Human Resources

Five Good Ideas on supporting caregivers at the workplace

Published on March 10, 2025

April 9, 2025
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET

Working caregivers are the backbone of our society, balancing professional duties with the responsibility of caring for loved ones with health conditions, disabilities, or age-related needs. They are the silent heroes – the glue holding our fragmented healthcare system together. Yet, in the workplace, they are often invisible, unrecognized, and unsupported.

Creating a caregiver-friendly workplace isn’t just compassionate – it’s strategic. Organizations that recognize this gain a competitive edge through improved retention, productivity, and workplace culture.

In their Five Good Ideas webinar, Liv Mendelsohn and Christa Haanstra will discuss how to build a culture that recognizes and values caregiving. They will show how you can create a win-win situation where caregivers thrive professionally while balancing their personal responsibilities.

Liv Mendelsohn

Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence

Liv Mendelsohn, MA, MEd, is the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, a program of the Azrieli Foundation, where she leads innovation, research, policy, and program initiatives to support Canada’s caregivers and care providers.

A visionary leader with more than 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Liv has been a lifelong caregiver and has lived experience of disability. Her experiences as a member of the “sandwich generation” fuel her passion to build a caregiver movement in Canada to change the way that caregiving is seen, valued, and supported.

Over the course of her career, Liv has founded and helmed several organizations in the disability and caregiving space, including the Wagner Green Centre for Accessibility and Inclusion and the ReelAbilities Toronto Film Festival.

Liv serves as the chair of the City of Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee. She has received the City of Toronto Equity Award, and has been recognized by University College, University of Toronto, Empowered Kids Ontario, and the Jewish Community Centres of North America for her leadership.

Liv is a senior fellow at Massey College and a graduate of the Mandel Institute for Non-Profit Leadership and the Civic Action Leadership Foundation Diversity Fellowship program.

Christa Haanstra

Founder and Managing Director, 4C Strategy group

Christa Haanstra is the Founder and Managing Director of 4C Strategy group, a company dedicated to advancing meaningful change in healthcare by partnering with organizations to ensure lived experience of patients, residents, clients and caregivers are central to decision making. In this role, she leads the Working Caregiver initiative on behalf of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence (CCCE).

Christa believes that family caregivers are the glue that keeps our healthcare system together. Despite providing 75% of care, family caregivers are rarely recognized, valued, or supported in their role. She has partnered with organizations including CCCE, the Ontario Caregiver Organization and The Change Foundation to create awareness and co-create strategies and approaches to improve the lives of caregivers.

Fueled by her deep belief in the power of storytelling to drive transformation, Christa has created the 4C Impact Narrative approach. This method uses collaboration, co-design, compassion, and creativity to inspire complex changes.

An alumna of the University of Ottawa, Seneca College, and the Kellogg School of Business, Christa has earned awards for her leadership in strategy, communication, and engagement.

Christa is a caregiver to her father who has late-stage dementia. Through constant service navigation and advocacy, she strives to create a supportive environment that allows him to have a good quality life. When not at work, Christa loves to walk, travel and do puzzles, and is an avid nature photographer. She lives in Ontario with her husband, her teenage daughter, and a rambunctious rescue dog “Lightning.”