Intervenants et intervenantes du CALS 2025

I began my communications career in Toronto at a mid-size PR firm. Returning to Nova Scotia, I went on to cultivate a specialty in government and stakeholder relations while employed as a senior policy advisor for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and the Minister of Community Services. That experience translated well for my clients during my time as an account supervisor at an internationally recognized marketing communications agency based in Halifax and Toronto.

As owner of Allison Garber Communications, I am a communications generalist offering a wide variety of communications services including media, government and stakeholder relations, issues and crisis management, event planning, and social media strategy development.

In recent years, much of my work has focused on supporting various mental health initiatives and strategies  – both in my personal and professional capacities.

I’ve served as a vocal advocate on issues pertaining to mental health and addiction, appearing on CTV’s primetime special for Bell Let’s Talk day and sharing my story with CBC’s Now or Never radio program and Silken Laumann’s Unsinkable project.

I am a graduate of the University of King’s College, and received NSCC’s Advanced Diploma in Public Relations.

In my off-hours, I’m the communications representative on the Board of Directors for Autism Nova Scotia.

Tom is an advocate for acceptance of people on the autism spectrum. He has been invited to speak and do presentations at many national conferences, including the Geneva Centre for Autism conference in Toronto, the pre-eminent international conference on autism. Tom is featured in the film Autism Grows Up, a Kelly Brothers/Ability Hub production, which takes a look at the employment challenges of young adults living on the spectrum. He is also featured in the book “Autism: The Gift That Needs to Be Opened”; a resource aimed at improving the lives of parents, educators, and of those on the autism spectrum.

In 2013, Tom received a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal to recognize his volunteer work with the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.  In 2023, Tom received the second annual Jim and Ginette Munson Autism Leadership Award from the Autism Alliance of Canada, in recognition of his demonstrated leadership and commitment to autism awareness and acceptance.

Tom was recently a part of a team of Autistic adults and family members that assembled a Mental Health Literacy Guide for adults on the spectrum.  The Autism Mental Literacy Project (AM-Help) is available online, and is a project of York University, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Tom is currently a Board Member at Autism Canada, and has previously served on the board of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Tom lives in St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador.

https://www.disabilitywithoutpoverty.ca/en/about/team/tom-jackman

For the last 17 years, McCarry has been navigating health systems, involved in research, policy consultations, inclusive education, employment and housing projects for the Autism and the disability community provincially and nationally. For the last 4 years, she was a member of and recent Co-Chair of the Disability Advisory Committee appointed by the Minister of Revenue and the CRA, and has contributed to 4 reports. She has been an invited panelist at many national conferences and has consulted on various topics from economic inclusion to accessibility of benefits, administrative justice and much more.   She is left her part-time role as Director of Engagement at the Child-Bright Research Network, but has remained associated with the Network as an Advisor on a research project. She is also an advisor, a McBain mentor and co-applicant on research projects studying neurodevelopmental disorders for Canadians 0-25.  She is the Founder and the Executive Director of La Fondation Place Coco and the Little Red Playhouse since its inception in 2008.

Before the creation of her charitable foundation serving Autistic children and young adults, McCarry was an accomplished business professional working with numerous Fortune 500 companies. She has worked with major brand-name companies such as Reebok, BMW Canada, Rollerblade Inc., Benetton, L’Oreal, Seagram’s and Mega Bloks doing marketing strategy and brand management. 

McCarry holds a BA from McGill University and lives in Montreal, Quebec, with her two proudly neuro-diverse young adults and two dogs, Bear and Teddy.

Sean Wiltshire is an international award-winning diversity advocate. Many folks know Sean by his large laugh, his deep voice, and his unbridled passion and commitment for helping bring change to organizations businesses and communities around the world. 

If you have heard Sean speak you know that woven into all of Sean’s presentations is his ability to tell a story to share and educate. 

Be it of finding jobs in the garment factories of Bangladesh or working with crown corporations to build a diversity plan that really works. He is known to tell it like it is, but always with a belief that we can, and should do better. 

