Our Team
Our Staff
Our staff is made up of a committed team working in counselling, public education, client care, outreach, police and court support, volunteer management, communications, and administration. To reach any of these departments or for someone specific, please contact our team at the general office line: 780.423.4102.
Our Volunteers
SACE is grateful to have over 80 volunteers on our team, including volunteers who help on the support and information line and with fundraising, administrative support, and special projects.
Our Board
The SACE Board of Directors is the governing body of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton and is responsible for exercising governance authority, approving the annual budget, setting policy direction, hiring the SACE CEO (Chief Executive Officer), and implementing the SACE Strategic Plan and Mission, Vision, and Core Beliefs.
Dr. Barbara van Ingen
Chair
Dr. Barbara van Ingen is the Vice-President Academic & Provost at Concordia University of Edmonton. Barb is a Counselling Psychologist, registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists and a member of the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta since 2003. She strives for excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship, and service.
As a psychologist, Barb values community and supporting individuals addressing stressors in their lives. She centres relationship building and holds a deep commitment to lifelong learning.
Jennifer Forsyth
Vice Chair
Jennifer Forsyth is the Vice President Finance & Administration at Fort Edmonton Management Company and previously held senior roles with McLennan Ross, ATB Financial, Horton CBI (the Canadian division of CB&I) and Sysco Edmonton (a division of Sysco Corporation).
Jennifer is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Chartered Accountant) and obtained her designation while articling with KPMG in Calgary. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan.
Jennifer is passionate about building community and spent six years on the Board of YWCA Edmonton, including her last year as President. She is honoured to be part of the Board of an organization that provides such valuable services to the community.
Hannah Graham
Treasurer
Hannah Graham is a Manager at Metrix Group LLP where she works closely with her clients to streamline business processes and optimize tax planning strategies. She obtained her designation of Chartered Professional Accountant at Deloitte LLP and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from MacEwan University. Her experience working with not-for-profit clients has provided her with insight and appreciation as to the key role they play in strengthening our community.
A lifelong Edmontonian, Hannah loves to travel but is passionate about doing her part in making our city a great place to live for all. When she is not working, Hannah can likely be found enjoying our beautiful river valley with her family.
Greg Olson
Secretary
Greg is a business development and planning professional. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta with a major in Psychology, and has over a decade of experience helping companies grow and thrive. Greg is passionate about the work that SACE does, believes that everybody deserves to be heard, believed, and supported. Greg is also passionate about the circular economy, sustainability, community development, and amateur sports.
Prior to joining the SACE board of directors, Greg served as a volunteer in various community associations and sporting clubs across Western Canada, and has continued his education through the Institute of Corporate Directors, the University of Alberta Executive School of Business, and various other endeavors. He is excited to make an impact in the community where he works with his loving wife to raise their two young children. When not working or volunteering, he can be found cycling, in his woodshop tinkering on projects, or out playing with his kids
Devin Laforce
Past Chair
Devin has been a police officer since 1999, and currently he is the Deputy Chief, Investigations and Support Services Bureau with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS). During his career, he has worked in a variety of areas such as patrol, crime scenes investigation, criminal investigations, and organizational management. In these areas, Devin has completed several large-scale transformational projects that continue to modernize the EPS.
Part of this history included working as both a detective and staff sergeant in charge of the Sexual Assault Section. In these roles he became knowledgeable about the complexity and challenges with these crimes, and wanted to ensure police investigations were considerate of victim healing and wellness. This is also where he became first involved in the work of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE).
Danielle L’Heureux
Danielle L’Heureux is an experienced Leader, Coach and EOS Integrator with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality, real estate, investment, and property management sectors. After spending a year developing a private coaching and consulting practice, Danielle proudly joined the Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association in 2023 as Chief Operating Officer, bringing her back to the industry that launched her career in 2001.
