IMPACT
EXPERTISE
PORTFOLIO
This portfolio reflects Founder & Director Chelsey De Groot’s body of professional work that forms the foundation of Roots & Rise today. From justice systems and Indigenous partnerships to education, leadership, and organizational development, her award-winning work spans the people, institutions, and communities shaping safer futures.
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BUILT THROUGH PRACTICE
Work shaped through real-world experience, bringing together leadership, research, and implementation across complex systems.
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ROOTED IN EVIDENCE
Our portfolio highlights the success of each engagement, celebrating the leaders, organizations, and communities advancing stronger systems together.
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ACTION & RESULTS
The most powerful leaders and organizations take action to learn, adapt, and refine their practice in response to new knowledge.
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ENDURING METHODOLOGY
The greatest measure goes beyond what is accomplished today, but what continues to grow, adapt, and flourish long into the future.
NEW BOOK COMING THIS AUGUST!
Written by Roots & Rise Founder & Director Chelsey De Groot, I Shouldn’t Have to Play the Victim brings together her experience on both sides of the justice system: as a professional working within it and a survivor seeking its protection. Through a deeply personal account of domestic violence, Chelsey explores the profound disconnect between how systems are designed to function and what happens when they fail to create safety for those whom they are meant to protect.
Published by Landon Hail Press.
“I felt like I was walking on the journey with you.”
“…more powerful than any citation will ever be.” -
“OVER THE PAST DECADE, I HAVE WATCHED CHELSEY GROW INTO A LEADER WHO BRINGS BOTH FRONTLINE EXPERIENCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL INSIGHT TO HER WORK. SHE UNDERSTANDS THE REALITIES PROFESSIONALS FACE, LEADS WITH WISDOM AND INTEGRITY, AND HELPS PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS MOVE FORWARD WITH CLARITY, CONFIDENCE, AND PURPOSE.”
Heather
Mental Health Therapist at Prairie Dawn Counseling
“I worked under Chelsey briefly while she was Supervising the Lethbridge Drug Treatment Court program. I remain in this role and I credit much of my success to Chelsey's leadership and guidance as I entered the position. It was an absolute pleasure working with Chelsey, and I am very grateful for what she did for me.”
Douglas Hoffman, BPA-CRJS
Case Manager at Lethbridge Drug Treatment Court
McMan Youth, Family, and Community Services Association
OUR PORTFOLIO:
Justice & corrections
From corrections to problem-solving courts, child welfare to domestic violence response, Roots & Rise improves outcomes and builds lasting public trust. Learn more here.
LEADERSHIP & SYSTEMS
We partner with educational institutions, municipalities, nonprofits, health systems, and multidisciplinary teams to advance safer communities. Learn more here.
Indigenous activations
Hand in hand with Indigenous leaders, Elders, and communities, we create initiatives grounded in understanding & culturally responsive practice. Learn more here.
LEARN MORE
Advancing evidence-informed practice across courts, corrections, policing, education, and community systems throughout canada.
From correctional facilities and problem-solving courts to policing, domestic violence response, and community safety initiatives, Roots & Rise partners with justice agencies to advance organizational effectiveness, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and translate evidence into practice.
JUSTICE SYSTEMS,
Leadership
& CORRECTIONS
JUSTICE SYSTEMS
Advancing evidence-informed practice across justice agencies, public safety, courts, and multidisciplinary systems.
Highlights
Program Manager, Drug Treatment Court — McMan Youth, Family & Community Services
Created the Drug Treatment Court Phase Model alongside Dr. Bonta, aligning program delivery with Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) principles and the Level of Service Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI).
Co-authored the Provincial Mentorship Guidelines for Alberta Drug Treatment Courts.
Co-planned and facilitated the Canadian Drug Treatment Court Conference alongside Justice Barnes.
Worked within a multidisciplinary team including Judges, Crown Prosecutors, Probation, Lethbridge Police Service, RCMP, Duty Counsel, Alberta Works, Recovery Alberta, housing providers, detox, treatment centres, and employment services.
