Our Team
Brian Knowler
Brian is a veteran police officer, retired lawyer, speaker, trainer, and author. In 2004 he was the lead investigator in a motor vehicle crash involving the death of a close friend, causing his life to spiral into depression, alcohol, and thoughts of suicide. He was finally diagnosed with, and began therapy for, job-related PTSD in 2012.
He has spoken to first responder and public safety personnel around the world on issues related to leadership, trauma, mental health, resiliency, and workplace safety. He is the creator the CAPITAL L Leadership training program, which received the 2019 Corporate Livewire Award for Excellence in Mental Health Support.
Brian has overseen dozens of critical incidents, taking a toll on him and the teams he has led. The creation of the CAPITAL-L Leadership material was in part due to the impact of these critical incidents on Brian and both his home and work families.
Brian has published two books about his experiences with trauma and leadership: ‘On the Other Side of Broken – One Cop’s Battle With the Demons of PTSD’, 2016, and ‘Career Suicide is Overrated’, 2021.
Brian is a graduate of the Queen’s University Workplace Mental Health Leadership Certificate program, a certified Mental Health First Aid facilitator, a certified leadership coach, a critical incident stress responder, and a member of the International Institute for Mental Health Leadership.
Dave Dame
Dave is a seasoned technology executive who is passionate about designing and developing hardware and software for users of all abilities. He has extensive experience in design thinking, product management, and agile delivery. Dave is a champion for accessibility and builds high-performing teams fostering cognitive diversity and inclusion.
Dave is a leadership coach, enterprise agile product leader and trainer with over 20 years of experience, which he leverages to drive large-scale transformation in complex organizations. Focusing on building high performing teams, he has trained over 600 professionals in product management, leadership and agile delivery practices. Dave has worked with technology companies such as OpenText, PTC, and MCAP; in many cases improving delivery times by over 150%.
Dave also spends a significant portion of his time coaching well-seasoned executives, and is
very proud that he has played a role in the development of nearly 20 SVP-level and C-level executives.
Tara Beaton
After 20 years helping people return to work following disability, Tara received her own diagnosis of ADHD. As she said, "It explained a lot. Plus, I always had a passion for accessibility. I just didn't realize it was personal."
Now adding her own, first-person experience to her disability management, vocational rehabilitation and training expertise, Tara provides insights to Human Resource professionals, supervisors, and senior management, offering guidance on best practices in accessibility and accommodation for neurodiversity, mental health, and disability. She shares evidence and know-how for supporting workplace diversity, accessibility, and disability management so that employers and workers alike can reap the benefits.
A sought-after speaker who has trained thousands of professionals, Tara brings messages that are focused, current, engaging, and oriented for action and results.
Tara holds a graduate degree in Adult Education and sits on the board of VRA Canada. She maintains the Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP) and Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Professional (CVRP) designations.
Todd Humber
Todd is an award-winning journalist who has spent his career covering issues of importance to business leaders, HR professionals, employment lawyers, occupational health and safety professionals and more.
He spent more than two decades with Thomson Reuters as publisher and editor-in-chief of Canadian HR Reporter and its family of publications including Canadian Occupational Safety, Canadian Employment Law Today, Canadian Labour Reporter, Canadian Payroll Reporter, Canadian Safety Reporter and others.
He spent three years with Annex Business Media, Canada's largest B2B publisher, as a member of the senior management team with responsibility for 11 national and international media brands including Talent Canada and OHS Canada and publications covering forestry, construction, aquaculture, golf and landscaping and manufacturing.
He also served stints in mainstream media, including editorial roles at daily newspapers across Ontario including The Woodstock Sentinel-Review, Oshawa News, Cobourg Daily Star and Port Hope Evening Guide.
He studied history and political science at the University of Windsor and has a journalism diploma from Durham College. He lives north of Toronto with his partner Kathy and his two dogs: Athena, a lovable Bernese Mountain Dog; and Scout, a very "doodly" Labradoodle. ress Relations Specialist
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Phone: 289-264-4883
