Board of Directors
The Board of Directors consists of accomplished Family Mediators from across the Province of Ontario working together to promote family mediation and maintain the highest standards of accreditation.
Our Board is comprised of family mediators from diverse disciplines including law, social work, psychology and finance who represent every region of Ontario. Members are elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for a three year term.
The Board develops and maintains standards for accreditation and continuing development in areas such as elder mediation and oversees the Executive Director and Director of Child Protection Mediation as they fulfill the objectives of the OAFM with a high degree of excellence.
Each Director is fully committed to ensuring that the OAFM remains the voice of family mediation in the Province of Ontario.
Carolyn Shelley
Carolyn Shelley
Carolyn Shelley is the Associate Managing Partner, as well as a Partner at Cunningham Swan Family Law group. She was born and raised in Kingston and was eager to return after pursuing an Honours degree at the University of Toronto and her LL.B. in Halifax. After her time at Dalhousie University, Carolyn articled with the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. Today, she continues to represent children in high conflict custody/access and child protection proceedings as a panel lawyer for that same office.
Carolyn’s passion for Family Law is evident through her community work. Most notably, she is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliations Courts, the Collaborative Family Lawyers Association, and a Board Member for Girls Inc. In addition to litigation, Carolyn practices Collaborative Family Law. This process provides a separating couple with the opportunity to resolve their disputes respectfully, with a commitment that neither party will litigate.
Jim Doxtdator
Jim Doxtdator is an Accredited Family Mediator providing services to the Six Nations community and surrounding areas, including Brantford, Simcoe, Cayuga, Hamilton, St. Catharines, and Guelph. His areas of practice include family mediation, on-reserve Matrimonial Real Property (MRP) mediation, restorative practice training, and conflict resolution.
Jim studied Civil Engineering at Mohawk College and spent over 20 years working in federal, provincial, and Indigenous community government settings in project management and advisory roles. He has been practicing as a family mediator since 2017 and is accredited by the Ontario Association for Family Mediation. Jim completed his mediation and restorative practices training through the Six Nations of the Grand River Community Justice Program, which administers the Community Matrimonial Property Act for members experiencing separation or divorce.
Jim is also a facilitator and trainer in Indigenous Dispute Resolution (IDR), a framework grounded in Indigenous values and traditional practices developed by Dr. Robert Antoine and Dr. Richard Hill. He incorporates IDR principles into all aspects of his work.
A proud member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Bear Clan, Cayuga Nation, and Six Nations of the Grand River, Jim is a founding commissioner of Ogwadeni:deo, the Six Nations child protection agency.
Community engagement is central to Jim’s work. He collaborates with the John Howard Society of Hamilton and Burlington as a Restorative Practitioner, supporting diversion, prevention, and community-based conflict resolution.
Aubrey Sherman
Aubrey Sherman (he/him) is the Managing Partner at Sherman Law LLP in Waterloo Region where his legal practice is focused on wholistic and integrative family law and divorce dispute resolution, including collaborative divorce and family mediation. He is an accredited family mediator (AccFM) and accredited intergenerational mediator (AccIM). Aubrey is a certified collaborative practitioner with the Ontario Association of Collaborative Professionals (OACP) and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP). Aubrey brings over 18 years of experience in dispute resolution to his role on the Board.
Aubrey is an alumnus of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School in Mediation, Negotiation, and Conflict Management. He has completed advanced training in interest-based (Fisher/Ury) and insight (Picard) mediation. Aubrey is a graduate of the Conflict Management and Mediation program at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo. He completed Dispute Resolution Levels 1 and 2 through the ADR Institute of Ontario. Aubrey also completed the Osgoode Certificate in Family Law Skills and Practice. He is a graduate of the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law (LL.B., 2004) where he discovered his passion for alternative dispute resolution and was the recipient of the Dean McLaren Writing Prize. Aubrey completed his undergraduate degree in Sociology at York University (B.A., 2001) and received several academic awards and scholarships.
Tanya Parker Wallace
Tanya Parker Wallace (she/her) is a family lawyer and accredited family mediator with over 20 years of experience in family law. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Tanya initially focused on litigation, representing clients in complex family disputes, including custody, access, support, and financial matters. In recent years, she has shifted to exclusively practicing out-of-court dispute resolution. Tanya is passionate about helping families navigate challenging times with integrity, compassion, and a focus on lasting solutions.
A certified collaborative lawyer since 2015 and an accredited family mediator since 2018, Tanya has extensive expertise in mediation, collaborative practice, and cooperative negotiation.
