Bernie is well-known within the profession as a role model and community ambassador. She has over 40 years of human services experience in the government and non-governmental sectors and has supervised the practice of more than 30 individuals. Collaboration has been a hallmark of her practice, as has an unselfish sharing of her expertise and insight.
Bernie has been actively involved in numerous community development projects in Ft. Qu’Appelle(The Youth Initiatives Program), Regina(Family Sexual Abuse Treatment Program), Estevan (Society for Maintenance and Improvement of Life in Estevan –SMILE). In these efforts, she was either the lead or in a group of collaborating leaders. More recently in Saskatoon she has been employed by Family Service Saskatoon as a program manager and continues to develop programs for youth, young parents, and in the court worker program.
Bernie has experience as a caseworker, supervisor, and manager with the former Department of Social Services. She has over 30 years of experience in direct practice which resulted in the development of extensive knowledge and skills in the areas of child welfare, poverty, aboriginal issues, domestic violence, young offenders, and women’s issues. She has trained teachers, daycare workers, medical personnel, community leaders and other professionals on a variety of topics including child protection, child abuse prevention, intervention, women’s issues, spousal abuse and inter-cultural issues. Bernie has also hosted 20 field practicums for the Faculty of Social Work, University of Regina. Always careful to ensure that her knowledge and practice are up to date, Bernie has attended an impressive list of international and local conferences/events.
In addition to working full time at Family Services Saskatoon, Bernie continues her volunteer involvements at International Women of Saskatoon and with a community program for refugee people (Nest, Saskatoon) which is a group that has for more than 10 years assisted refugee women and children in establishing themselves. She also has acted as Vice Chair of the Saskatchewan Intercultural Association.