Darlene Marion

After gaining 20 years of professional experience in the private sector, I joined the federal public service in 2008 where I’ve held various positions within the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

I'm passionate about workplace wellness and mental health and in 2015, I decided to disclose that I'm one of the "1 in 5" Canadians living with a mental illness by sharing my story publicly through a Toddcast (http://www.toddlyons.ca/2015/09/toddcast-season-1-episode-2-mental.html).

Although this wasn't an easy decision to make, it was necessary to achieve my goal of helping to eliminate stigma by sharing my story and spreading the message of hope and recovery.

I advocate for mental health in a variety of ways including:

• Founder of HELE (Hope Empowerment Lived Experience), an informal, virtual and employee-led peer support group for federal public servants. HELE is open to persons with lived experience (PWLE) of mental illness or mental health issues and family members/colleagues of PWLE. Anyone bereaved by suicide is also welcome.

• Member of the Federal Speakers' Bureau on Mental Health, a volunteer-based initiative where Government of Canada employees, through in-house speaking engagements, openly share their personal stories of recovery from mental health issues or illnesses.

• Member of the Ottawa Post Suicide Support Team.

• Member of the SUCRIG (Service Users and Caregivers Research and Interest Group), a committee comprised of PWLE interested in contributing to suicide prevention research.

• Certified in MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) and ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training).

I firmly believe that I have a responsibility to give back to my community and volunteer annually with the CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) Telethon and am a proud member of the CHEO Mom Squad. I serve as Team Captain in the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) annual Walk to Cure Diabetes and donate to and volunteer with the annual Government of Canada Charitable Campaign.

I’m a very proud mom of two grown children and grateful to live in a small country town where fresh air and peacefulness are plentiful and neighbours greet you with a smile and a wave.

Please click the button above to make arrangements for a speaking engagement.