The Honourable Andrea B. Moen | Binding Opinion

Andrea Moen was appointed to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench on January 1, 2000 and retired from that position in October 2018. As a judge she heard many family law cases and became concerned about the impact of family conflict on the brain development of children. Her concern led her to a study leave focused on brain science.

Ms. Moen has a Masters of Social Work from the University of British Columbia and a Certificate in Conflict Resolution from the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

Lauren Jerke | Co-Facilitator

Lauren is a community-based drama facilitator. Her focus is on exploring and considering social justice issues with participants through drama. She is a PhD candidate in Applied Theatre (which she defines as the use of drama/theatre for education, to address social justice issues and for community building) at the University of Victoria. She has taught drama in many diverse contexts, such as a Federal Corrections Institution, a psychiatric day hospital, long term care homes, a private drama school, public schools, and post-secondary schools (in both Canada and China) in several different departments including theatre, public administration, law, and medicine. Her doctoral research looked at reconciliation, decolonization, and systemic discrimination and racism with judges, future public administrators, and law students.

Shane O’Connor | Co-Facilitator & Conflict Coaching

Shane leads the CIT Education Initiative which aims to connect with educators and schools across the globe to offer, integrate and utilize CIT. Compassionate Integrity Training (CIT) is a multi-part training program that cultivates basic human values as skills for the purpose of increasing individual, social and environmental flourishing. He has facilitated numerous online and in-person CIT trainings and is involved in the development of the Self-Directed-Learning version of the course.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Shane lives with his family in Madrid, Spain. He holds a BA in Journalism, and post-graduate degrees in Development Education, Mediation and Restorative Practice.  Shane is also a qualified Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer, Wild Movement Specialist and Outdoor Pursuits Instructor, all passions which he endeavors to incorporate into his work.

Shane works internationally as a facilitator, trainer and educator in a wide range of areas from Peace and Global Education, Youth Work for professionals to teacher training workshops and outdoor movement based activities. He has over two decades of experience working for local peace and human rights organizations, as well as larger International NGOs and educational institutions in the Global North and South.

Trish Anderson | Co-Facilitator & Co-Mediator

Trish is a Mediator, Case Manager and Program Lead for the Community Mediation Program at Mediation and Restorative Justice Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. She is also a mediator with the Edmonton Provincial Courts Civil Mediation Program. Trish began working in the conflict resolution and peacebuilding sector over 15 years ago when she travelled to the Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation in Co. Wicklow, Ireland for a 4 month volunteer position that developed into a 5 year stay, working in the International Peace Program at the center.

From the experience gained working in international peace building contexts, Trish developed a particular interest in diversity and anti-exclusionary processes, which led her to return to school to pursue a double major in Philosophy and Sociology.  University is not a diversion for her, and she continues to work while she studies, using lessons learned from her studies in ethics, race & culture, feminism and other courses to inform her conflict resolution approaches.

Seán O'Boyle | Expert Opinion

Seán has worked in and around peace and conflict-related issues in various contexts for over 25 years. His professional journey started out as a High School Teacher and Youth Worker in Northern Ireland in the 1990s and evolved, within the framework of the Northern Ireland conflict, through the development of cross-community engagement and peace education programmes across the island of Ireland and in Britain for young people and adults as part of the programme team in The Glencree Center for Peace and Reconciliation, County Wicklow, Ireland.

His work has branched out to include international contexts and to date, he has facilitated initiatives dealing with conflict and its aftermath at grassroots, civil society, institutional and political/governmental levels in Afghanistan, Haiti, Liberia, Israel and Palestine, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka. From 2011-2013 Seán worked as a Community Mediator in the Irish Midlands and since 2013, has worked as a Manager with the Red Cross in N. Ireland, engaging with marginalised communities.

Seán volunteers with several organizations locally and outside of Ireland, including as a Committee member of the Ballymena Inter-Church Members Forum (a network for inter-church and inter-faith dialogue), All Saints Ballymena Parish Pastoral Council and as a Board member of The Koinonia Trust in Monrovia, Liberia which seeks to support and rehabilitate people who have experienced trauma and brokenness in their lives.

He holds a M.Phil in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation, a BA (Hons) in French and German, a Postgraduate in Education and a Certificate in Mediation Theory and Practice.