From St. John’s to Bombay, from Vancouver to Kathmandu Sean has been helping audiences see diversity as part of a business solution. 

Professionally, for the last 32 years Sean has been the Chief Executive Officer of Avalon Employment Inc (AEI). – An employment agency for individuals with disabilities and autism that also has built a large social enterprise that has done over $154 Million Dollars in payroll for other not for profits and local businesses. 

Sean is a past President of the Provincial Regional Economic Development Association and was a member of the Ministerial Committee on Regional Renewal for the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador has also been a member of two Federal Ministerial Advisory Committees; is an Alumnus of The Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference (2000), and currently is a member of the National Executive Board. 

In 2017 Sean was at the United Nations in Vienna; Austria to accept the “Zero Project Award” as part of the team From York University working on employment and diversity issues in South East Asia. 

Once again, in February 2021 Sean and his organization won the prestigious Zero Project Award for their Autism Employment Inclusion Pilot, as one of the top 75 Diversity and Inclusionary Practices in the World. This award was presented virtually at the United Nations in February 2021.

Since 2021 Sean has been leading an Autism Employment Program Across the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that saw over 207 individuals find employment. 

Dr Amanda Evans is a community pediatrician in Calgary. She trained in London, England and then completed a year of residency in Calgary prior to starting work in a busy community practice. She is engaged in teaching students at all levels of their training and enjoys sharing her love of the job with anyone who is interested. In her spare time she enjoys building Lego and completing jigsaw puzzles with the help of her cats (Zoe and Winston Wiggles).

I began my communications career in Toronto at a mid-size PR firm. Returning to Nova Scotia, I went on to cultivate a specialty in government and stakeholder relations while employed as a senior policy advisor for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and the Minister of Community Services. That experience translated well for my clients during my time as an account supervisor at an internationally recognized marketing communications agency based in Halifax and Toronto.

As owner of Allison Garber Communications, I am a communications generalist offering a wide variety of communications services including media, government and stakeholder relations, issues and crisis management, event planning, and social media strategy development.

In recent years, much of my work has focused on supporting various mental health initiatives and strategies  – both in my personal and professional capacities.

I’ve served as a vocal advocate on issues pertaining to mental health and addiction, appearing on CTV’s primetime special for Bell Let’s Talk day and sharing my story with CBC’s Now or Never radio program and Silken Laumann’s Unsinkable project.

I am a graduate of the University of King’s College, and received NSCC’s Advanced Diploma in Public Relations.

In my off-hours, I’m the communications representative on the Board of Directors for Autism Nova Scotia.

Tom is an advocate for acceptance of people on the autism spectrum. He has been invited to speak and do presentations at many national conferences, including the Geneva Centre for Autism conference in Toronto, the pre-eminent international conference on autism. Tom is featured in the film Autism Grows Up, a Kelly Brothers/Ability Hub production, which takes a look at the employment challenges of young adults living on the spectrum. He is also featured in the book “Autism: The Gift That Needs to Be Opened”; a resource aimed at improving the lives of parents, educators, and of those on the autism spectrum.

In 2013, Tom received a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal to recognize his volunteer work with the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.  In 2023, Tom received the second annual Jim and Ginette Munson Autism Leadership Award from the Autism Alliance of Canada, in recognition of his demonstrated leadership and commitment to autism awareness and acceptance.

