MHFA Certified Trainers

Algonquin College Providing Mental Health First Aid Training in Renfrew County

Algonquin College’s Pembroke Campus has two certified mental health first aid facilitators through the Canadian Mental Health Commission. Laurie Ann Klawitter is a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer with 30 years of experience as a registered nurse, much of that time devoted to promoting student well-being at Algonquin College’s Pembroke Campus providing health services.

Prior to her position at Algonquin College, Laurie Ann worked at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute for a number of years. She has taken several workshops on suicide intervention and was also recently involved in bringing the Purple Couch project, which promotes starting mental health conversations amongst one another on campus, to our Waterfront Campus in Pembroke

Jeff Iles is a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer with 20 years of teaching experience from kindergarten through college. Jeff has extensive experience working with students with learning, physical, and mental disabilities to provide supports necessary for success.

Prior to his work with Algonquin College, Jeff served as Vice Principal of Heritage Academy, a private Ottawa school dedicated to children with learning disabilities and mental health issues, specifically reading disorders, ADD/ADHD, and anxiety. Laurie Ann and Jeff believe that given the right tools, people will feel more comfortable becoming a part of a mental health conversation, and being a listening ear for someone who is struggling with a mental health related issue. They feel that if everyone works together, they can erase the stigma that for so long has been attached to mental health disorders.

Read more about Algonquin College’s Mental Health First Aid training course – see MHFA Home Page here; see the Course Overview/Outline here; see Course Dates/Cost/Registration Form for upcoming courses.

Some of the information on this web page is from the Mental Health First Aid website of the Canadian Mental Health Commission. Please refer to their website for more information about courses, videos, and resources and more.