Dr. Barbara Fidler
Dr. Barbara Jo Fidler, Ph.D., C.Psych., Acc.FM, a registered psychologist and accredited mediator, is a founding member of Family Solutions. She provides mediation, arbitration, parenting coordination, consultation, expert court testimony and custody/access assessment critiques, as well as marital, individual and family therapy, including reunification therapy. Dr. Fidler provides training and supervision for parenting plan assessments (custody/access), parenting coordination, mediation, and parent-child contact problems, including alienation. Her expertise in the development of parenting coordination services resulted in her appointment to the AFCC Task Force developing guidelines and standards of practice. Dr. Fidler has published and present often in the areas of custody/access assessments, high conflict families, child alienation, and parenting coordination. She is co-author of two books, published by Thomson Carswell: Child Custody Assessments: A Resource Guide for Legal and Mental Health Professionals (2008) and Challenging Issues in Child Custody Disputes: A Guide For Legal and Mental Health Professionals (2008).
Dr. Barbara Benoliel
Dr. Barbara Benoliel, Ph.D. is a mediator and President of Preferred Solutions, a dispute resolution company. She holds degrees in psychology, business and criminal justice, and combines practice with research and expanding knowledge in the field. She is a course leader in ADR at York University in the Atkinson ADR Certificate Program, and is on faculty at the Schulich School of Business and at Walden University in Minneapolis Minnesota.She is a specialist in Restorative Practices, and applications in civil and criminal procedures. She has consulted for businesses, governments, institutions and non-profit organizations. Her current research areas are in the use of Restorative Process in family and domestic disputes and in cases of Human Rights violations.
Heather Swartz
Heather Swartz, M.S.W., C. Med., Acc.FM, Cert. F. Med., is a Partner with Agree Incorporated in Dundas, Ontario. She specializes in providing civil, workplace and comprehensive family mediation. Heather is a Mediation Supervisor at the Peel Family Mediation Services, Ontario Court of Justice (Family), Brampton. She also provides customized conflict management and interest-based negotiation training, conflict coaching, facilitation and workplace assessment and investigation services. Heather was a school trustee for the Town of Dundas for nine years, is a Roster Mediator for the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program in Toronto and is a Child Protection Roster Mediator. She is the past President of the ADR Institute of Ontario.
Tom Bastedo
Tom Bastedo, Q.C. Ph.D., Cert.F. Arb., a certified specialist in family law and certified family arbitrator, has taught at the University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall Law School and Atkinson College, on a full time and part-time basis, and lectured extensively on the subjects of mediation, mediation/arbitration and arbitration in Ontario family law both nationally and internationally. He carries on an active family law practice and was the first Chair of the Family Law Specialty Certification Committee for the Province of Ontario. In 2004 he received the Kroll Linquist Avey Award For Excellence in Family Law given by the Ontario Bar Association. He has written numerous articles in the field of family law and in the legal and practical aspects of mediation and arbitration in this province.
Claudette Reimer
Claudette Reimer is passionate about her work as a family relations mediator. She has completed over 1000 court onsite and offsite mediations and has helped families lower conflict levels through mediated discussions. Some of Claudette’s mediations occur with separated parents on their court day (onsite) but she also helps parents develop parenting plans in offsite mediation.Credentials/Experience: Bilingual, Board of Directors – Secretary, Former Manager of the Centre, Accredited by Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM), Social Work background, Developed and continues to coordinate the Centre’s internship program, Involved in peer mediation and family mediation training, Past Director at OAFM, Conflict and parenting coaching.
