Our Team

Melanie Bania – Director of Services, Evaluation, and Impact (she/her/elle)

Melanie joined CCFSC in 2023 and supports the development of Community Safety & Well-Being plans across Canada, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of plans and programs. Melanie was part of the team at the Institute for the Prevention of Crime that launched the CMNCP in 2006. She is thrilled to be back as part of the team! Melanie holds a PhD in Criminology and her areas of expertise include collaborative governance, community-based crime prevention, youth violence prevention, youth justice, program evaluation and performance measurement. Melanie has a unique blend of front-line, senior management, and academic experiences, allowing her to see issues and solutions from various angles. Melanie’s approach relies on genuine engagement, authentic relationship-building, and focuses on continuous learning. She grew up in rural Northern Ontario, is fluently bilingual in English and French and is committed to working from community-centered and anti-oppressive lenses.

Melanie resides on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People, colonially known as Ottawa, Ontario.

Amanda-Rose Bourget – Knowledge Exchange Coordinator

Amanda-Rose joined the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities in July 2024. As the lead for knowledge exchange, she plays a crucial role in co-curating and coordinating resources and events for both members and the public. Her responsibilities include planning and facilitating member meetings, speaker series, and community of practice sessions, as well as sharing evidence-informed resources and models to support community safety and wellbeing projects.

Her academic credentials include a BA from Brandon University with double majors in Psychology and Sociology, and she is currently completing her Master of Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Winnipeg. Amanda-Rose also obtained her Higher Education Teaching Certificate through the University of Winnipeg’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and holds a micro-credential in Facilitating Older Adult Learning from the University of Manitoba’s Extended Education program.  Her professional experience spans public service and sectors such as housing, addictions, mental health, gender-based violence, suicide prevention, and education.  She has a passion for service and community having volunteered with a variety of organizations in many capacities. She believes community safety and wellbeing are both personal and collective responsibilities, founded on accountability, strong relationships, and a shared commitment to mutually beneficial change.

With a heart of Reconciliation, Amanda-Rose is dedicated to repairing relational harms through allyship, re-learning our nation’s history, self-awareness, accountability and growth. Amanda-Rose resides in a now predominant agricultural area on Treaty 1 territory, the shared traditional lands of the Dakota Oyate, the Anishinaabeg and the homeland of the Red River Métis Nation where today the Ininew, Anisininewuk, Denesuline, and Inuit call home.

Jeffrey Bradley – Community Safety & Well-Being Research and Planning Coordinator (he/him/il)

Jeffrey joined the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities in 2024 and supports the research and development of community safety and well-being plans across Canada. He is currently doing his PhD in Legal Studies at Carleton University and is a part-time criminology professor at the University of Ottawa. Jeff holds a Master of Arts in Criminology and has been a research assistant on many projects on violence prevention, human trafficking, victim services, deaths in custody, and prison transparency. Jeff is passionate about social justice, community-based violence prevention, human rights, and non-carceral alternatives to the criminal legal system.

Jeffrey resides on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people, colonially known as Ottawa, Ontario.

Jade Brazil – Administrative Coordinator (she/her/elle)

Jade joined CCFSC in 2023. She is a multitasking maven and administrative assistant extraordinaire. With a colourful career journey that includes mastering customer service, orchestrating funding coordination for three fruitful years, and working as a virtual assistant for small businesses, she has become a maestro of all things administrative. Her academic toolkit boasts a Bachelor of Arts in history, accompanied by a minor in sociology. These studies have not only deepened her knowledge but have also equipped her with a distinct ability to approach tasks with both precision and a broader societal lens.

She is on a quest to live with a decolonized heart and mind and is dedicated to infusing an intersectional and inclusive perspective into every facet of her work. It’s not just about tasks; it’s about crafting an environment that embraces diversity and fosters growth.

Jade resides on Treaty 6 Territory – ᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, amiskwacîwâskahikan – the traditional meeting ground, gathering place, and travelling route of the nêhiyawak (Cree), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Dene, and Nakota Sioux.

