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Recognizing the Value of Educators

 

ECB Conference:

From Connection to Collaboration: Advancing Engagement for Thriving Futures - June 11, 2025.

Event Details

Date: June 11, 2025

Location: Barrett Centre For Technology Innovation

Located in: Humber College, North Campus

Address: 205 Humber College Blvd., ON M9W 5L7

Cost: Free

We are proud to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Every Child Belongs Conference; a landmark year in our ongoing journey toward building inclusive and thriving communities for all children. This year’s theme, “From Connection to Collaboration: Advancing Engagement for Thriving Futures,” invites Resource Consultation staff and all early years professionals and community leaders to come together to reimagine what it means to truly support every child. Through meaningful dialogues, shared learning, and networking, we will explore how stronger partnerships and authentic engagement can build the foundation for a future where every child is seen, heard, and empowered to thrive.

Throughout the conference, attendees will be immersed in many professional development opportunities, including insightful keynote presentations, interactive workshop sessions, and team-building activities. These experiences foster growth and learning, allowing attendees to share their expertise and gain new understandings. 

Join us as we mark two decades of commitment, growth, and progress. Our collective efforts can pave the way for a future where every child feels worthy and has a sense of belonging. This shared vision unites us and drives us forward to create lasting impact for children, families, and communities across our region. continue providing the best quality services in our communities.By fostering solid collaboration and partnerships, we can enhance the support systems where every child receives the care, resources, and opportunities they need to flourish.

Please Note: This opportunity is funded in partnership with the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario, and the Government of Canada under the Canada-Ontario Early Childhood Workforce Agreement. This agreement provides federal funding to support the recruitment and retention of a high-quality childcare and early years workforce. The event is intended for the early learning sector in Toronto.

Overview of the Conference Day

7:45 AM - 8:30 AM - Registration & Breakfast

8:30 AM -9:00 AM - Opening Ceremony & Welcome

9:00 AM -10:00 AM - Morning Keynote

10:00 AM -10:15 AM - Morning Break & Refreshments

10:15 AM-11:45 AM - Morning Workshops

  1. From Connection to Collaboration: Building Psychological Safety to Strengthen Engagement and Relationships.
  2. Small Shifts, Big Impact: Mindfulness and Self Compassion for Sustainable Support
  3. Understanding Our Stress Responses- Trauma Responsive Skills Workshop
  4. Food Fears and Other Barriers to Feeding
  5. From One RC to Another: Building Connections with ECE Teams.
  6. From Exhaustion to Empowerment: A Rhythmic Journey to Resilience.

11:45 AM - 1:15 PM - Lunch & Wellness Experiences

1:15 PM - 2:45 PM - Networking/ Team Building Activities: Survey Showdown Live

2:45 PM - 3:00 PM - Afternoon Break & Refreshments

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM -  Afternoon Keynote

4:00 PM - 4:15 PM - Closing Remarks

Accessibility: Humber College is a fully accessible space. Please indicate any specific supports required by emailing citywidetraining@humber.ca with the subject line: ECB Conference- accessibility.

Keynote Speaker

portrait of Sarain Fox

9:00 AM-10:00 AM

Andrew Campbell (DR.ABC)

Andrew B. Campbell (DR. ABC) is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in Leadership for Racial Justice in Teacher Education in the Master of Teaching Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto OISE. He is Coordinator for the Black Future Educators’ Program (BFEP) and the newly appointed Director of the Centre for Black Studies in Education (CBSE). DR. ABC is known to the OISE and wider community for his leadership on advancing equity, leadership, 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and teacher education. DR. ABC’s exemplary work has seen numerous awards bestowed to him, such as a 2024 recipient of the Black History Month Award, from the Jamaica Canadian Association; The 2022 Award for Excellence in Initial Teacher Education from University of Toronto; The 2021 Distinguish African Caribbean Award from University of Toronto, African Alumni Association; The 2021 Champion Educator Award from ONABSE (Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators) and numerous others.
He presently teaches courses in anti-discrimination education, leadership, educational change, urban education, and Black Educators’ Identity and Pedagogy. He has presented at numerous conferences and has delivered many presentations as a keynote speaker, motivational speaker, and workshop facilitator. He loves people, food, fashion, travelling and bringing his community together for a good meal.