Tom was recently a part of a team of Autistic adults and family members that assembled a Mental Health Literacy Guide for adults on the spectrum.  The Autism Mental Literacy Project (AM-Help) is available online, and is a project of York University, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Tom is currently a Board Member at Autism Canada, and has previously served on the board of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Tom lives in St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador.

https://www.disabilitywithoutpoverty.ca/en/about/team/tom-jackman

For the last 17 years, McCarry has been navigating health systems, involved in research, policy consultations, inclusive education, employment and housing projects for the Autism and the disability community provincially and nationally. For the last 4 years, she was a member of and recent Co-Chair of the Disability Advisory Committee appointed by the Minister of Revenue and the CRA, and has contributed to 4 reports. She has been an invited panelist at many national conferences and has consulted on various topics from economic inclusion to accessibility of benefits, administrative justice and much more.   She is left her part-time role as Director of Engagement at the Child-Bright Research Network, but has remained associated with the Network as an Advisor on a research project. She is also an advisor, a McBain mentor and co-applicant on research projects studying neurodevelopmental disorders for Canadians 0-25.  She is the Founder and the Executive Director of La Fondation Place Coco and the Little Red Playhouse since its inception in 2008.

Before the creation of her charitable foundation serving Autistic children and young adults, McCarry was an accomplished business professional working with numerous Fortune 500 companies. She has worked with major brand-name companies such as Reebok, BMW Canada, Rollerblade Inc., Benetton, L’Oreal, Seagram’s and Mega Bloks doing marketing strategy and brand management. 

McCarry holds a BA from McGill University and lives in Montreal, Quebec, with her two proudly neuro-diverse young adults and two dogs, Bear and Teddy.

Sean Wiltshire is an international award-winning diversity advocate. Many folks know Sean by his large laugh, his deep voice, and his unbridled passion and commitment for helping bring change to organizations businesses and communities around the world. 

If you have heard Sean speak you know that woven into all of Sean’s presentations is his ability to tell a story to share and educate. 

Be it of finding jobs in the garment factories of Bangladesh or working with crown corporations to build a diversity plan that really works. He is known to tell it like it is, but always with a belief that we can, and should do better. 

From St. John’s to Bombay, from Vancouver to Kathmandu Sean has been helping audiences see diversity as part of a business solution. 

Professionally, for the last 32 years Sean has been the Chief Executive Officer of Avalon Employment Inc (AEI). – An employment agency for individuals with disabilities and autism that also has built a large social enterprise that has done over $154 Million Dollars in payroll for other not for profits and local businesses. 

Sean is a past President of the Provincial Regional Economic Development Association and was a member of the Ministerial Committee on Regional Renewal for the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador has also been a member of two Federal Ministerial Advisory Committees; is an Alumnus of The Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference (2000), and currently is a member of the National Executive Board. 

In 2017 Sean was at the United Nations in Vienna; Austria to accept the “Zero Project Award” as part of the team From York University working on employment and diversity issues in South East Asia. 

Once again, in February 2021 Sean and his organization won the prestigious Zero Project Award for their Autism Employment Inclusion Pilot, as one of the top 75 Diversity and Inclusionary Practices in the World. This award was presented virtually at the United Nations in February 2021.

Since 2021 Sean has been leading an Autism Employment Program Across the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that saw over 207 individuals find employment. 

Dr Amanda Evans is a community pediatrician in Calgary. She trained in London, England and then completed a year of residency in Calgary prior to starting work in a busy community practice. She is engaged in teaching students at all levels of their training and enjoys sharing her love of the job with anyone who is interested. In her spare time she enjoys building Lego and completing jigsaw puzzles with the help of her cats (Zoe and Winston Wiggles).

I began my communications career in Toronto at a mid-size PR firm. Returning to Nova Scotia, I went on to cultivate a specialty in government and stakeholder relations while employed as a senior policy advisor for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and the Minister of Community Services. That experience translated well for my clients during my time as an account supervisor at an internationally recognized marketing communications agency based in Halifax and Toronto.

As owner of Allison Garber Communications, I am a communications generalist offering a wide variety of communications services including media, government and stakeholder relations, issues and crisis management, event planning, and social media strategy development.

In recent years, much of my work has focused on supporting various mental health initiatives and strategies  – both in my personal and professional capacities.

I’ve served as a vocal advocate on issues pertaining to mental health and addiction, appearing on CTV’s primetime special for Bell Let’s Talk day and sharing my story with CBC’s Now or Never radio program and Silken Laumann’s Unsinkable project.

