2005/11

Vita
Bruce Mills

Dr Mills is the founder and president of ReachAbility Nova Scotia (1999) and past-president of
Reach Canada (Ottawa, 1992-2000). These charitable organizations provide legal, employment,
research and new knowledge for and about people living with disabilities. His professional work
is mainly in health and social sciences research.

Consultation areas

Program, policy and organizational development

Knowledge management / evidence-based models and methodologies
Cross-sector partnership development
Philanthropy re disabilities

Education

Doctorate theoretical psychoanalysis / HIV disease (cum laude) Ottawa

Masters theoretical psychoanalysis / psychopathology (cum laude) Ottawa
Masters Psychology (with distinction) University of Georgia
Baccalaureate (magna cum laude) Simon Fraser (Burnaby) and St Vincent (Halifax)
Professional development (association management, fund development, board / executive
development, health and social sciences)

Examples of work

Consultant, resource and partnership development

Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation (Toronto) and Canadian AIDS Society
(Ottawa), Human Resources Development Canada Social Partnership Development Initiative,
Health Canada (main funder)
Commissioned to stimulate broad-based, cross-sector partnership and resource base through
strategic communications, marketing and organizational development.
• National / provincial / territorial / and localized engagement activities
• Delivered millions $ with proposals to organization / new thinking
• Marketing and communications planning / implementation
• Development of knowledge wealth / knowledge management resources
• Create / manage Website and IT content and design / newsletters / education
• National dissemination plans in marketplace - health and social services, business,
industry, labour, governments, community organizations, consumers
• Build awareness of need / demand / creating organizational response
• Support expert committees / governance / Government / NGO relations
• Budget and proposal development / reports / business planning / incorporation
• As volunteer: organizational development and evaluation frameworks

President, Reach – Equality and Justice for Persons with Disabilities (Ottawa – now REACH
CANADA).
1992 – 2000 Governance / management of national charity

Founder and President Reach Nova Scotia (now ReachAbility) awarded 2000 Canada Law Day
Award (Canadian Bar Association); formal legislative recognition for excellence in serving the
needs of persons with disabilities.
• Partnership development
• Community and organizational development
• Community consultation / research
• General project management / facilitation / coordination of multiple resources
• Strategic planning / program development
• Coordinate / convene cross-sector steering committee / board of directors
• Proposals, budgets, incorporation / business planning
• Government / NGO relations
• Human resources / governance
• Financial management and fund development
• Philanthropic involvement in community
• Principal consultant / design / management / evaluation of research (ie Nova Scotia
Human Rights Commission, Department of Justice commissioned projects)
• Consultation on content / algorithms for Disability Awareness Training (DAT) for Private
and Public Sectors (with private partner Exomedia, Windsor, Ontario) – this is an e-
learning module / includes “live” seminar that has been delivered to CIBC (Toronto),
National Defense etc and many organizations in Nova Scotia
• Consultation / advisement re Pro Bono Students Association of Canada (Dalhousie
University), various bar associations re legal representation for people with disabilities
• Consultation re design and criteria for medical specialist database for both defendant /
prosecution sides (with law student from Dalhousie University)
• Consultation / input on multiple learning modules including violence in the workplace,
mental health, chronic pain, accommodation and equity issues etc

Consultant, global evaluation and planning methodology

Care Treatment Support Unit, Health Canada (Ottawa).
Developed an evidence-based model for planning, priorities and program development.
• Knowledge management models for federal application
• Design electronic review database
• Evidence-collection methodology (internal and environmental)
• Internet-based evidence sourcing and knowledge distribution models
• Tools, models and resources for integrated system and uptake / delivery
• Comprehensive knowledge management strategy including modalities
• Performance review indicators / uptake measurement plan / evaluation + change
• Staff development kit (training resources / system) / knowledge worker approach
• Consultation with Hepatitis C Division on model development
• Consultation with IT re surveillance / analysis / distribution protocols

Principal research consultant / co-investigator, national state-of-care research study

