The Steering Committee of the Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) provides leadership, vision, and strategic direction to the overall work of the collaborative. They have responsibility for ensuring the work aligns to the 2024-2027 Strategic Plan, and work intentionally to ensure the work advances forward in a good way – both now and in the future.
The Steering Committee is comprised of the CYPT Co-Chairs, host organization, as well as those who have volunteered to sit with intention for one of the five Strategic Plan pillars. Based on their key system-wide roles in the community, there are also standing seats for school boards, Public Health and Lead Agency for Child and Youth Mental Health. Diversity in identity(s) and populations served in the community has also been prioritized. See the Steering Committee Terms of Reference section for further details.
Co-Chair — Children and Youth Planning Table (she/her)
Standing seat (Host organization — Region of Waterloo Children’s Services)
Barbara (Barb) Cardow has been a dedicated champion for children and youth in Waterloo Region since joining the Children and Youth Planning Table in its earliest days as the Children’s Planning Table in 2011.
Barb is the Director of Children’s Services for the Region of Waterloo and a proud Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE). Her career spans front-line practice, teaching, and system leadership, grounded in a deep curiosity about how policy and everyday decisions shape quality, equity, and access. Under her leadership, Children’s Services plays a central role in planning, funding, and managing the local licensed child care and early years system, working closely with community partners and school boards to build a coherent, high-quality, and accessible system.
Barb believes every family deserves excellent care, wherever they access it: evidence-informed, inclusive, affordable, and delivered by supported RECEs. She champions professional learning, fair compensation, and workplace conditions that sustain educator well-being.
Outside of work, Barb cherishes time with her husband, their seven children and five grandchildren, enjoys live music and theatre, and recharges by the beach or around a Port Elgin campfire.
Co-Chair – Children and Youth Planning Table
Jim Moss (he/him), an acclaimed former professional athlete, has achieved remarkable success in multiple arenas. He is a gold-medal winner in multiple sports and a distinguished member of three sports halls of fame. In 2009, Jim faced a significant challenge when he contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which abruptly ended his sports career and forced him relearn how to walk. This life-altering experience propelled him back to university, where he delved into psychology.
Leveraging his newfound knowledge, Jim founded Plasticity Labs and YMCA WorkWell in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, focusing on technological innovations in workplace well-being. His entrepreneurial risk-taking led to his induction into the KW Business Hall of Fame and earned him the title of “Innovator of the Year” by Canadian Business Magazine.
Alongside his wife, Jennifer Moss, the author of “The Burnout Epidemic” published by Harvard Business Review, Jim provides leadership training and development, strategy assessment and design, and authors custom research reports. Together, they are passionately committed to assisting organizations in adopting evidence-based methods to enhance the health, happiness, and performance of their employees.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Aaron Mathias (he/him) has been a member of the Waterloo Regional Police Service since 2006, and is currently the Inspector of Community Safety Partnerships.
Aaron holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a concentration in Law and Justice from Laurentian University, a Certificate in Psychological Health & Safety from the University of Fredericton, and is completing a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Global Ethics at the University of Leicester. Inspector Mathias is a member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) Youth Committee; he is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Victim Services of Waterloo Region and is a Co-Chair of the Family Violence Project of Waterloo Region Steering Committee.
Standing Seat (WRDSB)
Bobbie Chatha (she/her) is a Superintendent of Student Achievement and Well‐Being with the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) and a proud WRDSB alumna with over 25 years of experience in public education. Over the course of her career, she has worked across
three school boards, including the Peel District School Board and the Toronto District School
Board. She currently oversees a wide range of portfolios, including Early Years; DECE Liaison;
Literacy (K–12); Tier 2 and Tier 3 Literacy Interventions; Multilingual Learners (K–12); French as
a Second Language/French Immersion (K–12); EQAO; Assessment and Reporting (Co‐Lead); International Baccalaureate (IB) (Co‐Lead); the Child & Youth Planning Table; and
responsibilities of a family of schools.