Utilized Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) principles and validated assessment tools to reduce recidivism through individualized treatment planning.
Presented participant progress, treatment recommendations, and contingency management strategies before the Drug Treatment Court team.
Managed participant and program budgets, supervised Case Managers, completed funder reporting, and collected evidence-based program outcome data.
CORRECTIONS & REINTEGRATION
Supporting rehabilitation, correctional programming, and successful transition from custody to community.
Highlights
Instructor, Family Violence Prevention — Lethbridge Polytechnic — Lakeshore Campus
Developed curriculum for individuals incarcerated at Lethbridge Correctional Centre and Medicine Hat Remand Centre; delivered monthly presentations within Lethbridge Correctional Centre.
Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), communication, anger management, criminogenic thinking, emotional regulation, and family violence prevention programming.
Connected both victims and individuals responsible for family violence with appropriate community supports and services.
Facilitated group learning, treatment planning, release preparation, and successful community reintegration.
Manager, Program Quality & Assurance — Beccarian Correctional Care: worked with correctional agencies across Alberta to maintain program fidelity within Therapeutic Living Units; supervised regional Team Leads responsible for therapeutic programming across provincial correctional centres.
Developed justice curriculum and facilitated professional education across correctional facilities, post-secondary institutions, and justice organizations.
leadership & practice
Advancing leaders and strengthening organizational capacity across justice, public safety, government, & community.
Highlights
Delivered bi-annual presentations to Lethbridge Police Recruit Classes alongside policing agencies from across Canada.
Presented to policing and corrections students at Lethbridge Polytechnic.
Delivered presentations to Addiction Studies students at the University of Lethbridge.
Facilitated workshops regionally focused on evidence-informed justice practice, Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), behaviour change, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Connected operational leadership, research, and frontline experience to strengthen justice practice across Alberta.
Presented nationally to the American Drug Treatment Court Conference on implementing evidence-informed phase models within justice systems.
Collaborates with OrgCode Consulting to review and strengthen assessment and case management tools, ensuring alignment with current evidence-informed practice.
Supports justice professionals by improving assessment resources, strengthening case management approaches, and enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration across probation, parole, corrections, and community agencies.
Facilitated Leadership Development training for frontline staff and organizational leaders at McMan Youth, Family & Community Services Association.
Speaker — Government of Alberta Occupational Wellness, presenting Occupational Wellness Begins at Hello, exploring how personal and organizational values shape leadership, workplace culture, and employee wellbeing.
Presenter, Alberta Criminal Justice Symposium — From Assessment to Impact: Embedding Risk-Need-Responsivity for Stronger Case Management and Reduced Recidivism.
SELECTED PRESS:
‘I Don't Want Drugs Anymore,' says First Blackfoot Graduate from Drug Treatment Court
CBC News, 16 Nov. 2022.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/first-blackfoot-graduate-lethbridge-drug-treatment-court-1.6641425
Drug Treatment Court Celebrates First Female Grad
Lethbridge Herald, 19 June 2024.
https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2024/06/19/drug-treatment-court-celebrates-first-female-grad/
Lethbridge's Drug Treatment Court: How Will It Help the Addiction Crisis?
Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA), 2022.
https://www.sacpa.ca/2022/lethbridges-drug-treatment-court-how-will-it-help-the-addiction-crisis/
Drug Treatment Court Takes Novel Approach with Addicted Offenders
Lethbridge Herald, 16 Sept. 2022.
https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2022/09/16/drug-treatment-court-takes-novel-approach-with-addicted-offenders/
Drug Treatment Court – A Multi-Disciplinary Team Approach to Therapeutic Justice – Poster [2023–11]
Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee (HSJCC), 1 Feb. 2024.
https://hsjcc.on.ca/drug-treatment-court-a-multi-disciplinary-team-approach-to-therapeutic-justice-poster-2023-11/
Wasting More Money Won't Solve the City Drug Crisis
Lethbridge Herald, 20 May 2023.
