Program Faculty
*Note: asterisked program faculty also serve as mentors
*Rosetta Antonacci, RN, BScN, MScAdm
Rosetta graduated with her DEC from Vanier College, BScN from the University of Ottawa, and MScAdm from Université de Laval. Prior to taking on a full-time position at McGill University she worked at St Mary’s Hospital Center for over thirty years, where she held the role of Nurse Manager of the Clinical Teaching Unit, Acute Medicine and Cardiology, for 14 years. She has an extensive clinical background in oncology and emergency medicine. She is passionate about her profession and shares that with all students. She is enthusiastic, energetic, and committed to supporting students in their journey. She loves to teach future generations the beauty of the nursing profession.
*Marilyn Ballantyne, RN, PhD, FCAN
Marilyn is an Adjunct Scientist in the Bloorview Research Institute, at Holland Bloorview Kids (HB) Rehabilitation Hospital. Marilyn retired as Chief Nurse Executive and Clinician Investigator at HB in 2020, where she led the implementation of Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare. Marilyn's leadership is grounded in strengths-based philosophy, effective workplace environments and system partnership. Marilyn brings excellence in pediatric acute care and rehabilitation settings; strengths-based leadership training, advanced practice and nurse practitioner education; and leading patient-oriented research. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto.
Alain Biron, N. PhD
Alain is the Director of Nursing at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Assistant Professor at the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University. In the past ten years, Alain has lead many system-wide clinical practice improvement projects with a particular interest in using data to drive change. He has published on quality improvement, patient engagement, and patient safety.
Vasiliki Bessy Bitzas, RN, PhD
Bessy is the Clinical-Administrative Coordinator for Palliative Care, Geriatrics and Family Medicine at the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center for West-Central Montreal. She received her PhD in Nursing from McGill University in 2014 and her thesis focused on the lived experience of patients transitioning to end of life care. Along with her administrative and leadership role, Bessy supervises Doctoral and Masters nursing students, is involved in various research projects, and is an Assistant Professor at the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill where she lectures on Strength Based Nursing amongst other topics.
Alessandra Rich Y. Borromeo, B.Sc., M.A.
Alessandra is an internationally educated nurse with 15 years of clinical and leadership experience in the Philippines, UK, and Canada. She has worked extensively on quality management projects and the creation of positive work environments through diversity appreciation education. She believes in transparency and shared governance as key elements to successful organizations. As a transwoman of colour, she continuously advocates for LGBTIQ2S+ rights and migrant minorities.
*Connie Cameron, RN, MN
Connie is a Registered Nurse and is the Program Manager for Professional Practice and Quality at SickKids (The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto), and an Adjunct Lecturer in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. Progressing through many project leadership and practice development roles, Connie is committed to the design and delivery of programs which enhance and advance practice to better enable quality, safe, and outstanding care for patients and families.
*Isabelle Caron, MScN
Isabelle is the Associate Nursing Director of the CIUSSS Centre-Ouest (West-Central Health Care & Social Services) of Montreal. She holds a Masters in nursing from the University of Montreal, and a bachelors from the Université Laval. She has over 20 years of experience in nursing management, overseeing care in medicine, neurology, mental health, geriatrics, palliative care, oncology, critical care, rehabilitation, infection control, and pandemic management. She worked as a faculty member at the Universities of Montreal and Laval, with research involvement in the fields of staffing, safety and quality, infection control, vaccination, geriatric care, family nursing, and recruitment and retention. She has a strong involvement in professional practice development.
*Sonia Angela Castiglione, RN, MScA, PhD Student
Sonia is doctoral student and part-time faculty member at McGill University's Ingram School of Nursing. Sonia developed her expertise in knowledge mobilization after nearly a decade in a knowledge broker role at the McGill University Health Centre. Her close working relationship with nursing leaders and students in moving evidence into action inspired her doctoral research, which aims to explore how point of care nursing leaders engage in shared leadership to support the implementation of evidence-based practices on hospital units.
