Interested in making a difference?

We would like to hear from you if you are interested in joining our team, participating on the Board of Directors or the Advisory Board, or volunteering in another capacity.

Please contact Heidi Bornstein for more information.

The Mindfulness Everyday Team

Heidi Bornstein
Heidi Bornstein, R.P. CYA-E-RYT GOLD

Founder – Executive Director
MBSR, SMART & Yoga Teacher/Facilitator

My passion for bringing mindful awareness to adults and teens comes from discovering meditation when I was a teen. It opened doors of perception, awareness and clarity that have guided me my entire life. Being able to share the mind body practices with adults through MBSR Workshops and teens through The Mindful Edge and seeing them open, soften, and connect with their own inner wisdom is incredibly inspiring.

Stephen Chadwick
Stephen Chadwick

Founder, Educational Liaison – MBSR & SMART Teacher/Facilitator

The “stress” of education has been on academics and a full education is missing, one where a child develops socially and emotionally.

Children are multi-faceted human beings. I believe that adults and youth need to become friends with themselves, accepting who they are and connecting with the wisdom that they have within already.

Bob Buckner
Bob Buckner

Director

BOB BUCKNER is a retired executive having worked 32 years for Bank of Montreal, most recently as head of Corporate Finance for B.C. He has a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Economics from University of Victoria and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. He has served on a number of corporate and charitable boards and is currently involved with strategic planning for Discover Mindfulness and a Director of Mindfulness Everyday.

Angela_Ventrice
Angela Ventrice, B.A. B.Ed

SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Teacher / Director of Education

ANGELA VENTRICE has been an Ontario certified educator with the York Region District School Board for over 28 years, with the last 19 years being in Guidance and Career Education. She is also an instructor with the Ontario School Counsellor’s Association where she teaches continuing education courses for certified teachers.

Markus Bohlmann
Markus Bohlmann, PhD

Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher

“We need to train the heart before we follow it” ~ Joseph Goldstein

Want to learn to be kind to yourself? More loving and understanding of yourself, including your inner critic? Mindful Self-Compassion flies on the wings of awareness (of our suffering) and kindness, for it is only when we become aware of our suffering, we can hold it (and ourselves) with loving kindness.

Naomi Nurgitz
Naomi Nurgitz

MBSR & SMART Teacher/Facilitator

Mindfulness has made such a difference in my life, how could I not share it with others? Teaching mindfulness to others also benefits me because it reminds me to be mindful. It gives me such joy, as the weeks progress through a workshop cycle to watch participants' tight, stressed body language open up and the sparkle to come back into their eyes, as they realize that through mindfulness they have the power to live consciously.

Susan Meech
Susan Meech

SMART Teacher/Facilitator

It is a privilege for me to introduce people to mindfulness, knowing that mindfulness lets us see the world and ourselves with greater clarity and compassion.

Andrea Leskowsky-Grupp
Andrea Leskowsky-Grupp B.A., M.Ed.

SMART Facilitator

Andrea Leskowsky-Grupp has been a devoted movement practitioner for over 20 years, and is a certified instructor of both classical and restorative yoga. Her teachers include Jiwan Goyal of the Institute of Classical Yoga and Therapy; Pat Harada Linfoot and Scott Davis of Octopus Garden; and Andrea Peloso, a life-long student of Judith Hanson Lasater.

Carla Waites
Carla Waites, Hons. BA and B.Ed

SMART Facilitator / Associate Teacher, Certified Mindfulness in Schools Project Facilitator

CARLA WAITES, although retired after 30 years of teaching, considers herself to be a life-long educator and learner. Along with being a smartEducation facilitator she is also a certified Mindfulness in Schools .b Project teacher and has participated in numerous Mindfulness workshops, retreats and conferences at the U of Toronto, the Omega Institute and the Garrison Institute among others.

Daphne Marsella
Daphne Marsella, B.Sc., B.Ed.

SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Teacher

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

DAPHNE MARSELLA has been educating secondary school students in Durham Region for the past 12 years, and is a Holy Fire II Usui Reiki Master.

Franca Battaglia
Franca Battaglia BA, B.Ed

SMART Facilitator, Associate Mindfulness Facilitator/ Mindful Yoga Instructor/ Mindful Edge Teacher

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh “You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” ~Pema Chodron

FRANCE BATTAGLIA is an experienced Mindfulness Facilitator with Mindfulness Everyday, offering programs for Educators, HealthCare Professionals, Parents, Group organizations and Teens.

Helen Gault
Helen Gault, B.Sc, B.Ed

SMART Facilitator

HELEN GAULT has been a teacher for 16 years, the last 14 working with secondary students in Special Education with YRDSB. Before becoming an educator, Helen worked in the environmental field, first as a park naturalist working with school groups, teachers and the public, then as an environmental educator developing resources and facilitating workshops and outdoor programs for children and teachers.

