OUR PEOPLE
Who We Are
We believe in enjoying life as it happens now and teaching others to do the same.
Founder, Recovery Coach and Facilitator
Kevin Diakiw RCPF, ARCC, CCRC
In his mid-teens, two polar events deeply altered the course of his life.
At 15, Kevin began a daily practice of meditation, a rare place of safety in a home immersed in alcoholism, a chronic and progressive disease which eventually led to his father’s death two years later.
Finding a curious cocktail of comfort from years of trauma, he drank heavily while continuing a daily practice of meditation. The alcohol helped numb the emotional pain and the mindfulness continued to give him a feeling of worth, comfort and safety, moment to moment.
The daily practice of mindfulness also helped give him clarity and insight to give up drinking completely in 1991. Shortly after, he began teaching meditation, then mindfulness to those seeking comfort in their stress-filled lives.
He had been helping people with this training since 2010, but in 2017, he gave up a 25-year career as a journalist to launch Still Here and train people full time.
And over the past several years, as a Canadian Certified Recovery Coach and Recovery Coach Professional, he has helped people enter recovery from substance misuse sooner, and stay longer. Addiction is chaos, but recovery is also messy, unpredictable and even frightening. It helps to have a person trained to help navigate the tricky path.
Looking back, it was the tumultuous years as a teen that has helped inform his life as an adult.
Helping others build strengths and remove barriers to a good life is the purpose behind Still Here.
More about Kevin’s story here.
Partner, Recovery Coach and Facilitator
Shelley Shadow RCPF, ARCC, CCRC
Shelley Shadow has been in continuous recovery since 1995. Finding recovery in her mid-twenties allowed her to be a sober mom to her three children who are now young adults and walking their own path of education and life experience.
After years of raising a family, she trained to become a Recovery Coach and Trainer with Still Here, whose primary goal is developing the best recovery coaches in Canada through skills training and mentorship. Now one of the first Canadian Certified Recovery Coaches (CCRC) in the country, Shelley is using her lived experience and training to encourage others to find their own pathway of recovery or to train as a recovery coach themselves.
Shelley is also a qualified mindfulness teacher with Still Here, having completed an MBSR course first with Brown University, and then being mentored and trained under Kevin Diakiw, co-teaching the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course as brought to the west by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Deepening her daily practice, she began leading meditations for an international group of meditators on Zoom that began as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having this training as a mindfulness practitioner has benefited her greatly as a recovery coach as well, allowing her to practice mindful listening and intuition with her clients.
As a second generation residential school survivor, Shelley has been reclaiming her Cree language and culture through community supports, elders and groups.
More about Shelley’s story here.
Director, Curricula development
Casey Hrynkow Shewchuk
Casey owned and ran one of Canada’s most respected design firms for over 35 years. As her work matured and changed over time, she developed a passion for design research and design thinking, and has honed this specialty into a primary skill. Today she runs a strategic firm called WIK*D Design Thinking for Social Change.
She works with community groups and organizations, tapping into the wisdom of those with the closest knowledge around an issue. She helps people to get invested in the outcome a project, making them champions of their ideas. She has taught design thinking and design research at Emily Carr University of Art + Design for 15 years.
Casey designed and executed expansive research in the redesign of the identity for Capilano University. She has worked extensively with First Nations in British Columbia (Nisga’a, Tahltan, Sto:lo, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, Osoyoos Band, Indigenous Tourism BC), as well as cities and universities across Western Canada. She recently presented her work on changing the way society sees homelessness at TEDxEmilyCarr 2020. Casey holds a Masters of Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University and is a Fellow of the Graphic Designers of Canada.
Administrative & Technical Support
Ilya Berezin
Ilya joined the Still Here team in August 2023, bringing a strong background in IT alongside a growing passion for recovery coaching. His journey into this field began through years of guided meditation practice and a desire to transition from his previous career in technology into more meaningful, people-centered work.
Encouraged to explore recovery coaching, Ilya completed his first Recovery Coach Training and discovered a role that blended his technical expertise with his new coaching skills. Today, he supports Still Here with administrative and technical operations, including automation, course registration, and participant support.
Ilya is proud to combine his skills to help others access training and resources that make a difference in the recovery community.
FACILITATOR
Kye Fox RCPF, ARCC, CCRC, CCSAS
Kindness meets accountability, Kye's purpose is to step wholeheartedly into the lives of the rejected and guide them through their wisdom on path of redemption, integrity, and hope for the sake of all those impacted by their journey.
Working as a Facilitator with Still Here, an Accredited Recovery Coach of Canada (ARCC) and Chair of Credentialing for Recovery Coaches Canada (RCC), coaching has been the “north star” for supporting those who struggle in addiction in all of its facets.
Kye has also leaned into coaching for behavioral addictions (primarily Sex Addiction). A Restorative Justice and Lived Experience Advocate, Kye has been described as ‘kind’, ‘thoughtful’, and ‘powerful’ in his professional interactions with both peers and clients.
Kye serves on the Advisory Board for Prison Transparency Project (PTP) with University of Ottawa, was a Coordinator for Community Justice Initiative's (CJI) Revive Program in Kitchener, and was the Manager for Programs and Basic Needs for Ark Aid Street Mission in London.
Kye has been in Long Term Recovery since 2017.
FACILITATOR
Bob Ivanoff RCPF, ARCC, CCRC
Bob was always the shy type. Being born in California to an eastern European family and learning the parents’ language before learning English created many barriers. It wasn’t until he got into recovery that he realized that shy is just another word for fear. Never feeling at ease in his own skin, Bob turned to drugs and alcohol as the solution. The progressive nature of addiction took a long hard toll on Bobs family, work, finances, health and connection. Bob nearly lost everything.
Like a Phoenix who has risen from the ashes, Bob’s recovery journey is like so many others; Miracles happen!
With some time in recovery and a glimpse of what is possible, Bob started to find joy and fulfillment in helping others who suffer from the disease of addiction as he once did. With this new found quest for life, Bob started educating himself, and with this came a revelation; Why not help people help more people?
Today Bob is versed in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Neuro Linguistic Programing, Life Coaching, Recovery Coaching and Facilitating. He is a Certified Recovery Coach through the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation, a Recovery Coach Professional and a Recovery Coach Professional Facilitator through CCAR. When Bob is not facilitating with Still Here, he is coaching at an in-patient treatment center in Muskoka.
It is not all work and no play for Bob. When he is not coaching or facilitating, you might find him in his canoe on the lake by his house in Huntsville, Ontario, skiing down hills, or ripping it up in his snowmobile with his recovery friends.