Board of Directors

Bernadette Behm is the Board Chair, effective January 1, 2021. She is a Realtor with Davenport Realty Brokerage.  Prior to becoming a Realtor she was employed with Raytheon Canada Ltd.  She spent more than 30 years with Raytheon holding various positions including managing a large manufacturing group.  

Bernadette has lived and worked in Kitchener-Waterloo her entire life and has raised her family here.  Having completed two terms on The Board of Directors for Conestoga College and volunteering for The Heart and Stroke Research, she was eager to find meaningful work where she could give back to her community, which led her to join the Board of Directors for the Child Witness Centre in 2019.

Melissa Crowley attended the University of Toronto and obtained her Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in 2009. Melissa then obtained her law degree from the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor in 2013 and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2014. Melissa initially began her legal practice in the area of criminal law. For the past five years, her practice has primarily been focused in the area of family law.  Melissa joined the law firm of Sorbara, Schumacher, McCann in 2019, where she continues to diligently assist families with the legal issues arising out of separation and divorce.

Melissa joined the Child Witness Board in 2019 and is currently a member of the Governance Committee. Melissa is proud to be a supporter of the services provided by the Child Witness Center.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-crowley-4997b651/

Lisa is the Chief Product Owner for Plan Member Experience at Manulife Financial and has been with Manulife for 31 years where she has held a variety of project management and leadership roles. 

Lisa is married with three adult daughters and has a bulldog named Charlie. Lisa was a member of the Women’s Crisis Service of Waterloo Region board and served as Secretary for one year.  Lisa loves to stay active and enjoy playing golf in the summer months.

Lisa attended Wilfrid Laurier University in the Business Administration co-op program and obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2007.

Lisa began her career with Deloitte and achieved her designation as a Chartered Accountant in 2009. Lisa joined the Corporate Finance department at The Co-operators head office in Guelph in 2010 where she has worked on financial reporting and analysis, technical accounting issue assessments and project management. Lisa joined the Child Witness Board in 2018 and is part of the Finance Committee. Click here to view Lisa’s LinkedIn.

Sloden Lackovic is a police officer with the Waterloo Regional Police Service where he is currently a Staff Sergeant in the Professional Standards Branch. In the past, Sloden was a school resource officer and worked in the Community Resources Branch.

Sloden has a Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University and was the past president of the Committee of Youth Officers for the Province of Ontario.

Sloden has extensive experience working with youth in the community and currently coaches with Kitchener Minor Hockey and Ball Hockey. Click here to view Sloden’s LinkedIn.

Kelly McLachlin has worked at Magnet Forensics locally here in Waterloo, ON for the last 6 years which provides Forensic Software to law enforcement agencies globally. Kelly is extremely passionate about the work that she does at Magnet Forensics with the mission to Seek Justice and Protect the Innocent. Prior to working at Magnet, Kelly was at home raising her two children who are now teenagers. Prior to that, she worked in Stratford, ON in the Aerospace industry.

Kelly has volunteered for a number of organizations over the past 20 years and joined the Child Witness Board in 2019. She is currently the Board Secretary and serves as a member of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee. Kelly actively promotes the work of the Child Witness Centre in both her personal and professional life.

Kelly has lived in Waterloo for the past 23 years with her husband and two children. Click here to view Kelly’s LinkedIn.

Dianne Romano joined CWC’s Board of Directors in 2017. When she retired in 2011 from Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, she was a Vice-President in the Corporate Tax department.  She began her career and obtained her designation with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and spent several years working for Mutual Life of Canada/Clarica Life Insurance Company/Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.

Dianne is also on the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity, Waterloo Region and Fiduciary Trust Company of Canada. In the past she also served on the Board of Directors of Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and the Victoria Order of Nurses for Waterloo and Wellington Counties.

Dianne and her son operate a farm in Wilmot Township. She spends her spare time with her three grandchildren as well as gardening in her large vegetable garden. Click here to view Dianne’s LinkedIn.

Alice Schmidt Hanbidge is a Registered Social Worker and an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Renison University College, University of Waterloo. She combines her extensive social work applied practices of community health within an academic setting to effectively contribute to the advancement of knowledge, research and program delivery.

With over 20 years in non-profit clinical and community social work with children, youth and families, her diverse experiences include working with: adults in both the provincial and federal criminal justice systems; street youth services; child welfare; social work field education; staff and volunteer training programs; fundraising projects and youth social issues theatre.

Alice joined the Child Witness Centre Board of Directors in 2019. Born and raised in the Kitchener-Waterloo community, she is proud to support Child Witness Centre’s programs and services which are closely aligned with her personal values, and to be a strong advocate for children and youth accessing services. Click here to view Alice’s LinkedIn.

Sharon was matched with the Child Witness Centre via Manulife’s Board Matching Program through Capacity Canada. She recently retired after 34 years in the financial services industry.  Throughout her career she led many successful teams that supported customer service, marketing, communications and sales.

Sharon joined the Child Witness Centre Board of Directors in 2019. Born and raised in the Kitchener-Waterloo community, she is thrilled to support the Child Witness Centre’s programs and services.   Supporting our most vulnerable population, children and youth,  is the reason she chose to join the Board of this necessary and worthwhile cause.  Click here to view Sharon’s linkedin.

Ryan is a Wilfrid Laurier University Graduate who moved to Waterloo for school and never left!  He’s been with BDO Canada since his graduation, he works in the Assurance and Accounting department.  Ryan has a strong interest in the Charity and Not-For-Profit world, he spends about 40% of his working hours servicing NPO’s and Charities within the Waterloo Region.

When he is not working, Ryan and his wife like to spend as much time as possible with friends and family and with their retired greyhound Kat.  They also enjoy attempting to develop their “green thumbs”. 

Ryan has been part of the finance committee of CWC since December of 2019.