College of Family Physicians of Canada (Toronto).
Developed and managed research project to collect data from primary-care physicians and health-
care professionals in all provinces and territories / both official languages. Coordinated two
conferences and all data analysis. Wrote Findings.
• End-to-end TPM (total project management)
• Design / model and methodology; factor, variable theme and cross / comparative analyses on
all data / recommendations to science team
• Coordinated national telephone polling of primary-care physicians / other health care
providers(ie psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing etc)
• Data displays (enumerative and narrative)
• Developed interactive data collection methodology (collect input and interpretation of key
data by participants in conference focus format)
• All aspects of analysis (statistical, thematic and factor methods) / reporting / data collection
and management
• Facilitator training
• Evaluation and post-project consultation (interpretation, implications, dissemination) with the
college
• Knowledge management – multiple modules / information development
• Managed outsourced consulting firm, co-investigator and college staff on all aspects
• Reports / proposals / project development and wind-down
• Comprehensive consultation / authorship – Research Findings – 1999. Mills, B., Bally, G.
State of HIV Care in Canada.

Conference management / report writing (funding partners, events, tasks, summarized)

Human Resources Development Canada (Ottawa, Dartmouth); Department of Justice Canada;
Health Canada; Medical-Legal Society of Ontario; Law Foundation of Ontario; Canadian
Mental Health Association; Ottawa General Hospital; Canadian Pain Society; Canadian
Psychological Association; UBC – St Paul’s Hospital; Health Canada; Reach – Equality and
Justice for Persons with Disabilities (Ottawa) and Reach Nova Scotia (Halifax).
• End-to-end TPM; curriculum development; professional accreditation; programming;
committee coordination; event management; fund development and financial management;
critical path; project / conference evaluation; moderator, speaker, and teaching; facilitator

2
 training; knowledge resources and dissemination; wrote Proceedings for all conferences.
Samples of conferences: (1990) Caring Together – Care for the caregiver (Ottawa and
Calgary); (1993) AIDS – The Changing Challenge (Ottawa); (1994) Pathways to Healing –
Mental Health Aspects of Physical Disabilities (Ottawa); (1994) Now – Can we Talk About
AIDS? (Ottawa); (1995) Death – The Question of Choice (Ottawa); (May and July, 1997)
Interdisciplinary Program in HIV/AIDS Education for Caregivers (Vancouver and Toronto);
(1997) Psychological issues in HIV for Workers Compensation Board Assessment Staff and
Psychologists (Richmond, BC); ((1996 - 1998) Program in HIV Education –
Interdisciplinary Workshops / National Conference of the Canadian Psychological
Association (Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton); (1998) Counselling Skills for the HIV
Caregiver (curricula / programming only, Vancouver); (1999) When Life Hurts –
Understanding the Reality of Chronic Pain as Disability (Ottawa General Hospital); (2000)
Chronic pain as disability: History, Models and Management (Halifax / patient and clinical
focus) …

Project manager, program in HIV/AIDS – education for psychologists

Canadian Psychological Association (Ottawa).
Managed development of national training program for psychologists using American, Canadian
and international resources and led key partner negotiations and complex site tendering to bring
AIDS international conference to Canada.
• End-to-end TPM; research, writing, curriculum development; communications and
marketing; branding, media and PR; fund management; proposals, budgets and reports;
GO/NGO liaison; coordination of diverse national expert group; knowledge management;
conference and workshop coordination; articles and writing; Website development; alliances
with US counterparts (APA, NIMH, CDC); some international work (IPA).
• International conference: member, international organizing committee and Canadian
organizing committee; developed successful proposals; coordinated and negotiated lead
partner bidding with three Canadian jurisdictions (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto); negotiated the
bid with international source in London, UK; multi-site international pre-coordination –
resources, committees, expert groups; developed working groups; set up major databases for
all world-wide committees and communications plan / media strategy; coordinated first site
visit / coordinated key corporate bidding; developed pre-conference publicity; coordinated
graphic design / wrote PR content and all releases; endorsement campaign and corporate kits;
coordinated lead-up PR partnerships for Paris meeting (injection drug use); managed all
requests for information; marketing and project business plan; set up funding leads /
coordinated / tracked / advised fund development; three year financial planning and global
project management.

