Our Team

Dean Benard is the Founder and CEO of Benard + Associates and one of Canada’s most experienced practitioners in workplace investigations, regulatory investigations, mediation, and conflict resolution. Since 1994 he has led investigations and resolved disputes for employers, professional regulators, and public institutions across the country, including high-profile matters where the stakes for the organization and for the individuals involved were significant.

Before founding the firm in 2004, Dean worked in critical care nursing, law enforcement, and management, a combination that gives him the clinical understanding regulators need and the investigative discipline that courts and tribunals expect. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) and is a Chartered Mediator (C. Med). His practice spans workplace harassment, discrimination, and misconduct, professional regulation and fitness to practise, and organizational culture challenges, and he is known for thorough, impartial, trauma-informed investigations that produce clear, defensible findings.

Under Dean’s leadership, Benard + Associates has grown from a solo practice into a national firm of more than 20 specialized investigators and mediators, now in its twenty-third year of serving clients in healthcare, education, law enforcement, utilities, and professional regulation. He has also shaped how the field trains its practitioners: he created a digital toolkit for investigators and built a comprehensive online education platform delivering industry-leading programs in workplace and regulatory investigation, trauma-informed practice, interviewing, and communication.

Dean is a frequent speaker, delivering workshops, seminars, and keynote presentations to employers, regulators, and professional associations, and he is an author and the host of the firm’s YouTube education channel. Clients turn to him when a matter is sensitive, contested, or likely to be scrutinized, and for the assurance that comes from more than 30 years of doing this work well.

Brenda Benard is the Chief Operating Officer of Benard + Associates and the person who ensures every engagement runs the way clients expect: on time, well coordinated, and to a consistent standard. She joined the firm in 2013 with a background spanning healthcare, policing, and insurance investigations, and brought the operational discipline that has underpinned the firm’s expansion since. Brenda oversees day-to-day operations, client service delivery, case workflow, and team coordination, and leads long-term planning and process improvement across the organization. Her own investigative background means she understands the work itself, not just the logistics around it, and she is the point of accountability when a client needs a matter staffed, scheduled, or resolved quickly. Together with Dean Benard she leads the firm’s strategy and growth, and her precision, adaptability, and strategic insight are a large part of why clients experience Benard + Associates as reliable at every stage of an engagement.

Stefanie Blacker leads the firm’s Regulatory Solutions practice and its decision writing services. She brings international regulatory experience, having served as a Senior Case Investigation Officer with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the United Kingdom, where she managed complex investigations into professional misconduct, competence, and fitness to practise. At Benard + Associates, Stefanie oversees regulatory investigations for professional regulators across Canada and ensures each one is scoped to the regulator’s mandate and conducted to a standard that withstands scrutiny by committees, tribunals, and the courts. She has been instrumental in helping regulators produce well-reasoned, concise, and defensible written decisions, and regulators rely on her guidance on professional regulation, misconduct investigations, and evidence-based decision making. Known for clarity and precision, Stefanie combines strong analytical ability with a deep working knowledge of regulatory frameworks and investigative best practice, and tailors every investigation to the needs of the client.

Ziggy Bardel manages the firm’s regulatory investigations team and has conducted regulatory investigations for more than 15 years, more than a decade of them at Benard + Associates, which he joined in 2015. His files span professional misconduct, practice and competence concerns, and illegal practice matters, and regulators rely on him for investigations that are precise, thorough, and defensible when they reach a committee or tribunal. Ziggy is known for an analytical, evidence-based approach and for never overstating what the evidence shows, a discipline that makes his reports easy for decision makers to rely on. He is equally known for clear communication and timely results, and clients return to him for their most complex matters. Within the firm, Ziggy is the colleague others turn to on difficult investigative questions, and he mentors newer investigators in the firm’s methods. His calm, practical, and collaborative approach anchors the regulatory team.

Lauren DeVriese brings more than 16 years of investigative experience to Benard + Associates, spanning undercover investigations, regulatory investigations, open-source intelligence (OSINT), and background investigations. She is the firm’s leader in investigative research, having developed OSINT and background investigation techniques that are now standard practice across the team, and she authored the comprehensive internal learning manual that strengthened investigative methods firm-wide. Lauren is particularly skilled at gathering critical information in sensitive or complex situations, whether managing a covert assignment or building the documentary record in a regulatory matter, and she does so with discretion, precision, and strict confidentiality. Colleagues describe her as the professional they turn to when a case is especially demanding or requires a meticulous approach. Clients rely on her for accurate, timely, and actionable findings, and on a consistent record: no detail overlooked and no deadline missed.

