Truth

Telling

COMMUNITY STUDIES TO INFORM LEADERS MAKING EVIDENCE-BASED DECISIONS |

Working in highly specialized teams, WCI offers community and government leaders the evidence they need to make informed decisions that truly represent the community voice. We design each project to reach respondents using methodologies informed by sociology. We invest in the process of inclusive engagement, deploying our robust values-based approaches designed to reach everyone who leaders want to hear from. WCI offers three tiers of community engagement - facilitated consultation, interview investigation, and full scope studies. 

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3 Ways to Tell

the Truth :

1.

Facilitated

Consultation

Using our dynamic consultation designs suited to your exact needs, we engage in facilitation with a group of people in order to gather the answers you seek. Our service package includes a pre-job briefing with organizational leaders so we can learn exactly what information you are seeking and the context of the decisions at hand. From there, we plan a facilitated activity that engages the preferred audience in creative and inclusive ways. The final step is to prepare a report for the decision-makers that includes what we learned and contains suggestions for implementation of the information gathered. ($1000 - $7500)

2.

Interview

Investigations

Using research ethics and practices that create and uphold confidentiality, we meet with the client to determine the research questions they aim to answer. We then develop an interview guide, or series of questions, that will lead us to the answer and the context of it. We work with the client to determine who is the ideal respondent, reach out and secure interviews with them, and carry out the interviews over a period of time. WCI then analyzes the responses and provides a summary of what was learned using a sound methodology. ($5000+)

3.

Full Scope

Studies

WCI engages a full team of specialists to carry out full scope studies that deliver deliberative democracy in action. Investing in a study typically involves a critical decision that is needed to be made on a topic of great importance to the community or affected group. WCI takes the careful steps to identify the research question(s), craft a methodology of approach based in sociology, and develop a quality assurance and control plan that can uphold that methodology. Our full scope service package can include interviews, focus groups, door canvassing, mailed materials, online resources, election management technology, and facilitated activities. ($25,000+)

our preferred team

  • Hi, I’m Chéla. 

    My role on the WCI Team is to lead the process and program, offer dynamic opportunities for individual participants to provide input, and to connect with the community in support of the critical client outcomes. 

    I am passionate about excellence in smaller communities because I know that resident wellness and inclusion are the most important factors that local leaders can focus on to bring about prosperity for all.

    I have been inspired to lead and engage with others since I was a small girl. My interest in public speaking and leadership took shape in my school years, where I took part in public speaking competitions, student government, science fair, and youth leadership groups. I also developed into a competitive swimming coach in my small town in Bruce County during this formative time. The time I spent earning my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Economics in North Bay refined my ability to connect with and communicate with audiences and groups of influence. 

    When I chose the path of my career in leadership, I could not predict where it would take me. I was awarded the leadership role of a large federal project to support the settlement of newcomers to Canada in the rural communities of Renfrew & Lanark Counties. This work changed my perspective of leadership altogether. I learned about the importance of courageous and inclusive leadership when engaging with community development work and aiming for widespread impact on people. This led me to develop three more projects that complemented the first, eventually I created a special projects department for Algonquin College targeted to local inclusive community and economic development. 

    While building the impact unit in Renfrew County with the college, I operated my consulting firm, With Chéla, supporting clients who wanted to invest in their leadership and develop strategies that will support prosperity through collaboration. Specializing in strategic planning, communications, community engagement, and leadership programs, With Chéla has allowed me to have the great privilege of helping hundreds of clients to evolve their visionary leadership. 

    Today, I work as the Head Coach of a military youth swim club at Garrison Petawawa, lead a local charity for the reduction of poverty affecting children and youth, and perform community engagement and clinic development contracts working with select clients who inspire me to take action. I love to cook, especially using the fresh garden vegetables grown in my yard at home in Pembroke, Ontario. I care deeply about inclusion and helping to create communities where everyone belongs. I consider myself an Everyday Activist because I have dedicated my career and way of living to demonstrating what can be possible when we come together and collaborate.

CHéLA BRECKON |

  • Hi, I’m Laura J.

    My role on the WCI Team  is to perform on the ground project outreach and to lead the direct interaction with respondents throughout our project timelines. 

    I grew up in a small community in Eastern Ontario, where I still live with my two almost-teenage sons. We spend our time exploring the natural wonders of the world we live in - we are avid campers and kayakers and we spend a lot of nights a year in the interior of Algonquin Park.  This is all mixed in with a healthy dose of Fortnite and NHL.

    I am an active and engaged community member, and serve as a volunteer member for a variety of local service organizations including Victim Services and Literacy Programs. I believe these small town services and organizations are critical to the success of our small communities and that resident engagement is key!

    My strengths are in bringing people together - I just love connecting with new people! I believe strongly that every voice matters and that everyone has something to contribute. 

    I began my career in corporate training, when a financial contact centre set up a large operation in my rural community. I discovered a passion for ensuring inclusive and accessible training and employment programs. This led me to Community Rural Employment Services, where I supported clients from youth to retirement in job preparation, searching, and maintaining employment. I also worked with local employers, coaching inclusive practices from recruiting to interviewing to onboarding. 

