Dr. Carol Crill Russell is Vice President of Research and Programs at Invest in Kids. She has spent over 35 years working in government, non-profit and community settings as a researcher, policymaker, strategist, author and administrator. Dr. Russell oversees the strategic planning and quality assurance for all research, education and training programs at the Foundation. Dr. Russell has a B.A. in Psychology from Manchester College, a Master of Science in Sociology from Indiana University, a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D., also from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Chaya Kulkarni is Vice President of Professional Education at Invest in Kids. Dr. Kulkarni leads the development and implementation of curricula to support professionals working with others who influence the lives of children from birth to age five. She also provides content for the Get Set for Life campaign, with a monthly column in Canadian Living and Coup de pouce magazines. After receiving her B.A.A. from Ryerson University in 1987, Dr. Kulkarni attained her Masters and Doctorate in Education from the University of Toronto.

Senior Vice President for Partnerships and Programs recently joined IK from her position as Executive Director of Children and Family Services for the Province of Nova Scotia. In that capacity Ms. Fitzgerald was responsible for a $140 million service portfolio, including Early Child Development, Child Welfare, Family Violence and Community Outreach. Prior to her position in Nova Scotia, Ms. Fitzgerald was a senior manager of the Premier’s Council in Ontario, a Policy Advisor to the Minister of Community Services in Ontario and she has worked extensively with children and families as a clinician and administrator. Ms. Fitzgerald has served on national advisory boards and committees for the Child Welfare League of Canada, the National Children’s Agenda, The Lawson Foundation TLC-3 Project, Invest in Kids, and was a member of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations Special Session on Children.

Nadia Hall is the Training Specialist at Invest in Kids. She provides front-line instruction to health care and social services professionals on how to influence the healthy emotional, social and intellectual development of young children. Ms. Hall has received a Bachelor of Arts from Queens College in New York City, a Master of Arts in Russian Language and Literature, a Diploma of Child Study in Infant Specialization, an Ontario Teacher's Certificate as a Primary Specialist and a Master of Education from the University of Toronto.

Liane Comeau is the Manager of Research and Programs at Invest in Kids. She administers Invest in Kids' relationship with the Growing Together projects across the country; monitors and updates the Parent Help Line message libraries, manages the assessment of books, videos, websites and other educational materials for the Invest in Kids' Awards Program on our website; and oversees the content of all our materials which appear in French. Ms. Comeau has a Bachelor of Psychology from the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick, and is in the final process of obtaining a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with a major in Language Development from McGill University in Montréal, Québec.

Dr. Freda Martin is the Director of the Hincks-Dellcrest Institute, Associate Professor Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Founding Member and Elected Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (England), and a Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrists (Canada). She has worked with distinction for over 30 years in children's mental health and over her career has been the Chairman, Department of Children and Parents, Tavistock Clinic, London, England; Chief of Service, Child and Family Study Centre, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto; and Executive Director of the Hincks Centre for Children's Mental Health, Toronto.

Dr. Yvon Gauthier is a Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, the current President of the World Association of Infant Mental Health and the Invitational Professor on perinatology to training sessions for psychiatrists, psychologists and pediatricians organized by Montpellier CHU. Dr. Gauthier is also a consultant to the Program Santé-Enfance-Jeunesse and a consultant to Grandir Ensemble, a replication of the Growing Together program.

Dr. Daniel P. Keating is Professor of Human Development and Applied Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. He is also a Royal Bank Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and Director of its Program in Human Development. Dr. Keating has written extensively on human development and education, particularly on intellectual and social development across the life-span, on the developmental sources of human diversity and on the prospects for human development in a learning society.

Dr. Sarah Landy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and in the Department of Psychology at York University. Dr. Landy is also a registered Supervisor in the Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy. Dr. Landy is the creator and former Director of the "Growing Together" model of prevention and early intervention in St. Jamestown, which received the 1995 Peter Drucker Award for Non-Profit Sector Innovation.

Dr. Marie-Claire Laurendeau who over her career has specialized in prevention and health promotion, research and evaluation of infant, child and youth development, family support, prevention of violence, mental health and culturally appropriate services for families with children. She has also served on major government committees responsible for policy planning, both in the fields of mental and public health.

Dr. Carol Matusicky is the Executive Director of the BC Council for Families, a non-profit organization committed to increasing public knowledge and promoting public concern about the well-being of families. She is a member of the United Way of the Lower Mainland First Years First Council of Partners, the BC Health Minister's Advisory Committee on Injury Prevention, the FAS/FAE Provincial Advisory Committee, the Steering Committee of FIRST CALL, the BC Health Goals Advisory Group and the BC Medical Association: Child and Youth Advisory Committee.

Dr. J. Fraser Mustard is the founding President and Bell Canada Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, a network that studies complex problems in the sciences and social sciences and involves over 200 researchers in Canada, the United States, Europe, Israel and Japan. He works through the Founders' Network with the individuals who helped build the Institute. Dr. Mustard is also Chairman of the Board of PENCE, a board member of the Aga Khan University of Karachi and is Chairman of the Board of Ballard Power Systems.

The Honourable Senator Landon Pearson is a prominent advocate for children, Vice-Chair of the Centre for the study of Children at Risk at McMaster University and Advisor on Children's Rights to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. She regularly advises the Minister concerning children's issues in foreign policy and the impact of Canada's domestic policies on children as a result of our international commitments, notably the Convention on the rights of the Child.

Dr. Richard E. Tremblay is the Titular Chair of Child Development at the University of Montreal, and Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology. He is the Director of the Research Unit on Psychosocial Maladjustment, a consortium of Laval and McGill universities and the University of Montreal. Dr. Tremblay is a Molson Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a member of the United States' National Research Council Panel on Juvenile Crime, the Department of Justice Study Group on Very Young Offenders and the National Consortium on Violence.