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Tribunal mediators
Last updated: April 26, 2024
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Overview
The Tribunal has a roster of experienced mediators that it contracts with to provide mediation services.
View the mediators’ Code of Conduct
Mediators
Ashbury, Megan
Megan Ashbury obtained her law degree at the University of British Columbia (1998). She has broad experience in labour relations, collective bargaining, and workplace dispute resolution in both the public and private sectors, involving an extensive range of labour, employment and human rights matters.
Megan also maintains a private practice as a labour mediator and arbitrator. She brings a unique combination of union and employer-side experiences to foster relationships between diverse parties, and find effective, practical, and durable resolutions for all parties to a dispute.
Barnett, Sheriden
Sheriden Barnett has had the honour of working with indigenous peoples (Anishinabe, Cree, and Inuit) and Canadian Governments for more than 20 years, in order to advance issues that relate to Indigenous rights, including comprehensive claims and historic treaty disputes, the duty to consult, and resource development conflicts. Sheriden acted as the sole Mediator to the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal from 2005-2019. Her academic interests include comparative colonialism and customary Law (Ireland-Canada), peacebuilding, decolonization and indigenous land and resource rights in post-colonial societies.
Beltgens, Jacqueline
Jacqueline Beltgens (she/her) is a lawyer, mediator, adjudicator and workplace investigator. She has a broad background in civil and administrative law. Jacqueline was a member of the BC Human Rights Tribunal, a member and the Acting Chair of the BC Mental Health Review Board, and is presently the Chair of the Surface Rights Board. She has been in-house counsel and in private practice in Vancouver and Victoria, and taught law at the Beijing Foreign Studies University in China. She is presently a member of the Law Society of BC, the Canadian Bar Association, Mediate BC (Civil Roster), and ADRBC (Chartered Mediator). Jacqueline attended the University of British Columbia for undergraduate studies in international relations and obtained a Juris Doctor. Jacqueline also has a Diploma of Technology (Engineering) from the BC Institute of Technology. She completed workplace investigation training at the University of Toronto Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, and mediation training at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.
Chrest, Shelley
As a chartered mediator Shelley provides a continuum of dispute resolution services ranging from facilitated discussions between individuals to group mediations. Shelley also provides knowledgeable and practical assistance to groups and organizations in developing policies and best practice resources that reflect statutory obligations. Shelley’s educational background includes a Juris Doctor degree and a Master of Laws degree. She has extensive dispute resolution training, including through the Justice Institute of BC and the Court Mediation Program. Shelley is also a qualified arbitrator on the roster of the ADR Institute of BC.
Cleary, Charlene
Charlene Cleary is a lawyer and mediator in Victoria, British Columbia. In addition to serving as a contract mediator with the Tribunal, Charlene operates a law practice with a focus on employment, estate, and business law. She was called to the bar in Manitoba in 2009 and the bar in British Columbia in 2010.
Charlene has a long-standing interest in human rights, focusing on child protection matters in the early part of her practice and later transitioning to human rights issues in the workplace. She takes a holistic and trauma-informed approach to mediation and wholeheartedly believes in mediation as a way of resolving disputes. Charlene is pro bono counsel to local societies in her community, a youth soccer coach and is a volunteer director with an organization that provides mental health and substance use recovery services.
Cotie, Joan
Joan Cotie has worked with families, youth and children in many capacities since 1976. She holds a Diploma in Child Care Work (Child & Youth Care), a Bachelor of Social Work and Master in Social Work degree, has studied Law and Women’s Studies at a Bachelor level, and holds a Certificate in Conflict Resolution. Joan has completed training in Gladue Report writing, and continues to undertake professional development in all areas of her practice. Joan is a Registered Social Worker and holds ADR Institute of Canada (ADRIC) designations of Chartered Mediator, Chartered Arbitrator, and Chartered Mediator-Arbitrator. Joan worked with youth and their families, and in the criminal justice system for 20 years before turning her focus to Conflict Resolution. Joan practices as a mediator, arbitrator, parenting coordinator and report writer throughout Canada. She believes that even those in high conflict situations have the ability and innate skills to come out the other side to resolution if given the proper guidance and direction and she enjoys working with people to this end. Joan lives with her partner and animal friends in Cobble Hill.
Dlab, Dagmar
Dagmar Dlab was called to the bar in British Columbia in 1993. She has over 20 years of litigation experience in a wide-range of legal disputes. For over 15 years, Dagmar worked in several of Vancouver’s leading boutique labour and employment law firms, acting for both employers and individuals in labour, employment and human rights matters.
Dagmar completed her Mediation Certification at Harvard University Law School in 2014. Since 2014, she has been working as a neutral, focusing her practice on workplace investigations and mediations. Dagmar has been a contract mediator with the BC Human Rights Tribunal since December 2018. She has extensive experience in handling complex, sensitive, and multi-party disputes. Dagmar is trained in trauma-informed practice. Dagmar is currently practicing exclusively as a mediator.
Kerenyi, Vivian
Knapp, Cathy
Cathy Knapp has a background stemming from almost 30 years in the aviation industry with over 15 of these years spent in Human Resources where she was the sole HR professional working in Canada for the world’s largest airline. In this role, Cathy wore many hats and acquired a wealth of experience building a diverse portfolio including Labour Relations, Employee Relations, Conflict Resolution, Investigations, Disability Management, Compensation & Benefits, Performance & Development, Occupational Health & Safety, with both unionized and non-unionized workgroups. A significant portion of her experience was gained from working through the challenging dynamics arising from Chapter 11, restructuring, and mergers.
