Monika Jensen

Ms. Jensen has an extensive background in both the public and the private sector. As the former manager of Employment Equity and the Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Coordinator for the Ministry of Solicitor General and Correctional Services, she has a working knowledge of the government's policies and procedures on harassment prevention and human resources. Responsible for implementation of the Employment Equity Program as well as the Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Prevention Program. She was also instrumental in introducing the first Dispute Resolution Program to the Ontario Public Service.

Ms. Jensen has been in the area of equity and diversity since 1984. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a degree in Criminology and Sociology, she began her career in a non-traditional male correctional facility working with maximum-security male inmates. She continued in a counseling role with prisoners in the community for about five years after spending several years in jail!

She then began to speak across Canada and the United States of American on the topic of women in corrections. Her career in 1984 took her into the area of affirmative action, employment equity/diversity, and harassment prevention for a paramilitary organization of 12,000 employees.

She was president of the Employment Equity Council for three consecutive years (1986-90) for the Ontario Government. She had continued in the field of equity as a manager, an advocate of employees, an advisor, and as a trainer and public speaker.

In her current position, as Principal of the Aviary Group, she works with many different clients in resolving intercultural and employment conflict. Monika Jensen specializes in conflict management, negotiation skills, and alternative dispute resolution, diversity, and change management. She currently teaches Mediating Conflict, Embracing Civility, Rational Detachment, Communication, and Interpersonal Skills, Dealing with Difficult People, Creating a Respectful Workplace and Workplace Harassment Prevention, Bullying in the Workplace, Violence in the Workplace, Stopping Gossiping in the Workplace, and "Moving to Solutions through ADR" for several clients.

She has worked on disputes in a wide range of areas including municipal, regional, provincial and federal government as well as prisons, military, OPP police, community agencies, and large and small private industries.

As a human rights practitioner, Ms. Jensen has also been involved in policy development, complaint resolution process design, training, and group facilitation for a broad group of clients. She has also participated in developing post-investigation restoration activities for workplaces affected by harassment and discrimination.

She is a Qualified Mediator with the ADR Institute of Canada. Ms. Jensen works with many different and diverse clients as a mediator resolving intercultural and employment conflicts, as a trainer in harassment prevention and diversity, and as an advocate for equality in the workplace. She has been a community member of the Race Relations and Equity Community for the Town of Pickering advising the Mayor and Council members. Ms. Jensen has taken a public stand on the issue of human rights for all people and has done research in England and Denmark in the areas of organizational culture and how it influences managing diversity in the workplace. She has also worked with a university in Bangladesh on cultural acceptance.

Ms. Jensen as an independent consultant offers advice, training, program, policy development, and review services to organizations interested in supporting their employees to achieve success. She has subject matter expertise that may not be available or necessary on a full-time basis in many organizations. Offering practical, easy to understand coaching and training for employees and managers. Empowering them with the knowledge and tools necessary to manage their work effectively. Her primary focus is on collaboration – working together to build ownership and self-reliance. She has an exemplary working relationship with bargaining agents and management. Having worked in partnerships to design, deliver, and evaluate programs on a variety of contentious issues for both large and small organizations.

She has been a Mediator in the area of workplace harassment, violence, and bullying in the workplace and conflict for approximately twenty-eight years. Providing coaching skills to managers as well as training employees, bargaining agents, and supervisors to better communicate and actively listen.

She has a broad background in training a diverse client base. She has extensive experience in the development and delivery of experiential courses on many different subject matters. She combines management reviews with obtaining needs and assessments and providing the client with customized training, coaching, counseling, and action plans. She has authored several publications in areas of conflict resolution handbooks for managers and managing change. She publishes a quarterly newsletter "Keep in Touch." She has recently co-authored a book with Stephen Covey entitle "Success Simplified: Simple Solutions, Measurable Results."

Ms. Jensen has a Ph.D. from the American Holistic University. She has an Honours Bachelor of Arts, in applied social science from the University of Toronto and a Certificate in Fundamentals of Management from Humber College. She holds an Advanced Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) from the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, and a Certificate Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation as well as a certificate from St. Stephen's Community Centre in community dispute resolution techniques. She is a Licensed Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Psychology (NLP).

She is a Qualified Mediator with the ADR Institute of Ontario, Member, and Roster Mediator, Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program (OMMP), Roster investigator for the City of Vaughan, The Region of Waterloo, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.  She is a past member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. Member of the  Diversity Employment Equity Practitioners Association (DEEPA). Registered Professional Trainer with the Canadian Professional Trainers Association. Certified Training and Development Professional and Certified Coach Practitioner. Recently she was certified as a Workplace Wellness Analyst.

Ms. Jensen combines a positive attitude, superior communication skills, and talent for creativity with humor and great stories, while seeking the whole picture, but maintaining focus on the needs of the individual. She brings excellent presentation and facilitation skills demonstrated through the delivery of numerous training seminars. She has shown an ability to present and discuss ideas and information clearly and concisely. Her sensitivity and understanding of excellence allow her to be successful in her counseling and coaching sessions with individuals aspiring to be their best.