10th Annual
‘Helping the Helpers’
Awareness and Education Day For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, October 26th, 2024 in Antigonish!
The 2024 event will once again take place at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. We are once again able to offer another exceptional day of sharing, education and support for First Responders and their families and coworkers who are dealing with PTSD or other psychological workplace injuries. Please mark your calendars and check back to the website regularly for updates and registration information on what promises to be another spectacular event!
Suggestions for speakers are most welcome and may be sent by email to helpingthehelpers@agendamanagers.com.

2024 Schedule
7:30 – 8:30 am
Registration
8:30 – 8:45 am
Welcome Remarks and Keyote Opening: The Day my Mentor Fell
Jason Maclean, John Garth MacDonald, and Tanya Show-Keeling
8:45 – 9:00 am
Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration
Stakeholder
Karen MacMahon, ED
9:00 – 9:15 am
WCB Nova Scotia
Stakeholder
To Be Announced
9:15 – 9:45 am
Sharing Lived Experience
Corrections Officer
John Tsentouros
9:45 – 10:05 am
Refreshment Break, Gift Winner Announcement, and Visit Exhibitor Booths
10:05 – 10:35 am
Sharing Lived Experience
Fire Support
Paul MacKenzie
10:35 – 10:40 am
Stretch/Mindfulness
Jayme MacLellan
10:40 – 11:05 am
Sharing Lived Experience
Nurse
Tracy MacDonald
11:05 – 11:40 am
Steps to Recovery
Paramedic and OT
Tabitha Irving & Jeniffer Hilling
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Hosted Lunch, Celebrating 10 Years
1:00 – 1:40 pm
Psychologist
Psychologist
Kathy Rolfe
1:40 – 2:20 pm
Shared Lived Experience
Firefighter
Rob Leathen
2:20 – 2:40 pm
Shared Lived Experience
Police
John Brix
2:40 – 3:00 pm
Refreshment Break, Gift Winner Announcement, and Visit Exhibitor Booths
3:00 – 3:30 pm
Shared Lived Experience
Registered Nurse/ Phsycotherapist
Katherine Hambleton
3:30 – 4:30 pm
Panel Discussion – Moderated by Karn Nichol
Moderator Karn Nichol – Howard Conter, Maddie MacDonald, Annette Hickey, Trevor Cruickshank
4:30 – 4:45 pm
Closing Remarks
Speakers

Jason MacLean
Secretary Treasurer, National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE)
Jason MacLean is the Secretary Treasurer of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). Born and raised in the community of Whitney Pier, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Jason grew up understanding the importance of diversity, fairness, and equality. His mother is a community leader, a former school board representative, and a retired Early Childhood Educator, and his father is a retired firefighter.
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In 1995, Jason began his career in the public service as a Corrections Officer first at the Cumberland Correctional Facility in Amherst and then at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility in Sydney. Jason became a leader in his Union Local and soon was elected to the NSGEU Board of Directors, Provincial Executive, and became President in 2016. As President, he strives to be a leader focused on solving problems and making the province a fairer, more equitable place to work and live. Jason is also a leader within the larger labour community. He serves as the 1st Vice President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and the Executive Vice President of the National Executive Board for the National Union of Public & General Employees (NUPGE). Jason was selected to attend the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference Program in 2015 and is a graduate of the distinguished Harvard Trade Union program. When he is not advocating on behalf of NSGEU members and the working people of Nova Scotia, Jason enjoys spending quality time with his family: he is married and the father of three children: Tasia, Tyler, and Jalen.

John Garth MacDonald
Paramedic (Retired)
John Garth MacDonald started his career as an EMT in 1990 with Curry Brothers of Antigonish and then in 1998 with Emergency Medical Care. He was a Safety Coach for Emergency Medical Care, conducting Provincial Collision Investigations in 2004.
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John Garth was a supervisor EMC for the Antigonish/Guysborough counties from 2005 – 2010, where he provided leadership and supervision to 30 staff. Continuing his commitment to patient care, he furthered his education and completed his Advanced Care Paramedic Diploma in 2006 and was one of the first Advanced Care Paramedic in the Antigonish area.
John Garth carried many provincial committee responsibilities for EMC and volunteer committees taking him across the province. In 2010 he received the NS Provincial Long Service Medal Award. Nominated by his peers, he also received the national Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medal. He continued to be an Advanced Care Paramedic until the time of his injury in 2010.
John Garth joined the Industrial Paramedics Services of Alberta in 2012 where he is a Clinic Coordinator. He is a strong advocate for PTSD and mental health and is the Chairperson of this Education Day.