I am a graduate of the University of King’s College, and received NSCC’s Advanced Diploma in Public Relations.

In my off-hours, I’m the communications representative on the Board of Directors for Autism Nova Scotia.

Tom is an advocate for acceptance of people on the autism spectrum. He has been invited to speak and do presentations at many national conferences, including the Geneva Centre for Autism conference in Toronto, the pre-eminent international conference on autism. Tom is featured in the film Autism Grows Up, a Kelly Brothers/Ability Hub production, which takes a look at the employment challenges of young adults living on the spectrum. He is also featured in the book “Autism: The Gift That Needs to Be Opened”; a resource aimed at improving the lives of parents, educators, and of those on the autism spectrum.

In 2013, Tom received a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal to recognize his volunteer work with the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.  In 2023, Tom received the second annual Jim and Ginette Munson Autism Leadership Award from the Autism Alliance of Canada, in recognition of his demonstrated leadership and commitment to autism awareness and acceptance.

Tom was recently a part of a team of Autistic adults and family members that assembled a Mental Health Literacy Guide for adults on the spectrum.  The Autism Mental Literacy Project (AM-Help) is available online, and is a project of York University, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Tom is currently a Board Member at Autism Canada, and has previously served on the board of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Tom lives in St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador.

https://www.disabilitywithoutpoverty.ca/en/about/team/tom-jackman

For the last 17 years, McCarry has been navigating health systems, involved in research, policy consultations, inclusive education, employment and housing projects for the Autism and the disability community provincially and nationally. For the last 4 years, she was a member of and recent Co-Chair of the Disability Advisory Committee appointed by the Minister of Revenue and the CRA, and has contributed to 4 reports. She has been an invited panelist at many national conferences and has consulted on various topics from economic inclusion to accessibility of benefits, administrative justice and much more.   She is left her part-time role as Director of Engagement at the Child-Bright Research Network, but has remained associated with the Network as an Advisor on a research project. She is also an advisor, a McBain mentor and co-applicant on research projects studying neurodevelopmental disorders for Canadians 0-25.  She is the Founder and the Executive Director of La Fondation Place Coco and the Little Red Playhouse since its inception in 2008.

Before the creation of her charitable foundation serving Autistic children and young adults, McCarry was an accomplished business professional working with numerous Fortune 500 companies. She has worked with major brand-name companies such as Reebok, BMW Canada, Rollerblade Inc., Benetton, L’Oreal, Seagram’s and Mega Bloks doing marketing strategy and brand management. 

McCarry holds a BA from McGill University and lives in Montreal, Quebec, with her two proudly neuro-diverse young adults and two dogs, Bear and Teddy.

Sean Wiltshire is an international award-winning diversity advocate. Many folks know Sean by his large laugh, his deep voice, and his unbridled passion and commitment for helping bring change to organizations businesses and communities around the world. 

If you have heard Sean speak you know that woven into all of Sean’s presentations is his ability to tell a story to share and educate. 

Be it of finding jobs in the garment factories of Bangladesh or working with crown corporations to build a diversity plan that really works. He is known to tell it like it is, but always with a belief that we can, and should do better. 

From St. John’s to Bombay, from Vancouver to Kathmandu Sean has been helping audiences see diversity as part of a business solution. 

Professionally, for the last 32 years Sean has been the Chief Executive Officer of Avalon Employment Inc (AEI). – An employment agency for individuals with disabilities and autism that also has built a large social enterprise that has done over $154 Million Dollars in payroll for other not for profits and local businesses. 

Sean is a past President of the Provincial Regional Economic Development Association and was a member of the Ministerial Committee on Regional Renewal for the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador has also been a member of two Federal Ministerial Advisory Committees; is an Alumnus of The Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference (2000), and currently is a member of the National Executive Board. 

In 2017 Sean was at the United Nations in Vienna; Austria to accept the “Zero Project Award” as part of the team From York University working on employment and diversity issues in South East Asia. 