Keynote Overview:

Building and Sustaining, Professional and Intentional Relationships: Connections, Collaborations, and Communities

Relationships are the often the source of our greatest joys and greatest challenges. Understanding how to engage any type of relationship is no simple task and there is no easy formula. In an increasingly interconnected world, the success of our educational environments’ hinges on the strength of our relationships. This keynote will illuminate the significance of fostering impactful connections among colleagues, stakeholders, and the broader community. We will examine strategies for intentional collaboration, prioritizing trust and communication. Together, we will delve into practical best practices reminders to establish and maintain these relationships, highlighting the role of equity, empathy, shared vision, leadership, and collective responsibility.

portrait of Bean Gill

3:00 PM-4:00 PM

Bean Gill

Inclusion Warrior, Paralysis Recovery Pioneer, Change Maker

“There is a lesson in everything.”
Benveet “Bean” Gill’s story serves up a dose of reality like you’ve never heard before. In her 20s, Gill was working as an X-ray technologist in a cardiac catheterization lab. But, in 2012, when she turned 30, everything changed. She left an abusive relationship, her dad left her family and, during a trip to Las Vegas, a virus paralyzed her from the waist down. While relaxing in a hotel room with close friends, she felt a sudden, stabbing pain in her spine. "The pain lasted only a few minutes, and then I couldn't move my right leg. I was paralyzed within 10 minutes." Multiple neurologists told Gill a virus was likely to blame, and she would regain full use of her legs within weeks. After several months of no progress, Bean was forced to come to grips with her new reality. A once athletic young woman who enjoyed modeling, kickboxing, and weightlifting, she struggled with betrayal by her own body. She couldn't roll over, sit up, or get out of bed without help. She was forced to find her way through an inaccessible society, all the while living with paralysis and learning how to love herself - disability and all.
"My life was flipped upside down. I hated everything about me. I hated my life." Bean took her health into her own hands, seeking out the answers and help she needed to confront her challenges head-on. Eventually, Gill found her confidence again. She worked to regain movement in her legs and pushed herself to try sports she never would have attempted before being paralyzed.
If it wasn’t for the worst year of her life, Gill wouldn’t be who she is today. 

Keynote Overview:

Modeling Diversity: The Transformational Impact of Unrelenting Inclusion

Bean shares what it was like to grow up in a strict Indian family and a culture that had rigid religious rules. Heavily bullied as a child, her sudden disability was a catalyst that forced her to face trauma head on. Bean took her health into her own hands, got the answers and help she needed, and bravely embraced an 'attitude of gratitude'. Her vast experience, strong background in human connection and positive thinking strategies makes her perfect for organizations who seek ways to help employees overcome adversity, improve self-awareness, limit self-doubt, and inspire individuals to embrace change within themselves and
their communities. She delivers fun, upbeat engaging presentations which leave the audience feeling rejuvenated and ready to change their world. "I want to rid the world of the stigma surrounding people with disabilities and will continue to speak about racism and discrimination. By educating others we can release bias, anger and hatred."

Morning Workshops 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM

Presenter: Erin Helcl

Connection is where trust begins—collaboration is where it grows. In this interactive 90-minute session, participants will explore psychological safety as a key enabler in advancing engagement, deepening relationships, and creating environments where children, families, and professionals can thrive.

Drawing from proven frameworks and practical experience, this session will guide participants through the core behaviors and mindsets that support psychological safety in collaborative environments. Erin’s work with organizations like TELUS, Manulife, RBC, and the University of Waterloo has helped leaders and front-line professionals alike build cultures of inclusion, trust, and meaningful partnership.

Through reflection, discussion, and group activities, attendees will gain actionable tools they can use right away to strengthen their relationships with educators, families, and peers.

Participants will learn to:

- Understand psychological safety and why it matters for engagement and collaboration
- Identify behaviors that help or hinder trust
- Use facilitation and communication techniques that support connection and inclusion
- Apply tools to foster strong, collaborative relationships in their daily practice

This session aligns directly with the 2025 theme, “From Connection to Collaboration: Advancing Engagement for Thriving Futures,” by equipping participants with real-world strategies for building safe and engaged teams.

Bio:

Erin Helcl is a facilitator, educator, and innovation strategist with over 25 years of experience designing and delivering transformational programs across large, complex, and highly regulated organizations—including TELUS, Manulife, RBC, and the University of Waterloo. As the founder of New Helio Strategies, she helps leaders and teams build trust-based cultures that support inclusion, collaboration, and innovation. Erin is known for her warm, grounded facilitation style and her ability to turn big ideas into actionable strategies. Her psychological safety workshops have supported professionals across sectors to navigate change, deepen engagement, and build strong, connected relationships.

Presenter: Kaitlin Winslow

Imagine a time that you’ve wanted to help a child problem-solve, but stress has hijacked your thinking brain- you can’t access the tools you know, and your ability to support feels compromised. As resource consultants and early childhood educators, navigating high caseloads, complex responsibilities, and the challenges of supporting diverse needs can make this a familiar experience. Trying to use strategies from a stressed state can feel like hitting a brick wall, leading to burnout and reinforcing hopelessness. These tools may help children, but without first creating space for our own regulation, they can feel ineffective and exhausting.

This workshop offers a practical approach, focusing on self-compassion, grounding, and mindfulness as foundational practices. These tools not only help us engage with children more effectively but also create intentional moments of regulation throughout the day. Giving ourselves these moments reduces burnout, supports mental wellness, and helps us navigate challenges with calm and clarity.