John Tsentouros
Corrections Officer
John Tsentouros is very excited to be joining us from Kenora, ON. John’s life changed forever when he was taken hostage during a shift when he was working as a correctional officer. Four of the longest hours ensued while not knowing what the future would bring.
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Thankfully, through the hard work of the negotiating team, John was released with minimal physical injuries. But it would be the invisible injuries that would have the most profound effect and that would end up testing him as an individual, husband, and father. John dedicates much of his time advocating for first responders and their families. John and his wife Daniela Tsentouros have spoken openly and candidly about their healing through podcasts and interviews. John is pleased to tell his story and return to the Helping the Helpers Day of Education and Awareness for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Paul MacKenzie
Fire Support
Paul is a former Halifax Regional Police Officer (Rtd), having served in Patrol Division, Mounted Division and as the Employee and Family Assistance Program Coordinator. Paul is presently the Firefighters and Family Assistance Program Coordinator for the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency. Paul has worked as and with First Responders for the past 45 years.
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Paul has achieved the following certifications: Addictions Counselor, Suicide Intervention Master Trainer, MADD Canada Death Notification Trainer, Bereavement Facilitator, Trauma Responder, Trauma Field Traumalogist, Trauma Services Specialist, Compassion Fatigue Educator, Peer Support and ICISF Approved Instructor
Paul is of First Nation’s Mi’kmaq ancestry and has also worked with the Native Community in the Maritimes as the Liaison Officer between the Halifax Regional Police and the Native Community.

Tracy MacDonald
Nurse
Tracy is a trusted and forward-thinking leader who brings over 25 years of clinical nursing, education, and administrative experience in health care. Using her knowledge and experience from nursing front line in obstetrics, neonatal, and operating room as well as progressive leadership roles in Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC), Clinical management, Risk and Patient Safety, Professional Practice, and Accreditation Canada Surveying, Tracy is committed to continued growth and learning to bring new perspectives to teams with a focus on health and wellness.
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Tracy holds a Master of Health Studies with a focus on Leadership from Athabasca University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Francis Xavier University, is a Certified Health Executive (CHE), trained Just Culture Facilitator, and in the final stages of completing the Comprehensive Holistic Nurse, Nurse Coach & Consultant Certificate Program, through the Canadian Institute of Integrative Nursing and Development and Education (CIINDE). In her spare time Tracy enjoys a peaceful life with her husband, four children, 2 dogs, and travelling as a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. Tracy leads an active life and enjoys all things outdoors and making the most of every season living on the east coast of Canada. Tracy enjoys speaking about her experiences as a front-line nurse, manager, and weaving the many adventures of living with a chronic illness and being a mom to share messages of embedding the basics of creating and building wellness into the day to day.

Tabitha Irving & Jeniffer Hilling
Paramedic and Occupational Therapist
Tabitha Irving and Jeniffer Hilling have come together to share their unique perspective on the patient and clinician therapeutic relationship. They believe the path through post-traumatic stress disorder to Post traumatic growth is a collaborative journey with unique roads, the clinician and the client taking the lead on the path both with the common goal/ destination.
Tabitha and Jeniffer have worked collaboratively within their therapeutic relationship. Tabitha living and molding her treatment in a way that makes sense to her, and Jeniffer assisting in processing Tabatha’s choices and needs from a therapeutic and best practice perspective.
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Tabitha Irving:
After graduating from The Maritime School of Paramedicine, Saint John, NB in 2002, Tabitha was sure her career would be spent in New Brunswick. After tagging along “as company” for EMC inc. orientation with a classmate she was packing her family up by February 2003 to start her career as a Primary Care Paramedic in Nova Scotia.
In December 2019 Tabitha’s career took an unplanned turn when she found herself unable to hide the internal struggle she was fighting, putting her off work with a PTSD diagnosis. By December 2022, despite Tabitha’s efforts, she chose to leave paramedicine permanently.
Despite leaving her career behind Tabitha was determined to find a healthy, functional life again. She developed self-advocacy and self-love through trauma focused treatment and the use of complementary treatments. Now that Tabitha finds herself living in her post-traumatic GROWTH phase of life, she is inspired to share with others what she wishes she knew while navigating her journey.
Jeniffer Hilling:
Jeniffer Hilling is an Occupational Therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience. She has always had a passion for working with individuals with emotional, and psychological illnesses and injuries. As an Occupational therapist she works with individuals to learn new or regain the skills required to live work and play in meaningful and valued activities and roles.
Jeniffer has been trained in trauma focused treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation. She draws on various modalities to work with individuals with psychological injury including graded exposure, behavioural activation, and value driven choice points when facing daily life challenges.