Emma Cash – Project Manager (she/her/elle)

Emma joined the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities in 2024 and supports the development of Community Safety and Well-Being plans with a particular focus on Manitoba. After studying at the University of Winnipeg, Emma received a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in sociology, having specifically focused on the prison industrial complex and the social concepts of crime and deviance. Having spent years working at the provincial and federal levels of government and through her work within the music industry, Emma has had the opportunity to live and work in Canada, England, and the United States and has come to understand that there is a global need for innovative approaches to community safety and crime prevention that are tailored to local environments. She is passionate about improving the safety of communities through a non-carceral and community-led approach, and creating service delivery models and programs that utilize upstream thinking to address crime prevention as opposed to relying solely on punishment and police enforcement. Emma approaches all her work collaboratively and with empathy and is able to foster relationships within diverse communities, highly valuing people’s lived experiences when it comes to compiling the research that informs policy and programming. 

Emma resides within the Homeland of the Red River Métis, on Treaty 1 Territory, the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline and Nehethowuk Nations.

Stacey Colliver – Director of Research and Services (she/her/elle)

Stacey joined CCFSC in 2023 and supports the development of CSWB plans across Canada. With a master’s degree in Criminology & Criminal Justice Policy, she understands the importance of fostering upstream approaches to prevent and reduce crime in communities. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Waterloo in the Sociology & Legal Studies department focusing on the regulation of online space and has worked in various fields including non-profit leadership and restorative justice (Community Justice Initiatives), online crime and safety (Kik Interactive Inc.) and has taught courses at the University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University. Stacey is passionate about igniting the untapped assets of communities that are often ignored in favour of formal structures and responses to crime and harm.  

Stacey resides on the traditional unceded territory of the Mississauga, Anishinaabew, and Attiwonderonk (Neutral) peoples, colonially known as Mitchell, Ontario. 

Katie Cook – Director of Operations and Services (she/her/elle)

Katie joined CCFSC in 2020. Her work involves managing a range of projects, including the development of community safety and well-being plans, creating documents to support communities in their own work (i.e., the Practitioner Guide for the Development of CP/CSWB Plans and topic summaries), and conducting research. She is a criminologist with experience in youth justice and community crime prevention. She completed her PhD in sociology at the University of Waterloo where her research focused on youth crime prevention and campus law enforcement. She has worked with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council on projects to support marginalized youth, reduce problematic substance use, and prevent violence, and was a member of the Youth Justice Committee with the John Howard Society of Waterloo Wellington for several years. Her work is guided by the principles of equity, collaboration, and long-term investment in the social determinants of health to ensure all members of the community can thrive. 

Katie resides in Kitchener, Ontario, which is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral peoples.

Audrey Monette – Director of Engagement and Services (she/her/elle)

Audrey joined CCFSC in 2016. She leads diverse projects related to community safety and well-being (CSWB), including facilitating training sessions, conducting research, and developing CSWB plans. With a master’s degree in critical criminology, she advocates for non-carceral approaches to ending gender-based violence, preventing victimization, and improving victims’ and prisoners’ rights. Audrey is passionate about community-led approaches to safety and well-being that are rooted in equity, social justice, and dismantling systems of oppression. 

Audrey resides on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People, colonially known as Gatineau, Québec. 

Felix Munger – Executive Director (he/him/il)

Felix joined CCFSC in 2015. He brings experience as a mental health and addiction clinician, program planner, and evaluator. He has over 20 years of experience facilitating strategic planning, priority setting, and collaboration building across Canada with a wide range of stakeholders including equity-deserving and Indigenous communities. Originally trained as a psychiatric nurse, he has experience in community safety, organizational collaboration, addiction (including harm reduction), EDI (equity, diversity, inclusion), and organizational capacity development. He holds a master’s degree in environmental studies and a PhD in community psychology. Most recently, his work focuses on the impacts of climate change on community safety at the local level.  

Felix resides in Waterloo Region, Ontario, which is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral peoples. 

Jazlyn O’Bonsawin – Project Coordinator (she/her/elle)

Jazlyn is a master’s student in the Community Psychology program at Wilfrid Laurier University. As an Abenaki woman, Jazlyn has experience doing research with Indigenous communities in a way that ensures reciprocity Indigenous people and communities. She joined the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (CCFSC) in June of 2023 and has been working on the community and urban safety monitoring project, specifically working on identifying indicators of safety that are relevant to Indigenous people and communities. Jazlyn uses a culturally sensitive community-based approach that ensures that Indigenous voices are heard and represented in the community and urban safety monitor.

Jazlyn currently resides in Waterloo, which is located on the unceded territory of the Chonnonton (Neutral), Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. This land has been cared for and stewarded by these Indigenous communities for generations. Indigenous communities have an enduring presence and have made vast contributions to the region.