Julia Neilson
Julia Neilson, BA, B.Ed

SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Facilitator

“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself.” - Hermann Hesse

JULIA NEILSON has dedicated over 20 years to elementary school students as a teacher with the Halton District School Board since 1990.

Lois Lorimer Nunn
Lois Lorimer Nunn, B.Ed., M.Ed.

SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Facilitator

LOIS LORIMER NUNN is a retired teacher-librarian who taught for over 25 years with the Toronto District School Board at R. H. King Academy where she promoted and supported the Mindful Minute and Mindfulness curriculum for students. She received a SmartEducation certificate from the U.B.C. program developed to introduce stress management and resilience for teachers.

Natalia Fister
Natalia Fister, B.Eng., B.Ed.,Yoga Teacher CYA-E-RYT GOLD

SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Facilitator / Yoga Teacher

NATALIA FISTER has been teaching Hatha Yoga since 2002 and has studied yoga, meditation and breathwork extensively, both locally and internationally, travelling to India several times, Kripalu in Massachusetts Nosara, Costa Rica and Lake Atitlan Guatemala to attend yoga retreats, and to Vallecitos, New Mexico to continue her yoga teacher training.

Maryclaire Ordorico
Maryclaire Ordorico B.A. B.Ed

SMART Facilitator (Under Supervision)

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is not education at all." - Aristotle

MARYCLAIRE ODORICO is a high school teacher with over 25 years experience in education, working with students in areas of English, Italian, History and Drama studies, and working with staff in professional development.

Sara Escott
Sara Escott M.Ed, BFA

MBSR, SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Facilitator

Sara has been facilitator and educator for over 15 years. She is the co-director of In Forma Theatre, a community-based arts and education company in Toronto. Her work is grounded in the theory and practice of community-based transformation and peace-building. She facilitates mindfulness programs to adults, youth and children.

Sharon Babineau
Sharon Babineau

SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Facilitator

SHARON BABINEAU is a decorated military soldier (retired). She is a Corporate Wellness Facilitator, Keynote Speaker/Author/ & Mindfulness Specialist. Sharon is an instructor with the University of Toronto – Continuing Education in the Applied Mindfulness Meditation Certification Program.

Shawna Watson
Shawna Watson, BA, B.Ed

SMART Facilitator / Associate Mindfulness Facilitator

"We as human beings have this amazing capacity to be reborn at breakfast every day and say: this is a new day...who will I be?" Jack Kornfield

SHAWNA WATSON has been teaching in the Toronto District School Board for 15 years.

Theresa Meikle
Theresa Meikle B.A., B.Ed., M.A.(T), OCT

SMART Facilitator (Under Supervision)/ Associate Mindfulness Facilitator

“Life only unfolds in moments. The healing power of mindfulness lies in living each of those moments as fully as we can, accepting it as it is as we open to what comes next—in the next moment of now.” ― Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living

Tiina Krabi
Tiina Krabi, , B.A., M.Ed.

SMART Facilitator (Under Supervision)

What is a life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a Buffalo in the wintertime. It is the shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. ~ Crowfoot, Blackfoot Orator, 1899

Triti Namiranian
Triti Namiranian BA, B.Ed., RYT 200

SMART Facilitator / Associate Teacher

TRITI NAMIRANIAN is a mindfulness and yoga practitioner. She has also been an educator with the Toronto District School Board for 12 years. She discovered Mindfulness when she was at a crossroads in her life and the practice helped her, and continues to help her navigate life’s challenges.

Dr. Ameeta Dudani
Dr. Ameeta Dudani, PhD, C.Psych, RYT-200, Associate Mindfulness Teacher

Clinical and School Psychologist
SMART Facilitator / Teacher ​/ practitioner​ of mindfulness meditation & yoga

Ameeta has been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 10 years and has been a lifelong yogi. Her practice has been deeply influenced by Thich Nhat Hanh and Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program, as well as various other teachers.

Kristin Wiens
Kristin Wiens

Inclusion Coach

British Columbia

KRISTEN WIENS (@kwiens62) is an Inclusion Coach for the Sooke School District (#62) located on Southern Vancouver Island. She supports Integration Support teachers and classroom teachers from Kindergarten to grade 12.

Rena Chadwick
Rena Chadwick BMus, B.Ed, YTT

SMART Faclitator / Associate Mindfulness Facilitator

British Columbia

Sharing the joy of movement, music and mindfulness are Rena’s greatest passions. She has been a full-time educator for the past decade, specializing in music. Yoga and mindfulness, also came into her life at this time, extending beyond the physical practice and transforming the way she cared for herself, others, and the world around her.

