THCU workplace health promotion associates
Nancy Dubois
Nancy Dubois brings to THCU over sixteen years of experience as a trainer and group facilitator, most often with groups interested in the issues of physical activity and heart health promotion, and eight years of health promotion consulting, most often with community coalitions. She is a popular public speaker in educational, recreational, public health and fitness settings, who shares her enthusiasm and energy with the audience. For THCU, Nancy travel across the province to work with teams in many different organizations and has spent the bulk of her time on the THCU Workplace Project assisting the Coalition with their organizational development tasks. Nancy is proud of her work at the community level as the coordinator of one of Ontario's five heart health demonstration sites for eight years, the manager of a community YWCA and as the community facilitator for southern Ontario with the Active Living Community Action Project. She has provided leadership at the provincial level as the physical activity consultant to the Health Promotion Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health and as the coordinator of Ontario's Heart Health Resource Centre. She was elected as one of five stewards of Active Living Canada and has led sessions internationally in Finland, Chile, Italy and most recently in Bosnia and Serbia.
In addition to her role with THCU, Nancy co-chairs Canada's Coalition for Active Living, is a board member of the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, sits on the provincial Mission Committee of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and is a member of ParticipACTION's Content and Collaboration Committee.
Nancy can be reached by telephone at (519) 446-3636 or by email at n.dubois@utoronto.ca.
Please click here for a text file of Nancy's biography.
Larry Hershfield
Larry Hershfield is the manager of THCU. He plans all
aspects of THCU's service delivery, including designing, contracting
experts and co-facilitating many workshops. Larry also conducts
consultations and contributes significantly to the content of resource
materials. A member of the Centre for Health Promotion at the
University of Toronto since 1991, he has managed, coordinated, and
participated in a wide variety of other health promotion projects.
Larry has made major contributions to facilitating health promotion in
Ontario through such roles as curriculum consultant and keynote
speaker (e.g., at the Health Promotion Summer School and the Canadian
Health Network). Prior to his involvement with the CHP, he held senior
positions in the public health field, including Director of Prevention
and Health Promotion Programs Division at the Addiction Research
Foundation. Larry's interest in health communication and health
promotion was shaped by graduate work in social psychology and over 20
years of developing diverse programs.
Larry can be reached by telephone at (416) 978-0585 or by email at
hershfield.Larry@utoronto.ca.
Please click here for a text file of
Larry's biography.
Giovanna Ferrera
Giovanna Ferrara is one of the newest consultants with The Health Communication Unit, Workplace Project Team. Before joining the THCU team, Giovanna worked in Public Health where she assisted a wide range of organizations in improving productivity and decreasing absenteeism by developing customized, comprehensive programs. As an accomplished public speaker, Giovanna regularly delivers presentations about stress management, self-esteem and creating a positive workplace culture. She also played one of the leading roles in founding the province wide Ontario Workplace Health Coalition. Giovanna brings to THCU her expertise in the area of workplace health and more specifically corporate culture. In her role with THCU, Giovanna provides a key supportive role to the newly emerging Ontario Healthy Workplace Coalition. Giovanna holds a degree in Humanities and Sociology from York University. Giovanna also completed post-graduate work at Centennial College where she earned certification in Workplace Wellness & Health Promotion and Health Risk Assessment. After completing her MA in Humanities this year, Giovanna will continue researching the sociological and philosophical framework of corporate culture by pursuing her PhD.
Nancy van Boxmeer
Nancy is a dynamic facilitator with over ten years of health promotion and training consultation experience. She has held roles in workplace wellness organizations, public health, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Ophea, and the Industrial Accident Prevention Association. Academically, she holds both a health sciences degree from the University of Waterloo and a Master's in adult education and human resource development from UTS in Sydney Australia. Nancy's many projects have spanned the areas of workplace wellness, heart health, physical activity promotion, comprehensive school health, employee engagement, healthy child development and workplace health and safety. She has also worked actively within the Ontario Health Promotion Resource System. In her role with The Health Communications Unit, Nancy provides consultation and training for public health and other intermediaries on comprehensive workplace health promotion.
