MAPS Canada is honoured to announce the appointment of Kayla Breelove Carter, Francine Douglas, and Shannon Smadella to the MAPS Canada Board of Directors.
Kayla Breelove Carter
Kayla Breelove Carter (MACP, LCT, RCT, CCC, NuPsych., Clinical Traumatologist-TI, Psychedelic Assisted Therapist- IPI) works with individuals and organizations to increase their awareness and understanding of trauma, racial trauma, and adverse childhood experiences. Kayla helps bring reflection and profound change in one’s recovery journey, while guiding organizations in the reflection of how their privilege and own lens, can play out within their role in the workplace.
With over ten years of clinical experience, Kayla specializes as well in nutritional psychology and psychedelic assisted therapy. As a clinical supervisor for those seeking licensing in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Kayla also dedicates her time in supporting graduate students through Breelove’s weekly free counselling clinic and community counselling program, where individuals seeking counselling therapy can engage in one on one mental health counselling for free.
When she is not providing counselling therapy or consultation work, Kayla enjoys contributing to CBC Morning Moncton and PEI,as their mental health columnist, while also spending time with her two children under five and partner of fifteen years.
Francine Douglas
Stó:lō from Sts’ailes Nation and Tsimshian from Metlakatla Nation, Francine values and upholds the cultural teachings she has learned from her Indigenous family. Francine’s desire to support First Nation families and communities through the impacts of colonialism, assimilation and displacement from their traditional territory has brought her to a diverse career in mental health, traditional medicine, business and cultural tourism.
Francine currently works with the Thálé:ylexw awtxw Foundation, The House of the Life Givers, a grassroots Stó:lō womxn’s group with a purpose to support the growth and empowerment of Indigenous womxn in S’ólh Téméxw, the Stó:lō traditional territory. This foundation strives to create opportunities for Indigenous womxn to share their knowledge and experiences, re-connect to land-based healing and build relationships with one another. Francine also works with Sacred Circle, supporting their vision for a healthcare system that honors Indigenous knowledge and ancestral traditional medicine. As an advocate for the rights of Indigenous people, Francine’s considers her work with Sacred Circle one of the most powerful ways to support First Nations people in preserving their traditional knowledge, promoting cultural healing practices and reconnecting to their traditional territories.
Defining moments in her career over the years include volunteering with the suicide crisis line, owning and managing several businesses in the Stó:lō territory, managing a traditional Stó:lō group that shared cultural stories, song and dance, supporting First Nation community business development with Indigenous Tourism BC, and supporting children and families at the Stehiyaq Wellness Centre, a residential facility for at-risk Indigenous youth. Francine was recently featured in Lllahee: Water, a video sharing about the power of water as a healing medicine. Francine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and anthropology from the University of British Columbia and was the valedictorian of the Ch’nook Indigenous Business Program from the Sauder School of Business.
Shannon Smadella
Shannon Smadella is a wellness advocate, speaker, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Insight Global, a business consulting and wellness education firm. As a skilled business professional and corporate consultant, Shannon has over twenty years of experience in strategic management, operations management, human resources, marketing, business development, finance, and project and event management. As a motivational speaker, she has delivered keynotes and facilitated workshops at hundreds of events throughout North America. She has been interviewed by various networks, including TSN, CTV, KTLA, and MTV.
Shannon’s strong professional record reaches beyond business. Her educational background is in health sciences and business, and she is presently completing her MBA. She has expanded her knowledge through training at MIT (business), Harvard (higher education teaching & curriculum development), and wellness organizations like The Chopra Centre. Shannon is an Ordained Spiritual Minister and has worked in the field of spiritual healing for over fifteen years. She has donated 3000+ volunteer hours to 80+ charities, raising millions for those in need. She is recognized as a Woman of Distinction Finalist (2009) and a Woman of Inspiration Award Winner (2022) for her humanitarian work. She is also a former Miss Canada.
Shannon has been involved in psychedelic advocacy and research for over 4+ years, starting with MAPS Canada, where she lent her expertise to fund development and event management. Later, she co-organized and hosted Examining the Psychedelic Renaissance for MAPS Canada, a 40-episode web series. Shannon has interviewed some of the most prominent leaders, innovators, scientists, and luminaries in the psychedelic space through her work and has consulted for various organizations in the psychedelic space. Subsequently, she co-organized World Psychedelics Day and is a consultant and spokesperson. Shannon is the recipient of an Ancestor Medicine Award with Cosmic Sister. You can find her sharing her views and expertise on her podcast Dialed In and spending her free time with her son Ryder.
Welcome to MAPS Canada, Kayla, Francine and Shannon! We are grateful to have you on the team.