*Annie Chevrier, N, MScA, CMSN(C)
Annie is an Assistant Professor, the Director of the Post-RN undergraduate program, and the Program Director of the Office of Online Education Initiatives and Continuing Education Nursing Initiatives at the Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN), FMHS, McGill University. She has been in leadership roles since 2010, as a CNS at the MUHC Medical Mission, and in director positions at the ISoN since 2013. She lead the development of the undergraduate post-RN program Online Modality. This will be the first online academic program to be launched at McGill. Annie obtained her Undergraduate [BNI] and Graduate Degree in Nursing [MScA] from McGill and has worked in Advanced Practice Nursing roles at the CIUSS ODIM and MUHC. She holds a Certification in Medical-Surgical Nursing from the Canadian Nursing Association [CNA]. She is the President of the Canadian Association of Medical and Surgical Nurses [CAMSN].
*Christina Clausen, RN, PhD
Christina received her PhD in Nursing Administration from McGill in 2016 and currently serves as Site Coordinator for the McGill Nursing Collaborative for Education and Innovation in Patient- and Family-Centered Care at the Jewish General Hospital, Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre in Montreal. The McGill Nursing Collaborative is a donor-supported (Newton Foundation) initiative intended to advance nursing research, education and practice between the nursing departments of the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) as well as the Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN). Christina is dedicated to enhancing a strong and thriving community of nursing scholarship in Montreal that promotes a Strengths-Based approach. She has recently been a course director for the Office of Interprofessional Education (OIPE), Faculty of Medicine, McGill University and continues to support various nursing research, professional development and continuing education initiatives through the McGill Collaborative.
Michele Durrant, RN, MSc
Michele is an Learning and Training Consultant with the McGill Ingram School of Nursing, Partnership Grant, Transforming Nurses' Work Environments Through a Strengths-Based Leadership and Management Training Program. She is also Professor in the School of Nursing at Seneca College. Michele's interest and commitment is in advancing Strengths-Based Nursing Care through Strengths-Based Nursing Leadership.
*Bonnie Fleming-Carroll, RN-EC/Paediatric, BSc., MN. CpedN(C)
Bonnie holds the position of Associate Chief of Nursing & Interprofessional Education and the Operational Director of Safe Access Management (COVID processes for the hospital) at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She is an adjunct lecturer for the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and serves as the President of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Nurses. Bonnie’s over 15 years of strategic and operational leadership focus on the advancement of Interprofessional collaborative practice through education and learning. Her expertise lies in strategy planning, needs assessment, context relevant curriculum, implementation, sustainability and evaluation. Her education role entails leading large organizational education programs, overseeing implementations of new practices, policies and systems, and overseeing a group of 25 Interprofessional education specialists. Both roles entail strategic and operational leadership, financial management, systems thinking, development, innovation, collaboration, conflict resolution, and critical decision-making. She is known for building capacity in others, advancing pediatric health care, child and family-centred approach, strategic and creative thinking. Bonnie received her BSc. and MN-NP from the University of Toronto. She is passionate about building capacity in people, organizations and systems to advance children’s health.
Laurie Gottlieb, RN, PhD
Laurie N. Gottlieb is a Professor in the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill University, Montreal, Canada where she holds the Flora Madeline Shaw Chair of Nursing. She is the Nurse-Scholar-in-Residence at the CIUSSS-Centre Ouest (Jewish General Hospital) in Montreal, and the Visiting Professor of Leadership at the Canadian Nurses Association. She was the former director of McGill University’s Ingram School of Nursing and was the Editor-in-Chief of CJNR (Canadian Journal of Nursing Research), a position she held for 22 years. She earned her RN from the JGH, Baccalaureate and Master degrees in nursing and a doctorate in developmental psychology from McGill University. She is the developer of Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare (SBNH) that evolved from the McGill Model of Nursing, to which she was a major contributor.
*Jackie Hubbert, R.N. BScN, MBA
Jackie is an Executive Director at the Hospital for Sick Children with key operational oversight and accountability for the the Labatt Family Heart Centre, Critical Care and Acute Care Transport. She has been a people leader for over 20 years and loves it. She supported the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health as the Interim Executive Director. Jackie manages frontline leaders and has ample opportunity to build strategy in her role. She is known for being objective, able to see to the heart of an issue and mentoring leaders. In the past year she worked on opening a COVID adult ICU at SickKids, as well as launching a virtual critical care program. Jackie sees people management as a spiritual endeavor and an act of service. She is a values-driven leader with over 20 years of experience providing business and strategic leadership focused on improving quality of care and the health of children and families.
