Julie Walsh is passionate about building bridges between people, ideas, and opportunities in the mental health field and beyond. Through securing funding, strengthening collaborations, and shaping strategy, Julie has spent her career helping researchers, clinicians, and organizations bring meaningful projects to life. Julie brings both creativity and structure to everything she does. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Social Justice from King’s University College at Western University and is currently pursuing her MBA at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.

Driven by her deep belief in gender equality and her commitment to ending intimate partner violence, Julie joined the Changing Ways Board of Directors in May 2024 and is currently serving as Chair. She is dedicated to fostering equity, innovation, and collaboration in support of Changing Ways’ mission.

Fun Fact: Julie’s favourite way to unwind is on the pickleball court, where her competitive spirit meets her love of connection and fun.

I am Kascie (Kascindra) Shewan (she/her), currently serving as a Director/Secretary for the Changing Ways Board of Governors. My path to Changing Ways connects back to my research and teaching in Gender Studies, culminating in a PhD and postdoc on sexualized-violence prevention in Canada. I study the narratives that structure prevention—consent, bystanderism, self-defence—as they travel through media, classrooms, and policy, identifying how neoliberal citizenship narrows what “prevention” can do and how intersectional alternatives enable more accountable, reparative practice. This work is also personal; gender-based violence has touched my life, and that experience deepens my commitment to prevention, accountability, and repair.

I currently work as a Senior Researcher and Project Manager at Academica Group, a London-based firm supporting higher-education organizations in Canada and abroad. In this role, I lead compassionate qualitative research and help organizations conduct and move from research-based evidence to project implementation.

I’m a first-generation university grad and born-and-raised Londoner. Outside work, you will find me walking my Entlebucher puppy, tending to my over 50 houseplants, or enjoying beautiful Lake Huron. 

As the mother of one very busy son Shannon Brothers and her husband spend most of their time at the hockey arena or football field.  When not acting as chauffeur and personal chef she also spends her time doing jigsaw puzzles and volunteering with her local minor hockey association and Home & School.

Shannon has spent the last 24 years working for the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex where she is the Supervisor of Placement and Permanency.  Prior to her current role she was the DV lead for the agency and sat on both the Executive for the London Coordinating Committee to End Woman Abuse and as a member of the High Risk Action Table for Femicide Prevention.  Shannon joined the Changing Ways Board in 2022. 

Despite her time spent in London Shannon is still an Islander at heart.  She moved from PEI to Ontario to complete her BSW in 1999 and one year lead to 5 and so on….She still returns to the Island every summer to visit family, eat lobster and play in the red dirt.

Dani Bartlett has been a committed advocate, mediator, and leader in the fight to end violence against women for more than 20 years. She served as Co-Chair of the London Coordinating Committee to End Women Abuse, where she worked with community partners to build safer systems, engage with perpetrators to prevent violence, and strengthen supports for survivors.

Professionally, Dani is a Business Representative with LiUNA Local 1059, representing workers in the industrial and construction trades, where she brings her deep knowledge of health and safety, labour rights, and equity into every negotiation and grievance process. She is also the Co-Executive Director of the Gender Equality Coalition of Ontario (GECO), leading systemic-change projects, mentoring women in skilled trades, and building inclusive programs across Ontario.

Dani is a trained women’s advocate and mediator, as well as a public speaker who has shared her expertise on labour, equity, and gender justice at conferences and community forums across Canada.

And something people might not know: Dani is a welder by trade. She began her career working with her hands in male-dominated environments, an experience that grounds her passion for creating equity, access, and safety for women and marginalized people in both workplaces and communities.

Kyle Johnstone has been a director with Changing ways since 2023. A lifelong resident of Elgin County, he is presently the Chief of Police for the Aylmer Police Service and has been in law enforcement since 2007. Prior to his role in Aylmer, he was with the St Thomas Police Service where he lead the Criminal Investigations Branch and was the Domestic Violence Coordinator.

He is a graduate of Fanshawe College and also holds an hounours degree in Policing from Wilfrid Laurier University and is currently completing an MBA.

In his spare time, he is involved with various other boards and is passionate about youth sports, travel and spending time with his family.