Speakers
Find out more about our amazing Sleeposium2022 speakers below!
Dr. Alison Sigal graduated from McMaster University with an Honours degree in Kinesiology before attending the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry where she earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery and Masters of Science Degree with specialty training in Pediatric Dentistry. Between programs, she completed a hospital-based residency at Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto).
She is currently practicing in Milton, ON at Little Bird Pediatric Dentistry, which she opened in 2017 to provide comprehensive airway centric oral care to all children from birth onwards and persons with special needs of all ages. Dr. Sigal designed and built Little Bird with sensory integration at the forefront and the goal of bringing the natural rejuvenating outdoors, inside. It is a clinic that feels more like home as opposed to a traditional medical environment. In addition to the provision of patient care, Little Bird is focused on multidisciplinary collaboration, research, educating and training.
She has dedicated herself to intensive research, studies, learning and collaboration with global leaders in pediatric, airway focused healthcare. She received additional training in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT), frenum assessment/care and Buteyko Breathing. Dr. Sigal has developed a comprehensive assessment and approach to optimize the growth, development and function of all children from birth onwards that is based on the foundation of anatomy and physiology. One of her career goals is for the provision of airway centric pediatric assessment and treatment (when needed) to become the new standard of pediatric health care in Canada; assisting the evolution of academic curriculums and hospital/health care models.
Presentation: Introduction to Airway Centric Pediatric Health Care and Tongue Ties
Elly Taylor is an internationally renowned perinatal relationship expert and award-winning author of Becoming Us. With over twenty-five years of experience as a relationship counsellor and educator, Elly’s passion is including fathers and partners in pregnancy, birth, and beyond to harness the attachment bond between couples and support the mental, emotional, and relational wellbeing of the whole family. Elly’s ground-breaking approach to parenthood has resulted in comprehensive relationship education for perinatal professionals and courses for expecting and new parents. Elly lives in Sydney, Australia with her firefighter husband and their three kidults.
Presentation: Family Stages, Stresses and Sleep
Kim Barthel is an award-winning occupational therapist, multi-disciplinary teacher, and best-selling author who is active in supporting people in many contexts and cultures globally. She is passionate about understanding complex behaviour, neurobiology, sensory processing, trauma-sensitive practice, attachment, and mental health. Kim has 37+ years of practice in helping people to be their best selves and her mission is to support the conscious evolution of the human spirit. kimbarthel.ca
Presentation: Sleep as a Contribution to Regulation
Lyndsey is an experienced paediatric nurse, children’s public health nurse, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Holistic Sleep Coach, researcher, and responsive parenting advocate. She has worked in hospitals, clinics, the community, and within clients’ homes for 20 years, serving within the UK NHS, in private practice, and voluntarily.
The co-founder and clinical director of the Holistic Sleep Coaching program, Lyndsey regularly teaches internationally, as well as providing mentorship for newer sleep coaches. She is passionate about responsive feeding, gentle parenting, and promoting parental confidence and well-being.
With Professor Amy Brown, she is the co-founder of Thought Rebellion – an education and publishing company seeking to inspire, challenge, and equip professionals and writers in the parenting, lactation, and perinatal space with an evidence based revolution.
Lyndsey is currently a PhD researcher at Swansea University, exploring the needs and challenges of medically complex breastfed infants and children. In 2019 she set up the Breastfeeding the Brave project to raise awareness of the unique breastfeeding needs of chronically, critically, and terminally ill children. The mother of a childhood cancer survivor, she often talks about the impact of chronic serious illness on families, and seeks to support other families living through a serious childhood illness.
Lyndsey is a respected international speaker and teacher, and regularly speaks out against the dominant sleep training culture, as well as advocating for the rights of families to receive high-quality, compassionate, and expert support. She is the author of Holistic Sleep Coaching (2018), Let’s talk about your new family’s sleep (2020), Still Awake (2021), The Writing Book (2022), and Breastfeeding the Brave (2022).
lyndseyhookway.com thoughtrebellion.com holisticsleepcoaching.com
Presentation: Red Flag or Red Herring? When Sleeping Patterns are Symptoms
Macall has a master’s degree in Applied Psychology from Antioch University, Seattle with a research-based specialization in infant mental health, the development of emotional regulation, and parenting psychology. She also has a B.S. in Human Biology from Stanford University. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in the graduate Counseling Psychology program at Antioch University in Seattle.
She has conducted and presented research on temperament, sleep, and parenting advice at infant and child development conferences around the world. Her research includes a critical literature review on the use of extinction in infants under a year, and large parent surveys on experiences with sleep advice, the upsides of a “difficult” temperament, and the impact of temperament on parents’ experiences with sleep and sleep training.
She is a certified Gentle Sleep Coach in private practice as well as with the women’s telehealth platform, Maven Clinic. In her work, she has focused exclusively on working with parents of livewires (children who are alert, intense, persistent, perceptive, etc.). She has been featured on a variety of podcasts and recently on Parents.com. She has just completed a manuscript for an upcoming book on temperament and sleep.
She comes to this work because she had two livewires and didn’t sleep for 18 years.
Presentation: Understanding the Research on Behavioral Sleep Interventions (No Math Required)
Tamsen is a Confidence Trainer and Community Builder who believes that it ought to be easier to feel whole and to live life with purpose than to feel lost and broken.
Tamsen creates events and courses that are opportunities for you to connect with yourself, other people, and your deepest purpose. This connection is the foundation for experiencing peace and trust in yourself, and being able to bring your best self to the things that are most important to you.
Among other community building activities, Tamsen is the founder of Guelph Moms Supporting Moms on Facebook, which recently celebrated reaching over 4000 members and celebrated its 6th birthday this September 2021.
Tamsen has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada and is a Certified Project Manager through PMI (PMP). If you’d like to connect you can find her website at tamsennconnects.com, and also find her on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Presentation: The Paradox of Support: Parents Need to Feel Heard Before You Can Help
Andrea is a mother of three, a trained Holistic and Gentle Sleep Consultant, educator, and author. She did her training in a variety of programs including: Holistic Sleep Coaching, Gentle Sleep Coaching, Naturally Nurturing, Infant Sleep Education, CBT for Insomnia, and Sleep:Neurobiology & Society. She has an associates degree in Marriage and Family Studies, two certificates in Infant Mental Health and university certificates in Advanced Marriage and Family Functioning, Human Relations, and Home and Family.
She has spent the past nine years training and mentoring Sleep Consultants and Night Coaches. She is an instructor in the UK-based Holistic Sleep Coach and Gentle Sleep Educator Programs, as well as the Child Sleep Institute's Night Coach Certification Program. In 2020, Andrea founded the Sleep Coach Collective membership program, where she provides advanced training and mentorship for Sleep Consultants.
Andrea started her sleep practice in 2004 after supporting families as a Birth and Postpartum Doula. Since then she has helped over 10,000 families get better sleep. She also has extensive hands-on experience working with babies throughout the night, which has given her unique learning experiences and perspectives. Andrea is the author of Gentle Night Weaning the Kinder Way, The Kinder Method, and co-author with Jen Varela of Loved to Sleep. Andrea is the Founder of the Child Sleep Institute and the Program Chair of the Sleeposium series of Sleep Conferences, now in their 5th year.
Presentation: A Plethora of Sleep Promoting Strategies