Cathy launched her own private practice, “Cathy Knapp, ADR Services Inc.” in January 2017, a practice dedicated to neutral work in the areas of workplace mediation & labour arbitration. As a neutral, she assists employers, unions, and employees alike in resolving conflict.
Cathy has successfully completed a mentorship with Gabriel Somjen, QC and Wayne Moore in accordance with the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau (CAAB) guidelines and has been placed on the Register of Arbitrators by CAAB.
Cathy has been a contract mediator with the BC Human Rights Tribunal since 2018 and is on the WorkSafe BC Prohibited Action Complaint mediator’s roster. She is also the Job Arbitrator for the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, Local 500 (ILWU).
Matthews, Laura
Laura Matthews has worked throughout BC delivering community legal outreach education with the Legal Services Society to remote and under serviced communities. As a person of indigenous heritage, much of her work has been centered around working to resolve the over-representation of indigenous peoples in child welfare as well as the correctional system. This led her work to include preparing Gladue reports for indigenous accused involved in the criminal court system. She has had extensive personal and professional experience with issues faced by Aboriginal people both on a community and political level.
She has been honored to have had the ability to work closely with many communities introducing mediation as a tool to resolve child protection concerns outside of the court process. She encourages collaborative work to achieve positive outcomes for the people she serves.
McLaughlin, Shelly
Shelly McLaughlin brings extensive experience in conflict resolution and a rich tapestry of over 30 years spanning education, business, and leadership. Her early years in the investment sector honed her acumen before she transitioned into the world of dispute resolution, collaborating with both private and public entities to forge constructive outcomes. Educationally, Shelly began at Western University, securing an HBA and interning at the International Foundation of Employee Benefits. She continued her journey of learning, gaining education and credentials from the Chartered Financial Analyst institute, Certification in Conflict Resolution from the Justice Institute of BC, Arbitration with Royal Roads University, the Med-Arb process with Continuing Legal Eduction of BC and becoming Certified in Advanced Investigation techniques.
Notably, Shelly is recognized as a Chartered Mediator and Chartered Arbitrator by Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada and is a member of the International Association of Workplace Investigators. With deep experience in Mediation, Arbitration, and facilitated dialogues, Shelly excels in workplace disputes and behavioral concerns. Beyond resolving conflicts, she offers workshops, lectures, and collaborates through The Neutral Zone and The Collaborative Law corp.
Pacey, Katrina
Katrina Pacey is a mediator and lawyer who lives and works on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, otherwise known as Vancouver, BC. Katrina has been guided by values of justice, equity, and peacebuilding throughout her life, and those values led her to a career in the human rights field.
After many years working as a litigator, Katrina became increasingly drawn to dialogue and conflict resolution. She is grateful to work as a mediator with the BC Human Rights Tribunal where she can use her skills to create space for meaningful dialogue and effective resolution.
Syer, Ashley
Ashley Syer holds Chartered Mediator (C. Med) and Registered Roster Mediator (RRM) designations, and has completed training at Harvard Law on mediating complex disputes. She regularly coaches mediation courses, and provides private mediation services through Gastown Mediation.
In addition to her mediation work, Ashley is a lawyer at Syer Law, where she represents clients in a variety of areas of administrative law and civil litigation matters.
Tennant, Kellie
Kellie Tennant is from the Cree Nation, Peguis Manitoba, and has been a visitor in Coast Salish Territory for over 30 years, since 1992. Her education includes a Bachelor of Social Work (UFV) and a Masters of Social Work (UBC). Some of her many areas of practice include clinical counselling, youth work, addictions and mental health counselling, coordinator and faculty in an Indigenous child and youth care program, policy and legislation, adoption openness mediation, and child protection mediation.
Kellie has been a child protection mediator for 10 years, with over 700 mediations completed, to include mentoring new mediators. Her practice is relational and restorative as she supports people with really difficult conversations. Her other passion is Traditional Decision Making with Indigenous families, where she and families work together to have a culturally appropriate mediation process.
She has a busy private practice and also provides mentoring and training for Indigenous agencies in Metro Vancouver focusing on mediation and facilitation, legislation, policy, and practice in child welfare or areas of social justice, as well as small writing projects. Kellie specializes in urban Indigenous social issues and assisting youth and families to walk in both worlds with cultural pride, while navigating colonial systems.
As Indigenous people become more present in these colonial systems there is a higher need for Human Rights mediation. Representation matters, and families having a strong Indigenous mediator that supports the processes with difficult conversations does help the families move forward.
Thomas, David
David Thomas served as the Chairperson of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in Ottawa for 7 years. He has adjudicated and mediated human rights complaints across Canada. Prior to his appointment in 2014, he was a part-time member of the CHRT based in Vancouver, where he practiced law for 25 years.
Called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1989, David started his career with a large Vancouver law firm, leaving as a Junior Partner in 1994 to start his own law firm, specializing in migration and citizenship issues for Canadian employers and people from around the world.
David attended the University of British Columbia and the American College of Switzerland where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in International Political Studies. He completed his law degree in 1988 at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. David has extensive mediation training and received an Executive Certificate in Conflict Management from the University of Windsor Law School and the Stitt Feld Handy Group of Toronto.
Toner, Sheldon
Sheldon Toner is a Chartered Mediator (C. Med.) with extensive experience in human rights mediation. He is currently a member of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Adjudication Panel, and has been the chairperson of the Panel since 2016. He has mediated several human rights matters, including matters involving complaints in the areas of employment and provision of services, under numerous grounds including disability, race, family status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
Sheldon also has experience resolving many other types of disputes, including workplace issues which sometimes involve a human rights component. Sheldon is trained in interest-based mediation, and is open to applying restorative or other creative approaches where possible to assist the parties.