, exploring key ideas such as masking (hiding or suppressing needs to fit in) and implicit bias (unconscious assumptions that affect how we treat others), and how these show up in work environments. We will examine how factors such as sensory environments, communication styles, and expectations around productivity and behavior can impact access and equity.
The session will build skills in both self-advocacy and collective advocacy, with a focus on challenging non-supportive practices and creating momentum for meaningful change within teams and organizations.

Grounded in lived experience, this workshop emphasizes that neuro-affirming approaches (ways of working that respect and support different needs and ways of thinking) benefit everyone, strengthening workplaces, improving service delivery, and creating more sustainable conditions for staff and community members.

Dr. Dustin Louie is a First Nations scholar from Nee Tahi Buhn and Nadleh Whut’en, part of the Dakelh Tribe in central British Columbia. He is a member of the Beaver Clan.

Dr. Louie is an Associate Professor and Director of the Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP) at the University of British Columbia. His educational background includes a degree in Canadian history, a Master’s in International Relations, and a PhD in Educational Research.

Dr. Louie works extensively in the space of practical decolonizing approaches across western Canada and has refined his approach and delivery over years of partnerships with The Federation of Community Social Services of BC, provincial Child and Youth Advocacy Centres, and school districts throughout B.C. He is the developer of Transformative Reconciliation for Community Social Services Leaders, presented through The Federation.

Reports of racist incidents often focus only overt forms of racism. However, most oppression is perpetrated through unconscious bias; it often spreads through ignoring or avoiding more subtle acts of racism that we enact or witness, rather than the intentional enactment of what we think racism looks like. We can simultaneously reject a stereotype, yet unknowingly interact with folks informed by stereotypical assumptions.

The session will introduce a model to help understand the interpersonal forms racism perpetuated through normalized oppressive mindsets and interpersonal relationships. Starting from a typical idea or an assumption that gets held about a group (stereotype), it can show us the path through which we unconsciously perpetuate this harm.

This interactive discussion aims to help us recognize the way in which we all participate in interpersonal forms of racism, to examine that hierarchy with curiosity through a different perspective, and to challenge and disrupt these patterns in our own practices and workplaces.

Jackie Spain has been part of the Occupational Health and Safety and Transportation of Dangerous Goods world for most of her career. She was a former practicing Laboratory Scientist, retiring from the medical laboratory in 2016 in order to dedicate herself to her passion of health and safety, and safety systems fulltime. Jackie has worked with and for a number of health and safety organizations, indigenous groups as well as consulting for business both public and private, operating her own consulting business, Golden Solutions.

Come and join us for an upbeat interactive discussion on health and safety approaches in the workplace. Is it top down, bottom up, where do we find the balance that gives you safe, happy employees, clients and is cost effective?

Dani Hamilton is the Mental Health Education Coordinator for CMHA Vernon. She has been in the mental health and social services field for 12 years. Bringing both professional and personal experiences to her work, Dani is a dedicated, and caring facilitator. She believes in the power of peer support and in lifting one another up when we are down.

This session introduces Care to Speak, a free and confidential peer-based support service created specifically for healthcare and social service workers.

We explore how Care to Speak provides practical emotional support through phone, text and chat, offering a safe and understanding space for those who care for others every day. Whether you work in primary care, long-term care, community care, or community social services, you’ll learn to connect with trained volunteers who understand the unique challenges of your work because they’ve been there too.

We walk through what happens when you reach out, what “peer support” really means, and how confidentiality to always protected. This is your opportunity to see how Care to Speak can be a valuable resource for you and your colleagues, helping you take care of yourself while you continue to care for others.

Amanda Thiessen, MSW, RSW, is a psychotherapist, organizational coach, and the founder of Work Therapy & Coaching. Amanda spent over 25 years in the nonprofit sector before opening her own practice 4 years ago. Amanda is passionate about supporting those in helping roles. Her work integrates deep therapy, workplace coaching, and facilitated group experiences that build connection, foster civility, and support sustainable, meaningful work.

In this experiential workshop, we’ll slow down together to explore how our nervous systems shape our capacity for connection. Using the FLOW framework—Find a Pause, Listen Inward, Open Outward, Weave Forward—participants will discover practical tools for navigating stress and rediscover a felt sense of support, safety, and belonging in community.