INDIGENOUS
ACTIVATIONS
BUILDING targeted initiatives & TRUSTED PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH JUSTICE, CULTURE, HEALING, AND SYSTEMS CHANGE.
From cultural reconnection and justice programming to strategic planning and leadership development, Roots & Rise partners with Indigenous communities to co-create powerful, relationship-centered approaches that strengthen people, organizations, and systems:
new models for Cultural
Connection & Healing
Creating groundbreaking initiatives that reconnect people with culture, strengthen identity, and build lasting relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Highlights
Creator and Program Manager — I'taamohkanoohsin ("Everyone Comes Together"), reconnecting vulnerable populations with culture, identity, and community (see more below).
Partnered with the Indigenous Liaison Officer, Lethbridge Police Service, establishing a tipi in Galt Gardens as a welcoming gathering space for people experiencing homelessness (see more below).
Built programming directly from the voices and lived experience of community members.
Advanced reconciliation by bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities together through shared learning, relationship, and healing.
Partnered with Indigenous organizations on- and off-reserve to facilitate visits to sacred sites throughout Southern Alberta.
Facilitated bi-weekly, land-based cultural experiences programming including storytelling with Elders, sweats lodges, powwow, face-painting ceremonies, gathering tipi poles, hand games, drumming, and more.
Developed partnerships with Lethbridge Police Service, Canadian Mental Health Association, and Blood Tribe Department of Health.
Connected participants with Elders and supports related to addiction, mental health, housing, education, employment, and community reintegration.
Delivered cultural sensitivity training for organizational staff and non-Indigenous organizations alongside Blackfoot Elders.
Presented the initiatives provincially and nationally.
Contributed to published research on culturally responsive, relationship-based practice.
Advanced a Recovery Model approach centered on belonging, cultural identity, and long-term healing rather than a traditional Medical Model.
Supervised staff and practicum students.
Maintained relationships with incarcerated individuals through ongoing visits to Lethbridge Correctional Centre, supporting continuity of care and connection to community resources before release.
public safety, Justice & tribal
cross-collaboration
Cross-sector, high-impact projects with Indigenous governments, justice agencies, corrections, and public safety organizations through strategy, action and culturally informed practice.
Highlights
Conducted the Pathways to Better Practice organizational needs assessment for Siksika Public Safety & Justice Programs.
Supporting implementation of organizational recommendations through Roots & Rise.
Facilitated strategic planning for Aisiimohkiiks (Peace Officers) and Animal Services, Siksika Public Safety.
Provided leadership coaching with the Sergeant for Aisiimohkiiks (Peace Officers).
Facilitated team-building exercises and implementation of team charters for Siksika Public Safety.
Co-facilitated mental health training with Heather, Prairie Dawn Counseling, covering burnout, workplace culture, the Mental Health Continuum, trauma, depression, suicide awareness, anxiety, wellness, and available supports.
Instructor, Indigenous Release Planning — Lethbridge Polytechnic — Lakeshore Campus (2018–2025).
Developed Indigenous Release Planning curriculum for individuals incarcerated at Lethbridge Correctional Centre.
Delivered education on Medicine Wheel teachings, the Seven Sacred Teachings, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Criminal and Addictive Thinking, release planning, healthy community reintegration, and the role of Indigenous culture in healing.
Connected participants with housing, treatment, harm reduction, employment services, and community resources following incarceration.
I'taamohkanoohsin
Everyone Comes Together
featured case study
Award-winning community development through cultural connection & PUBLIC SAFETY
Tasked to develop services that increase community safety and reduce homelessness, Chelsey De Groot initiated this project curious about the role traditional Indigenous approaches to healing could play alongside contemporary justice and social services. Before getting started with program design, Chelsey conducted a community needs assessment through one-to-one conversations with individuals living the experience. Rather than beginning with assumptions or existing methodologies, the work began with a simple question: What do you feel is missing?