Senior consultant, forensic audit of health and residential care services delivery for people with
severe disability
Paragon Audit and Consulting Incorporated (Ottawa).
Provided critical psych interpretation and input on forensic / investigative audit of private, long-
term health care agencies for Province of Ontario.
• Systematic lead interpretation of audit data and first person testimony; analysis of all
evidence including raw narrative; provided leading questions for investigation interviewers
and assisted in development of audit methodology; undertook final detailed analysis of report
for Ontario; recommendations for program audit follow-up; critical support to multi-
disciplinary front-line audit team over approximately 12 months.

Sole consultant, public health front-line services

Ottawa-Carleton Department of Public Health (Ottawa).
Developed and delivered training resource to public health staff working with high-risk clients
with HIV disease (occupational health and safety; counselling, sensitivity training).
• Created Skills Development Workshops for Public Health Staff (training kit, handouts,
booklet, slides, case studies, case management models); conducted ten workshops for front-
line and management staff; developed evaluation methodology to uncover the needs and
issues of staff working on the front-line; provided formal recommendations to senior policy
staff regarding worker health and safety; provided analysis of attitudinal issues related to
future policy directions / recommendations on macro change in micro program delivery and
stress reduction; harm reduction models; counselling / psychosocial support.

Executive Director, AIDS Hospice

Bruce House (Ottawa).
Developed and implemented major organizational transition – from basic shelter to full-range
delivery of palliative and support services; rebuilt media-damaged organization from ground zero.
Negotiated / created new relationships in key cross-sectors.

3
• Major fund and program development; budgets and financial management; major post-
damage control – community relations; increased funding more than five-fold and patient
capacity from 4 to 30; created “range of service” system to accommodate the range in needs
of patient population; set up medical services and referral systems with local hospitals;
developed media and communications plans; wrote and implemented all policies and
protocols ie patient violence / sexual assault protocols / risk reduction for hospice staff / drug
policies; wrote and implemented large-scale strategic plan; developed cross-sector
relationships in the community; corporate and community relations and led coordination that
gained long-term support of family of Prime Minister of Canada (their famous non-partisan
volleyball tournaments at 24 Sussex) and the wife of the Governor General; developed
disability supports, medical and social services for patients and families; provided training
and counselling to staff, volunteers, patients and families; crisis and front-line suicide
intervention; all aspects of HR; ongoing provincial (Ontario) and national consultation and
expert committee work; speaking engagements, public appearances, media; credibility
recovery work.

Researcher / writer, updated review of the social, psychological, psychiatric and neurological
literature on HIV/AIDS
Care Treatment and Support Unit, Health Canada.
1993 Review of the Literature – HIV/AIDS and Mental Health – Revised (four-year update of
McGill University original 1990).
• Annotated bibliography; research / analysis; writing; broad university-based review; national
and international; managed translation team.

