Steve has been involved in crisis response and planning since 1985. He is a bilingual professional assisting individuals and organizations in creating safe environments and healthy workplaces. Steve brings a wealth of experience in addressing workplace violence. His work with Portage, Syl Apps Youth Centre, Probation Services, The Provincial Child Advocate Office, Ministry of Community and Social Services, The Canadian Training Institute and the Toronto Housing (TCHC)has made him one of the most impactful facilitators on the topic of workplace violence.

Steve is a certified member of CPTED Ontario (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) and a member of the International Crime Prevention Society (ISCP) and The Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (CATAP).

Steve's Complete Resume

Graham Vardy, M.A.©, is an education specialist and organizational consultant collaborating with Steve Hall Safety Consulting Services.  Prior to joining Steve Hall, Graham developed, coordinated and delivered the Trauma-informed De-escalation Training for Safety (TIDES) training program at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) in the Office of Education.  As a life-long learner, he is currently completing his MA in Education at OISE/UofT). Previously, he was the Director of Training and Development with the Canadian Training Institute (CTI).  Over the past thirty-five years, Graham has developed numerous training and applied research projects aimed at managing primary and secondary stress in the workplace and reducing violence and aggression in hospitals, schools, and in the workplace.  At CTI, he also coordinated the Breaking the Cycle Youth Gangs Exit Strategy under the National Crime Prevention Centre.  Graham worked as the Methadone Program Consultant with the Ontario Substance Abuse Bureau.  He was the manager of the HIV/AIDS and Addictions program at the former Addiction Research Foundation (ARF).  Graham initiated The Works, Toronto’s first needle-syringe exchange program for the City of Toronto, Department of Public Health.  Graham also managed Youthlink – Inner City, a street based walk-in and outreach service for street-involved youth. Graham is an active mindfulness and meditation practitioner, self-protection instructor, wilderness hiker & endurance athlete, husband and father.

Steven Hughes, M.Ed., was an Education Specialist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). As a life-long learner Steven has interests in delivering educational programs pertaining to creating psychologically safe work environments that are characterized by optimal individual and team resilience and well-being. Steven has been a certified yoga teacher since 1985 specializing in yin yoga and yoga nidra. Steven integrates his interests that include transformative learning, positive psychology, dialogue methods, contemplative neuroscience, mindfulness, holotropic breathwork, and wellness-based modalities that assist individuals to cultivate self-awareness and unlock their full potential. 

All of his programs support learners to gently explore the edges of their personal growth boundaries and to experience new realms of self-discovery.

Michael Wong, DHSc. (candidate), MPH, BSW specializes in mental health, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention for over 30 years. His work experience includes frontline, administrative, education, and training in both community and institutional settings in Canada, Hong Kong, and Macau. As a psychology graduate, he started as a psychiatric assistant in the Emergency Department of Toronto General Hospital. The exposure led to a lifelong passion for mental health and crisis. He was a member of the crisis team with Gerstein Centre (1989-1992, 2021-present), Scarborough Mobile Crisis Program, Toronto Western Hospital, and Suicide Crisis Intervention Centre (Hong Kong). Michael joined the Canadian Training Institute as a trainer in the 1990’s where he delivered numerous workshops related to crisis intervention both locally and abroad. From 2009 and onwards, Michael has taught in various academic institutions on counselling and crisis intervention.

Jaisa Sulit BPHE, BEd, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont) is mindfulness and self-compassion facilitator collaborating with Steve Hall Safety Consulting Services. Jaisa is an occupational therapist who worked for five years in neuro-rehab until she sustained a spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident. This put her on the inward journey where as a therapist turned patient, she discovered parts of herself waiting to be held. As such, Jaisa went on to become a practitioner of medical qigong, reiki, Chinese Shamanic Medicine and a teacher of the Mindful Self-Compassion and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction curriculums. In 2018, Jaisa published an Amazon bestselling book "Purpose in Paralysis: From Chronic Pain to Universal Gain" which tells the story of how Jaisa learned to walk and stand in her truth.

