Natalie’s work is informed and mobilized through her interconnected identities including Settler ancestry (Irish, Welch, English) and her intersecting kinship relationships to Indigenous communities (Secwepemc, Métis), in particular as a parent, auntie and grandparent of Secwepemc children and youth, and part of the Secwepemc community; an academic; activist and sexual abuse counsellor. In addition to her role as a Professor at Thompson Rivers University in the School of Social Work, Natalie continues to practice as a clinical supervisor, educator and counsellor specializing in sexualized violence, sexual abuse and trauma as well as a girls group facilitator for Indigenous girls (including non-binary, gender-diverse youth).

For over 25 years Tracy has worked with families experiencing violence. In the PEACE program, Tracy trained, coordinated and provided counselling and safety planning to children, youth and caregivers and in recent years facilitated groups with fathers who have used violence and abuse in their intimate relationships. Tracy is the provincial trainer for the BC Society of Transition Houses and currently sits on a national advisory committee for developing best practices when working with children and youth experiencing violence in their homes. Over the past two years, Tracy has been the lead trainer in an initiative to support workers in rural and remote Transition Houses across Canada. Tracy identifies as a cisgender women with a disability and is grateful to live and work on the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation where she has a private family counselling practice. She is excited and deeply humbled by this opportunity to gather and share ideas, practices and best ways of working with the families we support.

Belinda Lacombe, Indigenous name Blue Buffalo Woman (Sipikisoo, Moostoos Iskwew) is a Metis woman originating from the Fishing Lake Metis Settlement in Alberta. She currently lives on the traditional unceded territory of the Wet’su’we’tin in Northwest BC. Belinda has worked as an anti-violence advocate/educator/therapist for over 20 years, she is highly respected as a program and community developer. She is a survivor of the unique genocide experienced by Metis children and their families in Canada. She is the Stopping the Violence Counselor (18 years) in the community of Houston BC and an instructor of Aboriginal Focusing Oriented Trauma Training (IFOT) and Indigenous Tools for Living (ITFL). Training programs that are genocide informed, land-based and body centred. (Shirley Turcotte) Over the years, Belinda has grounded her work in uncovering and dismantling the links between colonialism and systemic violence that has and continues to impact Indigenous peoples, families, communities and nations through one-on-one counselling, educations, community development and social activism. As a survivor of cultural genocide Belinda understands and affirms that culture truly does save lives and that decolonizing one person at a time makes a path towards collective wellness.

Amy Simpson, MA Counselling Psych, Psychotherapist, is an instructor in the IFOT (Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy for Complex Trauma) and ITFL (Indigenous Tools for Living) programs. Amy has been learning from and working with Shirley Turcotte in these programs since 2002 and has maintained a private therapy and community education and training practice since 2004. Amy is from a mixed background and is passionate about supporting Indigenous wellness and social and land justice movements.

Dr. Natalie Clark,
Natalie’s work is informed and mobilized through her interconnected identities including Settler ancestry (Irish, Welch, English) and her intersecting kinship relationships to Indigenous communities (Secwepemc, Métis), in particular as a parent, auntie and grandparent of Secwepemc children and youth, and part of the Secwepemc community; an academic; activist and sexual abuse counsellor. In addition to her role as a Professor at Thompson Rivers University in the School of Social Work, Natalie continues to practice as a clinical supervisor, educator and counsellor specializing in sexualized violence, sexual abuse and trauma as well as a girls group facilitator for Indigenous girls (including non-binary, gender-diverse youth).

Natalie’s work is grounded in an intergenerational approach, and an Indigenous gender-based and intersectional violence informed practice, that not only recognizes the multi-generational impact of colonization and trauma – but that also point towards policy solutions that acknowledge sovereignty, build on resistance, and emerge from the strengths within the community and within Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTI+ individuals themselves. They are the best guides of determining their own needs in this respect, as they are already engaging in daily acts of understanding, negotiating, and resisting colonial policy.

Belinda Lacombe, Indigenous name Blue Buffalo Woman (Sipikisoo, Moostoos Iskwew) is a Metis woman originating from the Fishing Lake Metis Settlement in Alberta. She currently lives on the traditional unceded territory of the Wet’su’we’tin in Northwest BC. Belinda has worked as an anti-violence advocate/educator/therapist for over 20 years, she is highly respected as a program and community developer. She is a survivor of the unique genocide experienced by Metis children and their families in Canada. She is the Stopping the Violence Counselor (18 years) in the community of Houston BC and an instructor of Aboriginal Focusing Oriented Trauma Training (IFOT) and Indigenous Tools for Living (ITFL). Training programs that are genocide informed, land-based and body centred. (Shirley Turcotte) Over the years, Belinda has grounded her work in uncovering and dismantling the links between colonialism and systemic violence that has and continues to impact Indigenous peoples, families, communities and nations through one-on-one counselling, educations, community development and social activism. As a survivor of cultural genocide Belinda understands and affirms that culture truly does save lives and that decolonizing one person at a time makes a path towards collective wellness.

Amy Simpson, MA Counselling Psych, Psychotherapist, is an instructor in the IFOT (Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy for Complex Trauma) and ITFL (Indigenous Tools for Living) programs. Amy has been learning from and working with Shirley Turcotte in these programs since 2002 and has maintained a private therapy and community education and training practice since 2004. Amy is from a mixed background and is passionate about supporting Indigenous wellness and social and land justice movements.

Brett Mason (MSW, RSW) is a counsellor in private practice working primarily with trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit and other 2SLGBTQIA+ people. They hold a Masters of Social Work from the University of British Columbia, where their graduate research focused on trans and Two-Spirit healthcare access in Alberta. He brings with him over 12 years of experience working in gender-affirming care and 2SLGBTQIA+-centred care, and a lifetime of lived experience as a queer and trans person. Brett’s practice is strengths based and grounded in anti-oppression, intersectional trans feminism, critical race theory, unsettling (a settler approach to decolonization), trauma-informed care, and fat liberation.

Brett is a queer, trans, fat, disabled, white settler with roots in Calgary and the West Coast, and is of French Canadian, Irish, Germanic and English ancestry. Career highlights include being a Support Worker and Executive Director at a 2SLGBTQIA+ centre in Calgary (2011-2015), and working with Trans Care BC doing front line work with thousands of trans, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people all over so-called BC (2017-2020). Brett lives in Chemainus on Vancouver Island on Stz’uminus, Penelakut, Snuneymuxw, and Quw’utsun Territory with his family, including a dog and chickens.

Learn more about Brett: BrettMason.ca