Once again, in February 2021 Sean and his organization won the prestigious Zero Project Award for their Autism Employment Inclusion Pilot, as one of the top 75 Diversity and Inclusionary Practices in the World. This award was presented virtually at the United Nations in February 2021.

Since 2021 Sean has been leading an Autism Employment Program Across the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that saw over 207 individuals find employment. 

Dr Amanda Evans is a community pediatrician in Calgary. She trained in London, England and then completed a year of residency in Calgary prior to starting work in a busy community practice. She is engaged in teaching students at all levels of their training and enjoys sharing her love of the job with anyone who is interested. In her spare time she enjoys building Lego and completing jigsaw puzzles with the help of her cats (Zoe and Winston Wiggles).

J’ai commencé ma carrière dans la communication à Toronto, dans une entreprise de relations publiques de taille moyenne. De retour en Nouvelle-Écosse, je me suis spécialisée dans les relations avec le gouvernement et les parties prenantes en tant que conseillère politique principale auprès du ministre du tourisme, de la culture et du patrimoine et du ministre des services communautaires. Cette expérience s’est avérée très utile pour mes clients lorsque j’étais superviseur de comptes dans une agence de communication marketing de renommée internationale basée à Halifax et à Toronto.

Propriétaire d’Allison Garber Communications, je suis généraliste en matière de communication et j’offre une grande variété de services de communication, notamment les relations avec les médias, le gouvernement et les parties prenantes, la gestion des problèmes et des crises, la planification d’événements et l’élaboration de stratégies en matière de réseaux sociaux.

Ces dernières années, une grande partie de mon travail a consisté à soutenir diverses initiatives et stratégies en matière de santé mentale, tant à titre personnel que professionnel.

J’ai défendu avec vigueur les questions relatives à la santé mentale et à la toxicomanie, en participant à l’émission spéciale de CTV pour la journée Bell Let’s Talk et en partageant mon histoire avec l’émission de radio Now or Never de CBC et le projet Unsinkable de Silken Laumann.

Je suis diplômée de l’Université de King’s College et j’ai obtenu le diplôme avancé en relations publiques du NSCC.

En dehors de mes heures de travail, je suis la représentante des communications au sein du conseil d’administration d’Autism Nova Scotia.

Tom est un défenseur de l’acceptation des personnes sur le spectre de l’autisme. Il a été invité à prendre la parole et à faire des présentations lors de nombreuses conférences nationales, notamment la conférence du Geneva Centre for Autism à Toronto, la principale conférence internationale sur l’autisme. Tom figure dans le film Autism Grows Up, une production de Kelly Brothers/Ability Hub, qui examine les défis en matière d’emploi auxquels font face les jeunes adultes sur le spectre de l’autisme. Il figure également dans le livre « Autism : The Gift That Needs to Be Opened », une ressource visant à améliorer la vie des parents, des éducateurs et des personnes atteintes du spectre autistique.

En 2013, Tom a reçu la médaille du jubilé de diamant de la Reine en reconnaissance de son travail bénévole auprès de la Société de l’autisme de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. En 2023, Tom a reçu le deuxième prix annuel Jim et Ginette Munson de leadership en matière d’autisme de l’Alliance canadienne de l’autisme, en reconnaissance de son leadership et de son engagement en faveur de la sensibilisation et de l’acceptation de l’autisme.

Tom a récemment fait partie d’une équipe d’adultes autistes et de membres de leur famille qui ont élaboré un guide de littératie en santé mentale à l’intention des adultes sur le spectre de l’autisme. Le projet de littératie mentale sur l’autisme (AM-Help) est disponible en ligne et est un projet de l’Université de York, de l’Agence de santé publique du Canada et du Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale.

Tom est actuellement membre du conseil d’administration d’Autisme Canada et a déjà siégé au conseil d’administration de la Société de l’autisme de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador.

