Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser

Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist | Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame

Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser is considered one of the best female hockey players of all time. Canada’s all-time leading scorer, she has won seven world championships, made six Olympic appearances, and won five Olympic medals — four of them Gold. Today, Wickenheiser is the assistant general manager of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as a community leader, medical doctor, and businesswoman who inspires audiences to give their best in everything they do.

A first-ballot Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Wickenheiser’s hockey IQ is highly respected in both the male and female game. She made hockey history as the first female player to notch a point in a men’s professional game and as the first woman in history to play in or coach at four NHL development camps with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Wickenheiser’s ascent to the top of her sport started in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan where at age 15 she became the youngest member chosen for the Canadian Women’s National Team. Her Olympic career spanned 23 years and two sports as she also competed in softball at the 2000 Games. In 2014, Wickenheiser was Canada’s official flag bearer at the Sochi Olympics and she also served on the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission.

In 2017, Wickenheiser announced her retirement from the national women’s hockey team. In addition to her work with the Leafs, she is now a medical doctor practicing family and emergency medicine — a pursuit she has dreamt of her whole life. She is also a bestselling author having released her first book Over the Boards: Lessons from the Ice in 2021.

Wickenheiser has earned many accolades throughout her career, including being named on Sports Illustrated’s “Top 25 Toughest Athletes in the World” and twice named to their “Power 50 in Sports” list. She is also one of QMI Agency’s “Top 10 Greatest Female Athletes in the History of Sports”, a member of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, one of Canada’s “Top 40 Under 40”, and an inductee in both Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 2014, Wickenheiser was awarded Canada’s highest honour when she was appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of her athletic achievements and contributions to the growth of women’s hockey.

Wickenheiser’s passion for sport is paralleled by her desire to give back to the community through her work with dozens of philanthropic organizations, including Jumpstart, KidSport, and Right to Play — organizations dedicated to ensuring kids of all financial and cultural backgrounds can play sports. She is also the founder of the world-renowned personal and athletic development weekend, The Canadian Tire Wickenheiser World Female Hockey Festival, which provides mentoring and growth opportunities for young athletes around the world.

Wickenheiser holds several honourary degrees from institutions across Canada, as well as a Masters in Kinesiology from the University of Calgary, where she also earned her degree in medicine.

Master of Ceremonies

J’lyn Nye

J’lyn Nye is an award-winning journalist who worked in television and radio in cities across Western Canada for 35 years. In late 2023, she turned off the microphone and set her sights on a new challenge, taking on the role of Director of Marketing and Digital Media for the Edmonton Police Service.  J’lyn has been a longtime supporter of those in uniform and Wounded Warriors Canada.

J’lyn is the Honourary Colonel of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron with the RCAF and Patron of the Edmonton Garrison Military Family Resource Centre. She was awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation in 2022 and received the Queen Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023 for her steadfast commitment to the military and veteran community.

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Plenary Speakers

Scott Maxwell

Executive Director
Wounded Warriors Canada

Scott is a dedicated public servant, mental health champion, and not-for-profit leader.

Scott’s unique experience intersects public policy, national and provincial government, and non-profit business strategy and development.

His passion for those who bravely serve Canada stems from his high school friend, Trooper Darryl Caswell, from Bowmanville who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on June 11, 2007.
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As CEO of Wounded Warriors Canada, the country’s largest non-profit mental health training and counselling provider for Veterans, First Responders and their families, Scott successfully transformed what was a local volunteer-based initiative into a national organization that provides support to over 30,000 trauma exposed professionals and their families each year.

Scott has been awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medallion and the King’s Coronation Medal for Service to Canada.

Alison Cocking BSc. PT, M.Ed.

