Facing a Changing World:
Transformative Leadership and Practice
Summer School 2017
The Public Health Association of BC’s 8th annual summer school is only a few days away. During the two day course we will show registrants, through four topic areas, how they can operationalize Transformative Leadership into practice and create innovative changes in the field of Public Health and beyond.
Over the next week we will be posting feature blogs of each topic session to give registrants and those who are on the fence an idea of what we will be talking about. We continue today with Child and Youth Health.
Registrations for summer school are open now and seats are limited! Click here to register!
Child and Youth Health
It is estimated that 10-20% of children and youth in Canada are affected by mental illness, and 3.2 million youth between the ages of 12 and 19 are at risk for developing depression (CMHA, 2017). The causes for such mental health issues are multifactorial, but socially innovative approaches offer promising results for mental illness prevention in Canada’s youth. At the 2017 Summer School, Dr. Gordie Hogg, Dr. Gord Miller and Ashley Frerichs will present work they have been involved in related to meaningful collaboration and engagement of children and youth in the examination of relevant issues.
Dr. Gordie Hogg is a recently retired Canadian politician who, among many other distinguished roles in government, has served as the BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly (since 1997) and as the Minister of Children and Family Development. Prior to his election to the Legislative Assembly Gordie was a counsellor, probation officer and regional director for corrections. After completing his BA in sociology and psychology, and his master’s degree in psychology, Gordie completed his PhD in Public Policy Development in 2015 and was appointed SFU Adjunct Professor in criminology in 2016. He served on the White Rock city council for 20 years, for 10 of which he was mayor. He has been a board member on more than 15 committees and non-profit societies, including the Peace Arch Community Health Council and Peace Arch Hospital. Gordie has also been a foster parent and Little League coach.
Dr. Gord Miller is an adjunct professor within the University of Victoria School of Child and Youth Care, and he is a former Research Officer and Senior Policy Analyst with the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry for Children and Family Development. He has been involved in the provincial development and implementation of: Healthy Workplaces; Healthy Schools; Healthy Communities; Health Impact Assessment (HIA); Provincial Health Goals; Youth Agreements; Agreements with Youth Adults; Youth Safe House Standards; Child, Family and Community Services Act; and, Youth Policy Framework. Gord’s current research, as a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Research Fellow, centers around understanding how programs, organizations, and communities affect children and youth health, well-being and development. Gord is a recipient of the 2014 ‘Premier’s Award for Innovation’ for his work in the area of Youth Engagement and Collaborative Action Research within the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Ashley Frerichs is a recent graduate of the University of Victoria after completing her bachelor’s degree in Child and Youth Care. Ashley began in the field as a youth co-researcher working on a youth engagement strategy and has since worked as a youth employment counselor, a drop-in centre coordinator and – most recently – a Youth Outreach Worker. She is also a member of the Provincial Director of Child Welfare Youth Advisory Council. Ashley currently works in Parksville supporting the young people of her community.
If you haven’t already, register for the 2017 Summer School now, where social innovation and policy creation approaches will be explored in relation to our most vulnerable young people.