Retreats

Leadership

SHAWNA PERCY: TEDxUW speaker, published author, and President of Life Voice Canada Inc., Shawna Percy is passionate about mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Shawna regularly delivers Mental Health First Aid, ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training,) safeTALK, and Compassion Fatigue, in a broad range of contexts across Ontario and beyond. Her lived experience and story-telling approach engages her participants and takes learnings from theory to real-life application. Shawna only teaches what she lives. As such, she has run hundreds of workshops, and engaged in dozens of suicide interventions; a privilege she calls walking on sacred ground with her fellow human beings. As a public speaker, she has had the honour of sharing some of her lived experiences and certified knowledge base to audiences through CTV news, 100 Huntley Street, through University forums, health-care anti-stigma events, and as a panelist for events from fundraisers to film festivals.

JOHN BORTHWICK: John is an ordained minister who has served The Presbyterian Church in Canada for a quarter century. He discovered "Inter-missions" (sabbaticals) by accident after a decade of serving the PCC. Since then, John has taken three Inter-missions from the congregation where he has served for 20 years, completing his last one in 2022. He is a PASSIONATE promoter of the Inter-mission which has been one of the keys to maintaining his wellbeing for the long journey of ordained ministry. John in a trained Empathic Strain/Compassion Fatigue educator and offers training on vicarious trauma, stress, and resilience, his specialty being Moral Distress and Injury. John  was the Guelph Police Service chaplain from 2014-2021 and is currently chaplain to the Campus Safety Office at the University of Guelph. He now serves as the Lead of The Abbey (www.theabbey.ca) where he offers virtual offerings to care for those who tend to all things spiritual. 

SUZIE MCNEIL: Juno Award winner Suzie McNeil was practically raised singing with her mother and sister at Erindale Presbyterian Church where her step-father was the minister. Suzie is a musical Jack-of-all-trades. These have ranged from live shows beside some of North America’s top artists (Steven Tyler, Alan Frew, Jeff Healey, Dave Navarro, P!nk, INXS, Scott Weiland, Gavin Rossdale), to consummate professionalism tracking in the studio (Kara Dioguardi, Clay Aiken, Buckcherry, Matt Nathanson, Foreigner) to commercial jingles, to performing in front of crowds of up to 200,000 people. She was the last woman standing on CBS television’s reality series Rockstar: INXS in 2005. She is featured singing duets on INXS’ release SWITCH, and American Idol finalist Clay Aiken’s release; A Thousand Different Ways. Suzie sang back-up vocals for P!nk on her North American tour, entertained the troops in Afghanistan on an armed forces tour, performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies, and starred in the Toronto Debut of Queen’s We Will Rock You musical as the role of Oz. Suzie has co-writen and released 5 albums in Canada, all of which have had multiple singles that reached a spot in the Top 20 Canadian pop charts. Her 2008 single SuperGirl went gold, peaked at #3 on the charts, and was the most played song by a Canadian artist several weeks in a row.

DONNA-MICHELLE RANCOEUR MSc(A), RRPR, CRA-RP is a Registered Reflexologist and member of the Reflexology Registration Council of Ontario (RRCO).  She has additional training in Foot, Hand, and Facial Reflexology "Dien Chan" and Vertical Reflexology. Donna-Michelle is also a Reiki Master and an Indian Head Massage Practitioner. With a background in nursing, she has always been passionate about prevention and empowering clients with self-care strategies. As someone who has always been very focused on helping others, she knows firsthand how difficult it can be to remember to care for yourself. ​In addition to working with clients on their relaxation and wellness goals, Donna-Michelle enjoys trying out new recipes on her family and spending time in nature with her dog.