Avon Giddings is the firm’s Senior Mediator and its longest-serving team member, having been part of Benard + Associates for more than 15 years. A seasoned human resources leader, he has guided organizations through mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, and complex workplace challenges, and brings deep expertise in leadership development, change management, conflict resolution, and mediation to clients in both the public and private sectors. Regulatory bodies across Canada rely on Avon’s balanced, innovative approach to help them resolve complaints, settle disputes, and restore working relationships, and his work has earned recognition across the regulatory community. Avon’s defining strength is his ability to listen deeply, communicate with clarity, and bring calm to emotionally charged situations, creating the space in which parties can move from entrenched positions toward meaningful, durable resolution. Clients consistently describe him as grounding and approachable, and his steady leadership continues to shape the quality of the firm’s mediation and restoration services.

Valerie Henderson is a Senior Investigator who has been with Benard + Associates since 2019 and manages some of the firm’s most complex workplace and regulatory investigations. She is known for a thoughtful, methodical, and highly organized approach and for the strength of her case management: Valerie routinely carries multiple high-demand files at once without compromising the thoroughness or integrity of any of them, and clients count on her for accurate, timely, and well-reasoned results. Her calm communication style is a defining strength. Interviewees and stakeholders find her easy to talk to, which encourages cooperation, keeps the process respectful, and improves the quality and accuracy of the evidence she gathers. Colleagues rely on Valerie as a dependable collaborator, and clients appreciate her professionalism, clear communication, and quiet determination. She can be trusted to carry a complex investigation from intake to a defensible report with care and precision.

Patty Pronovost brings more than 30 years of experience in policing, regulatory enforcement, and public-sector investigations to her regulatory work at Benard + Associates. As a Detective Constable with the Guelph Police Service, she led intricate investigations in the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit, played a pivotal role in the service’s early efforts to combat human trafficking, secured convictions, and trained officers on investigative techniques and legal developments. She then served as a regulatory investigator with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, enforcing provincial food safety legislation through covert surveillance, search warrants, and Crown brief preparation. Immediately before joining the firm, Patty was a Regional Investigator with Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, managing investigations into serious injury, death, and sexual assault allegations involving police, work that demands exceptional objectivity and tact. Court-tested and trauma-informed, Patty brings fairness and clarity to complex, high-pressure investigations, and regulatory bodies and legal teams rely on her accordingly.

Eugene Silva brings more than 30 years of investigative experience to Benard + Associates, where he conducts investigations for a wide range of professional regulators. He spent much of his career with the Waterloo Regional Police Service in drug enforcement, undercover operations, and cyber investigations, and developed a deep specialty in digital forensics, completing more than 1,200 digital investigations in cases that included homicides, ransomware, and internet child exploitation. His methodical, unbiased analysis earned the trust of both prosecution and defence, and he has testified extensively as a court-qualified expert. Eugene’s career recognition includes multiple commendations, the Canadian Police Exemplary Service Medal, and an invitation to present at INTERPOL’s Crimes Against Children Conference. Alongside his technical depth, Eugene is known for his human touch: patient, grounded, and skilled at creating safe, respectful interview environments for vulnerable individuals, reluctant witnesses, and subject matter experts. Clients get advanced digital forensic capability and a compassionate, client-focused investigator in one.

Sophia Tucker is a Senior Investigator who has handled some of the firm’s most challenging regulatory matters since joining Benard + Associates in 2020, including sexual abuse allegations and complex practice-related issues. A significant part of her practice is identifying and investigating illegal practitioners, work that involves detailed background inquiries, surveillance, and undercover operations, and that demands the adaptability, strategic thinking, and composure under pressure Sophia brings to every assignment. Her professional background in nursing gives her a strong foundation in critical thinking, evidence gathering, and clinical context, and regulators rely on her thorough, accurate, and defensible findings to protect the public and uphold professional standards. Sophia is known for an approachable manner and an outstanding ability to build rapport with clients, colleagues, witnesses, and subjects alike, a strength that serves her in both overt and covert settings. She also mentors newer team members and is a natural leader on the regulatory team.

Nicole Courchesne joined Benard + Associates after six years in policing, five with the Hamilton Police Service and one with the Halton Regional Police Service. That experience gave her a solid grounding in evidence gathering, interviewing, note taking, and report writing, and the composure to work through emotionally charged situations with steadiness and care. Nicole holds a Bachelor’s degree in French and Francophone Studies from Trent University. French is her first language and she is fully bilingual, which allows her to conduct interviews, review documents, and communicate with parties in either official language, a real advantage for clients with francophone employees, members, or operations. Passionate about the work and empathetic toward the people she meets in the course of an investigation, Nicole pairs a strong work ethic with a commitment to getting the job done fairly and thoroughly, and she brings energy and diligence to every file she is assigned.

Amy Dyson is an Investigator at Benard + Associates with more than 20 years inside the regulated healthcare system she now investigates. She conducts investigations into practice concerns, professional conduct, and workplace complaints with an insider’s understanding of how care is delivered, documented, and supervised across primary care, public health, community health, and seniors’ services. Her career demanded the same disciplines an investigation does. As a Nurse Manager in primary care, an Alzheimer Day Program Coordinator, a Homes Service Coordinator, and a long-term care Activity Director, she managed publicly funded health programs to provincial standards, implemented the COVAXON documentation system, and maintained accurate, objective, and confidential records under privacy and regulatory requirements. Her trauma-informed training through Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region shapes how she puts complainants, witnesses, and respondents at ease. Clients get an investigator who reads a chart, a policy, or a practice standard the way a regulator does, and whose reports are thorough, objective, and defensible.