Samples of expert work

• Addiction Research Foundation (Kingston, Ontario) / Rideauview Drug Rehabilitation
Facility (Ottawa). Research, staff development, consultation, training resources. The impact
of HIV on the gay population with attention to substance use as a significant co-factor.
• Algonquin College Faculty of Nursing (Ottawa). Consultation, teaching, HIV, ethics,
community care models (numerous).
• Association of Canadian Medical Colleges (Ottawa). Consultation, expertise, Challenges and
Opportunities in Interdisciplinary HIV/AIDS Medical Education.
• British Columbia Conferences on HIV/AIDS (Vancouver, numerous) Presentations, mental
health issues for professional caregivers; counselling for front-line staff.
• Canadian AIDS Society. Consultation, research, writing, co-presentations, Joint
Parliamentary Committees on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.
• Canadian Association of Social Workers (national). Peer review, recommendations, Module
6 – Psychosocial Care: Comprehensive guide for the care of persons with HIV disease.
• Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation. Member, author / contributor /
recommendations for sections of Module 7 – Rehabilitation Services – Comprehensive guide
for the care of persons living with HIV disease; committee member for evaluation, fund-
raising and management; proposal development; organizational development; governance
models; terms of reference / constitutional and incorporation recommendations.
• Canadian Family Physicians (Toronto and Vancouver). Multi-media participatory research /
presentations to family physicians in AIDS care.
• Canadian Hospital Association (Ottawa). Research, presentation on interdisciplinary case
management models – community-based hospice models for hospitals treating AIDS.
• Canadian Psychiatric Association / Health Canada. Consultation / participation in
development of HIV section / identification of issues for psychiatrists in Canada.
• Canadian Psychological Association / Department of Health and Welfare. Consultation,
writing, research, Federal AIDS Strategies I and II.
• Care Treatment and Support Unit, Health Canada (Ottawa). Ongoing consultation since
1986, writing, proposal development, psychosocial and program modeling, speeches,
conference presentations; participant in Canada – United States – Mexico tri-national forum
at the XI International Conference on HIV/AIDS; general formal and informal support and
advisement to program staff over many years.
• Carleton University School of Social Work (Ottawa). Lectures, psychosocial support for
working with patients with HIV disease.
• Clinique Ste-Anne (Ottawa). Consultation, clinical programming, HIV care.
• Corrections Canada. Review HIV policy and programming publications.
• Department of Justice Canada. Consultations, research, documentation on euthanasia and
assisted suicide (documentation, professional work).
• Family Service Canada (Ottawa). Consultation, Bridging the Gap – Responding to diversity.

4
• Family Service Canada (Ottawa). Senior consultation, Awareness – A service needs
assessment for agencies serving visible minorities and ethno-cultural communities in
Canada.
• Framework for Action (implementation of report – Ending the Isolation) Consultation,
research, presentations, facilitation.
• Halifax Regional Municipality. Interdisciplinary presentation, Chronic pain as disability.
• Health Canada. Documentation, research, workshops: Chronic pain syndromes in HIV
disease (management; cognitive and emotional impacts; disability issues).
• Health Canada. Member Expert Group on HIV and Mental Health. Consultant on national
hearings / research / recommendations. Interdisciplinary work in HIV and mental health.
• Hemophilia Ontario. Presentation, HIV education.
• Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto). Consultation, national working group re mental health
pertaining to mothers and children with HIV disease.
• Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Health Canada (Ottawa). Documentation, research
report, international expert conference on global virology and immunology.
• Liturgical Interfaith Council of Ottawa Carleton. Author, / consultation / lecture, The Faith
and Face of AIDS – Values and Facts.
• National working group on HIV and mental health. Member, consultation, research and
documentation; national research; national hearings. Coordinated two national conferences;
wrote Caring Together – Care for the Caregiver; wrote several sections, Ending the
Isolation: HIV and mental health in the second decade.
• National working group on Psychology and HIV disease. Member, consultation, articles,
presentations, HIV and mental health in Canada: Issues for Psychologists (Canadian Health
Psychologist); National Conferences (Charlottetown, Toronto). Psynopsis Magazine
(articles).
• Ontario Ministry of Health / Long-term / community care (Toronto and Ottawa)
Consultations, meetings on health care system transition re HIV/AIDS.
• Ottawa General Hospital. Consultation, teaching, HIV for medical and health sciences
education.
• Ottawa-Carleton Council on HIV/AIDS (Ottawa). Partner member. Consultation,
collaboration on numerous projects.
• Price Waterhouse Coopers. Consultation, input, AIDS foundation / planned giving initiative
for establishing a local Ottawa foundation.
• Reach – Equality and Justice for Persons with Disabilities (Ottawa). Consultation, input,
Impact of Genetic Screening on Persons with Disabilities (Montfort Hospital Forum).
• Reach – Equality and Justice for Persons with Disabilities (Ottawa). Consultation,
documentation, management, leadership – strategic planning, organizational development,
fund development, education – core transition planning; proposals.
• Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. Consultation, presentations, community-based
AIDS funding / recommendations re policy and funding.
• Royal Ottawa Hospital. Teaching, HIV disease and mental health.
• United Church in Canada (Ottawa). Lecturer, World AIDS Day Lecture. How I lost my life
and found my way back: My story of cancer and how it works.
• United Church in Canada (Ottawa). Presentations, counselling, training in euthanasia and
assisted suicide; HIV disease (several formal lectures).
• University St Paul (Ottawa). Lecture, euthanasia, assisted suicide.
• XI International Conference on HIV/AIDS (Vancouver). Research, presentation, Why people
can’t talk about sex even when they do it all the time: Some perspectives on doing safe sex
work when sexual repression, suppression, inhibition and prohibition present; consultation
with Korean delegates.

