Who Are the Presenters?
Dina Bell-Laroche
Dina has spoken at dozens of national and international conferences on the topic of grief, loss, and living a purposeful life, including as keynote speaker for the Canadian Hospice and Palliative Care Association in 2022. Her lived experience with grief and loss after the death of her sister Tracy has shaped how she has navigated the turbulent waters of grief. Through her ongoing thanatology studies at King’s University College and her research into holistic and healthier approaches to reconciling loss, Dina launched her company Grief Unleashed in 2021, and wrote Grief Unleashed: Moving from the Hole in our Hearts to Whole-Hearted to help us re-imagine a new relationship with life losses.
A certified ICF Professional Coach, Grief Doula, and Certified Thanatologist, Dina is also an Integral Master Coach who has been working in Canada’ elite sport system since 1991 as a business leader with her company Sport Law, Communications Professional at five Olympic Games, and advocate for ethical sport.​
Lauren Clark, MSW, RSW
A volunteer with Bridge C-14 since its launch in November 2017, Lauren took over the organization as President & CEO in June 2019 and has been steering the organization to greater heights ever since. Her professional role is that of a Social Worker at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) where she holds a permanent position in the Medicine Department at the Civic Campus and was a member of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Team at TOH and with the Champlain Regional MAiD Network until 2021.
Lauren was named one of the OASW Inspirational Leaders for 2019 for her work with MAiD, and has spoken at local, provincial, national and international conferences. She has also been a guest instructor for the NICE Advanced Practice Gerontological Social Work course for health professionals working in the Sinai Health System, the NICE Learning Series on Aging, and with Wilfrid Laurier University's Death, Dying and Bereavement Certificate Program. Additionally, Lauren is the primary instructor for the Bridge C-14 Educational Series.
Lauren is most proud of her role, though, as wife to a very supportive husband, adoring mama to 2 young children, and fur-mama to 2 cats and a 175lb puppy.
Karen Faith​​
Karen Faith is a bioethics consultant, speaker, and educator. She is a member of the University of Toronto (U of T) Joint Centre for Bioethics and the Canadian Bioethics Society. Throughout her career in bioethics, Karen has worked as a staff bioethicist in acute care, has provided ethics support to community based care programs and has participated in the development and the facilitation of on-line ethics resources for health care providers. She brings to her work in bioethics 22 years of clinical experience as a social worker specializing in family therapy. Her writing has been published in academic journals as well as health care publications and she participated in the development of the Clinical Ethics Summer Institute.
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Karen has spoken locally and internationally on topics concerning ethics in health care including the internationally recognized “Ethical Framework for Pandemic Planning”, a project to which she had contributed. Some key areas of interest in her work have included: ethical considerations in pandemic planning, ethics in end of life care; advance care planning; ethics and professionalism in the health disciplines; values based leadership as well as ethics in community based care.
Karen served as Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors for MAiDHouse Toronto where
she continues to be a member on its Governance and Clinical Practice Committees.
Robyn Ferrier
Robyn is an End of Life Doula and Educator with Home Hospice Association, as well as Spiritual Director (Emmaus Formation Centre) and Certified Grief Educator (David Kessler, grief.com) serving clients in person in the Guelph/KW/Cambridge area (Ontario) and online Canada-wide and internationally. Robyn believes that the end of life journey should be a rich and sacred time and advocates for every individual’s right to choose what that journey looks like. Her area of specialty is the intersection of spirituality and Medical Assistance in Dying, and she supports individuals, their caregivers, loved ones and broader community through all stages of dying, death and grief.
Muirrean Irish
Muirrean is a 17-year-old recent graduate of Oak Bay High School in Victoria, BC. After witnessing her grandfather's battle with pulmonary fibrosis and his choice to use MAiD, she decided to integrate his story into her graduating project with the hope of bringing awareness and removing the stigma surrounding MAiD. Muirrean is excited to share her story and art work with the Bridge C14 community.
Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller, MSW, PhD
Kathy is an associate professor in the School of Social Work, the Director of the Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health (CERAH), and the research chair in aging and end-of-life at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Kathy’s research is interdisciplinary and collaborative and she is a founding member of the Canadian Grief Alliance. She is the author of the book, Talking About Death Won’t Kill You, with ECW Press and her most recent projects include a podcast called Disrupting Death available wherever you get your podcasts and at https://www.disruptingdeath.ca/episodes. She has a passion for contributing to improving the end-of-life care for all.
