GAINING RESOURCES OUR WAY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Team
Job Titles:
- Director, ( B.a. M.Ed. Ph.D. ( Educational Management ) Ph.D. ( Educational Administration )
Donna has had a long career in education, having been an elementary, junior high and high school teacher and a school principal at all levels. She was Superintendent of Schools - North for Winnipeg School Division from January of 2001 to October of 2008. She has taught in the Certificate in Adult Education Program at Red River College on a part-time basis for many years and was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Manitoba as a Program Supervisor and Instructor for M. Ed. students in Educational Administration.
Donna has been with Red River College since 2009 holding a number of roles. She is currently the Education Director of the RRC Adult Learning Centre and is also the Academic Chair of the School of Indigenous Education.
Job Titles:
- Director, Ph.D., C. Psych
Dr. Karen O'Brien Ph.D., C. Psych, a parent of three adult children, is a registered clinical psychologist in private practice who received her Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba and completed her residency at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Her focus is on behaviour change related to chronic health challenges, disease adjustment and coping with disease-related distress. Karen enjoys working with adults, older adolescents and couples.
Job Titles:
- Director
- VP of Human Resources at the CTD Group
Currently employed as the VP of Human Resources at The CTD Group, Heather is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Physical Education. She has worked as a teacher, owned and operated Bodyworks, Winnipeg's most popular aerobic facility through the 80's and 90's.
Heather has significant involvement with individuals with disabilities. She has a younger brother who was discovered to be deaf. As a child, she watched with admiration the work and commitment of her Mother to integrate him into the hearing world. She was a bit of a pioneer in this area - insisting that he be accepted in public school. In high school, she volunteered at the St James YMCA in a swim/movement program for young adults with intellectual disabilities.
As a young parent, together with Andrea Hamilton, she started a new program for Special Olympics. It was a gross motor skills program that operated weekly at Pacific Junction School. This is where Heather first met Karyn and Jordan. She is also Stepmother to Amanda who was born with Rubinstein Taybi Syndrome and who has been in Heather's life for over 20 years.
For 14 years now, she has been a fitness trainer with Chemo Savvy - Dragon Boat participants who are all breast cancer survivors.
Karyn Lazareck has been a lifelong volunteer both in Canada and Israel. She has a wide variety of interests ranging from the arts to humanitarian needs, in particular, those in support of children. Karyn has a deep commitment to improving the lives of individuals with special needs, a commitment that began in the 70's and highlighted by a conference she co-chaired in 1992 that launched initiatives and promoted broad community inclusion.
Karyn is the founder of G.R.O.W. (Gaining Resources Our Way), an outreach and life skills program for young adults with special needs seeking to become more independent.
She currently sits on the planning committee for the first ever Canadian conference, "Pushing the Boundaries: Disability, Inclusion and Jewish Community" sponsored by the Jewish Federations of Canada. Karyn is exemplary in providing philanthropic leadership and is a role model in the community. In May 2017, she was awarded the Sol Kanee Distinguished Community Service Medal.
The 2021 Lieutenant Governor's Make a Difference Community Award was presented to Karyn on September 23, 2021. The awards recognize individuals who embody the spirit of volunteerism and have made lasting and meaningful contributions in the community.
In 2020 Karyn was also presented with an HONOUR 150 Award by Canada Life which recognized 150 people from across the province who stand out for their role in making Manitoba an amazing province. G.R.O.W. participants hosted a lunch to present the award to Karyn. One of the participants made a moving speech in which he shared his feelings and experiences at G.R.O.W.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Team
- Program Co - Ordinator
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Director
- President, ( M.Ed B.M.R. ( O.T. ) ( C )
Currently Acting Head Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Manitoba), Pam is an Associate Professor where she teaches occupational therapy students about client-centred practice group therapy, counselling, and inter-professional collaboration. Her research interests are varied and include client-centred practice and inter-professional collaboration.
Pam is dedicated to making the community a better place for people with disabilities and her work with G.R.O.W. is a key focus of this commitment. She co-chaired the G.R.O.W. in Gimli Committee for five years.
Pam has served as a director on many professional and national boards as well community and local boards. She currently serves on the Board of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba and their Grants Committee.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of the Management Team