Managing Director
Insight Health Solutions, Trillium Health Partners

Alison Cocking is a strategic healthcare leader who serves as Trillium Health Partner’s Managing Director, Insight Health Solutions, one of Canada’s largest hospital-based disability management third-party programs. As a senior leader in the healthcare sector, Alison has over three decades of experience leading high functioning teams and programs in their delivery of impactful value-based quality services. The ability to financially contribute Insight’s profits to the hospital’s programs and services to help create a new kind of healthcare for a healthier community, is what drives and inspires her. Alison is a UK-trained Physiotherapist with a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Toronto. An avid kayaker, hiker, traveler and general enthusiast of the great outdoors, Alison’s goal is to have visited 100 countries by 2045.

Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton Ph.D., R.D. Psych

University of Regina

R. Nicholas Carleton, Ph.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and a registered clinical psychologist in Saskatchewan. His work is focused on supporting the mental health of first responders and other public safety personnel. He has published more than 270 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters exploring the fundamental bases of anxiety- and trauma-related disorders. He has completed more than 500 national and international conference presentations. He also serves as an active member of several national and international professional associations. As principal or co-principal investigator he has been awarded more than $72M in competitive external funding. He has received several prestigious awards and recognitions, including induction to the Royal Society of Canada’s College and as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and he was awarded the 2023 Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Mid-Career Award and the 2020 Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research. He is principal investigator for the RCMP Longitudinal PTSD Study (www.rcmpstudy.ca) and the associated extension study for Saskatchewan public safety personnel (www.saskptsistudy.ca), and co-investigator on the Federal Internet Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program for public safety personnel (www.PSPSNET.ca).

Dr. Tim Black PhD, R. Psych.

National Clinical Director
Wounded Warriors Canada

Dr. Tim Black, R. Psych. is the National Clinical Director for Wounded Warriors Canada. During his more than 20-year career as a tenured Associate Professor at one of the top graduate counsellor education programs in the country, Dr. Black has been a researcher, clinician, program developer, program co-founder, and clinical supervisor specializing in group counselling approaches for working with Trauma Exposed Professionals (TExP) and Trauma Exposed Family (TExF) members. As National Clinical Director, Tim supports and oversees the development and delivery of WWC’s group counselling programs in Canada, as well as WWC’s TExP education and training programs, alongside an extensive team of dedicated mental health professionals committed to serving the needs of TExP and TExF communities.

Dr. Nadia Aleem

Psychiatrist, MD, MHSc CCFP, FRCP
Mental Health Lead
Insight Health Solutions, Trillium Health Partners

Dr. Nadia Aleem initially worked as a Family medicine Doctor and Addictions Physician prior to retraining and starting her work as a Psychiatrist. She is currently the Mental Health Lead Physician at Insight Solutions, Trillium Health Partners and was formerly the Medical Head at the Work Stress and Health Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Nadia works exclusively in the field of Occupational Psychiatry, specializing in disability management and providing consultation and education on workplace mental health policies. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto and provides education seminars to organizations and medical training programs across Canada.

Dr. Heidi Cramm, Ph.D.

Professor, School of Rehabilitation Therapy
Queen’s University

Heidi Cramm, Ph.D. is Professor, School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University and a registered occupational therapist with decades of experience in child and family mental health and wellbeing. She is the lead for Garnet Families, the hub for first responder, public safety, and defense families, and those who study, serve, and support them. She is also a Co-Principal Investigator for PSPNET Families (pspnetfamilies.ca), an online wellbeing hub for public safety families. As a longtime PSP spouse, she understands what it is like for families to be “on the job” and uses this first-hand knowledge to inform the work of Garnet Families.

Through Garnet Families, Dr. Cramm has enacted a vision for that brings together research, a network, and a formal partnership to make sure that free, evidence-based resources like PSPNET Families are available to everyone. Within Garnet Families, research responds to community priorities, helps to inform and develop programming and policy, and strengthens community capacity.

Dr. Cramm has published more than 140 peer-reviewed articles and publications primarily dedicated to the mental health and wellbeing of defence and public safety families. She has offered more than 350 regional, national, and international presentations and received over $11M in competitive research funding as a Principal or Co-Principal Investigator. You can find out more about her work at garnetfamilies.com.