Pam Hubley, RN, MSc, FCAN
A pediatric nurse for almost 30 years, Pam is the Vice President, Education & Academic Practice, and Chief of International Nursing at SickKids (The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto). She is an Adjunct Professor in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. She has a keen interest in building capacity for children’s health and creating professional practice learning environments that foster innovation through highly effective team collaboration.
*Beverley-Tracey John, RN, MSc. A.
Beverley-Tracey, a 30 year veteran of the profession, is presently occupying the position of Director of Nursing at the CIUSSS-ODIM, since 2018. She began her career at St. Mary’s Hospital, where she worked in various clinical environments and participated in initiatives aimed at improving patient care and promoting opportunities for professional growth within Nursing. Currently a fellow in the EXTRA program, Beverley-Tracey holds a B.Sc.N. from Ottawa University, a certificate degree in Organizational Management, and a M.Sc.A. from Laval University in Quebec. She is currently a part-time faculty lecturer in the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill University.
Kimberley Ens Manning, Ph.D.
Specializing in Chinese politics, gender and politics, and the well-being of transgender children, youth, and their families, Kimberley Manning analyzes the relationship between family ties and politics through the lens of feminist theory. Kimberley’s current research and writing focuses on deepening equitable practices in health and education. She is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Concordia University, Montreal.
*Joanne Maxwell, PhD Student, MSc, OT Reg. (Ont.)
Joanne is the Senior Director for Collaborative Practice and Clinical Education at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, overseeing the professional and interprofessional practice and onoging professional development of the health disciplines. She has a clinical background in Occupational Therapy, is a certified Project Management Professional and certified Prosci Change Practitioner, and is actively involved in clinical research in healthcare transitions, clinical documentation and consumer health portals, and solutions focused coaching. Joanne is currently doing her PhD at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto with a focus on client and family centred practice. She is known for her easy-going, calm nature and a passion for solution-focused practice. The past year she has supported initiatives around addressing social determinants of health (including the launch of a new Family Navigation Hub at Holland Bloorview), and developing robust education in equity, diversity and inclusion. She values Strengths-Based approaches in clinical practice and leadership, believing that it empowers those around us, and recognizes the strengths and resources others bring to every situation.
*Mary McAllister, RN, BScN, MHSc, PhD, FCAN
Mary McAllister holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing(University of Toronto), a Master of Health Science in Health Care Practice(Neonatology - McMaster University) and a Doctor of Philosophy(University of Toronto). Mary has held a variety of advanced practice and leadership roles in a wide range of settings within Canada and abroad and holds appointments the University of Toronto. Most recently, Mary was the Associate Chief, Nursing Practice at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, where she led large systems change. She is a strong advocate for relationship-based care and strengths-based approaches in health care and in interprofessional leadership practice.
*Lee-Anne Pires, RN, MSN
Lee-Anne is an Advanced Practice Nurse at SickKids with 25 years of clinical, education and leadership experiences. She works as a Professor in the School of Nursing at Seneca College. Lee-Anne is a strong advocate for strengths-based care, education and leadership and is passionate about instilling these values in others. As a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Blood and Marrow Transplant/Cellular Therapy paediatric, adolescent and young adult patient population, she is a leader in education, program and policy development for novel therapies, such as CAR T and CRISPR. She is a nursing expert in the field of nursing practice in cellular therapies and an active mentor to new CAR T-cell programs both within Canada and abroad.
Marie-Claire Richer, N., MSc(a), MM, PhD
Marie-Claire Richer is the CEO of the Quebec Order of Nurses, the largest professional order in Quebec with its 80,000 members. She is also an Assistant Professor at the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University. Senior manager for many years in the health care system, she has extensive experience in managing change in large organizations, while building bridges between practice and research — and vice-versa. Described as a humanist leader, she is skilled at recognizing and rallying the various areas of expertise of individuals to all work in the same direction.