Academic / learning
• Meritorious scholarships (1979 – 1981) Simon Fraser University and Mount Saint Vincent
University
• Dean’s List Scholar in Psychology (1982 – 1983) University of Georgia
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council – Full Research Fellow (1985 – 1991)
• Meritorious scholarships and fellowships (1985 – 1991) University of Ottawa
• Queens University Monograph (1987) Psychoanalysis of AIDS
• International Congress on Art and Human Sexuality (1987) Nantes, France
• Numerous – psychoanalysis of religious art / culture – Berkeley, New York, Quebec City
• 2nd World Congress Human Sciences (Approaches in Qualitative Science) Ottawa (1988)

5
Affiliations

• Health Psychology Section, Canadian Psychological Association (retired)

• Research Network for Social Participation (U Laval)

6
Examples of distinctions

• Prime Ministerial Recognition (Mulroney & Chrétien) for work in disabilities and AIDS
(1993)
• United Nations: Special Guest of Prime Minister (Chrétien) – Roosevelt International
Disability Award (1998) (Roosevelt Family and Governor General of Canada)
• Ministerial (Health and Welfare Canada) Recognition for contributions to health of
Canadians pertaining to psychosocial impacts of HIV/AIDS division (1992). Hon. Benoit
Bouchard, Minister
• Commendation – Contribution to Community – Reach– Equality and Justice for Persons with
Disabilities (1996)
• Ontario Community Action Award – Outstanding Contribution to Disability (1998) –
Lieutenant Governor H. Weston of Ontario and Premier M. Harris Council
• Canadian College of Family Physicians (1999) Excellence for Contribution (Research)
• Canada Law Day Award / Canadian Bar Association 2000 (for ReachAbility)

2004 / current listing in National Register’s Who’s Who in Executives and

Professionals (Library of Congress, Washington, USA)

Ongoing (voluntary) activities

• Expert national committees and working groups (since 1986)

• Assisting / supporting CBO development in different parts of Canada
• Founding President ReachAbility / past president Reach Canada (1992 – 2000)
• Member, Committee to Nominate Canada for the Roosevelt International Disability Award
• Active philanthropic and voluntary involvement since 1986

Security for Government

Government of Canada Enhanced Security Classification

Pro-Curricula

• Abbie Lane Psychiatric Hospital (Halifax) pioneer of music therapy in Canada and active
in the foundation of the Canadian Association for Music Therapy.

• Vancouver Mental Patients Association (Vancouver BC) director of education,

community mental health education, suicide prevention, newsletters; patient advocate on
discharge review panel at Riverview Hospital; presented at “self-help” conferences in
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver (International Congress on Mental Health /
consultation with White House Delegation).

• BC Ministry of Education (Victoria BC) adult educator / developed curricula and special
programs for the elderly in writing, theatre, Canadian literature and the arts.

• Employment Canada (New Westminster BC) project coordinator – developed

employment placement programs and a resource centre for youth with disabilities.

Please do not disseminate or authorize publication of contents without written permission.

Bruce Mills
(902) 479-0770
blmills@eastlink.ca