I am a Social Worker, registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW), the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW), and the Association of Family and Conciliatory Courts (AFCC). I primarily offer Parenting Plan Evaluations and Voice of the Child Reports here at Reaching Common Ground. I also maintain my status as a Clinical Panel Member of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL), part of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

I completed the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in 2006. My time in the BSW program challenged me in ways that I had never been challenged before. Using an anti-oppression lens, I came to understand that I possessed enormous - and unearned - privilege simply because I am a white, heterosexual, able-bodied, male. Wanting to further education in my chosen field and passion, I returned to TMU in the 2nd cohort of the Master of Social Work (MSW) program and graduated in 2009. If the BSW program had challenged me in unprecedented ways, the MSW program went even further. I am forever grateful to my peers and professors for sharing their knowledge and experience, and also their patience and support.

My experience as a social worker initially led to a career as a front-line worker, supervisor, and manager in child welfare and various other social work settings in Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2014, I decided to leave child welfare and start my own private practice. Since then, I have completed over 250 clinical investigations privately (observation, supervision, and s.30 reports) and for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, as a clinical panel member. Clinical investigations include parenting plan evaluations (previously referred to as custody and access evaluations), Voice of the Child Reports (VOC), and clinical assistance to lawyers on the legal panel of the OCL.

I believe every clinical investigation requires accountability; therefore, I must ensure that my investigations and my clinical assistance to lawyers are professional, thorough, balanced, and completed in a timely manner. Continuing education is very important to me, and I continue to participate in workshops and certificate programs that supplement my desire to always improve.

My passion for working with children, youth, and families in the context of separation and divorce has only strengthened with the increasingly complex family situations that have emerged, particularly since the onset of the pandemic.