People

Liz is on a mission to make work a great part of life for as many people as possible.  With nearly 30 years’ experience in occupational health and safety (OHS), she is accomplished professional and international speaker, known for her empathy, interpersonal skills, and her expertise in employee wellbeing, disability management, and leadership development.  Specializing in psychological health and safety (PHS) for the past 15 years, her work is dedicated to helping organizations achieve their goals with a healthy, productive, and motivated workforce by integrating PHS into how work is designed and carried out.

Her understanding of what people need to succeed was honed through her past work, which includes:

• helping organizations implement programs and systems to support employee wellbeing and success through her own company, Hale Health and Safety Solutions Ltd.
• managing the development of several ground-breaking OHS standards including the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, as a project manager with CSA Group;
• leading a team of consultants in the OHS legal practice of Gowlings, which specialized in providing training, consulting, and legal services to clients in every sector throughout Canada;
• 10 years as an OHS professional in unionized manufacturing facilities in automotive, packaging, and confectionary production; and
• 18 years as server/bartender.

Liz holds a Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree, having been among the first students to graduate from the Environmental Health program specializing in OHS from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). Valuing lifelong learning, she also has numerous other certificates, including Integrating Workplace Wellbeing and Occupational Health and Safety from Harvard School of Public Health Executive Education.

In her personal time, Liz loves spending time with her grandchildren, gardening, cooking, and exploring the wilderness with her husband on their fishing kayaks.

Charles Boyer is a Manager for Client Development with Opening Minds. He works with an amazing team to help our partners educate their team members with evidence-based mental health training. Our three main courses are Mental Health First Aid, The Working Mind, and The Inquiring Mind. To date our team has trained approximately a million Canadians in our programs.

Prior to joining MHCC, Charles worked within the Workplace Health knowledge area at The Conference Board of Canada. One of his main responsibilities was to manage Executive Networks focused on Health, Wellness and Safety. These Networks were represented by senior organizational health practitioners from organizations across Canada who meet regularly to discuss workplace health challenges, successes, and trends.

Julie Donaldson is a dynamic leader with a wealth of experience in the operations and quality improvement of mental health programming.  As the Director of Opening Minds, she supports the operations and program development team to ensure the effective delivery of numerous mental health programs that aid in the fight against stigma and discrimination towards people with mental illness.

Julie has held key roles within the Mental Health Commission for the past decade.  She has also held numerous coordinator positions in various industries.  This experience has allowed Julie to hone her operational and procedural development and efficacy expertise.

Julie holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Canada West and an undergraduate degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Outside of her professional career, Julie is known for her intense involvement with pet rescue organizations, volunteering for sporting events in various capacities and reaching the milestone of connecting and supporting over 800 youth who reached out to Kids Helps Phone via the Crisis Text Line.

Tiana Field-Ridley is a big-picture thinker with a passion for pushing boundaries and empowering others. As Senior Development Manager for Psychological Health and Safety at Opening Minds, she’s on a mission to transform workplaces worldwide by championing mental health and psychological health and safety. Known for her truthfulness and unshakable drive, Tiana doesn’t just embrace change, she thrives in it, finding opportunities where others might see roadblocks.
At Opening Minds, Tiana has helped shape the mission of making workplaces better for everyone. From leading Opening Minds Psychological Health and Safety Training and Assessment Program to sparking innovative ideas that challenge the status quo, she brings energy, vision, and an out-of-the-box approach to her work. Inspirational yet unafraid to voice her opinions, Tiana advocates fiercely for what matters most: breaking down barriers and building a healthier future.
Caribbean at heart, Tiana’s warmth and authenticity shine through everything she does (and yes, she’s still deciding whether she prefers plantains fried or boiled). When she’s not shaping the future of workplace mental health or finishing her Master’s in Education, she finds joy in playing squash with her family of boys, proving that even in sports, she’s not afraid to chase a challenge (or a ball).
With her mix of passion, wit, and determination, Tiana is proof that workplaces can thrive when we embrace bold ideas and empower others to do the same.

As part of The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) & Opening Minds for the past four years, Eric has leveraged his extensive background in marketing and communications to advance the mission of improving mental health outcomes for all Canadians.

Through innovative campaigns and strategic initiatives, Eric has played a key role in raising awareness and fostering understanding of mental health issues, helping to create a more compassionate and informed society.

As Brand Manager for MHFA, Eric oversees the program’s overall health and performance while developing strategic plans to expand the reach and amplify the impact of Mental Health First Aid across Canada and beyond.

Outside of his professional achievements, Eric is an enthusiastic advocate for the benefits of an active lifestyle and can often be found spending his free time golfing, playing hockey, and snowboarding.

Eric brings energy, creativity, and a steadfast commitment to make a positive impact in the field of mental health.

Many people work in mental health because of personal or family experiences; Fiona is one of those. As an individual with lived and living experience of mental illness that started in childhood, and mom to an adult daughter living her own recovery story, Fiona is passionate about child and youth mental health and wants all young people to know that they matter. With a background in counselling, suicide prevention and contact education in both the UK and Canada, Fiona has been with the HEADSTRONG program since 2016, bringing the message of hope through youth leadership for mental health and wellness to thousands of students.

