Considered one of the pioneers of peer support in Canada, Brad retired in 2015 after 33 years of service as a police officer. In 1989 he co-created the first ever organizational peer support in the form of a post shooting trauma team and in 1996 transitioned it into the York Region Critical Incident Stress Management Team serving all first responders in his region and beyond. After the 9-11 tragedy in New York City, he led members of his team and mental health professionals to support NYPD members there who were suffering from the terrorist event. He is a Certified Trauma Services Specialist with the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists in South Carolina.
Before retiring Brad led the creation of the YRP Wellness Unit and created an in-house Peer Support Team for YRP.  In his retirement, Brad joined with the beloved Canadian Grandfather of Peer Support Syd Gravel, a retired Staff Sergeant from Ottawa Police Service, and together they co-author publications that help organizations best support their members. In particular, they co-authored “Walk the Talk – First Responder Peer Support” and “Slay the Toxic Dragon – Police Leadership Impacting Member Wellness” Together they provide valuable advice and investigate challenging claims where organizational toxicity is alleged to exist and they deliver Peer Support training from a curriculum created from the Mental Health Commission of Canada published guidelines on the practice and training of peer support in 2013. Brad is a co-lead with the Peer and Trauma Support Services section at Mood Disorders Society of Canada. He does clinically supervised peer support at the Trauma Centre in Sharon, Ontario. He is an advisor to the Board of Badge of Life Canada. He is an advisor to the Board at the Haven. He is an alumni member of the York Region CISM Team.
Brad continues to be active as a peer support worker. Most often he will be performing peer support with his 2 furry sidekicks Luna and Meadow, who are in training as therapy dogs.  They are friendly and compassionate female Golden Retrievers. Brad lives in Aurora and is the proud father of 2 daughters, one being a family physician who, as a result of her upbringing, has developed a trauma informed approach to family medicine in her practice in order to best support first responder and other families in the community. He is also a grandfather and is very much involved in the upbringing of his grandson.  

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