Karen Sappleton, MSED, MSW, RSW,
Karen Sappleton, MSED, MSW, RSW, is the Senior Manager for Child & Family Centred Care, Health Equity in the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Child & Family Centred Care at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario. Prior to joining SickKids, Karen was an educator in New York City, specializing in learning disabilities and special education for K-12 students. She has held multiple roles in the hospital in her 17 years at SickKids, including clinical social worker, clinical research project manager, inter-professional education specialist, and transition specialist. For the last 9 years Karen has been manager of the Office of the Patient and Family Experience, the Family Centre, Interpreter Services Department, TDSB schooling program, and the partnership with Ronald McDonald House Family Room. She is also the staff co-chair of the hospital Family Centred Care Advisory Council. These programs aim to provide equitable access, enhance communication, elevate patient and family engagement, and ensure delivery of services that promote positive, inclusive experiences for our very diverse patients and families. Karen has spent over 30 years of her life learning, unlearning, and teaching others about anti-bias, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive practices and continues to run many workshops, presentations, and sessions in the hospital and externally. One of Karen’s goals at SickKids has been to promote dialogue and important discussions about how we as clinicians, educators, researchers, and administrators can provide just and fair services that embody child and family-centred care through anti-biased and anti-racist work.
Karen Spalding, RN, PhD
Karen’s career has spanned more than 30 years. Before retiring after 18 years from her full-time academic position in 2021, Karen worked in a variety of nursing leadership roles for over 14 years at SickKids Hospital. Karen continues to hold an Adjunct Associate Professor position in the School of Nursing at Queen’s University where she teaches in the Health Quality PhD program. Karen is certified as a career planning coach and her teaching and research interests include health systems, health policy, research methods, healthcare leadership and home and community care.
*Erin Vandeven, BScN, MN
Erin Vandeven (she/her) is the incoming Associate Chief of Nursing Practice at SickKids Hospital. Erin is known as a change leader who helps individuals, teams and leaders, build and sustain cultures where practice and people will thrive. Erin’s strengths include her creation of safe spaces for an evolving nursing workforce, her ability to make the theoretical practical, and her willingness to role model mindful presence and openness to change. Erin is also on a lifetime quest to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie. She holds a BScN and MN, both from the University of Toronto.
Michael J. Villeneuve, M.Sc. RN FAAN
Mike Villeneuve has worked in health care for 44 years, starting as an orderly in 1978 and retiring as the chief executive officer of the Canadian Nurses Association in March 2022. He has been a registered nurse for 39 of those years, and has worked across all domains of nursing practice. Mike is proud to be a partner in the SBNH leadership initiative being led by Dr. Laurie Gottlieb and the McGill-based team. Mike’s career fell roughly into two major phases, with the first half focused in and around clinical settings including neurosurgery, neuro-ICU, trauma, critical care, and plastic surgery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. In those areas he worked as a staff nurse, nurse educator, nurse clinician, clinical nurse specialist and patient care manager, and also spent an exciting year working in primary care at God’s Lake First Nation in Northern Manitoba. The past 22 years found Mike in Ottawa, where he held progressive roles in nursing and public policy with Health Canada, the Canadian Nurses Association and as principal of his own consultancy, Michael Villeneuve Associates. He served as chief executive officer of CNA 2017-2022, a role he called the absolute best job of his career, adding, “that’s a pretty good way to go out!” During his years in Ottawa, Mike has worked to shift the narrative about nursing and by nurses, contributing ideas about nursing leadership, education, policy and practice. As CEO of CNA, he oversaw establishment of the Canadian Academy of Nursing to evolve a hub for nursing leadership in Canada. He strove to place nursing firmly at the centre of public policy deliberation and development, and one of the results of that strategy was the positioning of CNA in the Top 100 Lobbyists in Ottawa regularly since 2018. He also had a lead hand in CNA’s work to combat racism and discrimination in nursing, now funded by CIHR for a rigorous study of this injustice and what solutions might be put in place to defeat it. Mike holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Toronto, and in recognition of his contributions to nursing and health care, Mike was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2019.
Richard Wray, RN, BA, MN
Richard Wray has held a variety of education and leadership roles in acute care paediatrics over a 40-year nursing career. He is presently the Director, Quality, Safety, and Infection Prevention (IPAC) at the Hospital for Sick Children. Richard holds a Master of Nursing degree from Ryerson University. He is a past president of Canada’s national IPAC association and a former Board member of the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology. He is a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. His interests include behaviour change to influence outcomes and the measurement of organizational maturity related to quality improvement and patient safety.
