Jane Sleeth,Managing Director
Hon. B.P. & H.E., B.Sc.PT., C.P.T.
Over the past 23 years, Jane has been involved in the management and prevention of disability as a physiotherapist; rehabilitation department manager in a large Toronto Hospital; wellness and prevention consultant; case manager and managing director of Optimal Performance. which Jane founded in 2001.
Jane holds an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology and Physiology from the University of Toronto; and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physiotherapy also from the University of Toronto. While studying for her Hon. B. of P. & H.E., Jane was one of the main researchers for the published study “The Physiological Impact of Exercise in the Cold”, Primary Author R. Sheppard, U of T/DCIEM. After completion of Jane’s B.Sc. in Physiotherapy she was co-researcher for a study conducted at Toronto East General Hospital. The study co-designed and researched with Dr. Dana Sinclair PhD Psych Cambridge University was internally published and is entitled “The Impact of Mental Training o n Functional and Healing Outcomes of Patients with Carpal Tunnel Release”.
Jane is a regular and sought after speaker at national and international conferences speaking about how Optimal Performance has collectively taken a unique and innovative approach to the management and prevention of injuries illness and disability in the workplace which differs from any insurance company or other ergonomic and disability management firms in the country.
Jane has a considerable body of published work and articles in national health and safety; ergonomic; human resources and peer reviewed journals. Jane is author of the bestselling book - "Return to Work Compliance Toolkit"; and author of “The Internal Ergonomic Program Book”. Jane is currently completing the writing of a new book which will be released by Thompson Carswell entitled - "The Crisis of Psychological Disabilities in Canadian Workplaces", Case Studies and Guidance for Human Resource Managers”.
Most of these articles can be accessed and downloaded on this website.
Carrie DeMaeyer, Senior Consultant & Manager
B. of P.E., Cert. Kinesiologist, CET
Carrie brings 21 years of rehabilitation and injury prevention experience to the Optimal Performance Team. Prior to joining in 1999, Carrie worked in the rehabilitation medicine field for 11 years. Specifically she worked with a national rehabilitation and health facility as clinical Kinesiologist, Program Coordinator and Clinic Manager.
With Optimal Performance, Carrie has extensive experience in the areas of Job Demands Analysis; complex industrial assessment and design; office ergonomic design; Ergonomic Evaluation; and in the development and delivery of ergonomic training and education programs and workshops. Carrie is a much sought after speaker. She has lectured at the annual Ontario Kinesiology Association’s Annual Conference in the areas of: How to Perform Physical Demands Analysis; the Important Role of Functional Ability Evaluations in the Management of Disabilities; The Use of Gold Standard Ergonomic Practices in the Field of Rehabilitation.
Olga Dosis, Senior Accessibility Consultant
B.A., M.A. (Psych.) M.A. (CDS)
Olga Dosis holds a Masters degree in Psychology, a Masters degree in Critical Disability Studies and has over 20 years of experience working with people with disabilities.
During her career, Olga has been actively involved assisting small and large organizations with their accessibility initiatives. She has supported the development and execution of training, conducting environmental scans of policies, practices and procedures, as well as accessibility built audits to assist organizations in becoming barrier free.
Olga has written several papers on disability and the workplace and developed an evaluation and reporting mechanism to conduct thorough workplace accommodations. Her extensive cross disability and accommodation knowledge has been indispensable in developing realistic plans and strategic direction to implement the requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Customer Service Standard.
Olga's ability to synthesize cross disability and diversity issues and access the appropriate resources has been beneficial in spearheading access initiatives which are aligned with the Governments initiatives to advance public awareness.
Kartik Vyas, Ergonomic Consultant
B.Sc. Kin, OHS, M.A. (cand) C.K.
Kartik is an energetic, efficient, hands-on Ergonomic professional, with a successful record of accomplishments in the Ergonomics, Disability Management, and the Health & Safety field. Kartik graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from University of Waterloo with specialization in ergonomics and job design. Kartik remains up to date on the science of ergonomics as per OPC’s standards via continuing education studies in Health, Safety, Ergonomics, and Biomechanics. Kartik has held several co-op positions in Ergonomics and Research, including a major meat processing facility, banking industry, and Government Agencies to name a few sectors.
Expertise Kartik possesses includes; In depth Ergonomic Assessments, Job Demands Analysis, Physical Demands Analysis, communicating with Workers’ Compensation representatives, handling stakeholders’ benefit inquiries, Assessing and Evaluating employee’s functional capabilities (FAE/IME), generating and assuring a safe and sound return to work programs (ERTW), measurement and analysis of Physical Agents (Noise, Vibration, Temperature, Relative humidity, Heat/Cold Stress), and familiarity with Ergonomic Assessment tools (such as 4D Watbak, 3D SSPP, RULA, REBA, OSHA screening tools, NIOSH screening tools). Kartik brings his enthusiasm to this field via his membership with the Ontario Kinesiology Association, as a Certified Kinesiologist.
Anita Ellement, Senior Ergonomist, Job Demands Analysis Specialist
Hon. B.Sc. (Kinesiology), Cert. Kinesiologist
Anita graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1991 with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, where she specialized in physiology and ergonomics. Following graduation Anita worked exclusively in the specialist areas of functional abilities testing and physical and job demands analysis within a clinical setting. This rehabilitation perspective allows Anita to understand the outcomes of poor ergonomic design in the workplace as well as the human and employer’s costs associated with this.
Anita subsequently studied ergonomic assessment techniques; ergonomic and human factors design and has applied this extensively in heavy industrial; manufacturing and assembly type work settings. Anita is now an Ergonomic Specialists with a unique combination of skills and knowledge which is not often found in an ergonomic consultant.
Anita brings significant experience in a wide variety of workplace settings including; offices and data entry settings; assembly operations; heavy industry. As part of this experience Anita is regularly part of the product and process design with the engineers and designers associated with our clients. Anita is also regularly involved and an integral part of engineering time and efficiency studies; and SIX SIGMA quality teams.