Tanya holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from York University and earned her law degree from the University of Ottawa in 2003. She has held diverse roles in family law, including legal counsel for the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa, where she represented the Society in child protection matters, and private practice with firms specializing in family law.
Currently, Tanya is dedicated to advancing the field of family mediation, both through professional practice and by contributing to the broader community. She is the co-chair of the Ottawa Chapter of OAFM, a Board Member of Collaborative Divorce Ottawa, and a member of the Planning Committee of the County of Carleton Law Association’s Annual ‘Institute of Family Law’ Conference. She is now applying her expertise to support the Ontario Association for Family Mediation as a member of its Board of Directors.
Jonathan Paynter
Jonathan Paynter graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 1997 and a Bachelor of Social Work (Summa Cum Laude) in 1999. He worked in the Child Welfare and Youth Justice systems for a few years with children and their families. He then returned to school to complete a Master of Education in Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto (2006), while still working in the Children’s Mental Health and Education systems. He worked in the Ontario College system for a few years as a counsellor at Fleming College and then transitioned into working in the Family Court system, completing custody and access assessments, parenting capacity assessments and youth court assessments. He has also worked in private practice since 2008 and, in September 2019, opened a full-time private practice, providing psychotherapy and counselling to adults, couples and children. He has specialties in the areas of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and couple’s counselling. Jonathan has pursued many educational opportunities in addition to his university education, including certificates in Collaborative Family Law, Advanced Family Mediation, Family Arbitration, Domestic Violence Screening, Offender Relapse Prevention and Actuarial Assessment of Risk. He has done a lot of training on the subject of domestic violence and intimate partner violence and is a certified user of the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA). He is a regular attendee at conferences and workshops to continually update his skills.
Dr. Rachel Birnbaum
Dr. Rachel Birnbaum, Ph.D. RSW, LLM. is a Distinguished University Professor Emerita who teaches at King’s University College, Western, Ontario. She teaches in the area of children’s participation, social work ethics and law and on the intersection between law and social work. Dr. Birnbaum has over 30 years of clinical practice experience working with children and families of separation and/or divorce, specifically focused on working with high conflict families post separation. Her research is interdisciplinary and collaborative with colleagues in law, medicine, psychology and social work. Dr. Birnbaum has co-authored several books on separation and/or divorce, on research methodologies and authored several Department of Justice papers on children's participation during parental breakdown.
Dr. Dan Ashbourne
Board Member
London
Dr. Dan Ashbourne, PhD, C. Psych., Acc.FM is a registered psychologist and accredited family mediator in Ontario with over 30 years’ experience working with families in various capacities. Over 20 years of service at LFCC in various roles ending with Executive Director Emeritus involved Dr. Ashbourne in extensive training, assessment, mediation, parent coordination, and coaching. He has also consulted to various research projects/programs with various populations and communities in the East, North, and Southwestern Ontario.
Marian Gage
Marian Gage is the principal lawyer at Gage Family Law in Oakville, Ontario. She is an Accredited Family Mediator (AccFM) and an Accredited Intergenerational Mediator (AccIM). She is also a trained Collaborative family lawyer and an active member in the local Collaborative practice groups.
Marian also works as a panel lawyer for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer.
Marian has a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University (2000) and a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University (2003). She trained in improv at the Second City Training Centre in Toronto. She has a certificate in Appliance Repair from Herzing College. Marian is also a licensed private investigator in the province of Ontario, although she often can’t find her own car keys.
Sandra Southwind
Sandra Southwind is from the Bear Clan and is a registered band member of Sagamok Anishinabek First Nation in Northern Ontario. Sandra has extensive child welfare experience and has been an advocate for children for 35 plus years. Sandra is grounded in Anishinawbek values that assists communities in their responsibility to strengthen families for the safety and well-being of Anishinawbek children.
Sandra is a registered Social Worker and an Accredited Mediator and Child Protection Mediator with the Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM). She sits on the Child Advocacy Committee for her community and is on the Board of Directors for the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre at Anderson Lake. Sandra has a Master of Social Work, a Bachelor of Human Studies with a specialization in Psychology and Native Studies, and a Diploma in Native Counseling Care Development with a specialization in Mental Health. She was an instructor for Laurentian University for several years and currently is a mediation coach for York University.
Currently Sandra owns a consulting business called Mikinaak Consulting which is 100% Indigenous owned. Sandra provides consulting, one on one counselling and Indigenous Mediation.
Sandra always keeps in mind the Seven Grandfather teachings of Love, Wisdom, Bravery, Truth, Humility, Honesty and Respect and adds the teaching of Kindness.