The Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) Policy Advocacy Research Training (PART) Committee hosts a webinar series to connect you with prominent players in policy and research excellence. Featuring career skill-building strategies and knowledge translation forums, these 90-minute, web-based interactive presentations engage KBHN trainees in active participation in their career development as researchers, knowledge translators, and leaders.

Upcoming PART Webinars

We are invested in the future of our trainees, and we are working to provide more webinars and continued professional development opportunities. For PART Committee updates, including upcoming webinars, please follow us on X / Twitter and Instagram.

Past PART Webinars (2022-2023)

Preparing and Presenting an Academic Poster with Family Partners with Lived Experiences

  • Tuesday, May 21, 2024
  • Presenters: Rae Martens & Francine Buchanan

This webinar provided practical guidance for researchers and family partners with lived experiences regarding how they can work together effectively to prepare and present academic posters. Topics covered included the rationale for engaging with family partners for academic presentations, the steps involved in preparing and presenting academic posters, as well as managing expectations after the presentation. There was a case study of a graduate student and a family partner with lived experience who worked together successfully to present an academic poster.

Learning Objectives

  • Rationale for presenting academic posters with family partners with lived experiences
  • Steps and logistics of preparing academic posters
  • Expectation management after poster presentation

Rae Martens

Rae is a Knowledge Broker and frequent community partner with experience in knowledge mobilization and science communication. Rae splits her time between working with the FER Training Program and the Azrieli Accelerator through UCalgary. Her lived experience as a disabled person and raising a disabled child helps to shape the relationships she builds in health research.

Francine Buchanan

Francine is the Senior Manager, Patient, Family & Community Engagement at The Hospital for Sick Children (Ontario, Canada) and the Ontario Child Health Support Unit (OCHSU). In this role, Francine supports a Patient-Centred Health Care philosophy by ensuring patients and families can partner with the system to co-create a future for child.

Principles & Practices for Accessibility: What to Know as a Research Trainee

  • Tuesday, March 26, 2024
  • Presenters: Jessica Geboers & Amanda St. Dennis

Accessibility is non-negotiable; however, many of us are unaware of basic and key principles and practices to ensure our research materials and knowledge translation activities are accessible. In this session, accessibility experts, Jess and Amanda, shared important information and tips around accessible PowerPoints, documents (fonts, tables, titles, etc.), graphics/images, etc. Participants left this session with practical strategies to apply to their work to ensure their research activities are more accessible for all!

Learning Objectives

  • Understanding current challenges with accessibility in the research landscape;
  • Exploring foundational accessibility principles; and
  • Learning practical strategies that can be applied to your research and knowledge translation activities to improve accessibility

Amanda St. Dennis

Amanda lives with multiple disabilities including cerebral palsy. She is a trained DSW and received her undergraduate degree in Child and Youth Studies with a Minor in Disability Studies from Carleton University. She is a patient advisor and co-investigator with CanChild and CP-Net, the Youth Representative on Children’s Healthcare Canada’s Children’s Health Transition Hub Steering Committee and McMaster’s Family Engagement in Research (FER) course’s Accessibility Champion. Her interests lie in disability and child rights, accessibility, advocacy and equity.

Jessica Geboers

Jess is a patient advisor, co-investigator and accessible documentation specialist at CanChild. Since graduating from the Ryerson University School of Journalism in June 2015, she has been a writer, web/content developer and accessibility specialist. As someone with moderate cerebral palsy, Jessica is passionate about accessibility and disability advocacy. She uses her work to promote awareness of living with disabilities and the need for accessibility throughout research, knowledge translation, knowledge sharing, and implementation processes.

David Plamondon

David Plamondon

Senior Advisor, Indigenous Relations, Mitacs

Indigenous Research and Engagement: Core Principles and Best Practices

  • Monday, January 29, 2024
  • Presenter: David Plamondon

This webinar provided a high-level overview of Indigenous research and engagement to prepare graduate students to begin their journey of reconciliation through their scholarly work. Topics covered included the legacy of colonialism, the importance of decolonization in research, core principles, and best practices that should guide research involving the Indigenous community.

Learning Objectives

Participants learned about:

  • Intergenerational trauma caused by the legacy of colonialism
  • Decolonization to support Indigenous innovation
  • Core principles and best practices to guide research involving the Indigenous community

David Plamondon

David is a Cree Entrepreneur and active advocate for Indigenous rights and representation. He is initially from Treaty 8 Territory, specifically from the traditional territory of Kapwae’no First Nation. His role at Mitacs as Senior Advisor, Indigenous Relations and Initiatives is specifically focused on providing support and direction both internally and externally as Mitacs moves towards proper reconciliation and decolonization. His education and professional background are rooted in employment and education support for Indigenous Peoples as well as broader EDI initiatives.