Tom vit à St. John’s (Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador).

https://www.disabilitywithoutpoverty.ca/en/about/team/tom-jackman

Au cours des 17 dernières années, McCarry a parcouru les systèmes de santé, impliquée dans la recherche, les consultations politiques, l’éducation inclusive et les projets de logement pour la communauté des autistes et des personnes en situation handicapées à l’échelle provinciale et nationale. Depuis 4 ans, elle est membre et co-présidente du Comité consultatif sur les personnes handicapées de l’ARC, directrice de l’engagement du réseau Child-Bright ainsi que directrice générale de La Petite Maisonette Rouge.

Avant la création de sa fondation caritative au service des enfants autistes en 2008, McCarry était une professionnelle accomplie travaillant avec de nombreuses entreprises Fortune 500. Elle a travaillé avec de grandes entreprises de marque telles que Reebok, BMW Canada, Rollerblade Inc., Benetton, L’Oréal, Seagram’s et Mega Bloks, en matière de stratégie marketing et de gestion de marque.

McCarry est titulaire d’un baccalauréat de l’Université McGill et vit à Montréal, au Québec, avec ses deux fils fièrement neurodiversifiés et ses deux chiens.

Sean Wiltshire est un défenseur de la diversité récompensé à l’échelle internationale. Beaucoup de gens connaissent Sean par son grand rire, sa voix grave, sa passion débridée et son engagement à faire évoluer les organisations, les entreprises et les communautés du monde entier.

Si vous avez déjà entendu Sean parler, vous savez que dans toutes ses présentations, il a la capacité de raconter une histoire pour partager et éduquer.

Qu’il s’agisse de trouver des emplois dans les usines de confection du Bangladesh ou de travailler avec des sociétés d’État pour élaborer un plan de diversité qui fonctionne vraiment, Sean est connu pour dire les choses telles qu’elles sont mais toujours avec la conviction que nous pouvons et devons faire mieux.

De St. John’s à Bombay, de Vancouver à Katmandou, Sean a aidé le public à considérer la diversité comme faisant partie d’une solution commerciale.

Sur le plan professionnel, Sean est depuis 32 ans le directeur général d’Avalon Employment Inc (AEI). Cette agence pour l’emploi des personnes en situation de handicap et autistes a également créé une grande entreprise sociale qui a versé plus de 154 millions de dollars en salaires à d’autres organisations à but non lucratif et à des entreprises locales.

Sean est un ancien président de l’Association provinciale de développement économique régional et a été membre du Comité ministériel sur le renouveau régional pour le gouvernement de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. Il a également été membre de deux comités consultatifs ministériels fédéraux ; il est un ancien de la Conférence canadienne du Gouverneur général sur le leadership (2000) et est actuellement membre du Conseil exécutif national.

En 2017, Sean s’est rendu aux Nations unies à Vienne, en Autriche, pour recevoir le « Zero Project Award » en tant que membre de l’équipe de l’Université de York travaillant sur les questions d’emploi et de diversité en Asie du Sud-Est.

Une fois de plus, en février 2021, Sean et son organisation ont remporté le prestigieux prix Zero Project pour leur projet pilote d’inclusion dans l’emploi des autistes, qui figure parmi les 75 meilleures pratiques en matière de diversité et d’inclusion dans le monde. Ce prix a été remis virtuellement aux Nations unies en février 2021.

Depuis 2021, Sean dirige un programme d’emploi pour les personnes autistes dans la province de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, qui a permis à plus de 207 personnes de trouver un emploi.

La Dre Amanda Evans est pédiatre communautaire à Calgary. Elle s’est formée à Londres, en Angleterre, puis a effectué une année d’internat à Calgary avant de commencer à travailler dans un cabinet communautaire très fréquenté. Elle enseigne aux étudiants à tous les niveaux de leur formation et aime partager son amour du métier avec toute personne intéressée. Pendant son temps libre, elle aime construire des Lego et faire des puzzles avec l’aide de ses chats (Zoe et Winston Wiggles).