Grants Advisory Committee

Standing, rear, Left to Right: Joseph Ricciuti, Tana Woodward, William Barker, Jan Belanger, Michel Perreault
Seated, front, Left to Right: Remi Quirion (Chairman), Ethel Niessen, John Service, Joan Parker
Missing – Claudette Bradshaw

Grants Advisory Committee Member Biographies

Tana Woodward MSW

Clinical Social Worker

Tana Woodward graduated from Memorial University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Social Work, after which she worked for the Metro Community Housing Association (MCHA), a residential program for adults with mental health disabilities. At MCHA, she held various positions including counsellor, Group Home director and Association Program coordinator. After completing her master’s degree in Social Work at Dalhousie University in 1987, she returned to MCHA as a member of the board of directors.

Since 1987, Ms. Woodward has worked for the Capital District Health Authority as a clinical social worker, first in the general Mental Health Outpatient Clinic and, since 2006, in the Mood Disorder Clinic. Her duties have included a social-work practice focusing on mental health education and individual and group therapy, as well as working with the homeless. Ms. Woodward was awarded a Recognition of Outstanding Public Service by the Halifax Branch of Canadian Mental Health.

Michel Perreault, Ph.D.

Psychologist-Researcher and Associate Professor of Psychiatry

A psychologist and researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute for the past 20 years, Dr. Michel Perreault is also an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, and an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Québec in Montréal and for addiction programs at Université de Sherbrooke.

Dr. Perreault’s work focuses primarily on the assessment of psychiatric and addiction services and has been featured in more than 150 scientific publications and reports.

Dr. Perreault and his team conduct applied research projects designed to ensure more effective organization of services for people suffering from anxiety disorders, concurrent mental health and addiction disorders and disorders related to drug use. Since 2003, he has been involved in a training exchange program to facilitate links among stakeholders in the mental health, addiction and police networks. He is also involved in peer-helper programs designed to treat anxiety disorders and provide support to injection drug users.

Ethel Ann Niessen

Community Leader

Ethel Niessen has spent the past 15 years working in administration and as a fundraiser and advocate for the physically and mentally challenged. She was an events organizer for the Burnaby Association for the Mentally Handicapped for many years and also organized a large event for the Croatian Relief Fund. During the past eight years, she has worked for Mainstream Association for Proactive Community Living, organizing conferences and seminars on topics such as autism, advocacy, proposal writing, and innovation and enterprise in community living.

Ms. Niessen sat on the board of Canada Place Corporation and subsequently became a tribunal member of the Federal Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security Panel. She currently sits on the Employment Insurance Tribunal for the province of British Columbia and on the Board of the Granville Island Trust. She is also a member of the Arthur Erickson Foundation. She was awarded the Confederation Medal for the 125th Anniversary of The Conference Board of Canada.

Rémi Quirion, OC, Ph.D., FRSC, CQ (Chair Grants Advisory Committee)

Professor of Psychiatry

A McGill University professor of psychiatry, Dr. Rémi Quirion is also scientific director at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute (a McGill-affiliated teaching hospital) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Executive Director of International Collaborative Research Strategy and related neurological diseases. On April 1, 2009, he took office as CIHR senior university advisor (Health Sciences Research). Until March 31, 2009, he was the inaugural scientific director of the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health & Addiction (INMHA).

One of the most highly cited neuroscientists in the world, in 2003 Dr. Quirion received the Médaille de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec and the First Annual Award – National Mental Health Champion (Research). He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec. In 2004, he received the Wilder-Penfield Award, Prix du Québec, the highest distinction in Biomedical Research in Quebec and the Dr. Mary V. Seeman Award from the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation. He was appointed Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2005 and, two years later, became a Member of the Order of Canada (O.C.). In 2007, he also received the Schizophrenia Society of Canada’s Pacesetter Award, the Canadian College of Neuropharmacology 2007 Medal for his exemplary career and exceptional contribution to neuropsychopharmacology in Canada, and the Prix Michel Sarrazin from the Club de recherches cliniques du Québec.

Dr. Quirion sits on the Advisory Boards of more than 15 scientific journals in psychiatry, pharmacology and neurosciences, and has published five books and over 650 scientific papers and articles.

Joseph Ricciuti

Director Client Solutions, Watson Wyatt

Joseph Ricciuti is the Client Solutions Leader for Watson Wyatt’s Group and Health Care Practice in Canada. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Watson Wyatt Canada ULC and of the North American Operating Committee. He is a leading health-care benefits expert and has more than 35 years of experience in the field. He brings a wealth of knowledge on health and productivity management (HPM), mental health, total absence management and total rewards strategies to create healthy and productive workplaces. Before joining Watson Wyatt, he was the Senior Vice-President of Group and Healthcare Marketing and Research at a large Canadian insurer.

His success in bridging science and business to enhance and transfer knowledge about mental-health issues has been demonstrated through his participation on a number of advisory committees including Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA’s) research study: Guarding Minds @ Work. He is the co-author of a significant report study document: Mental Health in the Labour Force: A Literature Review and Gap Analysis.

