Our Team

Who We Are

It’s only fair that we share a little bit about ourselves before you welcome us into your workplace or organization. The co-founders of WorQshop met through grassroots volunteer work and we found that we were able to work exceedingly well together. It made sense to work collaboratively to legitimize WorQshop as a federal non-profit organization and become the three founding board members. Our variety of skillsets and professional and lived experiences allow us to operate the program from a multi-disciplinary and intersectional lens. We are very excited to continue expanding our board to invite new voices and perspectives to join our team and have a hand in shaping our programming! Read on to learn more about us!

Mikayla Peach

Board Member

Mikayla Peach (they/them) is a white, queer, non-binary person, born and raised in Southern Ontario, but recently moved to Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia), which is the traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq Peoples. Mikayla has a Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University, with a major in Human Rights and Human Diversity. They have experience in the field of peer support, sex worker rights and advocacy, and working with 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. They are passionate about community building, and their ongoing work focuses on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and advocacy.

Christine Wildman, PhD

Board Member

Christine Wildman (she/they) is a settler on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and the Attawandaron peoples. Christine is a queer, feminist, activist and academic. Christine has been involved in community organizing for many years, working on various initiatives related to creating community, space, visibility, and acceptance for 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Christine is also a critical community-engaged researcher and has a PhD in Sociology with a specialization in Identities and Social Inclusion. Christine’s research and teaching has focused on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights/needs, experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV), and access to services and community in small to medium populations centres, as well as violence against women and gender diverse populations. Christine is also a Research and Knowledge Mobilization specialist for the Neighbours, Friends and Families (NFF) campaign, which is a provincial IPV prevention and education campaign, out of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children. During down time, Christine enjoys riding motorcycles, and being outdoors enjoying nature, hiking, and fishing.

Natalie Fougere

Board Member

Natalie Fougere (she/her) is a bisexual settler living in Hamilton, Ontario on the traditional territories of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum agreement. Natalie has a Social Service Worker Diploma from Mohawk College and a Bachelor of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Indigenous Studies minor. Natalie has experience offering outreach and clinical counseling to people with concurrent disorders and survivors of gender-based violence. Natalie has a keen interest in 2SLGBTQIA+ politics, social inclusion and advocacy and has a skillset geared toward group facilitation and meeting people where they’re at. Natalie’s heart belongs to her three cats, Krueger, Cricket and Kramer. Natalie’s greatest passion is to be in or around water during the summer months.

Jodie Konior

Board Member

Jodie (she/her), is a White, cisgender, settler on the traditional territory of Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Attawandaron peoples, which is colonially known at Brantford, Ontario. Jodie is a Social Worker (MSW) with experience in a wide array of areas, including supportive housing, justice services, child welfare, addictions and mental health therapy, hospitals, homelessness systems, and, now, working with youth. Currently, Jodie is leading an initiative focused on improving high school graduation rates and youth outcomes in Oxford County using a Collective Impact model. Jodie is a proud ally to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. What excites Jodie about being a member of the WorQshop Board is that by providing public education on 2SLGBTQIA+ history, challenges, and rights, mindsets of the community (i.e. voters) will shift, increasing the likelihood of government officials reflecting these values in the policies they create. In her personal life, Jodie lives with her partner and their two fur babies Morty (their cat), and Archie (their dog). They love going for trail walks, learning about other cultures through the art of food, and playing board games.

Karley Doucette

Board Member

Karley Doucette (she/they) is a white settler, intersectional feminist, and educator who has been involved in community activism and organizing since high school. She has a diverse educational background including degrees in journalism, education, and social justice. Karley has been an educator for over a decade working with students in the public school system as well as higher ed. Their teaching practice is grounded in evidence-based prevention and intervention models, using frameworks of social justice, academic literacies, trauma-informed practice, and growth mindset. She is committed to ensuring that education programming is accessible, inclusive, engaging, and impactful. As the Public Education Manager at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, Karley provides leadership to the public education team and works with community partners to provide sexual violence prevention education in the community. If you’re looking for her, she’s probably traveling, reading, quilting, drinking coffee, at a Sigur Ros show, or watching Twin Peaks.

Connect With Us

Building Safer Spaces

At WorQshop, we work to create safer and inclusive health and social services and workplaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Connect with us today to learn how we can help your organization.