Professional Background

As a human resources equity designer, relationship builder, and social justice leader, I have the honour of leading the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria’s People and Culture and Equity Team. Throughout my work, I have seen the positive impact employers can have when workplace systems and practices are grounded in equity and centred on the employee experience.

When organizations build lasting, sustainable equity enablers across every stage of the employee life cycle, the results are measurable. These outcomes can include stronger innovation, broader client and customer reach, and improved organizational performance.

Thought Leadership and Equity Practice

People and Culture, or Human Resources, sits at the core of every workforce. That is why equity practices in HR continue to be a central focus of my work. When I was invited to contribute to a publication, I welcomed the opportunity to explore this topic in depth.

I authored the chapter “An HR Perspective on Newcomer Work Experience: The Unlearning and Learning of Implementing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workforce in Canada” in Perspectives on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in the Workplace – Building Bridges Between Research and Practice, published by IntechOpen.

Lived Experience and Community Commitment

Born in Canada to an Afro-Caribbean father who immigrated from Barbados and a queer European mother, and raised with a 2-Spirit stepparent, I am a second-generation immigrant. This intersectional background informs my practice and perspective. I identify as a mixed-race cisgender queer woman.

My work is grounded in a commitment to human rights and social justice, including gender equity, gender-based violence prevention, reproductive justice, racial justice, anti-racism in sport, 2SLGBTQAI+ advocacy, decolonization, and support for immigrants and refugees.

Education and Credentials

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, with a major in Gender Studies and a minor in Philosophy, as well as a Diploma in Intercultural Studies and Practice. I am also a CQ® Certified Facilitator through the Cultural Intelligence Center, where I study the CQ® model and research, conduct and debrief 360 assessments and feedback reports, and facilitate learning with diverse workforces.

I began my career in financial services, working across retail, commercial business, and community investment. Since 2019, I have worked in the purpose-driven non-profit sector and am currently pursuing my Chartered Professional in Human Resources designation.

Frontline workers and supervisors in community social services navigate complex, deeply human spaces every day. True psychological safety requires more than policy; it requires concrete, real-time tools to navigate tension, racism, and discrimination when they arise on the floor.

Crucially, frontline staff often carry these heavy loads in isolation, which is a primary driver of burnout and moral injury. This 90-minute session bridges real-time crisis response with deep cross-cultural capacity. Co-delivered by equity practitioners with academic, professional, and lived experience, this session shifts intervention away from “solo responses” and toward sustainable, team-based community building.

Professional Background

My professional practice is shaped by both lived experience and formal education, including a major in Psychology and a minor in Education from the University of Victoria. I have spent years supporting meaningful cultural change across diverse sectors, with a career grounded in front-line experience working with at-risk youth and adults in group home environments in Victoria and the Lower Mainland. This foundation in crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, and daily advocacy informs my commitment to fostering safer, more equitable spaces for vulnerable populations.

I also have significant experience working directly with incarcerated and justice-involved men. In these settings, I draw on my background in psychology and education to deliver supportive programming focused on rehabilitation, personal accountability, and community reintegration. Beyond institutional settings, I am a grassroots community organizer and the founder of This Is Table Talk, a social platform that brings diverse community members together to share food, build relationships, and engage in dialogue about equity, systemic racism, and the impacts of discrimination.

Central to my life and work is a commitment to mentorship, particularly with equity-deserving youth. I actively mentor adopted youth of African descent and support adoptees and parents of adoptees as they navigate questions of identity, belonging, and cultural connection. Whether supporting young people through personal milestones, working with justice-involved individuals, or facilitating strategic workshops for institutional leaders, my approach is grounded in authenticity, adaptability, and relationship-building. My combination of front-line service, community organizing, mentorship, and DEI facilitation allows me to translate high-level inclusion strategies into meaningful, lived practice.

As the Community Engagement Coordinator at ICA, I collaborate across departments to support initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I also deliver anti-racism training for government, non-profit agencies, schools, and community-based organizations across Canada

Frontline workers and supervisors in community social services navigate complex, deeply human spaces every day. True psychological safety requires more than policy; it requires concrete, real-time tools to navigate tension, racism, and discrimination when they arise on the floor.

Crucially, frontline staff often carry these heavy loads in isolation, which is a primary driver of burnout and moral injury. This 90-minute session bridges real-time crisis response with deep cross-cultural capacity. Co-delivered by equity practitioners with academic, professional, and lived experience, this session shifts intervention away from “solo responses” and toward sustainable, team-based community building.