Adam Black
Adam Black is an associate at Bastedo Stewart Smith where he practices all aspects of family law with particular emphasis on the financial implications of divorce and separation and alternative dispute resolution. Prior to joining Bastedo Stewart Smith, Adam articled with the Ministry of the Attorney General at the Family Responsibility Office. Adam has appeared in Courts throughout the Greater Toronto Area, including the Ontario Court of Justice, Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Adam has authored and contributed to several papers which have been presented and discussed in various Ontario Bar Association programs. Notably, Adam has prepared a collection of case comments on the issue of judicial intervention in alternative dispute resolution. This work has been included as course materials in various academic and legal education forums. Adam has appeared as a guest speaker at Riverdale Mediation. Adam is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations, and the Toronto Lawyers’ Association. Adam is actively involved in the Ontario Bar Association’s Young Lawyers’ Division where he contributes to continuing legal education programs.Adam holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from Ryerson University and a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University. Adam was called to the Ontario Bar in 2007.
Ken Nathens
Ken Nathens is the founding and managing partner of Nathens, Siegel, a Toronto law firm dedicated exclusively to the practice of family law. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1994. Ken holds both a Civil Law degree and a Common Law degree from McGill University where he graduated in 1992 with Upper Class Honours. Ken has experience in all areas of family law, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and court litigation. He has been certified to represent clients in collaborative negotiation since 2002.He has extensive litigation experience and has been involved in trials relating to such issues as child custody, the mobility rights of parents, imputing income under the Child Support Guidelines, and the rights of adoptive parents under child welfare legislation. He has recently appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal arguing on behalf of clients in relation to property and financial disclosure issues. Ken has written extensively on family law issues, including articles published in Divorce Magazine dealing with such issues as the Potential Perils of Collaborative Family Law and vacations in the family law context. He has offered frequent lectures on family law issues for members and staff of the Ontario Federation of Labour. In 2010, Ken was certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in the practice of family law. He was also appointed a Dispute Resolution Officer of the Ontario Superior Court (Family Division) in Newmarket where he assists litigants to narrow or resolve issues in the early stages of court proceedings.
Cheryl Goldhart
Cheryl Goldhart has practiced exclusively in the area of family law since she was called to the bar in 1987. She is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Family Law. She specializes in negotiating complex agreements in all areas of family law and litigates in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice, and the Court of Appeal. She is also an accomplished mediator and arbitrator. She is the past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association, Family Law Executive, and past member of the Canadian Bar Association (Federal), Family Law Executive. She has worked as a Dispute Resolution Officer at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for the past 12 years. Cheryl is a past member of the Panel of the Children’s Lawyer of Ontario, representing children in custody, access and child protection cases. She is a member of the Bench and Bar Committee of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Toronto), and the Family Law Committee (Toronto). She has been a family law instructor for the Bar Admission Course of the Law Society of Upper Canada and is a frequent lecturer on various topics in family law. Over her years of practice, Cheryl has written numerous articles for the Bar Admission Course, professional journals, periodicals and magazines. Cheryl has been certified as a “Best Lawyer in Canada” for family law 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Ilana Tamari
Ilana Tamari has been in private practice since 2002, where she provides assessments, counseling and consultations in the area of custody and access and divorce and separation. The various services she offers range from Section 30 Assessments, to Parenting Coordination and developing parenting plans. As an adjunct to the services listed above, Ilana also provides consultation to lawyers under the auspices of the Office of The Children’s Lawyer, a branch of the Attorney General. She draws on her strengths as a detail oriented, compassionate and results focused therapist, to assist her clients, who hail from a diverse population of individuals and groups of adults and children in the Greater Toronto Area. Ilana holds a graduate degree in child psychology from the University of Toronto and completed an Extern Program in Family Therapy through the George Hull Centre. Since 2002, she has focused on cases involving separation and divorce and custody and access matters. Prior to this, Ilana worked as a therapist and psychometrist for 9 years in various Children’s Mental Health Centres in Toronto and Ottawa, where she provided therapy and conducted neuropsychological assessments and oversaw the day to day running of a head-injury clinic. In addition, Ilana Tamari provided Young Offender Pre-disposition Reports and Neuropsychological Reports for Ontario Courts. Ilana has contributed to various segments on parenting issues for GLOW magazine, Canada’s Health and Beauty Magazine. Ilana is a member of The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She participates in a monthly peer consultation group with Dr. Barbara Fidler around Parenting Coordination matters, Section 30 Custody and Access Assessments and high conflict families. Ilana also is an active participant on the High Conflict Forum. She is also a certified member of the OACCPP and was a Board Member of the OACCPP and chaired the Professional Conduct Committee, and sat on the Ethics and Governance & Risk Management Committees.
