Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) - Training, E-Learning, Consultation, Workshops, Programs, Services

AODA - Accessible Customer ServiceAODA - Accessible Customer Service

www.accessiblecustomerservicetraining.com

The Team

Lauri Sue Robertson

Lauri Sue Robertson, holds degrees in Social Work, Criminology and Human Resources. She is a former prison guard, social worker and has 15 years of experience as a human resources manager. Since becoming disabled by arthritis in 1993 she has been developing and delivering disability awareness training, consultation and site audits for clients who seek to create accessible environments.

Lauri Sue is an expert resource on the accommodations needed by those who live with speech, visual, physical, intellectual, psychiatric, neurological and learning disabilities, as well as those living with chemical sensitivities, facial differences or hearing loss.

Clients include government agencies, banks, hospitals, major corporations and private industry. She has developed and delivered extensive training programs in the banking, tourism entertainment, and transportation sectors, and provided site audits in retail, hospitality, manufacturing, hospitals, tourism, recreation and office environments.

Lauri Sue writes for newspapers and magazines and speaks frequently to public and private organizations, on the issues of sensitivity and accommodations for people with disabilities. She is a past President and Vice President of the Diversity and Employment Equity Professionals Association. She was on the provincial committee for the Employment Standards of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and has written many training manuals for the province. Lauri Sue created the provincial program for customer service for people with disabilities, and the Talk to Me video currently in use by the province to introduce the training concept to employers.


Susan Jostman

Susan Jostman has over twenty years of experience working exclusively in the human rights and employment fields in both the public sector (Ontario Human Rights Commission - OHRC, Ontario Ministry of Labour – MOL, Employment and Immigration) and the private sector as a consultant.

Susan has extensive experience in public speaking, education, training, policy development, investigations and mediation related to workplace discrimination, harassment and conflict resolution. She has investigated hundreds of human rights and employment complaints filed with the OHRC and MOL and managed a staff of Human Rights Officers with extensive investigation and mediation caseloads.

A graduate of the University of Toronto (honours B.A. Political Science), Susan has formally trained in mediation and investigation and has taught investigations at the Ontario Human Rights Commission and in conjunction with the Ontario Police College (Aylmer).


Dave Hagel

Dave Hagel is a professional coach and senior Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with more than twenty years of experience delivering value added human resources outcomes in both union and union-free private sector businesses across Canada. His demonstrated strengths are in change management, performance management, recruitment and selection, employee and labor relations and employee communications.

Dave has combined a passion for training with demonstrated skills in needs assessment, instructional design, coaching, consulting, facilitation and public speaking (a former radio announcer). He has delivered thousands of hours of training to hundreds of graduates. He teaches in the Continuing Education and Corporate Training programs at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario and Humber College in Toronto. Dave is also a certified trainer with Development Dimensions International (DDI) and Achieve Global.

Dave has completed the Co-Active Coaching program offered through the Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, California and a certificate in Conflict Management Studies at Conrad Grebel College through the University of Waterloo.


Owen Mahoney

Owen assists employers with workplace investigations and also conducts training and develops customized training modules for HR Proactive clients.

Owen Mahoney served for sixteen years as a human rights investigator with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, specializing in complex cases in the area of disability and systemic discrimination. In addition to his duties as an investigator, Owen worked on a number of Commission policy initiatives, including AIDS, the impact of changes to credentials in the nursing profession, mandatory retirement, accommodation for post-secondary students with learning disabilities, and access for women to non-traditional work. He was also responsible for coordinating the Commission’s initiative that led to an agreement with the government to provide barrier-free access to the province’s courts for persons with disabilities. Owen also has extensive experience speaking to employer and other stakeholder groups on a wide range of human rights issues, and has written a number of articles and speeches on human rights.

Owen’s formal education includes a B.A Hons. from Concordia University in Montreal, and an M.A. from McMaster University in Hamilton, in English and a Ph.D (all but dissertation). He also taught English for three years at the University of British Columbia, before moving on to work in curriculum development with the Hamilton Board of Education prior to his work with the Commission. While at the Commission, Owen completed studies in investigation at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer and mediation at Stitt Feld Handy Houston, affiliated with the University of Windsor.


Anne Bulstrode

Anne is a Training and Development specialist, who brings to her work over 13 years experience in the Adult Education field and over 25 years experience in the corporate, government, and not-for-profit sectors. She has a strong record of accomplishments in providing excellent classroom results through thorough needs analysis; logical course design using both traditional classroom based training and newer e-learning technologies, and course facilitation with flexible platform skills. Anne takes pride in creating a continuous learning environment by linking employee development and the business strategies.