Mr. Ricciuti sits on the Board of Directors at West Park Healthcare Centre and is a member of the Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health.

Janet M. Belanger

Vice President Community Relations, Great West Life, London Life and Canada Life

Assistant Vice-President, Community Affairs for Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life, Janet Belanger has twenty-five years’ business and management experience. Since 1992, she has had responsibility for corporate citizenship policy and has directed the organization’s award-winning national community relations and corporate contributions programs. She has undertaken volunteer roles with many organizations including The Conference Board of Canada Community Investment Council, United Way and the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada). She has also been involved with many national advisory groups for corporate citizenship and cultural, social service, health and post-secondary institutions, and participated in allied conferences and symposiums.

Ms. Belanger’s recognition of mental health as a significant medical, social and economic issue resulted in new working relationships with leading experts at organizations such as the Global Economic and Business Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, CIHR and Simon Fraser University. In June 2007, this collaboration culminated with the launch of The Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace. The Centre’s objectives are to increase awareness through support of research and knowledge dissemination and to develop tools and programs to reduce the impact of mental-health issues in the workplace.

Ms. Belanger currently serves on the Kaiser Foundation National Advisory Board, University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation Board, Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council, Leadership Winnipeg, KCI – Ketchum Canada’s Philanthropic Trends Advisory Board, and Imagine Canada 2010 Business and Community Partnership Forum.

William J. Barker, Ph.D., R. Psych, CPQ

Clinical Psychologist and Consultant

After graduating with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Manitoba in 1975, Dr. Barker assumed the position of Director of Psychology, University of Alberta Hospital, and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta.

Three years later, Dr. Barker took on a new role with the Calgary Police Service to develop and manage a psychological services unit. The Calgary Police Service was the first municipal police department in Canada to recognize the need for a psychological services unit to address the mental-health concerns of police officers and their families. He established innovative programs and services to help the Calgary Police Service’s members and their families with their psychological well-being and mental health. He also lectured at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa about mental-health issues in Canadian policing.

In 1993, Dr. Barker joined Wilson Banwell and Associates, a national firm of psychologists that provides employee assistance and other mental-health services to industry. He retired from Wilson Banwell in 2007 as vice-president, Professional Services. Since then, he has acted as a consultant and service provider to a number of federal, provincial and local law-enforcement agencies.

John Service, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist and Consultant

Upon graduation from the University of Georgia and the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Dr. Service took a position as a staff psychologist at the Mental Health Centre of the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. For fifteen years, he specialized in providing services to children, adolescents and their families, and worked closely with community organizations and not-for-profit groups, such as schools, Children’s Aid, youth court, and the Pictou Landing First Nation. He went on to become the Head of Mental Health Services for the hospital. He was very involved in the community and helped develop several self-help groups and a sanctuary for victims of family violence.

Dr. Service then spent fourteen years as the Executive Director of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), which is the national and international voice for the science, education, training and practice of psychology in Canada. During this time, he was a member, founder and/or chair of a number of national coalitions for mental health, health care, science and emergency preparedness. He was the first Chief Operating Officer of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Dr. Service is now a private consultant in Ottawa. He focuses on policy, program development and evaluation, and facilitation and organizational renewal in mental health or, more broadly, where psychological factors are involved.

Joan Parker

Occupational Therapist in Mental Health

A senior occupational therapist in psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Joan Parker has more than thirty years of experience in the field of mental health, both in community and hospital-based settings. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and a Master of Health Studies.

Ms. Parker adheres to the guiding philosophies of Client Centred Care and the Recovery Model of Mental Health. As an occupational therapist, she facilitates client well-being and quality of life by assessing client needs and offering evidence-based interventions. These interventions are designed to help clients meet their identified needs and goals within functional, emotional, cognitive and interpersonal areas of their lives and to promote adaptive coping skills. Therapeutic interventions include individual and group therapy, psycho-education, community resource information and linkages, as well as client advocacy.

Claudette Bradshaw

Community leader

During her career, Claudette Bradshaw has championed numerous social, economic and health issues that have left a profound impact on Moncton, the Province of New Brunswick, and Canada. Ms. Bradshaw’s career started in 1968 with the Boys and Girls Club, where she learned about poverty, abuse, parents, and the system, and where she met her husband, Douglas. From her involvement with the Boys and Girls Club, Ms. Bradshaw founded Moncton’s Headstart Program in 1974.

Ms. Bradshaw’s accomplishments in the areas of social and economic development have led to her receiving numerous awards for community leadership and an honorary PhD in social work from the Université de Moncton.

Bradshaw used her experience and talent to serve in the Parliament of Canada as an elected member for Moncton from 1997-2005. During that time she occupied several seats in cabinet, being minister responsible for La Francophonie, minister of labour, and minister for co-ordinating services on homelessness in Canada.

After retiring from the House of Commons, Bradshaw continued her work in social causes as the co-ordinator for the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and pursuing projects exploring homeless persons with chronic mental health issues. She was awarded the Order of New Brunswick in 2009.