Bobbie is deeply committed to equity and student well‐being, with a particular passion for
supporting diverse learners and Multilingual Learners through research‐informed instruction,
assessment, and evaluation practices. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys yoga,
motorcycle travel, and exploring local coffee shops.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Community Coordination
Caitie Wright (she/her) is the Vice President of Camp and Youth with the YMCA of Three Rivers, where she has dedicated more than 15 years to supporting children, youth, and families. After studying at the University of Guelph and Nipissing University, earning her Honours BA and her teaching degree, Caitie found her professional home at the Y, where her passion for the outdoors, youth development and leadership continues to guide her work.
A committed advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Caitie is energized by creating spaces where all young people feel seen, supported, and empowered. She is a lifelong learner and is dedicated to ongoing learning on the journey of truth and reconciliation. Caitie is also a proud mom of two young sons and loves spending time outdoors, especially on Manitoulin Island, her family’s favourite place to explore and recharge.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Community Coordination
Debbie Engel (she/her) is the Director of Programs and Services at Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health, where she leads Child and Youth Community Mental Health and equity initiatives. With over 35 years in the not-for-profit sector, she is passionate about early intervention, inclusion, and community advocacy. Debbie is actively involved in several regional collaborations, including the Children and Youth Table, Immigration Partnership, and the Waterloo Region Family Network Partners Table. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, biking, paddleboarding, and theatre — and is currently taking classes at the Drayton Academy.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Research
Dillon Browne (he/him) is a psychologist and researcher dedicated to improving the well-being of children, youth, and families. He is a Canada Research Chair in Child and Family Clinical Psychology, an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, a registered clinical psychologist in Ontario, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists & Scientists. Dillon has partnered with the Children and Youth Planning Table of Waterloo Region since 2020 and now serves on the Steering Committee, with his FamilyPsycle Laboratory acting as CYPT’s data lead for the Youth Impact Survey.
Standing Seat (WCDSB)
Bio forthcoming
Standing Seat (Region of Waterloo Public Health)
Grace Bermingham (she/her) is the Director of Child, Family and Dental Health with Region of Waterloo Public Health. Over her 25 years of experience in Public Health, Grace has led teams responsible for public health research and evaluation; teams focused on prenatal health, early child development and youth health; and teams focused on addressing problematic substance use from a prevention and harm reduction lens. In her currently role, Grace oversees universal and targeted Public Health programs to optimize the health and well-being of children and families in Waterloo Region.
Standing Seat (Lead Agency for Child and Youth Mental Health)
Heather Fedy (she/her) is Chief Administrative Officer at Starling Community Services. Heather holds Bachelor degrees in both Psychology and Criminology from the University of Windsor. She has been with Starling since 2001 and and since then has served in leadership positions with the organization including Program Supervisor in Mental Health Services, Human Resources Manager, and from 2013 through 2016, Director of Human Resources. Through Heather’s years at Starling, she has been dedicated first and foremost to the vulnerable young clients and their families served by Starling Mental Health Services. Supporting her colleagues as a kind and sensible leader and increasing the quality of supervision and leadership practices, thereby enhancing employee satisfaction and engagement, are Heather’s other priorities. Starling is the Lead Agency for the delivery of child and youth mental health services across Waterloo Region. Heather works with community service partners through the Waterloo Region Lead Agency Advisory Council to ensure children, youth and families get compassionate, quality mental health supports when and where they need them.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Knowledge Mobilization
Kristine Allison (she/her) has spent over 25 years working with children, families and rural communities across Waterloo Region and beyond. She started her career as an Early Childhood Educator and Resource Teacher before moving into community development, social planning, research, and rural policy.
She holds a Master’s in Social Work in Social Policy and Community Development and an Honours BA in Rural Development Sociology. Throughout her career, she has held a number of roles in non-profit agencies, local governments and provincial ministries, always with rural well-being and equity front and center.