Outside of Opening Minds, Fiona volunteers with an animal rescue as a foster home for dogs, many of whom need rehabilitation from trauma – there could be a pattern here. In her spare time, Fiona looks after her own mental health by taking long walks with her dog pack, writing poetry and speculative fiction, and knitting or sewing. She makes textile-sculpted props for a professional magician and is considering making herself sweaters from dog hair because at this point no one would notice the difference.

People ask Fiona ‘What does ‘recovery’ mean?’ The answer is having the tools you need to get through the tough times, having the confidence to reach out when you need help, and knowing that there will be better days ahead it’s worth sticking around for.

Audrey’s transformational leadership philosophy emphasizes a people-first approach, proactive care, challenging the status quo and driving collective change. In addition to operational excellence, she prioritizes employee wellbeing and workforce advancement through innovative frameworks and the cultivation of safe spaces for dialogue, critical thinking, and innovation.

She joined MHCC-Opening Minds in 2018. In her role as Manager of Program Delivery, Audrey holds a decade of operational experience and leads a values-driven team with expertise in project management, operations, and data evaluation. Audrey and her team have excelled in delivering a record number of TWM courses while upholding service excellence, both domestically and internationally, since The Program’s inception. She was selected to represent Opening Minds on MHCC’s Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee as a certified member.

She holds a Degree in Social Sciences Psychology, along with certifications in professional coaching, leadership, and program development. Prior to joining MHCC, she worked in the labor movement as an Education Officer with The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC). There, she facilitated steward training and designed national education programs in labor law and collective bargaining. She served on committees addressing human rights in the workplace and psychological health and safety, she initiated and developed The Institute’s first Stewards’ Mental Health Guidelines.

Audrey values equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of her life. She volunteers in under-resourced communities which included a posting with Management Sciences for Health (USAID) in Peru. Her international upbringing and biracial / multicultural background equip her to facilitate intercultural dialogue, eliminate stigma, and drive change through education. Audrey firmly believes that mental health is a human right, and she is proud to keep Opening Minds to this important cause.

Trevor Moses is a customer experience and customer success executive with more than 20 years of experience in optimizing client through a model of genuine care.  He believes that treating your customers, team members, partners and suppliers with transparency and gratitude everyone involved in the client journey has a great experience. 

Trevor joined Opening Minds in June 2024 and leads the Client Development team and motivates the team to deliver the messages from mental health awareness through to fully embedded Psychological Heath and Safety that our training and assessment programs provide. 

The journey to Opening Minds has gone through the private sector as well as consulting for non-profit organizations.  This path included stops and smaller organizations focuses on culture and client experience like Tigerpaw Software and imageOne and large  multi-national companies like Pitney Bowes and Xerox.   

 Leveraging best practices learned from the for-profit space Trevor began consulting for non-profit organizations with a model that focused on impact versus profits but uses similar principles around business optimization.  The social enterprise model at Opening Minds is a perfect fit as his team collaborates with the RLD, Program Delivery and Brand Management team to create ensure that our programs reach as many potential participants as possible. 

Trevor received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and balances his life by giving back through volunteer positions on Vancouver Island and when he isn’t on the ocean or at the top of a mountain. 

Chad is a dynamic communicator focused on creating a positive impact across every project, initiative or environment he comes across. With a background that spans professional roles and community engagement, Chad thrives at fostering meaningful connections and driving initiatives that inspire change.

In his current role of Brand Manager for The Working Mind, Chad brings strategic thinking, teamwork, and solution-focused planning to the forefront, working to empower those around him while instilling values of resilience and collaboration. He is committed to advocating for mental health through impactful work aimed at breaking stigmas and promoting open dialogue of mental well-being.

With over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector, Chad excels at turning visionary ideas into practical strategies that drive results. His knack for aligning big-picture goals with actionable plans has consistently led to success across teams and projects.

In his personal life, Chad is a proud father of two girls and is currently mastering the art of braiding hair—a skill he knows will come in handy in the years ahead.

Shane is an accomplished business executive who, for 25 years, has been inspiring teams to think outside the box and drive sustainable growth. His people-first approach, combined with his experience in strategy, sales, marketing, and innovation, has driven success in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

Shane most recently served as the vice-president of social enterprise and strategic partnerships for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, where he established a business-to-business services division, leveraged technology-based innovation, and championed strategic partnerships to diversify revenue streams and drive growth.

He previously served as the vice-president of social enterprise for the Canadian Hearing Society, where he introduced a structured sales approach to drive growth of hearing health care and assistive technology. Prior to his not-for-profit work, Shane honed his skills in the consumer packaged goods (Kraft Foods, Borden, Georgia-Pacific) and pharmaceutical industries (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mylan).

Shane holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Schulich school of business at York University and an undergraduate degree from Western University.

Passionate about helping people live the lives they choose; he believes that balance in life is critical for our physical and mental well-being. In his spare time, Shane enjoys playing sports (albeit, more recreational now), spending time with family and friends, volunteering at a large animal rescue facility, and (optimistically/naively) cheering for Toronto sports teams.