Hayley Peek works as a Mental Health Consultant and Peer Supporter. She is focused on creating safe spaces and breaking open conversations around supporting mental health and wellbeing in both workplace and community.  

Hayley leads from a place of living experience with mental illness, recovery and healing where she weaves elements of her own story into her work for the purpose of connecting. She strongly believes in the wisdom and value of using lived experience to provide insights and education on how we look and speak about mental health.  She’s had the pleasure of working with a variety of public and private sector organizations across Canada delivering keynote presentations, educational workshops and providing peer support services.

Ann Balmier is a digital marketing and advertising professional, with over 11 years of experience both as a consultant and in enterprise roles.

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Ann is passionate about new technologies, communication processes and building client relationships. She oversees digital communications and website development for Steve Hall Consulting.

Bhumika Patel is a mindfulness and mindful anti-racism practitioner from Tkaronto, the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe peoples. Many of us currently know this area as Toronto, ON.

She bring mindfulness and meditation together with an anti-racist, intersectional, decolonial, and inclusive lens. Wellness by Bhumika support schools, businesses, and groups around Toronto with anti-racism and diversity strategy, mindfulness, and team building through mindfulness.

Gary has specialized for decades in the areas of physical and emotional fitness, life coaching, nutrition, and self defense. He directed multiple fitness and injury rehabilitation facilities and has worked with hundreds of clients from office professionals and students to celebrities and the recovering injured, helping them to achieve improved health. Gary states that when assisting physical fitness clients he is not performing risky surgery, that instead, by using safe simple practices, he takes his clients from their base physical condition towards a better place. The same for emotional fitness, he is not diagnosing or offering psychological therapy, rather he presents straightforward safe tools to guide his clients towards states of calmness and awareness to ultimately better handle moment to moment circumstances, especially escalating behaviours. He highly values collaborating with the Steve Hall Safety Consulting team in delivering their exceptional trauma informed safety services and witnessing the constructive results.

Heather Heron is a compassionate and strong leader. She is a creative thinker with over 20 years of experience in the community healthcare and social sectors- specifically; supportive housing, harm reduction programming, outreach and intense community case management. Heather has contributed to high-level program development, partnership development and capacity building, drawing on leadership experience in operations to director level positions, both locally and internationally. In addition to her direct work in the sector, Heather has taught various subjects in the Social Service Work program with Seneca College and has experience working with the Toronto Police Victim Services, doing critical incident debriefing. In her professional roles, Heather places team cohesion and staff safety at the pinnacle of her work and has contributed to the creation of positive, psychologically safe team building in a way that excites and inspires her audiences and always through an ethical, equitable and anti-oppressive lens. When not working, Heather enjoys hiking, gardening or curling up with a good book, a cup of tea and her dog, Archie.

Alexa Harris (She/ Her)- She Who Brings Flowers, MSW, RSW is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, originally from Thunder Bay; with ancestors originating from the Manitoba, Red River region.

Alexa holds a Master of Social Work degree from University of Toronto, an Honours of Social Work Degree from Laurentian University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Lakehead University. Alexa is a practicing Mental Health Psychotherapist who works within a holistic and narrative lens, who works to understand what the clients wants and needs are at the forefront of her practice. Alexa focuses on providing trauma informed care to individuals and communities by advocating for Indigenous rights, strength in mental health rights and education and resiliency for the LGBTQ2i+.

Alexa has extensive experience providing support to those who are experiencing trauma related symptoms, depression, anxiety and substance use. Alexa has specialization in treating trauma related symptoms by acquiring a comprehensive certification and training for Cognitive Processing Therapy. Alexa is skilled in CBT, DBT, Structured Relapse Prevention and Mindfulness.

Alexa is proud to provide one-to-one counselling, psychoeducation, ceremonial support and program development for individuals who identify as First Nations, Inuit, and Métis through anti-colonial, anti-racism, and progressive consultation within our communities.