Our Mission
Teach Resilience works to build resilient thinking at an individual, community, and systemic level through trauma-informed education.
About Us
Teach Resilience is a social enterprise born out of a need for trauma informed training for organizations across Ontario and Canada. Every dollar made by Teach Resilience goes right back into our community through working with the youth service sector.
Our team works to build resilient thinking through our trauma-informed facilitators, brining your organization along as we educate at an individual, community and systemic level. Resilience building is a journey, we'd love to travel it with you.
Donate To Teach Resilience
Teach Resilience is a social enterprise to Pathways to Education Kingston, proceeds of Teach Resilience work goes to support Pathways to Education Kingston.
Our Origin
Kingston Community Health Centres (KCHC), one of the many community health centres located in Ontario, works to to provide diverse services that empower people and build communities. Pathways to Education, a program within KCHC is designed to help youth successfully transition from high school to post-secondary education, meaningful employment, or enter a skilled trade apprenticeship.
KCHC and the Pathways to Education Program have always prioritized being responsive to the evolving needs of the community that they serve.
In 2018, KCHC decided to integrate Trauma Informed Care (TIC) within all of its program and services as a strategic directive.
When the staff of Pathways to Education Kingston was introduced to a documentary called Paper Tigers (KPJR Films, 2015), they were compelled to learn more about the application of a trauma responsive lens to their youth programming. To share the important work with the North Kingston Community, Pathways to Education Kingston hosted their first screening of Paper Tigers and received an overwhelmingly positive response.
This prompted four members of Pathways to Education Kingston Team apply for grant funding through the Community Foundation of Kingston and Area to receive comprehensive training from field experts. This grant allowed Stephanie, Kara, Garry and Roger to become certified facilitators.
Since then, the Teach Resilience Team leads have offered Course 1 Certification Training to over 40 local organizations.
Our TRTLs
Kara Fry
Kara Fry is dedicated to building community through strong, authentic relationships. With over 25 years in education—as a teacher, administrator, and consultant—she brings a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and connection. Her career began on a remote Northern reserve and has taken her to classrooms around the world, shaping her belief in the power of diversity and partnership.
For the past 10 years, Kara has worked with Pathways to Education, supporting youth through relationship-centered approaches. She also has over five years of experience in training and consulting, with a focus on trauma-responsive practices. Kara is continually learning and working to embed trauma responsiveness into her professional and personal life.
Garry Castle
Garry Castle took the scenic route to arriving at his role as GRAD Connector with Pathways to Education. He ran summer camps, shepherded the proverbial flock, built tiny homes, and supply taught in many of Kingston’s elementary schools. Since joining Pathways, Garry has applied his relational trade with high school students and their people; offering support, advocacy, mentoring and unconditionally supportive presence. Garry works hard to connect with students and work through what they need. He runs Outdoor Academy programming to help students prepare for independent living after high school. He’s always up for Frisbee.
Roger Romero
Roger Romero is a first generation Canadian who came to Canada as a refugee from war torn El Salvador in the early 1980’s. Roger grew up in Kingston’s north end and faced challenges associated with poverty and Adverse Childhood Experiences. His lived and work experience fuels his passion for community building and positive social development for youth. Roger is a Brock University graduate where he majored in Psychology and minored in Recreation and Leisure Studies. He jokingly admits that he studied “fun” but has used his education and experience to support and coach countless young people over the last 10 years. Roger loves to be involved in the community and has held leadership roles at several non-profit organizations.
Stephanie Wight
Stephanie Wight is a passionate educator, knitter, baker, and avid reader. Since graduating from Teacher’s College in 2012, she has shared her love of science teaching in multiple countries and settings and has been with Pathways to Education since 2017. A self-proclaimed lifelong learner, Stephanie is eager to share her knowledge of Trauma Responsive Care and how it can transform our interactions, both within education and beyond. She currently serves as the Team Lead of Student Experience and GRAD Connector at Pathways, as well as a Trauma Responsive Team Lead.
Grandmother
Kathy Brant
Medical Advisors
Grandmother Kathy is a Mohawk Kanien’ ke’ha ka woman from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Kingston, Ontario. She is a Mother, Aunty, Sister, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. She works as an Indigenous Community Development Worker with the Kingston Community Health Centers where she is a passionate advocate for the braiding together of Indigenous Culture with mainstream healthcare for urban Indigenous People. Kathy also is also the Indigenous Grandmother in Residence at the Grand Theater, and also sits with Katarokwi Grandmothers Council who, among other things, ensure that sacred ceremonies still happen seasonally, in the Kingston area.
Dr. Mary Rowland
Dr Mary Rowland has been a family physician for over 20 years and has worked in primary care at Kingston Community Health Centres since 2011. She is currently the Medical Lead of the new Midtown Kingston Health Home and is also an assistant professor with the Department of Family Medicine at Queen's University. Her practice focuses on the delivery of comprehensive primary care to equity seeking populations and she is particularly interested in women's health, sexual health, personality disorders and behavioral pediatrics. She also enjoys health systems planning and program model development and believes that quality improvement strategies can be used effectively to enhance equitable access to care
Dr Rowland was introduced to Trauma-Informed Care through her work at KCHC and over the years has learned a lot from her patients about the transformative impact this approach can have on both therapeutic relationships and patient outcomes. She enjoys sharing these experiences with other health care providers and helping others build skills to navigate challenging clinical visits and find satisfaction in their work.
Dr. Rupa Patel
Dr. Rupa Patel is a family physician at the Kingston Community Health Center. She is also an assistant professor at the Queen’s University Department of Family Medicine where she is also the Program Director of the Women’s Health Program. She is a career advisor at the Queens University School of Medicine and board member at the CPSO.
She has worked in many settings over the past 30 years, including remote Northern Ontario, as a GP-Oncologist in a hospital, FM-Obs, and as a family doctor in an academic teaching practice. She currently works in a CHC setting offering care to a diverse population across the lifespan.
Dr. Patel is a passionate advocate for responsible opioid prescribing, after inheriting a practice with many patients on high-dose opioids. She has been with this group of patients for the past 15 years and has extensive experience with opioid tapering. She is also an advocate for generalist family medicine and feels that continuity of care is critical in Family Medicine and health care in general. She continues to enjoy her work and hopes to share her strategies for managing a practice in Family Medicine in this increasingly stressed health care environment.