Rooted in evidence-based strategies, you’ll learn how to sustain compassion, protect your energy, and enhance your ability to support children and colleagues. Rather than adding more to your plate, this workshop emphasizes small, meaningful shifts that build resilience, foster peer connections, and better support the children you work with.

Participants Will Learn To:

  • Use self-compassion, grounding, and mindfulness as core practices for co-regulating with children
  • Recognize your own and other’s signs of stress activation and identify behavioural triggers
  • Practice in-the-moment mindfulness to reduce burnout and compassion fatigue
  • Create intentional moments of regulation to stay balanced
  • Apply these skills to support children, families, and colleagues

Bio:

Kaitlin Winslow (she/her) is a Registered Psychotherapist in Toronto, ON with over a decade of experience providing therapy for children, youth, and families. With formal training in Creative Arts Therapies and a background in theatre, Kaitlin’s professional special sauce integrates evidence-based approaches with expressive arts and mindfulness interventions. She has provided her clinical services at children’s mental health organizations across Toronto and currently works in private practice, with a passion and focus helping folks that have experienced trauma and those with ASD. In addition to her clinical work, Kaitlin is an engaging trainer and consultant, having developed and delivered workshops and trainings on mental health, trauma and attachment for educators and social workers in school boards, child care centres, child welfare agencies, universities, and community agencies. Through her trainings. Kaitlin hopes participants leave with more compassion for themselves, new perspectives on those they work with and concrete ideas to add to their toolbox.

Presented: Leticia Gracia & Aimee Kenney.

This training will be highly interactive, incorporating reflective practices to help RCs understand the underlying causes of their clients' behavior and respond in ways that calm their clients' nervous systems. We will also discuss techniques to calm our own nervous systems when dealing with traumatic events, client disclosures, or difficult behaviors. Recognizing that our ability to regulate and ground ourselves is crucial for co-regulating our clients' behaviors, we will also focus on understanding vicarious trauma and its impact.
The training will lead to the development of tools, strategies, and approaches that foster a trauma-responsive culture and team. We will explore how to build a team that responds consistently to client disclosures, relies on a shared understanding of trauma-informed care, and supports colleagues experiencing vicarious trauma. This training will equip RCs with a toolkit to better manage traumatized children, respond to disclosures, and regulate themselves in potentially traumatic situations with clients.

Participants will learn:

  • A framework for RCs and ECEs on how to respond to child disclosures.
  • Managing triggers in staff in response to challenging behaviors or traumatic experiences with clients.
  • Understanding staff stress responses in the moment with a client and working within a team to support each other.
  • Responding to challenging behavior in ways that set limits and foster relationship development.

Bios:

Leticia Gracia, MSW, RSW, is the Director of the Institute of Childhood Trauma and Attachment at the George Hull Centre. Having worked with children and families for over 28 years, Leticia has extensive clinical experience in delivering Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), family therapy, trauma assessment and recently, various forms of trauma treatment including SMART, EMDR and Neurofeedback.  Previously the Director of the George Hull Community Clinic for 6 years, Leticia has a passion for developing and implementing high quality clinical programs to treat the most complex of cases.
Leticia was instrumental in obtaining significant Innovation Grants from the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health to implement DDP in the Community Clinic and to develop a school-based socio-emotional learning program in partnership with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Leticia is highly respected by her colleagues and peers in the children’s mental health sector and her excellence in clinical leadership was recognized by the Hospital for Sick Children with the Elizabeth Manson Award (2017).
Leticia has taken a leadership role at various local and provincial tables to address access to children’s mental health services by at-risk children and youth. She has regularly presented on trauma and attachment at numerous conferences in Ontario, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Hospital for Sick Children, and at Children’s Mental Health Ontario conferences.

Aimee Kenney, MSW, RSW, is the Training Manager of the Institute of Childhood Trauma and
Attachment at The George Hull Centre. Through the Institute, Aimee delivers training on developmental
trauma and trauma-responsive care for professionals working with children and youth across different
sectors. Aimee has many years of clinical work experience in child and adolescent mental health, having
worked in community agencies, inpatient and outpatient hospital settings, and live-in treatment centers.
She is well-versed in implementing evidence-based therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
(CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Dyadic Developmental
Therapy (DDP), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
While at The George Hull Centre as a Clinician, Aimee demonstrated exceptional clinical skills and was
awarded the Libby Ridgely Award for Clinical Excellence. Aimee co-facilitates The George Hull Centre’s
Family Therapy Training Program and serves as the EMDR Clinical Lead. She is nearing obtaining her
DDP certification and is diligently working to become a certified fidelity coach for the Circle of Security
Parenting group program (COSP).