    I have had the pleasure of working with the With Chela team since 2019, when I joined a special project with the goal of making our rural community more inclusive. In that role, I offered training, support and advice to community services, organizations and the general public to increase capacity to serve newcomers to Canada. I believe diversity is strength in our small towns and that we can all learn from each other in a respectful and kind way.

Laura Julien |

  • Hi, I’m Holly. 

    My role on the WCI Team is to ensure that respondents can access the program easily, navigate their opportunities to provide input, and work with the client’s staff to collaborate on solutions that matter to the community. 

    I am passionate about helping residents of smaller communities to be properly represented and valued by leadership groups, recognizing that leaders are also residents and deserving of respect and the opportunity to make a difference in the community. 

    Over the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of building a rewarding career while learning and improving my leadership skills along the way. This includes developing programs and managing projects as well as providing collaboration within organizations on land-use planning matters.  The five years I spent working as a CAO in a rural municipality has given me an excellent understanding of the operations and obligations of local government and has inspired an interest in government relations.  

    I enjoy interacting and learning from staff and residents, so that I can understand what they are facing, and ultimately help them with planning and intentional collaboration.  While leading as a CAO, I completed an organizational re-structure including a governance realignment and implemented the first zoning by-law within the community.  I have extensive experience developing policy and procedures for all levels of government and agencies.  My skills with management and protection of personal information, development of data management, and expertise with elections are some of the important experiences that will help me participate and ensure success within the project.  

    On behalf of the Department of National Defence at Canadian Forces Base Borden, I managed multi-million-dollar projects including building demolition, contaminated site remediation, and multi-year data collection and analysis projects.  This experience, coupled with having worked as a Supervisor of Policy and Standards for the City of Barrie and Team Leader, Environmental Services for the Department of National Defence, helps me to understand the importance of and need for appropriate public interaction related to projects which will impact residents.  

    In addition to my bachelor’s degree and an Engineering Technology Diploma, I have spent the past few years completing a variety of Municipal specific training including the Municipal Administration Program (MAP), Municipal Finance Administration Program (MFAP), Clerk designation through AMCTO, and various elections and governance training.

Holly Hayes |

  • Hi, Im Jackie.

    My role on the WCI Team is to design a thoughtful, thorough, and inclusive methodology to guide the project team’s interactions with the respondents. I also create the documents that effectively and accurately translate the information given to the WCI Team by respondents. 

    I am a qualitative research specialist, Sociologist, and gender and sexuality scholar whose work centres on the empowerment of individuals and communities. My cutting edge research on public forms of nudity and sexuality contextualized an in-depth investigation, the first of its kind, of discourses of sexuality in Canada and how they frame the legality and practice of public nudity. My other extensive research project centered on the first Canadian ethnographic study of online dating among young professionals by examining how constructions of the self online have implications for the reproduction of gendered categories of being, mate selection, and ultimately love in our technologically-mediated world. 

    I have conducted research in a variety of contexts including Vancouver’s Drug Court and I have carried out municipal government-level studies on the feasibility of creating immigrant entrepreneur attraction strategies for small cities in Canada. I have also been involved in research in the service of policy recommendations for various branches of the federal government. I now conduct research in the service of non-profit organizations and I situate my work in meaningful needs-oriented approaches that allow for in-depth qualitative data generation that captures the words and voices of girls and young women so as to serve them in evidence-based, field tested, relevant, local, and community-integrated ways. 

    I am deeply committed to community, intersectional research strategies, and my role as facilitator and conveyor of the meaning that individuals and communities make of their experiences, their communities, and the world.

    I love hiking as long as it involves mushroom hunting with my family and I love to travel anywhere - near or far - in search of the next best meal that reflects the culture, values, and creativity of any given community anywhere in the world.

Dr. Jackie Schoemaker Holmes |

  • Hi, I’m Laura. 

    My role on the WCI Team is to develop and design all of the materials you’ll need to participate with the project and to capture and tell your community story using art, illustration, document design, and graphic design. 

    I have a passion for inclusive community engagement that is meaningful and impactful for everyone involved. 

    I am an illustrator and graphic designer based in the small town of Petawawa, Ontario. I obtained my Bachelor of Applied Arts from Sheridan College and have been in the business of visual problem-solving and storytelling for the past 10 years.

    I have seen first-hand the impact, power and clarity that art can bring to important discussions through my skill of graphic recording - the real-time translation of conversations or presentations into text and pictures. I also believe in the effectiveness of adding graphics to information in order to help us all reach a mutual understanding of a situation or problem and ultimately arrive at a goal successfully. 

    In addition to freelancing for the past seven years, I have also worked for the Labour Market Group of Renfrew & Lanark Counties in workforce development projects. I have experience in a range of corporate marketing roles including CBC Ottawa, Canada Revenue Agency, BMW Foundation, Department of National Defence, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Keepers of the Circle, First Nations Information Governance Centre, Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects, as well as multiple small municipalities and universities. 

    When I am not working, I am busy exploring the woods with my nearly two-year-old son, tending to my urban chickens, connecting and supporting local businesses, and enjoying the benefits of small-town living.

