Crossroads and Cross-Exams: Helping Families and Decision Makers Hear What Matters in Parenting Disputes
Calgary | In Person | Virtual

Dr. Patricia Papernow is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on “blended families.” She is entering her fifth decade of working with, learning about, and teaching others about stepfamily relationships.

Dr. Papernow provides training and consultation all over the U.S. and internationally to clinicians, as well as to guidance counselors, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, clergy, lawyers, judges and others who are often on the front lines with stepfamily challenges.

She is the recipient of both the American Family Therapy Academy’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy, and the Award for Distinguished Contribution to Family Psychology from the American Psychological Association’s Couple and Family Therapy Division.

Dr. Papernow’s second book, Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t, has been called “the best book ever written on the subject,” “a remarkable achievement,” “a lifesaver,” and “an incredibly good read.” It is full of both practical evidence-informed guidance and deeply moving clinical vignettes. Written for both helping professionals and stepfamily members and helping professionals it continues to receive rave reviews from both.

Her third book, The Stepfamily Handbook: From Dating to Getting Serious, to Forming a “Blended Family, co-authored with Karen Bonnell, combines Karen’s considerable skills as a post-divorce co-parenting coach with Patricia’s deep knowledge of stepfamilies. Together they have created a practical step-by-step guide that takes recoupling parents and their partners from falling in love, to moving wisely toward more commitment, to creating a successful stepfamily.

Dr. Papernow is also the author of over 30 professional articles and book chapters. She is frequently interviewed by national and local media. Her first book, Becoming a Stepfamily, is also widely recognized as a classic in the field.

Dr. Papernow is the Director of the Institute for Stepfamily Education and a psychologist in private practice in Hudson, MA. She now devotes most of her time to supervision and training. As a clinician, Dr. Papernow draws primarily from the Internal Family Systems model, also integrating her training in couple and family therapy, Gestalt therapy, attachment, trauma, interpersonal neurobiology, preventive mental health, and learning differences.

Dr. Jeff Chang has been a Registered Psychologist in Alberta since 1987 and is also registered in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Additionally, he is credentialed as Registered Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor Mentor in the Canadian Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (CACFT). Jeff has worked in children’s mental health, employee assistance programs, and private practice. He is Professor Emeritus at Athabasca University, having retired as a Full Professor after 18 years in the Master of Counselling program.


Jeff has provided psychological services in the family law sector since 1995, now doing mainly Practice Note 7 and 8 assessments and litigation support and work product review. He has also led children’s mental health programs in Calgary’s charter and independent schools since 2001. Jeff authored and curates the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta’s on-line course on clinical supervision; supervises Registered Provisional Psychologists and predoctoral interns; consults to practitioners on clinical issues, regulatory and ethical dilemmas, and supervision; and continues to write and present on these areas. Jeff contributes to the professional community by serving on the Supervision Oversight Committee of the CACFT, the Board of Directors of the International Family Therapy Association, and the Diagnosis and Assessment Task Force and as Supervision Consultant with the College of Alberta Psychologists.

Outside of work, Jeff loves to travel, spend time in the mountains, go to live music events, and spend time with his grandchildren.

Judith is a nationally Chartered Mediator with a business and human resources background. She has been mediating and providing conflict resolution training for over 25 years in the areas of separation and divorce, workplace, civil claims, communication, and restorative justice.

Judith is a partner at The Resolution Group Ltd. and a roster mediator with Alberta Justice Resolution Services, mediating for their Family and Civil Claims programs. She is an instructor with ADRIA, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Alberta, where she co-authored and instructs their trauma- informed Separation & Divorce Mediation program, which prioritizes safety, trust, and empowerment. While she enjoys training mediators, she also loves teaching everyone about communication and conflict resolution. She has taught many people in the general business world and is an instructor with the University of Alberta’s School of Business, teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution and Communication to students in the undergraduate and MBA programs.

Judith was a staff mediator with Alberta Justice Resolution Services and acted as their liaison with Community Initiatives Against Family Violence. She has extensive education and experience working with clients experiencing high conflict and family violence and is an advocate for safety screening in all family law cases.

Judith is a long-time AFCC member and was a member of the AFCC Alberta Board Executive for eight years. She is passionate about helping families through the resolution of family conflict.

Aubrey Watson is an anishinaabekwe from Ketegaunseebee who has worked at The Family Centre for over 13 years in various positions. Aubrey’s First Nation, is outside of Sault Ste. Marie Ontario and her maiden name descend from her late maternal grandfather, Lawrence Boissoneau. She has resided on Treaty 6 for over 20 years and has been gifted the spiritual name of muskwa ka wî tah pî tak askiy (bear who sits with the Earth).

