Browse Speakers
Meet our speakers. Select a name to see their full profile and how to book a presentation. ← Back to the calendar
Joan Knighton
Home Children Canada Accredited Speaker · Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Joan is a former teacher, nurse and ortho tech. She is a proud descendant of a home child. She honours her father and all the children each time she makes her presentation. She previously wrote her Dad’s story and had it published.
Topics: British Home Children
Lori Oschefski
Home Children Canada Accredited Speaker · Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Lori Oschefski is the Founder and President of Home Children Canada, a national charitable organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of British Home Children.
A passionate historian, genealogical researcher, author, and advocate, Lori has spent decades researching the lives of children sent from Britain to Canada through organized child migration programs. Since founding the organization in 2012, she has become a leading voice in the movement to bring recognition to these children and their descendants.
Under her leadership, Home Children Canada has developed an extensive historical registry containing more than 84,000 names, established important archival and research partnerships, and helped thousands of descendants discover their family histories.
Lori has delivered more than 300 presentations and has been featured in national and international media, including CBC, CTV, Sky News, Al Jazeera, Antiques Roadshow, and Michael Portillo's Portillo's Empire Journey.
Through her research, public speaking, and advocacy, Lori continues to ensure that the stories of British Home Children are preserved, shared, and never forgotten.
Topics: Orphans of the Living: Canada's British Home Children is my signature presentation. I can speak on all aspects of the British Home Children programs, including their origins, sending organizations, immigration, placement and working conditions, individual life stories, military service, family separation, genealogical research, and their lasting impact on Canadian history. Additional topics include the contributions of British Home Children to Canada, the search for missing family connections, historical records and archives, and the ongoing efforts toward recognition, commemoration, and education. Presentations can be customized to suit the interests of the audience, from introductory historical overviews to more specialized subjects.
Marg Graham/Dianne Cosway
Home Children Canada Accredited Speaker · Trent Hills, Ontario, Canada
A lifelong resident of Northumberland
County, Marg Graham moved to Trent
Hills in 2021, bringing with her a wealth of
experience from her career as a legal
secretary/law clerk. In her semi-retirement,
Marg has channelled that expertise into a
life of dedicated community service and
historical preservation. As a Director at
Home Children Canada, she honours the
legacy of her grandmother, Mary
Mortimer, through extensive research, her
historical collection and public
presentations that captivate the audience.
Her commitment to her community is
further reflected in her roles as Vice Chair
of the local Library Board, and an Aqua Fit
instructor at the YMCA She has been
recognized for her community
commitments with a Paul Harris Fellow
from the Rotary Club.
Dianne Cosway is a dedicated wife, mother,
and grandmother whose life journey
showcases both professional commitment
and personal enthusiasm. She spent over
two decades in the retail industry, where she
developed strong relationships and refined
her abilities in customer service and
leadership. Following her retirement, Dianne
has devoted her time to genealogy,
uncovering family histories and illuminating
the narratives of the British Home Children.
Her presentations blend thorough research
with sincere storytelling, enabling audiences
to engage with this significant historical
period.
Topics: Our presentation starts with the beginning of Rye/MacPherson and the story of a foundling sent to Marchmont and then we take on the Barnardo era and a girl sent to Hazelbrae and her 12 placements.
Sheila Dodd
Home Children Canada Accredited Speaker · Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
* Descendant of a British Home Child - Mv Grandma and her brother * Volunteer and committee member of Home Children Canada since 2019
* Beacons of Light Committee member and write to over 60 places each year to proclaim and light up for BHC Day September 28th
* HCC researcher and registry updater
* HCC Accredited Speaker
* Liverpool Monument Committee Member representing HCC to have a statue put at the harbour in Liverpool, England to commemorate the 118,000 BHC who mostly sailed from Liverpool to Canada.
Topics: -British Home Children in Canada -British Home Children who Returned to the UK -British Home Children who went to the USA -British Home Children from Fife, Scotland and Scottish sending Agencies -BHC sent to the Jacques-Cartier district of Montreal, Quebec -Sending Agencies of Liverpool
Colleen Glassford
Independent Speaker · London, Ontario, Canada
Colleen Teetzel Glassford was raised on a farm in Orford Township, near Chatham. She graduated as a Registered Nurse from St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital / Fanshawe College in 1975. Her career took her to Regina, Saskatchewan, Toronto, Chatham, Winchester (which is south of Ottawa) and finally to London where she retired. While in Winchester, Colleen, her husband and two daughters survived the Great Ice Storm of 1998.
Colleen attended the 2011 and 2012 British Home Child Day celebrations at Upper Canada Village. She met Ivy Sucee, Barnardo Representative in Peterborough, in 2012 where she was taken on a tour of points of interest to the British Home Children including to Queen Alexandra Public School, George St. United Church, the Barnardo plots in Little Lake Cemetery and the plaque at Conger's Hill. She met Ivy again in 2015 when she took her father to Peterborough to see the Hazelbrae Barnardo Home Memorial and to meet Ivy.
When her cousin’s wife was doing research for her book, “My Mary” in 2022, this renewed her interest in British Home Children. Her grandmother, Mary, is a British Home Child. Colleen was a proofreader for Dawn Teetzel's "My Mary" and "Little Belle", both about a British Home Child.
She currently resides in London, Ontario.
Topics: On May 16, 2026, I spoke at the Port Burwell Writer’s Festival on “British Home Children” and focused of my grandmother, Mary Mae Houghton (HCC registry #7088). My cousin was promoting her book “My Mary”. On September 11, 2026, I did a webinar for Kent Chapter Ontario Ancestors. My topic was “My Journey of Discovery: Learning the Truth about my grandmother – a British Home Child”. (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=home+children+canada). On October 20, 2026, I gave a presentation to the Royal London Military Institute on British Home Children. I included a WWII veteran, two WWI veterans, and a nurse who served in WWI. The highlight of this night was a family in the audience had an ancestor who had served in the 117th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment, same unit as one of the veterans I’d highlighted. There were a few tears shed.
Linda Sharon Smith
Independent Speaker · Innisfil, Ontario, Canada
Linda is a motivational speaker, singer- with guitar, and author of fourteen books, one of the last ones being the search for her grandfather's Home Child records. Ragpicker - My Grandfather? Her purpose is to help other families find their lost people of the past, and to educate others about this often little known Canadian history of The British Home Child exodus to Canada.
Topics: My autobiography/other women's stories/Canadian history/music/comedy. I sing and play guitar and provide songs on most of the subjects I speak about. And of course The British Home Child which I have offered a number of times to various groups and have a speaking engagement on this coming up Nov. 12th. If you'd like a copy, I can provide the talk to you so you know how I handle the subject.
Paul Jackson
Independent Speaker · Barrie, ON, Canada
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Topics: Growing tulips
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Independent Speaker · Orillia, Ontario, Canada
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Topics: Home children