WHO WE ARE
OUR TEAM
Wendy Gee
Executive Director
Simone Racine
Case Manager
Hala Kassem
Program Manager
Kyla Clark
Youth Pathways Coordinator
Wendy Gee has held the position of Executive Director of A New Day Youth and Adult Services since September 2016. Over the past 30 years, Wendy has worked in various capacities as a counsellor with community agencies across Eastern Ontario. In past years she has held a number of senior executive roles, including Founder and Director of Om4Youth, a restorative yoga and expressive arts program for at risk youth and Executive Director of Turner Syndrome Society of Canada. Wendy currently holds three college diplomas in Child and Youth Counselor, Business Administration/Human Resources Management, Drug and Alcohol Treatment Worker and a degree in psychology. Wendy has many years experience in program management/planning, grant proposals and fundraising.
OUR BOARD
Jodi Mosely
Chair
Bill Janes
Director
Pat Dussault
Director
David Corkery
Vice Chair
Tracy Charles
Director
Simone Bell
Director
Amanda Larache
Director
Joanne Van Hooser
Director
Jodi Mosley is a graduate of the Child & Youth Care Program at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario, and holds certificates in Behavioural Management Intervention, Drug and Alcohol Counselling, Financial Management and, most recently, Advanced Anti-Human Trafficking. Earlier in her career, Jodi worked as the Program Coordinator and Acting Manager of Isumaqsunngittukkuvik, a secure young offenders facility in Iqualuit, Nunavut for 6 years. During this time, she also held the position of Sexual Harassment Officer for the Baffin Region. In 2002, Jodi co-founded and continues to co-direct Stepping Stones Foster Care Inc. (SSFC); an agency that offers foster homes to children aged 0-18 years, transitional homes to youth aged 18-21 years as well as specialized programs for high-risk youth. SSFC provides individual and wrap-around services in a family setting. Jodi is a co-founder and Chair of the Board of A New Day and also sits on the Algonquin College Advisory Committee for the Child and Youth Care Program. Jodi is an active member of the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking and heads its training program, which provides training to service providers on human trafficking indicators and appropriate responses.
David Corkery is a graduate of the Therapeutic Recreation Program at Sir Sandford Fleming College in Peterborough Ontario. Earlier in his career, David worked as a residential counselor/program coordinator and program supervisor with the Robert Smarts Centre for over 22 years. As a former foster parent, David brings empirical experience in fostering children. In 2002, he co-founded and continues to co-direct Stepping Stones Foster Care Inc. (SSFC); an agency that offers foster homes to children aged 0-18 and transitional homes to youth 18-21. He has extensive knowledge working with children and youth in a treatment milieu and has developed many innovative programs that meet the unique and individual needs of children and youth in this program. David is a co-founder and Vice Chair of the Board of A New Day and also sits on the board for Ontario Association for Residence Treating Youth (OARTY).
She:kon: My name is Jo-Joe Van Hooser. I am a strong Kanyen’keha:ka- Onkwehonwe- Mohawk grandmother from the Bay of Quinte Mohawks-Tyendinaga Territory, Turtle Clan. I have over 30 years of experience working with Indigenous youth and families who are or have been engaged in Child Welfare, Domestic Violence, Gangs-connected, or associated with Missing and Murder Indigenous people, Prostitution, Human Trafficking/Sex Trafficking, and other forms of Criminal activity and systems. My work experience also includes working within the Urban Indigenous Community in variety of different professional hats, on Indigenous Community boards and currently sit on the OCDSB-IEC Council, A New Day, and the Ottawa Coalition to Stop Human Trafficking, plus my current position as an EDII- Equity Diversity & Inclusion Indigenous Focus worker at Ottawa Children’s Aid Society, Indigenous Facilitator for Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies, Human Trafficking Liaison for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Private Community worker for HT/ST, and formerly, The Child Welfare League of Canada’s Leaning Community Activator. My work primarily with Indigenous families and children from legal systems to front line involvement. I have extensive personal experience, along-with my education working within the Indigenous community Urban and Territory, adding my strong voice as community member of Ottawa Urban Indigenous Community with my own community of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. My legacy is to continue to work with youth, children and families and making a difference in their lives, standing strong beside them dealing with systems of our ages, and always striving to work towards Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action and Calls to Justice for Murder and Missing Indigenous Women/MMIP.
Sergeant Larche has served with the Ottawa Police Service for over 21 years. She began her career as a patrol officer in Ottawa’s East end, where she dedicated five years to frontline community policing. She later transitioned to the role of School Resource Officer, working with both the French and English school boards. In this role, she developed a strong connection with youth and became deeply engaged with the challenges facing school communities. In 2013, recognizing the growing need for focused efforts on human trafficking, the Ottawa Police Service launched a pilot project to investigate and raise awareness about this issue. Given her experience working with youth and her interest in these investigations, Sgt. Larche was invited to join the project. The pilot proved successful—leading to multiple prosecutions, inter-agency education initiatives, and collaboration with other police services developing their own specialized units. In 2017, the Human Trafficking Unit was made a permanent part of the Ottawa Police Service, and Sgt. Larche continued her work with the unit. She currently serves on the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking and was recently appointed to the Ontario Human Trafficking Panel of Experts. For the past eight years, Sgt. Larche has also taught proactive investigative strategies at both the Ontario Police College and the Canadian Police College. She is a strong advocate for continual improvement, leading her team to evolve in response to the needs of survivors and the complex demands of human trafficking investigations.
Patrick Dussault was a front-line member of the O.P.P. (Ontario Provincial Police from 1988-2018) where he served in Toronto, Lancaster and finally in Eastern Ontario with the Highway Safety Division. During his service, he encountered several cases of human trafficking on the road. He also developed a keen interest for the subject and became a passionate advocate for the topic by attending several seminars, courses and presentation which lead him to become a presenter on the topic. He also instructed at St-Lawrence College, (Cornwall campus) from 2004-2021 in the Police Foundations Program. He has presented to several groups and agencies and community groups such as Students in Police Foundations at St-Lawrence College (Cornwall campus), the Akwesasne Mohawk Police, City of Cornwall Social Services employees, Rotary Club, Richelieu Club, Chiefs of Ontario, Cornwall Police, Canadian Border Services Agency, Ottawa and Area Housing, O.P.P. command staff and front line specialty units, , Kahnawake Service Providers and community members, Six Nations Community with Ganohkwasra (Family Assault Support Services). He also appeared on a several local TV shows such as “Man 2 Man” and “I Begg your pardon” and also on CBC-Radio Canada. Immediately following his retirement from the O.P.P., he was hired at the Akwesasne Family Wellness Program as the Anti-Human Trafficking Liaison until March 2020, when the worldwide Covid pandemic crippled everything. He resumed his role in July 2022 until March 2023. He received the Paul Harris Fellowship award (Rotary Club) for his dedication to this cause in2023. He is a member of the Cornwall Human Trafficking Task Force (CHTTF), the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking (OCEHT) as well as the North Country Human Trafficking Task Force (NCHTTF) and a director with “A New Day” in Ottawa. He was appointed in February 2024, by the Province of Ontario, as a director on the Cornwall Police Service Board.
Simone has been working in the field of Anti HT for nine years. During her career, she has trained the public, service providers and police nationally and internationally on Victim mindset, trauma, and community mobilization. Previously, she founded The Hope Found Project within Voice Found, which supports victims/survivors with their healing and recovery. As a survivor of human trafficking, her goal is to support survivors and prevent exploitation through public education.