Dr. Kathy Rolfe
Psychologist
Kathy was born and raised in Red Deer, Alberta, to a family of lifelong helpers. Her mother is a (retired) fourth-generation nurse, and her father is a retired social worker. Kathy’s younger sister is also a nurse and just recently graduated with a Masters in Psychology as well. Kathy joined the military at the age of 17 and spent her 18th birthday sitting in a trench at boot camp.
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Kathy remained in the military for 6.5 years while she completed her Criminology degree at the University of Alberta. She was then recruited by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) as a Signals Officer at Headquarters and Signals at CFB Edmonton. Kathy remained with the EPS for 20 years and has a lived understanding of the military and first responder culture. While working at the EPS, she came to realize the significant need to support first responders and their mental health. She completed her Masters of Counselling in Counselling Psychology while working as a Sergeant with the EPS. She left the EPS in 2019 to work in the psychology field full-time.
In her career as a psychologist, Kathy specializes in trauma work with First Responders, Military personnel, and Veterans. She is also an associate professor at Simon Fraser University since 2018, where she teaches the Organizational Structure and Stigma Reduction course as a component of the First Responders Trauma Prevention and Recovery certificate. She recently received her doctorate through California Southern University, and her thesis was on identity loss in first responders who undergo early medical retirement due to psychological injuries – which is also what she is presenting on today.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, running, travelling, and – while she is really bad at it – golfing.

Rob Leathen
Firefighter
Rob is a retired 30-year veteran of the Ontario Fire Service. In 2019, Rob was diagnosed with severe PTSD/Depression as a result of traumatic events and experiences he was exposed to during his career. His journey also included a very close call with suicide. Rob openly and very publicly shares his lived experience to help chip away at the stigma that still exists surrounding 1st responder mental health and suicide.
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Rob does this through his mental health education and advocacy efforts, mental health related digital artwork, and peer support with various 1st responder peer support organizations. Rob is passionate about helping those whose organizational roles involve mental health program development.
“Silence does nothing but strengthen stigma and when we recover loudly, we keep others from dying quietly so speak up, speak out and speak loudly when it comes to all things 1st responder mental health related”

John Brix
Law Enforcement
John started his career as a police officer for a major metropolitan city. Over his 13 years on the police force, John was involved in the Services Training Department and had the opportunity to train over 600 new recruits and hundreds of in-service personnel. Furthermore, John received training and instructor certification from the FBI and various other well-known institutions across North America leading to a depth of knowledge that he continues to add to at every opportunity.
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He went on to become a respected project manager for an international engineering firm with projects in Canada, US, Mexico, and South America. He is known for his dynamic approach to problem solving, keen attention to detail, and data driven practices. He has the unique talent of fostering positive morale in the workplace, and enjoys organizing team building events and cultivating an overall positive working environment.
John earned his Masters of Science from Columbia Southern University. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Arts (Criminology) and has a plethora of other certificates and accomplishments to his name.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.”

Katherine Hambleton
Registered Nurse/ Phsycotherapist
With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare, Katherine brings a wealth of expertise spanning emergency medicine, critical care, health and safety, and psychological services. Her diverse background uniquely positions her to address the nuanced mental health needs of individuals in high-stress environments.
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For the past decade, Katherine has served as a steadfast advocate and liaison, championing the mental well-being of first responders, veterans, and public safety personnel. Now, she brings her compassionate approach and clinical acumen as an RN Psychotherapist, servicing the needs of veterans, their spouses and those involved with the performing arts.

Dr. Howard Conter
Physician
Dr. Howard Conter was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Howard has participated and volunteered in many professional positions including the Regional Medical Coordinator for Air Canada, a Trustee for the QEII Foundation in addition to being the Medical Director for the Halifax Regional Police Department.
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Howard’s medical background allowed him the pleasure of participating in international events including the World Figure Skating Championships, Canadian Winter Games, the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2002-2003, and the Memorial Cup to name a few. Howard is involved in The Children’s Wish Foundation and Air Canada’s Dream Take Flight. He has been involved with first responders for over twenty years as a founding member of the Tema Conter Memorial Trust, now the Tema Foundation. Dedicated to improving the mental and psychological health of first responders.

Annette Hickey
Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (Retired)
Annette Hickey is currently retired but was employed with Workers’ Compensation Board from 1989 to 2020. She started as a dicta typist and ended her career as a Case Manager in the field of Health and Social Services.
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Annette is very passionate about helping people and through her years at the Board she was able to develop her training and help those with PTSD. This was her favourite part of the job.
Annette enjoys volunteering for Souls Harbour Rescue Mission and creating beach glass pictures and playing with her two golden retrievers.

Trevor Cruickshank
Paramedic (Retired)
Trevor began his paramedic career in 1998 with EMC and became an Advanced Care Paramedic in 2003. During his field career, he also worked as a Senior Operations Paramedic, an IUOE shop steward, an educator for EMC as a Paramedic Facilitator and the Heart and Stroke Foundation as an ACLS Instructor.
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Trevor served the people of Nova Scotia for 23 years before he made the decision to retire as a paramedic in 2021. Today, he works as an electrician and is a devoted husband and proud father of 3 girls, who Trevor refers to as the greatest motivating factor in his recovery.
Registration
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, October 24th, 2024 in Antigonish!
You may register by clicking at the link below or by calling our event registrar at 902-422-1886 or 877-731-1333.
Once the registrations are complete, you may make a single payment for by cheque or credit card for the people participating from your organization. Details for payment will appear on the invoice you will receive when you complete your registration.
If you have questions or require assistance, you may email us at helpingthehelpers@agendamanagers.com