Today, Kristine serves as Senior Project Manager for Engage Rural, a collaborative of township-based health and social service agencies. She brings rural voices and perspectives into regional planning tables, convenes partners on priority projects, and ensures children, youth, and rural families help shape the decisions that impact them.
Outside work, you will find her backcountry camping or paddling a cedar-strip canoe she built with her partner, from an old Peterborough design, with help from Uncle Vern. Nature keeps her grounded and curious, a reminder of what we can learn from the land, people, and elders around us. She is always up for connecting and talking about rural communities and real change.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Knowledge Mobilization
Maddi Kolberg (she/her) is a serial social entrepreneur, systems-level builder, and mother whose work sits at the intersection of health, community, and care across the lifespan. She is the Founder and CEO of Generations Collective, a regenerative wellbeing organization based in Waterloo Region that is re-imagining how children, youth, families, and elders are supported—moving care out of silos and into community, relationship, and belonging.
Maddi’s professional work is deeply shaped by lived experience. She is the mother of Lux and Lyrik, and carries the loss of her son Hayven—experiences that have required her family to navigate complex medical, educational, and social systems over many years. These journeys exposed both the life-saving potential of our systems and the deep gaps where families fall through, particularly when care is fragmented, inaccessible, or disconnected from the realities of daily life.
Through Generations Collective, Maddi is actively building interdisciplinary, trauma-informed, and family-centred models of care that support children and youth not only clinically, but socially, emotionally, and relationally. Her work brings together practitioners, educators, caregivers, and community partners to design environments where prevention, early support, and belonging are as valued as intervention.
Maddi joins the Children and Youth Planning Table with a strong belief that meaningful change happens when professional expertise and lived experience sit at the same table. She is committed to contributing a grounded, systems-aware, and compassionate lens—one that keeps children and youth at the centre, while honouring the families and communities that hold them.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Research
Ngozi Nora Agwu (she/her) is a community development and research professional based in Waterloo Region. She works closely with the African Canadian Association of Waterloo Region and Area (ACAWRA), supporting programs for children, youth, and families. With an MBA in Financial Management Analytics and certification as a Project Management Professional, she brings a practical approach to research, planning, and decision-making. Her experience spans nonprofit, public sector, and community-based work, and she focuses on making sure planning decisions are informed by both data and the lived experiences of families.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Influence
Oluseun Olayinka (she/her) is the Executive Director of Adventure4Change, a Waterloo-based charity focused on community development, system navigation and equity. She serves on the Boards of the Waterloo Region Health Network and Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region and is a member of the Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group for the Waterloo Region District School Board.
A PhD student at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Social Work, Oluseun’s research explores community leadership and decolonizing practices. Her background spans organizational development in Nigeria, strategy consulting across Africa, and health systems implementation in Canada. She holds degrees in Managerial Psychology and Chemistry, as well as a Governance Essentials Certificate from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Oluseun is a dedicated leader, passionate about creating systems that reflect justice, inclusion, and the strength of lived experience.
Strategic Plan Pillar: Influence
Taylor Bulstrode (she/her) is the Co-Executive Director of Kinbridge Community Association, a grassroots, neighbourhood-based organization in Cambridge, Ontario that takes a collaborative, people-first approach to community development. Kinbridge works alongside residents and partners to strengthen belonging, access, and opportunity across the community.
Taylor brings a strong commitment to advocacy and systems-level change, centring lived experience and community voice in decision-making. Her work focuses on advancing equitable access to supports for children, youth, newcomers, and families through collaborative partnerships, responsive programming, and upstream community development approaches.
Taylor holds a Master’s degree in Leadership and Community Development and has extensive experience across nonprofit leadership, governance, fundraising, and community engagement. She is deeply values-driven and passionate about building inclusive systems that respond to real community needs and foster stronger, more connected neighbourhoods.
