Our Team

Dr. Gabor Maté

Executive Director

Gabor is the creator of the Compassionate Inquiry approach to psychotherapy. He is the Executive Director and works alongside Sat Dharam Kaur, ND on the overall vision and long-term planning. He guides and supervises the activities of the corporation and of the staff, facilitators and students of the year-long professional training program. He can be contacted via his website here.

Sat Dharam Kaur ND

Co-Executive Director, CEO, CI Facilitator and Practitioner

Sat Dharam is a naturopathic doctor and author and has supported Dr. Gabor Maté in structuring the Compassionate Inquiry approach so that others can learn it. She has been working with, filming, transcribing and organizing Gabor's approach since 2012. She designed and updates the curriculum; created and manages the course structure; oversees the CI Facilitation Team; designed the mentorship, internship and certification programs; creates CI Policies and Procedures; and co-directs the overall CI training and vision with Gabor. In her private practice she combines naturopathic medicine with Compassionate Inquiry, yoga, breathing practices and meditation to support others in healing and integrating mind, body and spirit.

Email: [email protected]

Kristen Delorenzi

Program Administrator

Kristen manages all program-related communication with current participants, including any scheduling or time slot issues, and the welcome emails to new students. She organizes the online groups for each cohort, creates the attendance sheets for each facilitator, troubleshoots with participants who are having difficulty scheduling their triads, and looks after our Q&A document. She handles the requests for CE credits.

Email: [email protected]

Gurudayal Khalsa

Technical Director, Media Producer

Gurudayal manages content creation for the website, online course platform, and various communication and technology platforms we use. He creates and edits photography, video content, and media, and works with others to edit, design, and produce the content for the site, course platform, marketing, and other channels. He is the technical director for the online course platform. Connect with Gurudayal if you are a current participant, registered member, or an applicant with technical questions, or for any media-related questions of a creative or technical nature.

Email: [email protected]

Stephanie Lee

Director of Operations

Stephanie manages internal communication between directors, facilitators, interns and the admin team. She works closely with Gabor and Sat Dharam regarding the operations, marketing and promotion, registration, training, certification, facilitation, online platform, membership, translation, outreach. She maintains the company policies and procedures and reference libraries, follows up on any breach to Code of Ethics, and is the main point of contact between participants, staff, facilitators and interns and Gabor Maté.

Email: [email protected]

Alina Karlewicz

Billing Manager, Accounting

Alina manages all course cost and payment options and issues receipts and refunds as may be required. She manages the payment plan and the monthly and annual budget. Contact Alina for all payment inquiries.

Email: [email protected]

Daniela Garcia

Digital Content Coordinator

As the Digital Content Coordinator, Daniela works in tandem with the marketing team to create content for Compassionate Inquiry’s online platform and media channels. She is focused on the digital presence of CI, crafts the monthly newsletter and emails, and organizes content & events on social media. She also supports course participants so that they can have the best experience. Contact Daniela if you have any questions. 

Email: [email protected]

Alanna Brennan

Project Coordinator

Alanna liaises with the Compassionate Inquiry focus group leaders and creates the monthly calendar of events for our membership. She looks after all facilitator feedback forms so the communication and suggestions are communicated efficiently.

Email: [email protected]

Vimalasara (Valerie Mason-John)

CI Facilitator and Practitioner

Dr. Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John M.A (hon.doc) is the award-winning author of 9 books. She worked as an international correspondent covering Aboriginal deaths in custody and Land Rights in Australia. After retiring from journalism she trained in the field of anger management and conflict resolution, going on to work as a senior trainer for one of the leading organizations in the UK, LEAP Confronting Conflicts, whose clients included the police, social services, the educational system,  prisons, gangs, and youth offending teams. In 2007 she moved to Canada, and retrained in the field of Restorative Justice RJ, working for Alberta Conflict Transformation ACTS, and developed a Train the Trainer program for youth to deliver the RJ circle. She has trained teachers throughout Canada in RJ approaches for education. She works as a public speaker in the field of Conflict Transformation, and Mindfulness Approaches for addiction. She is an ordained Buddhist and is Chair of Vancouver Buddhist Centre.

Sheila Ann Tyacke

CI Facilitator and Practitioner

Sheila grew up with a great sense of justice and, because of that, went on to study law and become an attorney. She studied three of her degrees in South Africa and the fourth at Stanford University, where she studied subjects such as Racism in American Law and Feminist Legal Theory. She practiced law in both the corporate environment and in human rights. As a human rights lawyer in the years preceding the first free elections in South Africa, she represented the ANC and various civic associations in challenges against the repressive national and local governments of the days. She also represented victims of brutal state violence. She grew her skills in corporate law in order to start mentoring and teaching those skills to young lawyers, which she still does today. Sheila has studied and taught Non-Violent Communication and is a certified mediator with CEDR (the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution), an international organization specializing in conflict management, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution.

Lara Longo

CI Facilitator and Practitioner

Lara's journey as a counsellor and psychotherapist began in 2003. She holds a Master of Social Work with a specialization in psychotherapy and a post graduate diploma in art psychotherapy. Lara specializes in holistic psychotherapy in the treatment of trauma and addictions with adults. She has worked in residential treatment facilities, shelters with youth experiencing homelessness, Indigenous community, addictions treatment and within a harm reduction health centre. Lara's approach is somatically based and attachment-oriented. She integrates psycho-dynamic and cognitive therapy, EMDR, Compassionate Inquiry, arts-based methods, yoga-mindfulness, and ancient wisdom teachings. Lara currently works alongside the Indigenous community and has a private practice in Owen Sound, Ontario.

Email: [email protected]

Rhonda Nelson

I/M Program Co-Ordinator, CI Facilitator, Mentor and Practitioner

Email: [email protected]

Michelle Peddle

I/M Technical Administrator, CI Practitioner

Michelle is a Registered Psychotherapist (qualifying) and a Yoga Therapist/Teacher. She has a private practice in Tiny, Ontario. Michelle has been studying Kundalini Yoga with Sat Dharam Kaur since 2009 and was amongst the first participants to graduate from the Compassionate Inquiry program. She manages the Intern/Mentee folders, supports Interns/Mentees with administrative tasks, and works closely with the C/I Co-Ordinator regarding the operations of the Internship/Mentorship program. If you are a current Intern/Mentee and have questions related to administrative tasks or your Intern/Mentee folders, you can reach her at [email protected].

Email: [email protected]