Course Instructors
Lori Frank, RRM — Director of Child Welfare Initiatives, Mediate BC and Lori Frank Mediation & Consulting, Victoria
Sharon Sutherland — Executive Director, Mediate BC, Tsawwassen
Rowena Veylan — Indigenous Initiatives Lead, Mediate BC, North Vancouver
About the Instructors
Lori Frank is the Director of Child Welfare Initiatives with Mediate BC. Lori also works in private practice as a Mediator and Conflict Management Consultant. Lori is a Registered Roster Mediator with Mediate BC and has mediated in the areas of Child Protection, Family, and Civil Mediation. She is also a rostered Hear the Child Report Writer. Lori is a trainer for new mediators and provides coaching and mentorship for those who are developing their practice.
Mediation was a mid-career move for Lori after many years working in the non-profit sector. Lori brings her experience working with diverse individuals and groups to her work in conflict resolution and collaborative-decision making. She is humbled by what she continues to learn from those she works with.
Originally from Ontario, Lori has lived in the Victoria area for over 20 years where she has raised her family. One of her favourite things to do is to get out and enjoy live music.
Sharon Sutherland is Executive Director of Mediate BC. She is a Registered Roster Mediator (RRM) and lawyer with expertise in conflict resolution training and program design.
Since obtaining her LL.M. in ADR from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1997, Sharon's roles in the collaborative decision-making field have included teaching and research in dispute resolution as a full-time faculty member at UBC Faculty of Law (2000-14), Program Manager of the Court Mediation program (1998-2003), Manager of Development for the Child Protection Mediation Practicum (2005-11), and a Knowledge Engineer in the development of the Civil Resolution Tribunal Solution Explorer (2014-16).
Sharon was recognized for her contributions to the field of conflict resolution with an Honorary LL.D. from the Justice Institute of BC (2021) and received the Susanna Jani Prize for Excellence in Mediation (2011).
Sharon's interests include collaborative game design, performing arts, and competitive scavenger hunts.
Rowena Veylan is a mixed-heritage woman with Dunne-za and European roots. She is a proud member of the West Moberly Lake First Nations in northern BC.
A fundraiser, consultant, teacher and mentor, Rowena has been working within the non-profit industry since 2003. She is currently the Indigenous Initiatives Lead with Mediate BC and Founder and Lead Instructor of the New School of Fundraising.
She is honoured to have the opportunity to speak to Indigenous communities and organizations across BC on behalf of Mediate BC and humbled to play a role in assisting those seeking collaborative-decision making to address the needs of their families.
Guest Speakers
Julie Daum — Carrier Sekani Family Services, Fraser Lake
Zahra Jenab — Jenab & Company, West Vancouver
Stephanie Konefall — Director of Jurisdiction/Mediator, Carrier Sekani Family Services, Prince George
Robert Lapper, KC — Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Delta
Sierra Wells — Mediate BC, Vancouver
About the Guest Speakers
Julie Daum is a Wet’suwet’en woman, mediator, facilitator, conflict resolution coach and instructor, and mother. She is a member of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, belongs to the Gilseyhu, and resides on the Stellaquo Reserve in the central interior of the province.
Julie is the Executive Director of Justice at Carrier Sekani Family Services and works collaboratively with the Executive Director of Child & Family Services, Director of Jurisdiction and Director of Child Safety to implement the CSFS Child & Family Wellbeing Law.
Julie is a BC Child Protection Roster Mediator and Canadian Human Rights Commission Roster Mediator. She has mentored new mediators with Mediate BC's Child Protection Mediation Practicum, and has coached for multiple conflict resolution programs (including CLEBC Family Mediation training, UBC Law, Justice Institute of BC, University of Northern BC, and most recently Thompson Rivers University Law School).
Zahra Jenab received her Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from UBC in 1994. She established her own practice in April 2000 on the North Shore, where she continues to work and live.
Zahra's interest in non-adversarial resolution of legal issues runs deep. Her training in mediation, arbitration, and collaborative divorce provide her with the tools that she needs in assisting clients to reach the best possible solutions in family law situations. She has been accredited by the Law Society of BC as a family law mediator, arbitrator and parenting coordinator. She is also a member of the Mediate BC Child Protection Roster, the BC Parenting Coordination Roster Society, and the BC Hear the Child Society Roster.
Zahra strives to lower the barriers that block access to justice. She frequently presents workshops for various multicultural organizations, assisting immigrants to better understand, and benefit, from the Canadian legal system and culture. In 2017, Zahra was an honoured recipient of the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers.
Stephanie Konefall (bio to follow)
Robert Lapper, KC, is the David and Dorothy Lam Chair in Law and Public Policy, cross appointed to the Faculty Human and Social Development (School of Public Administration) and the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria.
He is a lawyer whose career and interest has been in public law. After several years in private practice, he joined the Government of the Province of BC serving as counsel and Senior Counsel, Aboriginal Law. He was later appointed to senior executive positions in the BC Government, including Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Relations, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, and Deputy Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services, and Open Government. Robert moved to Toronto in 2012 and took up the position as Chief Executive Officer, Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) where he served for six years.
Robert currently teaches Access to Justice and Dispute Resolution in both the School of Public Administration and the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria, and Law Legislation and Policy at the Faculty of Law. His teaching and community-based research focuses on bringing a cross disciplinary approach to access to justice issues, considering them not only from a legal perspective, but from the perspectives of other disciplines, including public administration, public health, social work, education, and child care.
My name is Sierra Wells, my mother comes from the Wui’kinuxv Nation of Rivers Inlet and my father was Irish and English. I have had many roles during my short life, but my favourite paid job is being a mediator. As a mediator, I am skilled at supporting people to have tough conversations and at supporting people to build, repair and/or strengthen relationships to move forward, and find new ways of working together.