Evaluation & Research

Our Research Team Puts You First

Interested in meeting with our Evaluation and Research team or one of its members? Visit the Contact Us page to request a consultation and find out how we can support you.

Dr. Richard Csiernik

Dr. Derek Chechak

David Knezevic

Ben Csiernik

Ben Csiernik (He/Him) is a hockey coach, data analyst, and researcher. He is currently a Masters student in the faculty of Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University, where his research focuses on athlete development, identification, and selection in hockey. His previous research has focused on healthcare utilization, musculoskeletal health, and systematic and scoping reviews across various fields

Mikaeli Cavell

Mikaeli Cavell (she/her) completed her master’s degree in health sciences at Ontario Tech with a thesis focused on the quality of youth experiences in parasport programming. She is currently a research professional at a community organization. There she supports the evaluation of programming and services for the purposes of quality improvement and knowledge translation. Mikaeli also brings her personal experiences in sport, recreation, and leisure to her research work. 18 years spent as a competitive hockey player and 5+ years spent coaching sports and supporting community programming has fueled a passion for accessibility of high quality, meaningful recreation and leisure opportunities.

Derek Chechak is the Director of Quality Improvement and Crisis Services with St. Leonard’s Community Services in Brantford, Ontario. A Registered Social Worker since 2008, he began his career overseeing congregate care settings licensed under the Homes for Special Care Act, before working on an assertive community treatment team and forensic mental health outreach team. Most recently, he was the Social Work Practice Lead for a regional employee assistance program provider, and an implementation specialist, evaluator, and project manager with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Rick Csiernik (they/them), BSc, BSW, MSW, PhD, RSW, CCAC is Professor, School of Social Work, King's University College in London, Ontario. Rick has been a social worker for over four decades, having written 10 books, edited nine, including The Essential Guide to Psychoactive Drugs in Canada, Substance Use and Misuse: Everything Matters, and Workplace Wellness. He has contributed to over 250 peer reviewed publications, made nearly as many public presentations and has been part of research teams receiving over $5 million in funding during his career.

David is the Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility Coordinator with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB). Supporting the mandate of the Commissioner's Office of Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility, he collaborates with KPRDSB leadership, staff and community to provide education, information, assistance and advice in fostering and supporting an inclusive culture free of discrimination and harassment. David is also a PhD Student with the Interdisciplinary Social Research program at Trent University focusing on human rights and inter-sectoral/interdisciplinary service collaboration to end youth homelessness in rural communities across Canada.

Dr. Tracy Smith-Carrier is an Associate Professor and the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the School of Humanitarian Studies at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Smith-Carrier has years of experience conducting research and evaluation projects in the academic, community, government, and non-profit sectors. Her program of research touches upon various fields in the social policy arena, including access to social welfare benefits, social assistance receipt, food and income in/security, basic income, poverty, and climate justice. She is the Chair of the National Forum Strategic Planning Committee for a Basic Income Guarantee in Canada, and editor of the Taylor & Francis journal Critical Policy Studies.