With:
- Monica Sesma-Vázquez, PhD, RSW, RMFT-SM (She/Her/Ella). Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
- Nathanael Hammond, PhD(c), Economics, University of Calgary
- Monica Abdelkader, Director of Settlement and Community Services, Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association.
Thursday, May 14, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
About the webinar:
Canada’s immigration system relies on the commitment and capacity of frontline settlement workers, yet their wellbeing is often strained by systemic pressures, vicarious trauma, and the invisible burden of cultural labor. This webinar introduces the CIWA-UCalgary Practitioner Wellbeing Framework, developed through a partnership between the Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association and the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work. Grounded in lived organizational experience and academic research, the framework shifts the focus from individual resilience to structural responsibility, offering practical, evidence-informed strategies to embed equity, accountability, and trauma-informed leadership within organizations.
What’s in it for you?
Whether you are a practitioner, leader, or decision-maker, this session will provide concrete tools and insights to strengthen wellbeing and sustainability in your work and organization.
At the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
- Apply principles of the Practitioner Wellbeing Framework to your organizational context
- Recognize and address hidden forms of labor, including cultural and emotional work
- Examine practical, trauma-informed and equity-focused strategies to support staff wellbeing
- Translate CIWA innovative actions and academic research findings into actionable changes that enhance retention, effectiveness, and workplace culture in your organization
About the presenters:
Dr. Monica Sesma-Vázquez is a social worker, family therapist, educator, supervisor, and researcher. She is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, and Director of the Distress Centre Knowledge Hub. Monica is a clinical practitioner at the Eastside Community Mental Health Services and the Calgary Family Therapy Centre. Her research program focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of underserved communities, particularly racialized, ethnoculturally diverse communities, immigrants, refugees, and newcomers. Her international social work research explores migration-related trauma, duelo migratorio, gender-based violence, and community-led approaches to suicide and GBV transforming crisis responses.
Nathanael Hammond isa PhD Candidate in Economics at the University of Calgary. His research on labor economics and inequality focuses on immigrant workplace homophily, as well as the role of owners, organizations and business in shaping the socio-economic outcomes of their employees.
Monica Abdelkader is the Director of Settlement and Community Services at the Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association. Over the last 15 years she has worked in settlement and resettlement in Canada, Egypt and Guatemala, focusing on psychosocial and community-based services, including in the areas of human trafficking, refugee protection, settlement and integration. In Canada, she has worked from coast to coast, including in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia, overseeing settlement and community services for newcomers to Canada. Her work includes strategic management, organizational development and psychosocial safety for staff, especially for nonprofits.
About the webinar:
Canada’s immigration system relies on the commitment and capacity of frontline settlement workers, yet their wellbeing is often strained by systemic pressures, vicarious trauma, and the invisible burden of cultural labor. This webinar introduces the CIWA-UCalgary Practitioner Wellbeing Framework, developed through a partnership between the Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association and the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work. Grounded in lived organizational experience and academic research, the framework shifts the focus from individual resilience to structural responsibility, offering practical, evidence-informed strategies to embed equity, accountability, and trauma-informed leadership within organizations.
What’s in it for you?
Whether you are a practitioner, leader, or decision-maker, this session will provide concrete tools and insights to strengthen wellbeing and sustainability in your work and organization.
At the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
- Apply principles of the Practitioner Wellbeing Framework to your organizational context
- Recognize and address hidden forms of labor, including cultural and emotional work
- Examine practical, trauma-informed and equity-focused strategies to support staff wellbeing
- Translate CIWA innovative actions and academic research findings into actionable changes that enhance retention, effectiveness, and workplace culture in your organization
About the presenters:
Dr. Monica Sesma-Vázquez is a social worker, family therapist, educator, supervisor, and researcher. She is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, and Director of the Distress Centre Knowledge Hub. Monica is a clinical practitioner at the Eastside Community Mental Health Services and the Calgary Family Therapy Centre. Her research program focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of underserved communities, particularly racialized, ethnoculturally diverse communities, immigrants, refugees, and newcomers. Her international social work research explores migration-related trauma, duelo migratorio, gender-based violence, and community-led approaches to suicide and GBV transforming crisis responses.
Nathanael Hammond isa PhD Candidate in Economics at the University of Calgary. His research on labor economics and inequality focuses on immigrant workplace homophily, as well as the role of owners, organizations and business in shaping the socio-economic outcomes of their employees.
Monica Abdelkader is the Director of Settlement and Community Services at the Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association. Over the last 15 years she has worked in settlement and resettlement in Canada, Egypt and Guatemala, focusing on psychosocial and community-based services, including in the areas of human trafficking, refugee protection, settlement and integration. In Canada, she has worked from coast to coast, including in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia, overseeing settlement and community services for newcomers to Canada. Her work includes strategic management, organizational development and psychosocial safety for staff, especially for nonprofits.