Fakhri Shafai

Dr. Fakhri Shafai

Research and Evaluation Project Coordinator, AIDE Canada

Pivoting from Academia to Non-Profit Careers: The Importance of Developing Knowledge Translation (KT) Skills

A conversation with Dr. Fakhri Shafai, discussing how to plan to move from academia to non-profit work and how you can identify and highlight the skills you have developed as a trainee.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the transferable skills you have developed in grad school
  • Build a ‘pivot plan’ to connect with non-profit organizations
  • Understand best practices for developing knowledge translation resources for the community
Mary Houle

Mary Houle

Executive Coach in Communication

In-the-Moment Communication: Messy Practice to Advance Your Public Speaking

An immersive, experiential hour designed to set you up to connect with your audience and be able to bring calm confidence to your next speaking engagement, and each one after that.

Experience Objectives:

  • Participants had a public speaking experience that was associated with a feeling of calm in their bodies
  • Participants experiences confidence while speaking in front of an audience
  • Participants experienced a feeling of connection with an audience
Alex Keenan

Alex Keenan

Communication Coach

Harnessing the Power of Communication

Learning how to make your research more accessible and engaging for a wide audience, as well as how to become more confident, captivating speakers.

Learning Objectives:

  • Using storytelling techniques and plain language to communicate scientific ideas and research outcomes
  • Becoming a more confident public speaker
  • Practicing key techniques for a more captivating presence on stage or on video
Jessy Santana

Jessy Santana

Inclusive Leadership & Change Coach

Bias, the Empathy Gap and Cultural Intelligence: Do We Have the Skills for the Inclusive Future of Work?

When we think about the inclusive future of work, what are the skills that we need to get us there?

Learning Objectives:

  • Reviewing bias and the empathy gap
  • Understanding key takeaways from cultural intelligence
  • Interacting with and learn from an organizational culture strategist with multinational experience
Michelle Phoenix

Dr. Michelle Phoenix

Assistant Professor, McMaster University, CanChild

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice in Family Engagement in Research

An exploration of the concepts of equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice as they apply to research with people who are often excluded.

Learning Objectives:

  • Defining and describing equity, inclusion, diversity and justice and applying these concepts in family engagement in research.
  • Examining aspects of identity that afford team members more/less privilege and power when engaging in research.
  • Being prepared to develop inclusive supports, strategies, and recommendations to promote equitable engagement in research.

A Conversation About Youth Engagement in Research

An informative presentation and discussion with three members from CHILD-BRIGHT’S National Youth Advisory Panel (NYAP) on youth engagement in research.

Learning Objectives:

  • Reviewing guiding principles around meaningful engagement in research.
  • Understanding practical considerations around accessibility and discuss strategies that work well to engage youth in research.
  • Interacting with and learn from youth with lived experiences around their engagement in research
Gillian Backlin

Gillian (she/her) is from Vancouver, British Columbia, and has completed the technical writing certificate at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Claire Dawe-McCord

Claire (she/her) is from Hamilton, Ontario, is finishing her Bachelor of Health Sciences program at McMaster University and is also the co-chair of the Kids Come First Ontario Health Team.

Mathias Castaldo

Mathias (he/him) is from Toronto, Ontario, has a Master of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), and is a youth facilitator at Holland Bloorview.

Janet McLaughlin

Janet is an associate progessor of community health and the co-founder and co-director of the Laurier Autism Research Consortium (LARC)

Grant Bruno

Grant is Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) from Maskawcis, Alberta, a PhD student in Medical Science in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, and a father to autistic children.

A Conversation Between Two Parent Scholars on Autism

An insightful conversation with parent-scholars, Dr. Janet McLaughlin and Grant Bruno, this webinar explored the perspectives of being both a parent and researcher in the area of autism. Attendees learned about how these dual roles influence each other, as well as key issues facing caregivers raising autistic children, and tips for supporting them, including First Nations families.

Learning Objectives:

  • Appreciate how the lived experience of being a parent to autistic children, and being First Nations, can influence the research process.
  • Explore some of the key issues facing families raising autistic children, and ways you can meaningfully support them, particularly First Nations families and communities.
Jonathan Lai

Dr. Jonathan Lai

Executive Director at CASDA and an Adjunct Faculty position in Health Services Research at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

The Role of Researchers in Policy Development and Change

Participants joined us to learn more about their roles as research trainees in influencing policy development and policy change. We found out how trainees can get started on this journey, and learned about important considerations when working with policy-makers!

Learning Objectives:

  • Dr. Jonathan Lai’s journey as a research trainee to working in policy development.
  • Understand and discuss researchers’ role in informing policies.
  • Hear about upcoming opportunities for research trainees to build your capacity in policy development

Contact Us

We’re here to support you. If you want to learn more about registering for PART webinars, or accessing other opportunities for trainees, please contact training@kidsbrainhealth.ca.