Lorne Glass

Lorne Glass is a lawyer and was called to the bar in Ontario in 1978. He has spent most of his career practicing child protection law. He has represented children’s aid societies, parents, grandparents, foster parents and children involved in family court proceedings.

Martha Chamberlain is a lawyer and was called to the bar in 1999. Her practice has focused almost exclusively on child protection law, first as counsel at the Children’s Aid Society, and now in private practice representing parents and children involved in child protection proceedings. 

Lisa LaBorde was called to the bar in 2000. Following her call to the bar she worked at the Ontario Human Rights Commission and as Advice Counsel for the African Canadian Legal Clinic. Since 2004, Ms. LaBorde has exclusively practiced child protection law in private practice representing both parents and children. Lisa was also a  Motherisk Commission counsel.

Celia Denov has over thirty years of experience working in the fields of social services, health and women’s issues. After working for the Ontario Public Service for 25 years, Ms. Denov retired at the level of Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Community and Social Services in 2000. Ms. Denov was formerly a secondary school teacher in Tanzania with CUSO. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto.

Ms. Denov has been a member of the Child and Family Services Review Board and the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board. She has worked on a number of public inquiries investigating tragedies impacting vulnerable individuals including the Cornwall Public Inquiry, the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, and the Motherisk Commission

Shelley Kierstead is a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. Her research interests lie in the areas of family law, access to justice, and dispute resolution.  In 2005, she completed a doctoral dissertation in the family law area and obtained a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.  

Since 1997, Professor Kierstead has also coordinated a parent education program for separating parents entitled the “Parent Information Program.”  She teaches family law and child child protection law. In 2012, she developed, in collaboration with Legal Aid Ontario a child protection externship course designed to introduce students to the challenging and complex area of child protection practice.

William Sullivan is a retired lawyer and former judge of the Ontario Court of Justice, He practiced family and immigration/refugee law for 26 years specializing in representing parents and children involved in child welfare matters. Mr. Sullivan was appointed to the family division of the Ontario Court of Justice in 2015 where he presided over family and child protection matters until his retirement in 2023.

Sam Baker graduated from the University of Toronto with a specialist degree in Toxicology for which they received the Gold Medal.  They graduated from Queen's Law School in 1993.  They articled with the Crown Attorney’s office and acted as Research Counsel for the office of the Chief Justice, Ontario Court Criminal Division where they provided legal advice and instruction on matters of Criminal Procedure and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

Sam left the profession of Law to follow their passion as a nerd in the field of Information Technology where they have had a successful career as a Project and Program Manager for clients both domestic and international. They are bringing the skills and experience that they have gained to assist with the organization and support of this project.