Presented: Jessica Faith

Eating is meant to be a pleasant and nourishing experience. What if it's not? What is causing some of the young children we work with to become“picky”or“selective", limiting their diet or avoiding meals altogether?

Did you know:
-that there are dozens of reasons why young children avoid food?
-that sensory differences, oral motor dysfunction, digestion, arousal regulation and family dynamics have the most     impact on a young child's relationship with food?
-that there are ways to identify why a young child is avoiding food?
-that there are strategies that can be used at home, in a childcare or classroom setting that can improve a young child's relationship with food?

This workshop aims to answer these questions and give strategies to help selective eaters feel more comfortable and curious with unfamiliar food.
This workshop is tailored to educators and resource consultants working with young children who are highly selective with their food choices, limiting their repertoire, and experiencing trepidation eating meals outside the home. This workshop will not be discussing eating disorders outside of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and highly selective “picky” eaters.

Bio:

Jessica Faith, OT Reg. (Ont.) is associate director responsible for clinical development at Ellen Yack and Associates Paediatric Therapy Services. For the past 23 years, she has provided occupational therapy services to children, adolescents and adults. Her areas of expertise include working with neurotypical and neurodivergent children and youth who have sensory processing issues, developmental coordination disorders, learning disabilities, social engagement challenges, feeding challenges such as ARFID and disorders of self-regulation. Jessica is certified to perform the SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests), DIR/Floortime® intervention, Safe and Sound Protocol® and the Beckman Oral Motor Protocol. Jessica is a trauma-informed practitioner who has provided recommendations to individuals who have sensory, self-regulation, and feeding challenges related to their history of trauma. Jessica has a unique ability to engage clients and workshop participants through imagination and humour, drawing on her musical, improvisational, and theatrical training.

Presented: Cherie Dale

A core part of the Resource Consultation role is building a positive, trusting relationship with Early Childhood Education (ECE) teams. These relationships often look different depending on the program, the team, and the individual needs of each child and family.

This session offers a supportive space for RCs to come together to share ideas, challenges, and creative strategies for building rapport with ECE teams. The conversation will be facilitated by Cherie Dale, an RC with 20 years of experience in the Every Child Belongs model. Cherie will guide the discussion not as an “expert,” but as a peer who continues to learn alongside with others in the field.

Whether you are new to the role or have years of experience, this session is an opportunity to connect with fellow RCs, exchange practical strategies, and leave with relationship-building tools you can apply to your day-to-day work.

Together, we will explore:

• What is currently working for you when building trust and positive connections with educators?
• How do we approach difficult dynamics with curiosity and respect?
• What small gestures or practices have made a big impact on your relationships with childcare teams?
• How can we support authentic, collaborative relationships while navigating the complexities of our roles?

Bio:

Cherie Dale has been working & learning with young children and their families for over 30 years in the field of Early Learning. She currently works as a Resource Consultant at Lumenus Community Services and is a part-time faculty at Centennial College.

Presented By: Samuel Liu

From Exhaustion to Empowerment: A Rhythmic Journey to Resilience is an experiential
session grounded in the Rhythm2Recovery (R2R) model, designed to address burnout and
foster resilience through rhythm-based activities. Participants will engage in structured
drumming exercises that promote emotional regulation, self-reflection, and social
connection. By integrating rhythm with metaphor and guided discussion, attendees will
explore personal stress patterns, reconnect with core values, and develop practical
strategies for well-being. This inclusive session requires no prior musical experience and
offers a safe space for rejuvenation and empowerment.

Key Takeaways
- Experience rhythm-based activities that enhance emotional regulation and reduce stress.​
- Learn to use metaphor and guided reflection to gain insights into personal resilience.​
- Discover techniques to rebuild social connections and support networks.​
- Develop practical strategies for self-care and burnout prevention.​
- Leave with a renewed sense of empowerment and tools to sustain well-being.

Bio:

Samuel Liu is the Founding Facilitator of DRUMIN.CA, Studio Director of Perfect Harmony
Music Studio, a Remo Endorsed Facilitator, and an accredited drum circle facilitator. Based
in Mississauga, Ontario, Samuel transitioned from a 15-year corporate career to champion
the power of rhythm in building community and promoting wellness. He is trained by Arthur
Hull and certified in HealthRHYTHMS, Rhythm2Recovery, and Beat the Odds®. Samuel
designs engaging group drumming experiences for diverse settings, including schools,
individuals with special needs, long-term care homes, and corporate team-building and
mental health workshops. He co-presented the keynote at the 2024 Music Therapy
Association of Ontario (MTAO) Student, Intern, and Supervisor Conference held at Wilfrid
Laurier University, and received the Mississauga Arts Council’s 2023 Project MicroGrant in
recognition of his impactful work. Samuel is also featured in the upcoming documentary
Talking Drum, highlighting his use of rhythm to foster connection and expression in
marginalized communities.

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