Danielle is passionate about helping organizations obtain clarity on their vision, stay focused on priorities, and achieve results. As a Certified Executive Coach (CEC) and Six Types of Working Genius Facilitator, Danielle supports leaders and teams committed to their development and growth. Danielle is a University of Alberta graduate, long-serving Rotarian and very proud mom and wife.
Michelle Fong
Michelle Fong is currently an Associate at a regional law firm with a focus on tax, wills and estates, and corporate law. Prior to going into law, she obtained her Bachelor of Commerce, majored in accounting. During her undergraduate degree, she spent a co-op work term with a national firm and since then has worked for both small and mid-sized accounting firms and law firms. In her work and in her volunteerism, she draws on this range of experience, especially the ability to “speak” in both financial terms and legal terms.
Having been born and raised in Edmonton, she is passionate about organizations and initiatives that make the community a stronger and safer place. In all her volunteering positions, she believes that offering the right space, support and compassion is key to building a better community. She is involved with the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, and was previously involved with the Friends of University Hospitals and an annual Low Income Tax Clinic program.
Outside of work and volunteering, Michelle loves to eat and travel. When at home, she is regularly trying new recipes and restaurants and, when abroad, she is always exploring new cuisines.
Manjot (Joti) Deol
Joti was a volunteer for the SACE Support and Information line and Alberta’s One Line for sexual violence prior to joining the board. She completed her first 70hr volunteer training in 2015 and a second time in 2020. Her experience as a volunteer, along with the trainings, has given her the fundamentals for understanding the complexities and multilayered issues regarding sexual violence in communities. She hopes to bring this knowledge and her passion for helping others in her community to the SACE board to further SACE’s mission of engaging communities and upholding a culture of consent and respect.
Joti is born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. She got her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta, where she majored in biological sciences and got her minor in psychology. She then went on to get her Doctor of Optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry in Boston, Massachusetts. Joti currently works as an Optometrist at two local clinics in Edmonton. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family, travelling and playing music.
Dr. Shazma Mithani
Dr. Shazma Mithani is an emergency physician at the Royal Alexandra and Stollery Children’s Hospitals. She has been working as an adult and pediatric doctor since graduating from residency from the University of Alberta in 2014. Prior to that, she completed medical school in 2009 at Western University in London, ON.
Dr. Mithani has been involved in health advocacy for years, and works with vulnerable patient populations everyday on shift. Some of her advocacy outside of the hospital includes community initiatives, such as naloxone kit training, and public education through her social media platforms. She also serves as a director on the Alberta Medical Association Board.
Outside of work, Dr. Mithani enjoys spending time with her family, playing ultimate frisbee, running, going camping, and playing tennis. She’s also a self-described foodie and loves supporting local restaurants in Edmonton.
Jodi Goebel
Jodi works at the City of Edmonton where she leads the implementation of the City’s 25-Year Waste Strategy, and a wide range of corporate services, for Edmonton’s Waste Services Utility. Prior to joining the City, Jodi worked overseas as a business development and marketing professional with a number of technology companies, and in rural Alberta as the Manager of a Regional Economic Development Alliance.
Jodi completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of Alberta, majoring in Business Economics and Business Law. With a passion for equity issues and the advancement of women, Jodi has been an active board member and volunteer with several organizations in Edmonton.
Keltie Gower
Keltie has been an Instructor at MacEwan University for over 10 years, teaching marketing, organizational behaviour, and sustainable business. She is currently working within MacEwan’s Career department as an Experiential Learning Facilitator to create collaboration between students and the greater community. In addition to work, she has recently completed a Masters of Arts focusing on Social Enterprises.
Keltie is passionate about sustainability, creating business for the greater good, giving back to the community, and mentorship. Keltie also loves to travel, having already visited six of the seven continents.