Erin Ziegler, NP-PHC, PhD
Erin is an assistant professor with the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University and a practicing primary health care nurse practitioner. Erin's nursing experience is in pediatric acute care and primary care. The main focus of Erin's program of research is examining the barriers to accessing care experienced by vulnerable and marginalized populations. She is dedicated to incorporating the qualities of equity, diversity and inclusion into her work.
Program Mentors
Luz Arroyave, Inf., MSc (A) Inf. (Éd)
Luz Arroyave is currently work as a Nursing Advisor (community component) at the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, CLSC Metro site. Her role involves co-leading the general orientation for all the newly hired nurses and licensed practical nurses in the community health, planning and deploying with fellow team members mass vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 at Maimonides, researching and translating the best evidence-based findings into clinical practice via theoretical and practical workshops and web capsules for nurses and allied professionals. She is also the resource person for the CIUSSS West-Central regarding the national medical protocols of the Institut national d’excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESSS)and their related collective and individual adjustment orders. She holds a Master of Science Applied in Nursing- concentration Education at McGill University where she has also been an invited lecturer for the inter-professional global health courses.
Renata Benc, RN. B.A. , M.Sc(A) CON(C).
Renata Benc is the Conseillère cadre/ clinical nurse consultant for cancer care at the JGH/ CIUSSS. After working on the in-patient units, she held advanced practice nurse role for cancer care clinics, as well as Clinical nurse specialist for the rad-onc clinic for many years. She was part of the oncology team that presented at Nursing Grand rounds on SBN, and at the Whole person conference. Her passion is to empower the patients and their families throughout their journey, to provide support and role modelling to the nursing teams on best practice. She truly believes as nurses at the JGH/CIUSSS many nurses are already putting the SBN values into practice without realizing it. Becoming a mentor for the SBNH-L is a privilege and an opportunity to share the SBNH-L vision, to support a team member in their reflective practice, and application of the SBNH-L values.
Judy Bianco, BScN, MScN
Retired since 2017, Judy began practicing nursing in 1977 at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. She completed her BscN at the University of Ottawa in 2001. She developed an interest in Gerontological Nursing and was a Nurse Clinician with the Geriatric Consultation team. She was appointed Head Nurse of the Acute Geriatric Unit in 2001. She completed her MScN at McGill University in 2008. She continued in Nursing Administration and was appointed Associate Director of Nursing in 2010, responsible for various clinical services including Medicine, Geriatrics and the Emergency Room, a role she continued in until her retirement. Throughout her career she was committed to the professional development of nurses and nursing students, as a preceptor, mentor, clinical advisor, and faculty lecturer. She was most known for her enduring commitment to the care of older adults, where the theory and concepts of SBNH-L provided a framework for her clinical practice.
Christine Bouchard, N, BScN, MScA
Christine Bouchard is the clinico administrative coordinator of the MUHC Cancer Care mission. She is responsible for all activities for the inpatient Heme-onc-transplant and palliative care units, as well as the ambulatory services in apheresis, radiotherapy, treatment room (chemotherapy), clinic visits, supportive and palliative care services (day hospital and consult team), oncology test center and the cancer registry. She has been in leadership and management since 2004 (15 years as nurse manager of a neurosciences unit) and now about 3 years in this present role.
Emanuela Ciarlelli, N, BScN, MScA
Emanuela Ciarlelli is the Head Nurse of the Orthopedic Department at the Jewish General Hospital. She has been in a leadership & management role for 13 years. During that time, she put in place many patient centered initiatives that helped improve & optimize patient care and decrease length of stay. She is currently known for a high recruitment and retention rate throughout the CIUSSS. She is also a guest speaker for 2 BSN courses and 1 graduate MS(A) stream at ISON. In the past 2 years, due to COVID, their patient population changed in order to accommodate the influx of COVID patients admitted to hot zones. This rapid change in patient population meant additional support for the staff, "just in time teaching", creating champion nurses as resources, and many impromptu education sessions.
Prior to COVID, she had 2 knowledge translation students that developed a wonderful SBNH education tool (poster & videos of personal accounts of SBNH) for nurses. This tool is presented to all new surgical nurses starting their orientation. In addition, she submitted her own personal story of strength to ISON during the second wave. Emanuela was inspired to become a mentor because she would like to help nurses better understand SBNH. During her graduate studies she had the opportunity to take the SBN course at ISON. During SBNH sessions held at the JGH with Dr. Gottlieb, she gained a better understanding of SBNH and would like to share this knowledge with nurses.
