Adelee Penner comes to ERLC having most recently served as an Assistant Superintendent of Schools. Adelee started her career in Manitoba and moved to Alberta in 2005. Her career has evolved over the years through working in several school jurisdictions, in both the private and public system, and from working for Alberta Education supporting school systems in Field Services. Adelee is a passionate lifelong learner. Using the provocation from Seth Godin, "When was the last time you did something for the first time?", Adelee works with others to create a culture for learning that is comfortable taking risk, trying new things and considers alternate perspectives.
Andrew Baxter MSW, RSW
Andrew Baxter has worked in school based and community mental health for over 18 years. During his time with Alberta Health Services, he has provided direct treatment for students from K-12 as well as consultation for their families and their teachers. He currently serves as the Lead for the Alberta Mental Health Literacy Project which is rolling out in school boards across the province. He has conducted Mental Health Literacy trainings across Canada and assisted in other provincial/territorial Mental Health Literacy initiatives. In addition to acting as a consultant to School Boards, Andrew provides training to parents, pre-service teachers, health care providers and community partners. Andrew continues to serve on the School Based Mental Health Quality Improvement Committee in Calgary. His educational background is in social work and psychology
Dr. Yifeng Wei - Assistant Professor University of Dalhousie
Dr. Yifeng Wei, MA, PhD has worked as a researcher and school mental health lead with the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health team since 2008. Her research interest has focused on promoting mental health literacy in schools to help students achieve better understanding about mental health and mental disorders, reduce stigma against mental illness, obtain and maintain good mental health and enhance help-seeking behaviors. She has played a key role in school mental health research and program development activities, and has made significant contributions to the work of the team. Dr. Wei has co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and one book on school mental health. She has also presented at the local, regional, national and international levels at scientific meetings and conferences. Dr. Wei holds an Interdisciplinary PhD degree in school mental health with Dalhousie University and was awarded the Canadian Institute of Health Research Doctoral Research Award in 2011 and the Dalhousie University President’s award in 2011 and 2012.