We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Neufeld Institute Faculty member Geneviève Brabant, on October 7th, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.
A fierce proponent of the attachment-based developmental approach, Geneviève seemed to have boundless passion. As a personal mission, she took on changing our practices with our youngest children (aged 0-6); a mission that she worked tirelessly towards. As a social worker at the ‘Centre hospitalizer pour enfants de l’est de l’Ontario,’ she succeeded at transforming the care of preschool age children.
Geneviève also cared deeply about how to support and care for our transplanted children, as well as helping us to rethink how we understand discipline. Her mark and legacy are deeply intwined in both Dr. Neufeld’s Art & Science of Transplanting Children course and his Making Sense of Discipline course. We will be endeavouring to bring forward and highlight some of these incredible contributions that she has left for us.
Reflections from Dr. Neufeld:
It was over 15 years ago that this young woman with such an impressive and commanding presence first entered my world at a speaking event of mine in Ottawa. I had no idea at that time that our lives would become so intertwined, that she would become so dear to our hearts, that she would become such a master of the paradigm I taught, that she would so enrich our lives with her own cherished loved ones. Geneviève accepted every challenge given to her with unflinching courage right until the very end. Now she leaves a gaping hole that is truly a tribute to who she was as a mother, grandmother, wife, teacher, therapist, social worker and child whisperer. Although the challenges she faced in life were always daunting, she kept on dancing with so much dignity and determination that it seemed to us like nothing could ever stop her. Perhaps this will be her truest legacy, that nothing ever will.
Reflections from fellow faculty member Genevieve Schreier:
In the early days of the Neufeld Institute, we had never had two faculty members with the same name. So when I found out that there was going to be another Genevieve, I was surprised, to say the least. In my world, two Genevieves was a rare occurrence. Had it been anyone else, I may have even been a little put out to have to share my name. But having had the privilege of getting to know her during her studies, I couldn’t have been more delighted. It is hard to think of anyone I would rather share my name with.
From the very beginning, I was struck by her uniqueness, insight, wisdom and strength. Because of the shared first name, we would often get emails intended for each other, and in our back and forth, we ended up settling on nicknames (for clarity’s sake in our communication) - I was to be g1, having been on the scene at the Neufeld Institute longer, and she was to be G2 (it only felt right to me that she was the capital G, with all the ways that I look up to her).
Though we lived on opposite sides of the country, our paths did cross in person a few times, at conferences and Institute events - and I remember each time so clearly. Occasionally I was lucky enough to find myself sitting next to her - at a dinner table, or hotel bar – only to be surprised that we both ordered a whiskey.
Her passions - for us adults to show up in children’s lives, for us to see beyond behaviour - came through in all that she did. And the relentless energy and dedication and love she brought to life will remain forever an inspiration to me. We could all learn from the way she showed up - as a mom, partner, colleague, teacher, counsellor, mentor, friend….
I am grateful to have had the chance to work, play, and love alongside Geneviève Brabant.
Thank you, G2, for so many things.
You are missed.
GYMNASTICS, FRUSTRATION, TEARS ... AND MUFFINS
As a small example of her exceptional character and contribution to the Neufeld institute, we are re-publishing a well-loved editorial by her husband and fellow Neufeld Institute faculty member, Mathieu Lyons. In his early days at the Neufeld Institute, before taking on the helm of leadership for our French language program, he was tasked with his very first English language editorial. What we didn’t know at the time was how instrumental Geneviève was in choosing the text, and helping form and polish the idea. But in true Geneviève form, she didn’t want to take any of his limelight or create any shadow … so she just quietly worked her magic in the background, to help bring these touching reflections to light.
Read the full editorial on our website
|