2013 Leadership Award

Patricia Baldwin

Over a decade ago, as a result of her interest in supporting the self-determination of youth with disabilities, Patricia Baldwin began a journey that would lead to one of the most fundamental shifts in how therapists approach their work with clients at Thames Valley Children’s Centre in London, Ontario.

As a champion of the relationship-centred practice service delivery model, Patricia introduced, trained and then embedded the use of Solution-Focused Coaching (SFC) an evidence-based model which focuses on a strengths based, collaborative, and goal-oriented approach when working with children and youth with disabilities and the key adults in their lives.

Patricia has provided SFC training to 6 other OACRS organizations and 9 service agencies that have all identified staff to continue building internal capacity. Thanks to Patricia, well over 300 paediatric rehabilitation specialists are using Solution-Focused Coaching today.

2013 Award Of Excellence

Linda Kenny (left)

As CEO of OACRS, Linda energized the children's rehab sector. She focused on the association's role as a provincial advocate for children and youth with disabilities and the need for an integrated and streamlined service delivery system.

Linda fostered a culture of engagement with members, governments and other stakeholders. She pushed the association to think differently about how to work with government. She moved the sector beyond the thinking of "what's good for the sector" to positioning us to frame all that we do in terms of what's best for kids and families. She recognized significant contributions made by individuals and organizations for leadership, excellence and innovation that support OACRS' mandate. The Tribute Awards are testament to Linda's legacy of partnerships and participation in the work of OACRS.

Caroline Stone (right)

Caroline knows first-hand the challenge of raising a children with special needs. It was while she was advocating for her daughter, Shannon, she realized the need to advocate on a provincial level, which brought her to become a member of the OACRS Board of Directors. For the past seven years, Caroline has been instrumental in setting up governance policies and practices consistent with best practices of board accountability and transparency. In her understated but incredibly persuasive manner, she was always able to link her experiences to what parents celebrate and struggle with day-to-day in raising a child with special needs. She speaks passionately about how CTCs and OACRS are essential to the service system in raising the bar to help every child reach his or her potential.