Dawna Speers

After the murder of her daughter Monica, Dawna Speers has committed herself to increased awareness and prevention of abuse and violence, especially among young people. She collaborated with Documentary Productions and The National Film Board to produce an award-winning film A Love That Kills that tells of her daughter’s tragedy and identifies the warning signs symptomatic of abusive relationships. Dawna speaks to thousands of youth and organizations across Canada, and has worked with Maggie Babcock and Nathan Neumer to develop CHOICES for Positive Youth Relationships, a program which combines A Love That Kills with a six-lesson, curriculum-based Instructional Guide.

Dawna has consulted to many police services. She teaches new recruits at the Ontario Police College, lectures to the Police in their Domestic Violence Investigators course and has developed workshops with Corrections Canada about the Impact of Victimization and the need for Information Sharing. She served a 3-year appointment as an Adjudicator with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and currently sits on the Domestic Violence Death Review Council created by the Office of the Coroner of Ontario and on the board of directors for Operation Springboard, an organization serving at-risk youth and young offenders.

Dawna is the Executive Director of the Speers Society.

Nathan Neumer

Nathan has produced, directed and distributed numerous educational learning resources across Canada to schools, universities, and community groups. Nathan’s career began as a secondary school teacher. In addition to creating educational resources, he has developed a variety of media projects including film and television productions, focusing primarily on documentary programming.

He was one of the producers of A Love That Kills and, as a founding member of the Speers Society, has worked with Dawna and Maggie to create the CHOICES for Positive Youth Relationships program. Nathan is the Director of Communications for the Speers Society.

Maggie Babcock

Maggie has been an actively involved in violence prevention initiatives for many years, first as a secondary school teacher and counsellor, later as a crisis counsellor in an abuse shelter. She has been especially committed to helping young people develop the skills and knowledge they need to make safe choices in their relationships. Formerly the Director of Youth Education Services at CAVEAT (Canadians Against Violence), Maggie currently sits on the Board of Directors for ‘Design for A New Tomorrow’, a counselling service for adults in abusive partnerships.

A founding director of the Speers Society, Maggie now serves as the Director of Programs and was the principal author of the Instructional Guide for the Choices program.

Jayna Ampting
Miss Canada Scholarship 2005
 
Jayna seeks to promote her commitment to community, family, career and education. With the title, Jayna, won $5000 cash scholarship towards her university education.
 
Understanding the meaning of definition of hard work, Jayna has worked since age 13 years while maintaining honors all through high school. She was an Ontario Scholar and also was awarded the Visual Arts Award two consecutive years in high school. She has continued to renew her commitment to education, now pursuing a 4 year Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Biology and Minor in English. Her ultimate goal is to be a Pediatrician.
 
Jayna has demonstrated a commitment to service through promotion of her platform. She hopes to promote healthy relationships in adolescents and empowerment of youth. Challenging the status quo, her goal is to promote the awareness of teenage violence, and to empower youth to make a difference in their own lives, their community and the world.