Public Advisory Council

When I was introduced to the concept of patient engagement in 2020, I knew that I was in the right place. As someone with a basic science background who became a full-time caregiver in 2006, I wanted to contribute to research in a way that was meaningful and impactful, using the knowledge I gained as a parent navigating the health and education systems with my children. From 2017 – 2022, I was a member of a local district advisory council for education, which gave me an understanding of the importance of data to inform policy and practice. I am currently partnering on several projects related to COVID-19 and others that involve sharing or developing materials for patient engagement. I have been a member of the HDRN Canada Public Advisory Council since September 2022 and I am excited to be part of the process of using data to improve health and to educate the public about health data. I live in Prince Edward Island with my partner and six children.

I have worked and volunteered in the charitable sector with a drive for excellence and inclusion that engages others in the pursuit of being better for the world. My experience comes from working in the areas of international development, homelessness and housing, community corrections, and health and social services. Professionally, I am the CEO of Eden Care Communities, one of Saskatchewan’s largest charities, and my charitable governance experience has been gained by serving on many boards, including Kids Brain Health Network and Kids Brain Health Foundation. I am Vice Chair for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada and I am a volunteer not-for-profit coach with the JDC West business school competition at the University of Regina. I hold a Master’s degree in Leadership, am a Certified Fundraising Executive, and have completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Not-for-Profit Governance Essentials Program. I have an unshakeable belief that tomorrow will be better than today.

I began volunteering as a patient partner in 2020 to act as an advocate to improve patient input in research. When I learned about the HDRN Canada Public Advisory Council, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to be involved and further my knowledge about health data. In my professional life, I am a resident physiotherapist in Nova Scotia and a graduate of the Doctor of Physiotherapy Program from Melbourne University in Australia. Since graduation in 2015, I’ve worked in Australia and Canada and as a result of my clinical experiences, I have developed a deep appreciation for health data to inform clinical practice and act as a driver to improve community and public health outcomes. I am grateful for this opportunity to sit on the Public Advisory Council, and I am incredibly excited to be involved in these efforts to help improve health outcomes in Canada.

I am a volunteer with several organizations involved in patient research and patient engagement, including as a Community Representative on the Health Research Ethics Board; as a Patient Representative for the Patient Advisory Council, NL SUPPORT, Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University; as a Patient Representative on the Citizen Advisory Committee for CIHR Strategic Planning 2020; as a Patient Partner with NL and Diabetes Action Canada – Virtual Care Demonstration Project; and as a Patient Partner with the SPOR Evidence Alliance. My volunteer activity in health care began when I retired from Bell Aliant after a career in communications, marketing, advertising and training. I have lived experience as a caregiver and an interest in promoting patient engagement in research.

My interest in health research began in 2022, when I was diagnosed with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, a form of soft tissue cancer and became heavily involved in patient research and patient engagement. Since then, I have volunteered through several organizations including Young Adult Cancer Canada; I also sit on the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Priority Setting Partnership Steering Group as a patient partner. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Chemistry and am in my final year of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I strive to use my advocacy role to help marginalized populations. I am both Mi’kmaq (through my dad) and a first-generation Canadian (through my mom), lenses I seek to utilize in my work with the Public Advisory Council.

I have extensive experience working with diverse populations in Manitoba and have served the settlement and integration sector for over 20 years. I am co-founder of the Ethno-cultural Council of Manitoba – Stronger Together, as well as co-founder of the Community Engaged Research on Immigration Network (CERI Network). I pioneered and directed the first comprehensive Indigenous Orientation Tool Kit for the settlement sector in Manitoba and beyond. I am a Certified Canadian Counsellor and marriage and family therapist, as well as a regulated Immigration Consultant. My current work as a Cross-Cultural Mental Health Specialist with Winnipeg Regional Health is to facilitate connections and bridge the formal mental health system with the ethnically-diverse newcomer population in Winnipeg. I have completed degrees in the areas of political science, religion and culture, and immigration consultancy as well as marriage and family therapy. My goal as a family therapist is to change the world one family at a time.

I am in my third year of post-secondary study, focusing on Kinesiology at the University of Regina. When I don’t have my head in the books, you can find me in the small but diverse community of Nipawin, Saskatchewan. In this town, I have taken part in many experiences such as coaching youth soccer and Special Olympics, instructing swimming lessons, lifeguarding and working as a cashier at a local grocery store. From engaging with my community, I have developed a passion to improve the well-being of our population. Once I complete my studies, I hope to bring my training back to benefit my growing community. Being a part of the Public Advisory Council is an exciting opportunity to further improve health data and research in Canada.

I am an Indigenous Carrier from Binche Whut’en in the Northern Interior of British Columbia. In 2005, I received a Social Work Diploma from the College of New Caledonia and later received a Mental Health and Addiction certificate from the University of Northern BC. Since graduation, I have been employed at Central Interior Native Health Society as an Indigenous Support Worker and now as an Elder Wellness Worker. In 2014, I was elected to sit on the Board of Education for Nechako Lakes for School District 91 and served for one term, which allowed me to gain experience in developing and implementing policies with a collaborative team of educators and administrators. I am an elected board member of the Pacific AIDS Network and sit on the committee advisory for research studies with EQUIP at the University of British Columbia.

I have a long history of collaboration with the health care system following a rare disease diagnosis in childhood. For over 20 years, I have been bringing a patient or citizen perspective to provincial, pan-Canadian and international advisory groups and committees on topics such as research ethics, rare disease policy and involvement in clinical trials. I am an enthusiastic, committed patient partner on several patient-oriented research projects, with a special interest in patient and citizen engagement in methodological research. As chair of Cochrane’s Consumer Network Executive and a member of the COMET Initiative’s People and Patient Participation, Involvement and Engagement Working Group, I have the opportunity to learn and collaborate with international organizations. I am the chair of Ontario’s SPOR Support Unit’s Patient Partner Working Group and have served as a patient member on the Ontario Committee to Evaluate Drugs since 2014 and the Ontario Health Technology Assessment Committee for the past six years.

I am an engineer who is passionate about health care technology and how it helps improve people’s lives. My curiosity uprooted me from a rural village in Botswana and brought me to Canada where I graduated with a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Manitoba. I volunteer with various organizations, including Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation and SPOR Primary and Integrated Healthcare Innovations Network.

My endless curiosity combined with strong visual acuity led me to an exciting career in television news as a video journalist. I spent 20 years in television newsrooms across western Canada exploring what makes the world, and people, tick. When I switched gears and entered corporate communications, I brought my storytelling chops and natural news sense to share compelling stories of entrepreneurial and business successes. I grew up in rural Alberta, where farm life nurtured a strong sense of family, community and a commitment to hard work. My deep connection to and respect for Indigenous culture was instilled by my maternal grandmother, a woman whose childhood memories as a Ukrainian settler include the kind help and fellowship of the Cree people. I am married to Sharon, a registered nurse and together we have three grown children.

I am a university student finishing my degree in Nutrition & Food Sciences at the University of Ottawa and have been involved in research and patient engagement since 2019. I started as a member of the Youth Advisory Committee for The Canadian Collaborative for Childhood Cannabinoid Therapeutics and have gone on to work on projects in patient engagement with organizations including CIHR, the Canadian Nutrition Society and Clinical Trials Ontario. Being a member of HDRN Canada’s PAC interested me because I want to contribute the youth perspective to this national group as well as learn more about health data in Canada. Aside from academics and research, I am also a Team Canada para-fencer and compete internationally in wheelchair fencing and nationally in para-nordic skiing.