Nicole Tellier
Nicole Tellier graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1986 and was called to the Bar in 1988. Her practice is restricted to family law. She appears in all levels of court, with four cases in the Supreme Court of Canada. She has extensive experience in resolving and litigating complex financial matters and difficult custody and access cases. She offers mediation and arbitration services. She is a former Director of the Advocates’ Society and former Executive member of the OBA and continues to be actively involved in those organizations. She has been engaged in law reform by testifying as an expert before numerous federal and provincial justice committees on criminal, constitutional and family law issues. She contributes widely to Claudette Reimer continuing Claudette Reimer’s legal education programs, including judicial education, in Ontario and elsewhere. In 2010, she received the Ontario Bar Association Award for Excellence in Family Law.
Nicholas Bala is a professor at the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. He has law degrees from Queen’s and Harvard. He is an expert in Family and Children’s Law, focussing on such issues as juvenile justice, child witnesses, divorce, domestic violence and the legal definition of the family. He has been a consultant on youth justice issues to the Canada’s federal government and to aboriginal groups, and has been a witness before Parliamentary Committees dealing with youth justice reform. He is a member of the Youth Justice Education Planning Committee of Canada’s National Judicial Institute, and is a volunteer at a local youth diversion programme. He is the author of numerous articles on youth justice, and recently coedited Juvenile Justice Systems: An International Comparison of Problems and Solutions (Toronto: Thompson Educational, 2002.
Rob Hammond is a lawyer and mediator, practicing in Brockville, Ontario. As a partner in the firm Hammond & Osborne, his primary areas of practice are family law and family mediation. His clientele has included individuals, families, businesses, municipalities and, as a Crown agent, both federal and provincial ministries. He has appeared before all levels of the Ontario Court systems and a variety of tribunals. He has practised family mediation since 1996. Rob is actively involved in many community initiatives including as current Chair of the Brockville Foundation and a Director of the Brockville Library. He is a past President of the Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce and has served as a Director of the Brockville General Hospital, the Brockville Concert Association, Leads and Grenville Interval House and the Brockville and Area Community Living Association.
Trish Crowe has a private practice offering counselling and psychotherapy to individuals, couples and families. Her strong interests are in providing clinical service for children, teenagers, and parents dealing with separation and divorce. Trish is a member of the Clinical Panel of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, providing clinical investigation and assessment services to lawyers and to the Court in custody and access disputes and in child welfare matters. She has been qualified as an expert witness in the Superior Court of Ontario.
Vicky Visca has 30 years of experience working with children, youth and families in the Quinte area. She has been in private practice for the past 15 years and was, before that, Executive Director of the Durham Family Court Clinic and the Coordinator of the Belleville Family Court Clinic. Vicky specializes in family mediation and child protection mediation, having completed almost 150 child protection mediations. She also conducts Parenting Capacity Assessments for Family Court, and provides assessment and treatment services. Vicky is dedicated to advocating for the protection and well-being of children through the provision of direct treatment services, staff training and development, and partnering with the community.
John Crouchman
John Crouchman has represented private citizens, insurance companies, lending institutions and small businesses in various legal matters, including matters in all levels of the Ontario Court system. As a General Practitioner and Legal Counsel, he has obtained the wide and varied experience in areas of personal injury litigation, commercial and criminal litigation, real estate, wills, estates, and corporate-commercial matters, necessary to identify and resolve clients’ needs. For the past several years he has been actively involved in dispute resolution as a mediator and as an arbitrator promoting reasonable and more cost-effective alternatives to resolving disputes.
