“Everybody needs a home team”
DAN MARTIN
Director
Dan has over 25 years of human service experience. Dan graduated from Social Work at McMaster University in 1994. Following which, Dan’s work saw him serving both children and adults in multiple settings in various capacities. This includes working at 4 different Child Welfare agencies in Ontario, Canada in front line, supervisory and managerial capacities across functions. Along with work in the Youth and Adult Mental Health and Addictions sector. Dan developed and trains the HEERO™ Model. He is focused on moving it forward in both Canada and the U.S.A, and further internationally.
RAVEN BARTMAN
Senior Staff Peer Navigator/ International Consultant
My name is Raven Bartman. I live in Ontario, Canada. I grew up in the Ontario foster care system as a Crown Ward until ageing out at twenty-one years old. I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work. Other areas that interest me include Indigenous studies and Gender and Women’s studies. I joined HEERO a number of years ago. I am passionate about our youth and children in care. There is an unspoken bond that is really incredible – a will and a want by those youth with lived experience to see youth in and from care do better; they are deserving of that better outcome. I am fortunate to walk alongside our participants as they gain a deeper sense of worthiness and connection. Not only do I aid in the process as a peer navigator but I have also completed the HEERO workshops first hand. This process allowed me to create my own network of individuals outside of the Children’s Aid Society. HEERO gave me an opportunity to be supported. I was able to heal the parts of myself that felt like I had to do life on my own. I now have a support system of my own choosing that I can and do fall back on.
ALICIA JOHNSON
Senior Staff Peer Navigator/ International Consultant
Hi my name is Alicia Johnson and I live in a little town called Forest, Ontario. I’m currently working in a group home supporting adults with disabilities. I first came into foster care when I was 3 years old and am now a former crown ward. I am a very intuitive person and a great problem solver; very quick to pick up little details and look beyond the surface. This allows me to think outside the box and often times above and beyond what is right in front of me to find a solution to the problem at hand. I’ve been with HEERO for a number of years now. For me, HEERO has been a very transformative experience in more than one way. HEERO has helped connect me with relationships that I never thought were possible or that I was worthy of and has also helped me to grow my self-confidence as well as my self-worth. I enjoy the opportunity as a peer navigator to help other youth see their strengths and move them toward network and support. HEERO is something I would recommend for everyone, not just current youth/former youth in care.
Heero Consulting 