Dr. Mike Lang
Mike is a health researcher, award winning filmmaker, Digital Storytelling facilitator and adjunct assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. He has directed and produced three feature-length documentaries, two short documentaries, and three web series about the human health experience in addition to numerous health education curricula. Many of Mike's projects have explored end-of-life, grief and loss, and MAID experiences but his broader focus is on using digital storytelling and documentary filmmaking in education, advocacy, research, and a therapeutic capacity within healthcare and wellness contexts. Connect with him on all socials @mikelangstories or via www.mikelangstories.com or commonlanguagedst.org.
Christa Ovenell
Community educator, funeral director, and end-of-life doula Christa Ovenell is the founder of Death’s Apprentice Education & Planning. Her heartfelt, practical approach to tackling difficult topics helps guide people toward inspiring life decisions. Christa holds a Master's of Education from UBC and could be heard frequently on CBC's North by Northwest, where she brought her signature warmth to all manner of discussions about end-of-life matters. Find her on Instagram (@deathsapprentice.ca) or on her website: www.deathsapprentice.ca
Chelsea Peddle, RCC, M.Ed
Chelsea is a counsellor, end-of-life doula, and writer who helps people navigate a serious diagnosis, the dying process, and grief. As a queer woman and settler living and working on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen people, she is committed to building her cultural humility through continuing education and reflection and strives to support experiences that honour her clients’ diverse cultures and unique worldviews. Her emerging focus is on supporting children and families through the illness and the death of someone close to them and is the author of Pancakes with Nana: A Storybook about Medical Assistance in Dying. She is also a program developer and facilitator with Learning Through Loss where she trains educators and youth serving organizations to support youth loss and grief.
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Like many of her clients and readers, Chelsea has been a family caregiver to loved ones with terminal cancer and accompanied her mum through MAiD in 2019. She is a volunteer and advisor with Bridge C-14 and the co-creator and co-facilitator of Making the Most of Our Time: A Meaning Centred Group Therapy Program for People Pursuing MAiD, with Bridge C-14. www.chelseapeddle.ca
Julia Rose
Julia is a Newfoundlander, and currently resides and works in the Labrador region of the province providing mental health and addictions counseling services, as well crisis intervention at the Labrador West Health Centre. She is a Registered Social Worker with the NL College of Social Workers and obtained her social work degree from Memorial University. Julia is a certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (CBT) through the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy, and has certificates in Compassion Focused Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Julia believes in the principle that all humans have resilience, strength and autonomy.
Julia has been touched by MAiD in her professional practice and is completing her Masters of Social Work practicum with Bridge C14. She is passionate to continue learning about the psychological, and emotional aspects of MAiD, along with the professional ethical aspects to consider when working with patients pursuing MAiD.
Julia loves spending time with her partner, family and pets as a fur-mamma of 4 (2 cats and 2 dogs). She also loves coffee, sunshine, reality T.V. and music.
Megan Sheldon
Co-founder and CEO of Be Ceremonial, the world’s first guided ritual and ceremony app, Megan is a cultural mythologist, humanist celebrant, and end-of-life doula living and working in North Vancouver, BC. She creates ceremonies for people around the world, focusing on what she calls the ‘seemingly invisible moments’, such as pregnancy loss, organ transplantation, dementia, and death anniversaries. Megan is passionate about shifting the narratives that surround death, dying and grief and recently hosted The Death Talk with 3 other deathcare professionals. She offers virtual workshops and seasonal retreats on Bowen Island and in Whistler, BC. When she’s not crafting ceremonies, you can find her swimming in the sea or meandering in the rainforest with her husband Johan, two young daughters, and their aging dog, Kona.
Amy Tsai
Amy supported her father in 2018 through his cancer diagnosis until his medically assisted death in 2019. Her journey in grieving and healing as a caregiver and a daughter has led her to join Bridge C-14 as a volunteer. Her passion in grief recovery is what drives her to be part of this community, where she calls on her years of project management and coordination experience in real estate and media marketing to share her story and create space for others to do so.​ Amy is currently working on a short film entitled, The Last Flight, as part of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival.