Shelley Steele is a retired Child and Youth Counsellor with over 40 years of experience supporting children, youth, and families, although she humorously notes that a Child and Youth Counsellor never truly retires. She spent 20 years in education, working both in schools and at the District level to support staff and families. After retiring from the school system, Shelley continued to assist school staff nationwide through training and coaching, focusing on Restorative Practices and a relationship-based approach to help educators overcome challenges.
Shelley believes that everyone has the potential for positive change when given the right tools, support, and opportunities. Her career also includes 15 years in residential care, which gave her a comprehensive understanding of the systems that affect youth and families, along with the challenges these systems create.
In education, Shelley spent over 10 years working directly with children, youth, and the adults who support them. She then spent another 10 years training and supporting educators and community partners to better serve youth and families. Notable training programs she led include Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA), Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, Applied Suicide Intervention Skill Training (ASIST) and Restorative Practices (Formal Conferencing and Classroom Circles). Shelley was invited to present at the National Conference for Violent Threat Risk Assessment in Banff, Alberta, where she was acknowledged for her work in the field. Shelley was lead and primary VTRA trainer for her District’s community. She also supported and became a resource for other districts as they began training in these programs.
Shelley led Safe Schools initiatives for 10 years, overseeing suspension and expulsion programs, addressing violent incidents, promoting restorative practices, fostering community connections, and supervising staff to implement these programs. She played a key role in integrating relationship-based approaches into both the programs and policies.
Now retired in Ontario, Canada, Shelley enjoys the opportunities that retirement brings, and embraces time spent with her five grandchildren.
Contact Shelley at [email protected]