The findings became the foundation for I'taamohkanoohsin (Everyone Comes Together, pronounced ‘ee-da-ma-gah-noo-sin’), a collaborative initiative developed alongside the Indigenous Liaison Officer with Lethbridge Police Service, Blackfoot Elders, Indigenous organizations, and community partners. Together, they transformed a tipi in Galt Gardens into a trusted gathering place where cultural teachings,
sweat lodge ceremony, storytelling, drumming, meals, and access to housing, mental health, addiction, education, and employment supports existed side by side. The initiative welcomed people experiencing homelessness, newcomers, foster families, schools, and the broader community, creating opportunities for relationship, learning, and cultural connection.
As the work evolved, Chelsey led the expansion of Indigenous cultural programming within ARCHES Lethbridge, establishing a dedicated cultural space that connected participants with Elders, land-based healing, traditional practices, and Hip Hop for Healing alongside Indigenous artists Drezus and Colicchie. The initiative was presented provincially and nationally, published in peer-reviewed journals, and the relationships established through this work continue today through strategic partnerships with Siksika Nation Public Safety, including organizational assessments, leadership development, strategic planning, and systems implementation.
awards:
Recipient, Community Leader Award for creating I'taamohkanoohsin ("Everyone Comes Together").
SELECTED PRESS & PUBLICATION:
I’taamohkanoohsin (everyone comes together): A Blackfoot cultural program supporting people with concurrent mental health challenges and other complex needs
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 9 Apr. 2019.
https://www.cjcmh.com/doi/10.7870/cjcmh-2018-011
I’taamohkanoohsin (everyone comes together): (Re)connecting Indigenous people experiencing homelessness and addiction to their Blackfoot ways of knowing.
International Journal of Indigenous Health, 16 Apr. 2019.
https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijih/article/view/31939
I’taamohkanoohsin (everyone comes together): a Blackfoot cultural program supporting people with concurrent mental health challenges and other complex needs
University of Lethridge, 2018.
https://opus.uleth.ca/items/24c63bfc-a2c5-4074-9da2-58ab2adf352d
We’ve Never Seen Anything Like it
Wider Horizons, a Publication of Lethridge College, Winter 2019.
https://www.case.org/system/files/media/file/Wider%20Horizons%20Winter%202019%20issue%20final%20version.pdf
Who We Are
Across more than two decades in justice, human services, corrections, child welfare, Housing First initiatives, problem-solving courts, Indigenous partnerships, and organizational development, Chelsey De Groot has built a career advancing how organizations lead, respond, and create safer communities. Today, she leads Roots & Rise as Founder and Director, and serves as Co-founder and Vice President of the National Survivors Coalition of Canada, bridging professional expertise with lived experience to improve how institutions respond, lead, and protect.
Chelsey’s forthcoming book, I Shouldn’t Have to Play the Victim, published by Landon Hail Press (releasing this August) adds another dimension to this work. Drawing from her dual experiences working within the justice system and seeking its protection, Chelsey examines the distance that can exist between how systems are intended to function and whether they ultimately create safety for the people they are meant to protect.
Chelsey holds a Master of Arts in Leadership, a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Justice Studies, and a Diploma in Child and Youth Care. She is a 2018 Community Leader Award recipient and former President of Lethbridge and Area Search and Rescue. Her professional development includes Negotiation Mastery through Harvard Business School, A New Direction through Hazelton Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies, Risk-Need-Responsivity (LS/CMI), Core Correctional Practice, Leadership Academy through OrgCode Consulting, Trauma-Informed Care, The Working Mind First Responder, Indigenous Awareness, SafeTalk Suicide Intervention, MANDT, and First Aid.
Together, this body of experience informs a practice focused not simply on how systems are designed, but on how they function in the real world and what becomes possible when leaders and organizations are ready to evolve them.
