Ordination

Nicola was Ordained by Clergy Support Memorial Church January 15 2019 after serving as a Designated Ministry with distinction since February 24 2016.

Academic Achievements

• BA Anthropology, McGill University.
• Graduate Certificate Human Resources, McGill University.
• Master’s Level Counselling Courses, McGill University.
• Diploma Social Sciences, Marianopolis College. (At Marianopolis College I studied theology with the Sisters of Notre-Dame who were part of the teaching staff.)

Thanatology Ministry

Currently, I am studying Thanatology and Grief Counselling as the next step in reaching out to my community. Thanatology is the scientific study of death and the practices associated with it, including the study of the needs of the terminally ill and their families.

Always having felt a connection with death and grieving, I supported mothers who lost a child due to miscarriage and during pregnancy as this was something I experienced personally yet found little to no resources to support people going through such a difficult time. I had an opportunity to lead a funeral service and felt the process of spending time with the family, listening, and supporting them was something that fit in with my strong drive to continue in my role of providing care in my community.

Present Ministry

Missing my connection to people and major life events, I started on my journey towards conducting life celebrations in 2015. This led me to working with Clergy Support in the head office as part of the recruitment and training of the clergy unit.

I have had a diverse career preparing for this type of service. Always an entrepreneurial spirit, I started my first business while in university. I also trained to be a painter and was pushed to the limits of my physical and mental strength as I found myself in the Muskokas painting massive cottages on cliffs. To this day I still paint and count it as one of my most beneficial skills.

I was a researcher in Paramin, Trinidad, West Indies, working with agriculturalists on land-ownership and community services. I also volunteered my time during this research project through CIDA, by exploring entrepreneurial opportunities the people of Paramin were engaged in.

I returned to McGill University, Montreal, to run an interdisciplinary research centre. After the contract was completed, I became a high-tech recruiter and purchased a placement agency in high-tech training and teaching. During this time, I started my Doula training and business. After 10 years in this area of work, I shifted careers and became an interviewer and relationship manager for international students in the Ottawa area. During this time, I also hosted 6 students from South America, Europe and China.

Returning to my entrepreneurial roots, I started providing content management and digital marketing services and consulting to entrepreneurs. Writing has always been a key part of my working life and business. I am proficient in editing, SEO and provided such services to companies in order to get them to a high rank in Google.

Hobbies

Raising Monarch butterflies for 18 years. Teaching community children butterfly husbandry.

Three words to best describe me: Compassionate, polite and empathetic.

Giving Back

Birth and Post-Partum Doula and Baby Soother. I trained with Canadian Mothercraft while I was a Doula in order to provide volunteer services to mothers and families. My outreach work included working with marginalized women in the Ottawa area (new immigrants, teens, and other women). I provided support and counseling before, during, and, after birth, including pre-natal education (both independently and through the Family Centre), support during childbirth, breast-feeding education and prevention of shaken-baby syndrome.

This work led me to being invited to be a contributing author in a series of Doula books that are used for training new doulas:

• Bearing Witness: Childbirth Stories Told by Doulas, Caron & Caron, Fox Publishers, 2006.
• Joyful Birth: More Childbirth Stories Told by Doulas, Caron & Caron, Fox Publishers, 2012.

As a member of the Optimist Club of Russell Region, I organized fundraising activities and participated in youth-centred events such as youth dances, local public speaking and math contests.

After the birth of my first child, I was diagnosed with PTSD. I had a horrific experience during childbirth. In order not to repeat this, I sought out guidance and training in hypnosis. I was able to give birth twice more naturally and pain-free with no medical interventions. This led me on a journey to train in hypnosis for childbirth and pain management. I was then able to offer these teachings and skills to mothers in preparation for childbirth and during childbirth.

When my son, at the age of 8, was diagnosed with severe anxiety and suicidal ideation, I started training in Dr. Terry Orlick’s Positive Living Skills in order to provide him with tools to help manage his days as he was unable to attend school 4 months. Eventually I joined Dr. Terry Orlick’s Positive Living Skills organization and was part of the first group of his students to be certified in this program and directly mentored and trained by Dr. Orlick. I then offered local groups and organized events in Ottawa aimed at teaching parents, along with their children, skills of relaxation, positivity and tools to manage their daily lives.

Memberships

• Vice-President/Co-Founder Optimist Club Russell Region
• Member, GradUit Network (entrepreneur business network)

Awards

Recognized by Russell Township as the founding member/Vice-President of the Optimist Club

Other Studies

• Certified Doula, DONA International
• Certified Baby Soother, Dr. Harvey Karp’s Happiest Baby on the Block
• Certified in Baby Sing Language
• Diploma in Hypnosis for childbirth and pain management
• Certified Theta Healer (energy healing)
• Certificate in “Positive Living Skills”, Dr Terry Orlick (first group to be mentored/trained by Terry Orlick)
• Certificate Inbound Marketing, Hubspot
• Certificate in Google Adwords