Speakers & Committee Members

Allan Wade Ph.D. lives on the unceded territory of the Quw’utsun First Nation, on southern Vancouver Island, B.C. He works as a therapist, researcher and consultant with a primary interest in promoting socially just and effective responses to violence and other forms of adversity. Allan works with individuals and families, with youth and adults, with people who have committed violence and people who have been harmed by violence. Allan works extensively with Indigenous peoples locally, in the Canadian north, and abroad.

Allan provides training to the network of service providers who become involved in cases of violence: child protection, police, lawyers and judges, counsellors, shelter and refuge staff, youth workers, victim assistance workers, and educators. He teaches locally and internationally and has published many articles on the power of dignity and resistance, working with victims/survivors and offenders, the importance of institutional responses, and the connection between violence and language.

Wendy is a Registered Social Worker with the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers. She graduated with a BSW (1984) and an MSW (1998) from Dalhousie University. During her social work career Wendy has been a Child Protection social worker and supervisor; an Executive Director of a women’s shelter and a District Manager with the NS Department of Community Services. Wendy recently retired as Executive Director of New Start Counselling and is currently the Domestic Violence Offender Navigator with Halifax Regional Police, Victim Services.

Dolly Mosher is the Victim Services Coordinator with Halifax Regional Police. Prior to taking this position in 2017 she was the Domestic Violence Case Coordinator for HRP/RCMP Halifax District for 16 years. Dolly is an active member of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, Founder of Silent Witness Nova Scotia and Chair of the East Hants Crime Prevention Association where she volunteers in her community.

Sgt. Deepak Prasad is a regular member and peace officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Nova Scotia Division, he is currently posted to the Halifax District RCMP, as the NCO i/c for the Community Policing and Victim Services Unit. For over 13 years, Deepak has supported victims of crime as a domestic violence investigator, child abuse investigator, and human rights advocate. Deepak serves on a number of non-profit boards such as Family Services of Eastern Nova Scotia, NS Criminal Justice Association, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Awards – NS Division. Previously he served as a board member at Leeside Transition House, Noami Society, and was a member of the training committee of the NS Community Services – Breaking the Silence project.

Delthia Miller is the Volunteer Programs Coordinator with Halifax Regional Police. She graduated with an MA (2006) in Criminology from Saint Mary’s University. Delthia has a background in managing crime prevention initiatives, lecturing and researching, with various publications related to at-risk gambling and constructions of gendered crime in the media. She has spent many years actively volunteering with a variety of community organizations to help support victims of crime.

Cst. Jules Laraque is a regular member and peace officer with the Halifax Regional Police in Nova Scotia since 2001. He is currently the Domestic Violence Officer since 2022. Jules has been deployed to Haiti with the United Nations on two occasions. In his 1^st mission after the earthquake (2010), he worked in co-location with the Haitian Police and then oversaw security at a relocation camp. In his 2^nd mission, he worked with Anti-Kidnapping Unit. He switched unit and supervised the Minor Protection Unit. He also created and trained the Haitian detective on how to interview children. Locally, Jules has worked patrol, Quick Response Unit and was a detective constable with the Sexual Assault Investigating Team. On his spare time, he coaches youth hockey and soccer.

Christa Russell joined Victim Services in 2021 and is presently HRP’s Domestic Violence Case Coordinator. She holds a certificate in Child and Youth Care, a Bachelor of Art’s in Psychology and a Bachelor of Social Work. Christa has spent nearly a decade working in the field of mental health – and has an abundance of experience working with both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.

Jamie Van Wart is a Crown Attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution. His primarily appears before the Youth Criminal Justice Court and the Domestic Violence Court. Before his work as a Crown prosecutor, he was a staff legal aid lawyer with the Yukon Legal Services Society. Jamie was called to the Bar in British Columbia in 2002, the Yukon in 2003 and Nova Scotia in 2009.

Terri Lipton is a graduate of Dalhousie Law School and was called to the Bar in 2004. She has been working as a Crown Attorney for the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service since 2006.

Terri has prosecuted many complex cases at both Provincial and Supreme Court levels. In addition, she worked as the designated crown attorney for the Mental Health Court in Dartmouth.

Terri was heavily involved in the establishment of the Domestic Violence Court in Halifax and worked as the designated crown attorney for the Domestic Violence Court for several years. She has gained significant expertise in the area of domestic violence.

Terri currently works with the special prosecutions team with a focus on cybercrime and child exploitation and also handles many other specialized prosecutions.

Bev is a retired registered nurse and Certified Emergency Nurse, now volunteering with Halifax Regional Police victim services and victim services volunteer association. Bev did her Victim Services training through the Justice Institute of B.C. Bev is currently employed with Silent Witness Nova Scotia as a program coordinator and supports the sooner than later conference as a conference administrator.

Bev has been actively involved in volunteering for various organizations throughout her volunteer career and has been recipient of several volunteer of the year awards both Provincially and Nationally.

Nancy Ross is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work, Dalhousie University. Following her career as a clinical therapist in addiction and mental health settings she completed a PhD in Peace Studies and International Development.  Her research aims to explore ways communities can work towards ending all forms of violence while continuing to improve trauma and violence informed support for individuals and families who have experienced violence. Her work has examined the effectiveness of pro-arrest policies as a response to domestic violence within the Criminal Justice System, the experiences of women in Domestic Violence Courts and explores ways in which healthcare can become culturally responsive to reduce gender-based violence in the African Nova Scotian Community.

Leslie Bagg, MSW, is a social work researcher with a background as a community organizer around housing and migrant justice issues. She is currently a research coordinator for two studies on gender-based violence.