She specializes in the custom design and delivery of workplace-related training and consulting services. Anne has designed and/or delivered a wide range of programs including: Leadership and Management skills, Orientation programs, Respect in the Workplace, Time and Stress Management, Problem Solving, and Conflict Resolution. Most recently, Anne has developed a new Workplace Violence Prevention Program for HR Proactive. All training was custom-modified on an on going basis to meet the ever-evolving needs of various target groups.

Anne believes learning is a life long joy, after graduating from Ryerson Polytechnic University with her Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) she went on to complete her Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers (F.I.C.B) and Human Resources Certificate. When she made the move into Training and Development Anne completed St. Francis Xavier University's Certificate in Adult Education. She has continued her studies with courses in Web Site design and development at Sheridan College and becoming certified to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, Personality Dimension®, and the Strong Interest Inventory®.


Mark Hertzberger

Mark has over 15 years of Human Resources experience and has provided services to municipalities, school boards, private manufacturers, and restaurants. His areas of expertise include workplace communication, interpersonal conduct, harassment prevention, performance management, leadership development and policy research and development. Mark has designed and delivered workshops for management and staff on these topics and has developed and coordinated workplace harassment investigation procedures. In addition, he has provided conflict mediation services as well as team facilitation, coaching and planning services to assist managers in addressing performance, interpersonal, and teamwork issues.

Mark also has experience in developing and implementing accommodation plans for staff who are returning to work after illness or injury and has been involved in the development of initiatives under the Ontarians With Disabilities Act.

Mark has his Human Resources Management Certificate from the University of Guelph as well as a BA in psychology from the University of Waterloo. He is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Institute of Ontario and a volunteer mediator for Community Justice Initiatives of Waterloo Region.


Danielle Gault

Danielle has worked in the management development field for over 20 years and has acquired a wealth of experience presenting training programs to a wide range of organizations including companies such as: Sprint, Cigna Insurance Company, London Life Insurance Company, Home Depot, AT&T, Unilever, and Connex (Romania) to name a few. She has organized and delivered workshops, seminars, special events, strategic planning, and lectures to small businesses, non-profit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies in Canada and New Zealand.

Danielle has a BA in Psychology and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management. She is trained and qualified in the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, holistic health practices, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and the Dimensional Training System.


John Curtis

John graduated from Queen’s University Law School in 1995. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1998, following which he practiced civil litigation, primarily in the areas of Personal Injury, Long Term Disability Insurance, Employment and Landlord/ Tennant.

John’s career has been anything but conventional, although successful in multiple dimensions. After earning a degree in philosophy and prior to attending Law School he was a Member of the Canadian Sailing Team for 4 years. During this time, he set his sights on representing Canada in sailing at the Olympics, and only narrowly missed qualification for the Barcelona Games in 1992.

After two years in the practice of law, it became clear for John that mediation was frequently a much better way to manage conflict than the traditional legal approach. In 1998 John completed his formal mediation training with courses offered by CDR Associates of Boulder Colorado and The Conflict Consensus Institute in Barrie, Ontario.

In parallel with this new career direction, John felt the call to give the Olympic dream another chance. With several years of sustained high-level effort and training he got that opportunity, representing Canada in Sailing at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.

After the Olympics, John accepted a one year position as High Performance Manager and General Counsel to the Canadian Yachting Association – the national governing body for the sport of Sailing. This was an excellent window into the world of Sport Administration, allowing him to develop a specialization in that area of Sport Law. He has continued his work in this field as a legal consultant for several National Sport Organizations and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

John has recently added the practice of Conflict Coaching to his ADR repertoire. He now applies many of the same conflict resolution skills and his mediation experience to the one-to-one context of Conflict Coaching.

John has delivered a course on Conflict Resolution at the Canadian Forces Base Kingston, and many workshops for teachers and students in the local high schools and University Clubs. He continues his teaching activities as one of the regular instructors for the Courses in Negotiation and Mediation Skills offered by The Mediation Centre of Southeastern Ontario. John is currently teaching a Course in Negotiation at the Queen’s University Law School.

Combining his skills as a lawyer, mediator and coach with the discipline, dedication and passion that established him as an Olympian, John now helps organizations enhance their own success through training, mediation, coaching and legal consulting.