Kelly McNaughton is a senior leader, clinician, and researcher with nearly three decades of experience in trauma-informed practice, healthcare systems, and organizational response to critical incidents.
She currently serves as Manager of the Peer Support and Trauma Response Program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), where she also holds a research appointment with the Peter Gilgan Research Institute.
Kelly’s professional background spans child welfare, intimate partner violence, healthcare, and trauma management. As a national trauma manager, she led multi-disciplinary clinical teams to New York City in the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001, providing sustained support to first responders and affected organizations for a year, including leading a Peel Regional Police response team to support the NYPD.
A lifelong learner, Kelly is a PhD student at the University of Windsor, where her research examines attrition among paediatric new graduate nurses. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts from Laurier, a Bachelor of Social Work from UBC and a Master of Social Work from McGill University, where she was awarded the Myer Katz Fellowship and served as a research assistant to the Honourable Herbert Marx, former Québec Minister of Justice. Her academic career also includes faculty roles as an instructor in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Windsor and as an Associate Professor in the Community Health and Social Medicine Program in health sciences at the Michener Institute in Toronto. Presently, she is also a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Windsor where she is engaged in a SSHRC-funded study in palliative care.
Kelly is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and is a certified instructor with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
In addition to her organizational leadership responsibilities, she maintains a private clinical practice specializing in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder among first responders. Her research and scholarly contributions have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, and she has held multiple leadership and governance roles within the university community. Kelly previously served as the PhD representative for the OASW’s Student Advisory Group.
Personally, Kelly is a mother of three children, two dogs and three cats and finds enjoyment in her motorcycle as well as animal welfare initiatives.
She applies her therapy skills in her volunteer role with an emergency veterinary clinic.