Aubrey holds a Child & Youth Care degree from MacEwan University and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Calgary. Aubrey’s current role is Manager of Indigenous Support Services. Indigenous Support Services aims to help TFC staff and Indigenous service users live the teachings. This will lead to the revitalization of ceremonies, teachings, Indigenous languages and healing for the Indigenous communities we serve. Aubrey is a life-giver to two beautiful spirits, Zoe and Sadie, is married, and prioritizes spending time with close family and friends. Aubrey enjoys spending time outdoors at the lake whenever possible, walking the family lab, wisdom seeking and attending ceremonies.

Brad acts as a Mediator, Arbitrator, and Family lawyer. He is a senior partner with the Family Law firm of Moe Hannah LLP in Calgary, Alberta.

Brad is has a passion for and is a regularly invited speaker on dispute resolution. Brad taught the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law Negotiation course and has presented for the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) on advanced family law, negotiation, arbitration, mediation, and dispute resolution.

He presented for Family Mediation Canada as a keynote on Culture in Mediation and again on Power Dynamics within Mediation. He was the keynote speaker for the Alberta Family Mediation Society conference on Mediation/ Arbitration at the annual AGM in 2025. He presented Advanced mediation for the AFCC in 2026. He teaches the Advanced Arbitration course for the Alberta Family Mediation Society.

Brad received his LLB at the University of Alberta in 2000,was called to the Alberta Bar in 2001 . He completed his Master's in Law (LLM) in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Osgoode Law School in June 2016.

Brad served on several boards and organizations, including
• Chair of the Association of Collaborative Professionals Calgary,
• Chair of the Distress Centre Calgary,
• Board Member with Veterans Transition Network,
• Executive with the Canadian Bar Association—Family Law South Subsection,
• Member at Large with the National Family Law subsection.
• He is the current chair of the Alberta Family Mediation Society (AFMS).
• He is appointed to act as a Child Support Resolution Officer at the Calgary Courts Centre.

He enjoys the outdoors, fly fishing, biking and boating with friends and family.

Jenny Taylor is a clinical social worker and mental health therapist with extensive experience in Alberta’s family court system. She has served as a Family Court Counsellor, Caseflow Coordinator, and Brief Conflict Intervention Coordinator, conducting assessments and facilitating conflict resolution for high-conflict families.

In private practice, Jenny provides counselling and assessments with a trauma-informed, child-centered approach, ensuring the voices and safety of children remain central in complex family contexts. As a passionate advocate for safe families, Jenny has volunteered with Victim services and managed a domestic violence support program to ensure survivors voices are heard.

Sonja Lusignan has been practicing Family Law exclusively since 2005. Her office is at Calgary Family Law Associates, an association of 12 independent lawyers, in Calgary’s Beltline. Sonja Lusignan has a Bachelor of Education (University of Calgary) and a Juris Doctor (University of Alberta). Sonja practices exclusively in the area of Family and Child Protection law. She was called to the Alberta bar in 2005.

Her philosophy for law is simple: if you can empower clients and provide them with information, resources, and support their choices, clients’ goals become more clearly defined and attainable. She’s found this particularly helpful in family law.

Sonja’s experience in both Collaborative and Traditional Negotiation as well as Litigation / Arbitration and Mediation allows her to give her clients the best chance at finding the optimal approach for them. With advanced training in Collaborative Practice and a strong belief that family law is about family, not courtrooms, Sonja aims to settle most matters in the least emotionally damaging way – out of Court. However, she recognizes that sometimes mediation / negotiation is not appropriate, suitable, or fruitful, and is entirely comfortable as a litigator.

Experienced with:

• Divorce Act and Family Law Act and Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement Act Court applications, both in the Alberta Court of Justice, the Court of King’s Bench, and the Alberta Court of Appeal.
• Separation Agreements;
• Cohabitation Agreements;
• Property Agreements;
• Child Support Claims;
• Spousal Support Claims;
• Enforcement of Parenting Time applications;
• Mobility applications;
• Parenting and Custody applications;
• Guardianship applications;
• Restraining Orders and Emergency Protection Orders;
• Responding to applications made by Children’s Services (Child Welfare) – for Supervision Orders, Temporary Guardianship Orders,
• Permanent Guardianship Orders;
• Representing Foster Parents in guardianship applications or disputes with Children’s Services;
• Representing children in applications by Children’s Services.