Our Associates
Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview delivers its services both through its staff members and through a group of carefully selected Associates. In this way we can provide a diverse, effective service.
Stacey Alderwick:
Stacey Alderwick is an organizational development consultant, providing conflict management, training and group facilitation services. She facilitates inter-personal and organizational conflict resolution processes and delivers training workshops in areas including interpersonal communication, conflict resolution skills, cross-cultural issues, team-building and leadership development.
Stacey has experience working with clients in corporate, non-profit, public school and university settings.
Paul Pakyam:
Paul Pakyam is a community activist, facilitator, race relations consultant, ethno- cultural leader and crisis mediator. He is a volunteer trainer and facilitator with the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the Diocese of Toronto, Program Resources Department.
In addition, Paul brings several years of experience in the area of communications, public affairs and media relations.
Paul Nash
Paul Nash is an Organization Development Consultant with over 15 years experience helping large and small organizations effectively work with conflict. He has facilitated multi-day team building workshops for over 800 managers and staff at all levels. He also trains team-development facilitators and community mediators.
Paul is available for short presentations, key note addresses, training sessions for large and small groups, and residential workshops. Material will be custom designed to meet your needs where appropriate.
You can build your internal expertise by having Paul work with members of your staff in preparing and/or delivering workshops.
Paul will provide a complimentary half-day consultation to you and members of your organization at your request.
Robyn Jacobson
Robyn Jacobson is a Mediator, Facilitator and Dispute Resolution Consultant. During the past 12 years she has had vast experience in these areas. In 1998 Robyn moved to Canada from South Africa where she was a barrister and held the positions of Professor and Academic Registrar.
The years leading up to the democratic elections in South Africa was a time of great conflict in the country and especially in the universities. During this time Robyn was on the executive of one of the largest universities and was frequently called upon to resolve conflicts involving students, staff, the public, unions and service providers. Robyn lectured for 13 years at a university and was Director of the Law School before emigrating.
She has published papers, presented seminars and chaired many conferences. She now offers training and seminars in dispute resolution and conducts mediations and facilitates group disputes.
Robyn was the Executive Director of a private school in Toronto for 6 years. She holds the degrees of B.Com, LLB and LLM.
Garth Yarde
Garth Yarde provides training, conflict management and consultation services to organizations, youth and community groups. He has the experience and sensitivity of dealing with clients of diverse backgrounds, communities and needs.
Garth has a strong and passionate commitment to creating healthy, positive and inclusive environments, building community and organizational capacity through the use of stakeholder consultation, effective communication and the transformation of conflict.
His previous positions at CMS-D include Coordinator of the Diverse Voices for Conflict Resolution project and Case Manager of the Private Information Court Program. As well as being a CMS-D Associate, Garth is also currently a Volunteer Mediator with the organization's Restorative Justice Programme.
This past year Garth was Coordinator for the Ontario Community Mediation Volunteer Training Standards Project. In consultation with community mediation services across Ontario, this endeavour created a province-wide standard for training community mediation service volunteers.
Garth received his certificate in Dispute Resolution from York University and majored in Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo.
He has provided his services to empower urban youth groups, co-operative housing, government agencies, universities, secondary schools, and non-profit organizations, including First Nations social service providers.
Saara Siddiqi
Saara Siddiqi is a conflict resolution practitioner, youth engagement consultant and anti-oppression trainer. Her grassroots community involvement began in 1993, through volunteering at St. Joseph's Community Health Centre in Hamilton. She has over 6 years of experience in children and youth engagement and conflict resolution program development. An experienced storyteller, puppeteer, and actress; Saara lends creative support and energy to any group she facilitates. She coordinated Children and Youth Programmes at Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview from 2003-2006. Through CMS-D, she trained and facilitated over 400 workshops to over 3000 young people and adults across Toronto. She employs popular education and experiential learning techniques to design and deliver trainings.
She has presented best practices on youth-engagement and anti-oppression implementation at the Canadian Race Relations Foundation's National Youth Anti-Racism Conference and the Conflict Resolution Network of Canada's Biennial Conference - Interaction. In 2005, Saara presented an Inter-Faith Intercultural Dialogue model at Women Doing Theology through Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada.
Shadell Permanand
Shadell Permanand is currently the Manager of Youth, FOCUS (drug & alcohol misuse prevention) and Community Mental Health Programs at the Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre. Previous to this Shadell was the Executive Director (1998-2005) of Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview (CMS-D) in Toronto, Canada. Both organizations are located in an ethno-culturally diverse community in which there are over one hundred languages spoken within a four-block radius. Shadell is a former Board member, and Board Chairperson for the Victim Offender Mediation Association (VOMA) an international organization committed to restorative dialogue practice. She is the co-facilitator and co-writer of the “Broken Circles, Dismantling Racism” national training curriculum that is delivered to Mennonite Central Committee Canada Boards and Staff, the Community Mediation Network of the Greater Toronto Area and ecumenical groups in Ontario since 1998. Shadell offers training, facilitation and consulting in the areas of Conflict Management, Interpersonal Conflict Resolution, Mediation Skills, Cultural Awareness/ Communication, and Organizational Change through CMS-D, Hincks Dellcrest Training Institute and Conrad Grebel College.
Sabine Fischer
Sabine is a certified leadership and conflict coach and a facilitator. She is founder and partner in Integra Enterprises, a corporate coaching and leadership development firm. With over 10 years experience in finance and sales, Sabine brings a wealth of international business and personal experience to her client relationships. Sabine has provided facilitation, training and coaching in Europe and Canada. She is also a trained mediator and helps organizations manage conflict through conflict coaching, facilitation, and conflict resolution skills training. Sabine works with teams using the internationally acclaimed Organization and Teams System approach. Sabine is driven by her conviction that each individual has an innate desire to succeed and contribute meaningfully. Clients frequently acknowledge Sabine for her balance of humanness and professionalism, as well as her use of humor, which provides relief, balance and stability during times of stress and anxiety. Sabine has a Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University, and a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from York University. She is also a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario, and has received transformative mediation training through Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview.
Andrew Kent
Past Life – Andrew spent the first 17 years of life in London, England prior to immigrating to Toronto. In 1983, he decided to enter the computer industry prior to going through a “mid life” crisis, so to speak. He returned to school to become a Vocational Counsellor and hasn’t looked back since.
Andrew Kent is an ethical Personal and Certified Vocational Counsellor (6+ years) who has worked with many client groups ranging from Newcomers to Canada, Persons with disabilities and marginalized at-risk street youth.
Having said that, Andrew prefers to work closely with marginalized at-risk youth to assist them with finding their dreams and desires in terms of their personal lives and employment, as he feels that they have taken a wrong turn in life and need to be re-directed back on to the right path to gain inner peace, success and fulfillment.
Andrew has worked with youth for over two years and relates to them in an ethical, empathic, respectful, non-judgmental manner that has allowed him to gain their trust. Andrew prides himself on his honesty, values and integrity. He ensures that he uses his “British” sense of humour in his workshops, however Andrew’s individual counselling style is a 100% holistic in nature, where the client is afforded the much needed time and opportunity to discover “self”. Whether it is with their values, ethics, successes, misdirection, or even areas for improvement, each assists in the growth of “self”.