Kim Colapinto, RN(EC)
Kim Colapinto has worked at the Hospital for Sick Children since 1998 in a variety of nursing roles, most recently as the Nurse Practitioner in the Neonatal Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Clinic. She completed Cohort 1 of the Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare Leadership program and is keen to continue learning and growing in the strengths-based approach.
Julie Dallaire, B.Sc.Inf., M.Sc.Inf.
Julie works as a Nurse Practice Consultant with a focus on Nursing Informatics. She previously worked as an Advanced Practice Nurse in Respirology for 12 years. She is known for her family-centered care approach, as well as providing support to nurses in the care of complex family situations. She is also known for pleural care, support of patient/family with sleep disorders, and rapid investigation of patients with lung cancer. Julie completed her Master's degree at l'Université de Montréal under the supervision of Fabie Duhamel, using the Calgary Assessment and Intervention Model. She found that the Calgary and SBNH models owned compatible values that fit well together. She believes that humans always feel more confident/positive/prone toward a situation when they feel they have the capabilities to perform it with success, and applies this to her practice with patient/family care as well as the support and development of nursing staff.
Valerie Frunchak, RN, MSc.(A)
Valerie is a recently retired Nursing Leader with over forty years of experience nursing across Canada, in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nunavut and Quebec. She has enjoyed roles as a Team Leader, Head Nurse, and Associate Nursing Director in both clinical and professional practice domains. She participated in the development of the SBNH Partnership Grant as site director for the Jewish General Hospital. In her role as Nursing Director of Professional Practice, she was responsible for developing and supporting SBNH study groups, national conferences,academic papers and presentations sharing institutional initiatives and encouraging the adoption of SBNH as the nursing practice model for the department. In her role as coach and mentor for Clinical Nurse Specialists and Nurse educators, she utilized SBNH-L principles working with nursing professionals in her division - building on individual strengths, identifying unique needs, supporting and collaborating with leaders as they further developed essential skills in order to practice to their highest potential. Her strong belief in the essential role and place of nurses within the interprofessional team has driven her practice.
Fabienne Germeil, B.Sc.inf., M.Sc.
Fabienne is currently one of the Associate Directors of Nursing (Operational) of the CIUSSS West Island of Montreal. She has practiced as a middle manager for the last 18 years. She is known for her passion and professionalism towards the nursing profession. She values the patient experience, the quality of care and the emotional intelligence of each individual (patients, family and staff). This last year she has been playing a role in all aspects of the pandemic at a strategic and operational level to care for COVID positive patients and all hospital vaccination activities. She also plays a role as the Director of the Cancerology program in the CIUSSS and has made many representations to increase their services for the West Island population. SBNH-L has been shown in her practice by using the strengths of each member of her teams to advance many different dossiers. She has also used the Strengths-Based approach to give positive feedback and reinforce their confidence.
Heather Hart, RN, B.Ed., MSc(A)
Heather is an Assistant Professor at McGill University's Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN) where she is also co-chair of the ISoN Collaborative and co-chair of the Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare Advisory Board of the McGill Nursing Collaborative. She was an Assistant Director of Nursing of a long-term care facility for 7 years. She is known for being able to link theory and practice - able to find language to describe the work. Family nursing and palliative care are her comfort zones. Accomplishments in last year: Managed to get remote courses set up and running; helped with training nurses to go into CHSLDs; currently vaccinating. Supported her adolescent daughter through sec 4 and 5 in a pandemic. Heather's approach to education is through an SBNH lens - education being her main "practice" at this time. In her role as a mentor she hopes to offer herself in ways that are useful to others
John Kayser, MSc(A), PhD, CSPSM(C)
John holds a PhD in Nursing from the Université de Montréal, and a Masters in Nursing from McGill University. He is also certified in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Canada, and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. He works as a Conseiller en soins infirmiers préceptorat pour la santé mentale et projets spéciaux at the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and lectures yearly on evidence-based nursing practice at McGill. He is inspired to become a mentor for the SBNH-L program by his desire to grow in his professional role, and to help plant the seeds of SBNH-L within his organization.