Ruth Pullman
Ruth Pullam has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Masters of Counselling Psychology. Ruth has had the privilege of a relationship with SACE since 2013. Ruth had the opportunity to work and learn as a practicum student in the counselling department. Once finished her practicum she continued the privilege of working as a therapist with SACE clients. Ruth made the very difficult decision to leave SACE in 2019, due to extended family commitments. Ruth has had the opportunity to work as staff for other not-for-profit organizations and with boards of other not-for-profits. Ruth is looking forward to continuing her support of SACE on the board and as an ambassador in the community. “SACE is an amazing organization and I am grateful for the opportunity to once again be in relationship with it as a member of the board.”
Ruth is currently working in private practice, in St. Albert. She recognizes the importance of continuing to learn as a professional and will begin her second year of Somatic Experiencing this fall. Ruth enjoys spending time with her family who ranges in age from 6 to 90! She also enjoys time with friends, walking, reading, and re-learning to quilt.
Celia Sonmez
For over a dozen years, Celia Sonmez has been working in the Oil and Gas industry, gaining experience across strategic sourcing, material planning, and contract management. Currently, she is the Global Ariba Catalog Manager at Baker Hughes. She is responsible for creating and implementing the Ariba catalog strategy across the organization, while leading a global ten-person team. Celia obtained her MBA from Queen’s University. She also holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Supply Chain Management from MacEwan University.
Volunteering with organizations that make a difference is incredibly important to Celia. Since 2017, she has worked as an events volunteer with Zebra Child Protection Centre and she also was the VP of Events for the Smith Graduate Programs EDII Club at Queen’s University.
SACE is an organization that Celia knows the firsthand significance of for both individuals and the greater community. She is honoured to have the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors.
Lily Woldeabzghi
Lily is a fourth year bachelor of science student at Concordia University of Edmonton where she is currently involved in biochemistry research pertaining to neurophysiology. Additionally, at Concordia Lily serves as the Vice-President of Administration for the Concordia Black Student’s Association and has co-founded a podcast in partnership with the university called “Candid Conversations with the CBSA” aimed at providing students with inspiration and guidance through the stories of professionals in their own province.
Outside of school, Lily co-founded the non-profit Russom’s Smile, a grass-roots community initiative that works to make education more accessible for children in the Country of Eritrea. Lily is passionate about the empowerment and education of communities and is excited to be a part of SACE where these things are being done in communities across Edmonton.
Advisory Members
Danielle Green
Danielle Green earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of British Columbia in 2001 and received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta in 2005. She articled at a civil firm in BC before returning to Edmonton in September 2006, where she was called to the Bar in Alberta and began her career as a prosecutor at Edmonton Prosecutions. During her career as a prosecutor, Danielle’s main areas of practice have been intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. As a trial prosecutor, she practiced extensively in these areas. In December 2015, Danielle became a Deputy Chief Prosecutor (DCP), where she continued to prosecute a volume of serious files and was responsible for supervising a number of prosecutors. As a DCP, Danielle oversaw a number of portfolios in the Edmonton Prosecutions Office, including Child Protection, High Risk Offenders, and the Docket Unit. In April 2022, Danielle moved to the Appeals Office of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service. In this role, Danielle is responsible for preparing factums, and appearing as counsel before the Alberta Court of Appeal.
Over the past number of years, Danielle has had the opportunity to provide training and instruction to her fellow prosecutors and other members of the legal profession, volunteers with Child Advocacy Centres, and members of various policing agencies. In doing so, she has had the privilege of working closely together alongside a number of participants in the Criminal Justice System, including the Zebra Child and Youth Advocacy Centre.
Harry Grewal
Harry Grewal has worked in law enforcement since 1989, with 18 years in the UK with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) dealing with commercial quantities of drug importation and money laundering. In 2007, he moved to Canada and joined the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) where he worked in patrol, the Special Projects Team, and seconded to the RCMP for six years to the National Security Team dealing with terrorism and terrorist financing.
Harry has worked in the Domestic Offenders Crimes Section as well as in Homicide, ALERT Financial Crimes team and was then promoted into the Sexual Assault Section (SAS) as the staff sergeant. In Harry’s spare time, he loves to golf and travel and having already lived on three continents believes there is still a large world left out there to explore.