Laura Hanek |

our

mission

We value the voices of smaller communities and the perspectives of people who live in rural and remote settings.

Our aim is to offer leaders a chance to know this perspective so they can be informed when making critical decisions that shape the outcome for everyone involved.

We want all people, regardless of the density of their region or individual identity, to be counted and heard when it comes to decisions that impact them. 

examples of our work

Item 1 of 3

Ignace

Willingness Study

(Full Scope Study)

With Chéla Inc. was hired to conduct a Willingness Study in Ignace, Ontario, in order to determine the position of the township residents regarding continuing the process of being considered as a potential host community of a Deep Geological Repository of used nuclear fuel. The methodology that informed their approach was developed by Dr. Jackie Schoemaker Holmes, the WCI Sociologist and qualitative research specialist, was upheld during the eight-month process by the Engagement Team, led by Chéla Breckon, principal consultant and owner of With Chéla Inc. 

The Willingness Study took place from September 2023 until the final voting, or decision-casting portion of the study, was completed on April 30th, 2024. Throughout the study, the Engagement Team developed and followed policies, procedures, and protocols that guided their work when interacting with residents. 

Holly Hayes, the Willingness Study Registrar, held the responsibility of ensuring that all users who attempted registration were indeed eligible to participate. The Registrar offered custom pathways that assisted residents who lacked documentation, proximity to Ignace, and/or online capabilities in order to ensure that the greatest number of residents were able to exercise their right to participate. 

The objective of the Engagement Team was to take an exhaustive approach in reaching all eligible residents in ways that were culturally appropriate, accessible, and convenient. The results of the robust outreach strategy deployed by the Engagement Team demonstrate that a variety of communication channels and support services were needed to be able to reach all residents in an inclusive manner. 

Residents were offered diverse opportunities to participate in ten social and community events that were focused on familiarization with the study, developing connections with the Engagement Team, and participating in conversation about the decision at hand. 

Residents also had the opportunity to schedule a voluntary confidential interview with Chéla upon registering to participate in the Study. The purpose of the confidential interviews was to understand the context and reasons for residents’ willingness to participate in the siting process with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). At the end of the process, all registered participants were provided the opportunity to cast their ballot using a secure elections management system over five days in April 2024. 

The WCI report provides a detailed perspective of the engagement results, demonstrating what worked to generate widespread participation among residents, along with observations summarized concerning the in-person events. The final sections of the report offer an analysis of data collected in confidential interviews, represented in themes and connections. The qualitative context is followed by a summary of the quantitative results of the willingness decision which indicates the ultimate position held by the majority of the residents of Ignace.

The appendices contained in the report are the public-facing materials and documents WCI developed in order to carry out the study and activate the methodology of the Study. 

The residents of Ignace by vast majority welcomed us, connected with us, and shared with us their most personal feelings and perspectives about their future and the potential siting of the DGR in the place they call home. The Engagement Team is endlessly grateful to the residents for offering their perspective as we captured your voice and choice concerning a critical community question.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

City of Pembroke

(Interview Investigation)

With Chéla Inc. was retained by the City of Pembroke in the summer of 2022 to prepare a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Strategy for both the internal organization and the wider community of Pembroke it represents.  

Developing the plan required a deep investigation made possible through confidential interviews. The plan was founded on the core principles of inclusion and asks the changemaking client to adopt an anti-oppressive position as an organization and place to live. Oppression is like the current of a mighty river, flowing and carrying everything in it downstream – except for those swimming upriver. You see, anti-oppression is the act of swimming against the current. Recognizing that our default states of operating in our cultural norms have contributed to creating and upholding the marginalization and oppression of certain people for certain reasons unrelated to their true value in the world means we only have one choice. 

Swim. 

When we don’t swim, we are carried by the current of oppression and we become complicit to the impact of it. 

The plan developed is an official call to action for each of us to stand in solidarity for the respect of all people and their choices, identities, lived experiences, and expressions. WCI packed it full of learnings, actions, tools, and resources to help you along the way. We hope the report inspires the client to take on this work and emerge as a leader in smaller welcoming, safe, and inclusive communities.

atv club

renfrew county

(Facilitated Consultation)

Working with Club volunteers and Board of Directors, WCI was engaged in 2024 to offer a facilitation plan design that could lead to an improved marketing and communications position for the club overall. 

Our service package included an initial meeting with leaders to determine the problems and opportunities they are facing as a club so that WCI could form a targeted approach to helping. This context then helped to inform the larger facilitated meeting where more members were present in order to offer clarity on the details surrounding the keys to success of the club and missing resources required to unlock their potential. 

The WCI team then prepared a detailed facilitation plan that is designed to determine the exact messages and market position the club would need to develop and take to reach the audience of members and riders they aim to connect with. The club then gathers the preferred respondents to take part in the facilitated activity so that WCI can develop the marketing strategy, implementation materials and training components for staff and volunteers.

SERIOUS

LET’S

GET

ABOUT REPRESENTATION

Inform your decisions with clear evidence gathered in meaningful ways working with your community.

contact WCI