Tyler Van Beers
Tyler Van Beers B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., RCC

SMART Facilitator

British Columbia

Tyler has a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology from UBC and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor. He works as a School and Family Consultant for School District 73 Kamloops-Thompson in BC.

Victoria Scott
Victoria Scott

SMART Educator

British Columbia

VICKI SCOTT has been an educator in the British Columbia Interior for over 20 years. Discovering mindfulness and meditation has allowed her to find her most effective self, both professionally and personally, and allows her to live her best life.

Laurie Arron
Laurie Arron

MBSR Facilitator

LAURIE ARRON has been practicing mindfulness and meditation since 2001. In 2002 he spent three days at Plum Village, the home of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. He returned there many times, spending well over a year in total, learning how to touch life deeply simply by opening to present moment experience and to the wonders of life.

Gwen Morgan
Gwen Morgan. MSW

MBSR Facilitator

GWEN MORGAN is a Certified MBSR and MBCT teacher and Approved Mentor in both MBSR and MBCT with The Centre for Mindfulness Studies and the University of San Diego Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute. She has extensive experience offering groups in medical and community settings. Her own training began with the 7-day Intensive with Jon Kabat Zinn and Saki Santorelli and she has trained with many senior teachers over the years.

Sue Hutton
Sue Hutton

Social Worker, Mindful Parenting Teacher

The beautiful thing about mindfulness meditation is that there are so many layers to the practice – that blend into all the parts of our selves. It’s such a privilege and gift to share it with others. I love having conversations with everyone I work with; adults, youth, professionals- all of us on the journey - of how mindfulness helps change the way we live our lives, with a spirit of acceptance and compassion for ourselves exactly as we are.

Rachèl Hughes
Rachèl Hughes

Smart Facilitator (Under Supervision)

Rachèl Hughes has been an educator for the last 16 years in the secondary panel, she has been working with students in the areas of Careers training, Positive Psychology and Social Justice. Rachèl is a Compassionate Inquiry practitioner, Mindfulness facilitator (In training) and Life Coach. She has also completed training in a number of modalities including Reflexology, Reiki and Singing Bowl Massage.

Ann Rauhala
Ann Rauhala

SMART Facilitator

Ann Rauhala has been a professor of Journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) for more than 20 years.

She seeks to counter the all-too-common misconception that mindfulness equals passive acceptance of the world’s problems. Rather, as Jon Kabat Zinn says, “The spirit of inquiry is fundamental to living mindfully.”

Reg Raju
Reg Raju

Mindful Yoga Teacher, SMART Facilitator (Under Supervision)

REG RAJU has been an educator in Peel for the past 23 years. She believes that mindfulness is not a destination, but a journey and that there are a variety of entry points for everyone.

Her hope is to share what she has learned along the way with others, and to help them add to their ‘Personal Tool Kit’ for wellness.

Moyra Bell
Moyra Bell

SMART Facilitator (Under Supervision)

Moyra or Joyra, as the Mindfulness Everyday community knows her as, is an Outdoor Experiential Educator and a wellness practioner. She holds certifications in Applied Positive Psychology, Yoga instructing (Hatha 200hr) and Mindfulness facilitating.

Deb Taylor
Deb Taylor

HBA, HBEd, MYndful Movement Director, YTT200

It is in gratitude that Deb Taylor links arms with the Mindfulness Everyday team as a facilitator of the SMART Program. Deb’s mission: to share these beneficial mind-body techniques for greater ease in work and home life.

Shital Sharma
Shital Sharma

PhD., CYA-RYT 200, Embodied Mindfulness Instructor

Understanding Wellness as a journey that encompasses the whole body, I have created an Embodied Mindfulness practice, where I bring together the synergistic benefits of conscious breathing, mindful movement, and mindfulness meditation.

Christy Hutchinson
Christy Hutchinson

B.A. (Hons.), M.A., B.Ed.

Christy began an open-hearted and open-minded journey into the practices of Mindfulness and Mindful Meditation. Working in highly stressful situations she was moved by the chronic levels of stress that often resulted in compromised physical and emotional well-being...

Jenn Bruer
Jenn Bruer

Director

Jenn Bruer is a counsellor, wellness advocate, burnout prevention & recovery trainer, parenting consultant, mindfulness teacher, cooking demonstration instructor, ketogenic diet proponent, and retired foster parent after 18 years of service with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.

Aileen Menezes
Aileen Menezes

Project Coordinator

Our Project Co-Ordinator - AILEEN MENEZES, a York University graduate, has a diverse background in education, development and not-for profit organizations both in Canada and the United States over the past 20 years. Aileen has completed trainings in Mindfulness courses, including the SMART Course and Mindfulness for Teens.