Stephen Keetch is a Certified Human Resources Professional and workplace investigator with more than six years of experience in human resources, leadership, and management. At Benard + Associates he leads impartial investigations into allegations of harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, and employee misconduct, managing sensitive caseloads from intake through to resolution. Before joining the firm, Stephen held a senior management and human resources role with Canada’s largest home health care organization, leading a team of twelve across nine districts. That experience shapes how he works with clients and participants: collaboratively, diplomatically, and with real empathy for people going through a difficult process. Stephen holds the CHRP designation from the Human Resources Professionals Association and a Human Resources Management diploma from the University of Guelph, is completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Laurentian University, and is certified in Mental Health First Aid. Discerning, measured, and invested in fair outcomes, he is a trusted resource for organizations facing difficult workplace matters.

Courtnie McDowell is both a workplace investigator and a mediator at Benard + Associates, and a Certified Human Resources Leader with more than 14 years of experience in strategic HR partnerships, employee relations, and workplace investigations. As an investigator, she specializes in trauma-informed investigations into sexual harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, and complex interpersonal conflict, following a hands-on, methodical process built on thorough fact-finding, objective analysis, and alignment with current legislation and leading practice. Her reports are recognized for their fairness, transparency, and clear reasoning. As a mediator, Courtnie’s empathetic communication and her ability to establish trust quickly make her effective at helping parties reach constructive, lasting resolutions, even where relationships have deteriorated badly. Clients and colleagues rely on her work ethic, professionalism, and impeccable ethics, and on the confidence that a matter in her hands will be handled with care, fairness, and rigour.

Stephanie Pigeon is a Certified Human Resources Leader with more than 17 years of experience in employee and labour relations, workplace investigations, and strategic HR consulting. Her career spans both unionized and non-unionized environments, giving her a practical command of the dynamics that shape how a complaint unfolds in each setting. Stephanie has led numerous high-stakes workplace investigations involving harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, and policy breaches, and she is known for a thorough, impartial approach that produces clear, defensible findings organizations can act on. Beyond investigations, she has led cross-functional initiatives, supported organizational restructuring, and implemented training and development programs, experience that helps her see a complaint in its wider organizational context and advise clients accordingly. Clients value her sound judgment, professionalism, and ability to build trust with participants on all sides of a matter, and her analytical strength makes her a highly effective workplace investigator.

Aislinn Quigg brings a detail-oriented, methodical, and compassionate approach to regulatory investigations at Benard + Associates. Before joining the firm, she worked as a clinical research nurse supporting multiple clinical trials from start to finish, including patient screening, data collection, protocol adherence, adverse event management, and communication with study sponsors and investigators, work that demands exactly the analytical skill, documentation precision, and command of complex information that investigative practice requires. Aislinn has also held front-line nursing roles across hospital, Indigenous health, and community health settings, and holds advanced training in mental health first aid and cultural safety alongside a suite of clinical certifications. That combination gives her a real understanding of the regulated health environments she now investigates and a grounded, calm presence that puts interviewees at ease and supports trauma-informed fact-finding. Clients get clear, well-documented work and an investigator committed to fair, high-quality outcomes for everyone involved.

Lauren Turpin is an Investigator at Benard + Associates who brings a clinician’s eye and a researcher’s discipline to regulatory and workplace investigations. A nurse by training, she investigates matters involving health professionals with a working knowledge of standards of practice and clinical documentation gained on the Medicine Unit at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, in home care with Qualicare, and as an RN and Research Coordinator at the Cambridge Cardiac Care Centre. That last role formed her investigative habits: clinical research demands strict protocol adherence, meticulous documentation, and records that withstand audit, and she applies the same rigour to evidence gathering, interview notes, and report writing. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from York University, a Practical Nursing diploma from Conestoga College (Dean’s List), and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McMaster University (Summa Cum Laude), and her grounding in psychology shows in calm, attentive interviewing. Clients get thorough, well-organized, and defensible work from an investigator who understands the environment she is examining.

Elijah Smythe is the firm’s Administrative Business Partner and, for many clients, the first point of contact with Benard + Associates. He manages client inquiries, coordinates internal operations, and supports the firm’s marketing and communications, drawing on a background in client relations, administrative operations, social media content creation, and marketing coordination. Elijah works directly with the CEO as a trusted right hand, keeping communication flowing between clients, investigators, and leadership so that engagements start quickly and stay organized. He is known for anticipating needs before they become problems and for solving them fast, and his warm, dependable manner sets the tone for how clients experience the firm from the first call onward. Whether he is onboarding a new client, coordinating a team of investigators, or supporting a marketing initiative, Elijah brings care and professionalism to every task and strengthens both the client experience and the firm’s day-to-day effectiveness.