Micheline Khouzam, M.Sc.N
A nurse in advanced clinical practice at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Micheline works at the Glen RVH site in the Mental Health/Psychiatry mission. Her role on the Consultation/Liaison service is focusing on patient care practices on units and out-patient clinic nursing teams. In collaboration with the nursing leadership, Micheline leads the development and implementation of care guidelines and protocols, and makes decisions in collaboration with nursing and medical managers in complex patient/family care situations. Micheline is often consulted on challenging patient/family behavior care management. In the past couple of years she has worked closely with the women's health mission nursing leadership, developing more responsive services to women's mental health care needs. Her experience as a facilitator in reflective practice approach and her knowledge of SBNH-L shape and guide her everyday conversations and nursing practice.
Susan Komhyr Smith, RN, MHM
Susan Komhyr Smith is the Clinical Manager of the Outpatient Adolescent Medicine Programs and the Telepsychiatry Program at SickKids. She started her career as an RN in cardiology at SickKids, and has been with the mental health portfolio for the last 3 years. She has a Masters in Health Management, and has been a clinical manager for 5 years. She recently completed the SBNH-L Program, and found that many of the values in the program align with her leadership style and wanted to continue to grow her SBNH-L practice. She sees the opportunity to mentor in this program as an opportunity to collaborate with likeminded leaders. Over the course of the pandemic, there has been extensive pressure placed on mental health systems - including eating disorders, which she has been working with as part of a program re-design to meet the needs of the complex presentations of patients. She has extensive clinical practice experience in cardiology, pediatrics, and adolescent health.
Virginia Lee, N, PhD
Virginia Lee is the Manager for the Supportive and Palliative Care Programs and Services and Cedars CasSupport at the MUHC. This includes the outpatient palliative care consult service / day hospital, cancer pain, medical cannabis program, lymphedema, psychosocial oncology, cancer rehabilitation, and the Complementary therapies offered to support cancer patients. She is a graduate of and has a long time history with the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University. Research program is known for helping patient adjustment to life threatening events and the existential aspects in particular.
She believes in the SBNH values and is still motivated to teach and integrate them into routine clinical care with the new challenges that evolve all the time.
Karine Lepage, B.Sc.Inf.
Karine is the Clinical-Administrative Coordinator in Oncology and Medicine at the Jewish General Hospital, Montreal. She has extensive experience in management, particularly in oncology, and a particular interest in interdisciplinary collaboration and quality of care, which was the subject of her Master’s thesis. Her interest in quality of care and employee satisfaction in the workplace pushed her to advocate for the SBNH-L approach. She is known for asking questions and optimizing the procedures already in place, and holds a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
Marie Létourneau, RN, BScN, MScN
Marie Létourneau works as an advanced practice nurse clinician in respirology at the MUHC. Her role is to provide leadership support, improve quality of care in their mission using research and education, support practice change for their teams and to provide clinical support for nurses working with families with complex health situations. She uses SBNH to facilitated complex family case discussions with nurses and looks forward to supporting integration of SBNH-L into the practice of her mentees.
Josée Lizotte, MScN
Josée Lizotte has been a nurse for almost 25 years. She has recently been appointed to a nursing practice consultant position under the nursing directorate of the MUHC. One of her mandates is to implement SBNH across all of the MUHC sites. She is discovering every day that this philosophy fits with her personally and professionally. She has always noticed and worked with the strengths of people around her. Her mantra is "we're better together"! She is known for her enthusiasm and ability to mobilize. Josée is very passionate about the nursing profession and all the learning experiences it brings us. She has a DEC in nursing, as well as an undergraduate and masters in nursing from the Université de Montréal. She worked at the bedside in acute medicine and in surgery in Switzerland for many years. She has had the opportunity to explore many leadership roles and truly enjoyed every one of them, practicing SBNH without knowing it. She worked in HR as a nurse recruiter selecting and guiding nurses in an area of care that would fit their profile. She eventually became a nurse educator, teaching and supporting the integration and development of nurses. She also developed expertise in geriatrics and worked in an advance practice nurse in the French system (Lachine hospital and CIUSSS centre-sud where she was collaborating with a team of conseillères en soins to support the professional practice of nurses in 17 CHSLD). She then had the opportunity to lead ambulatory care services and the nursing resource center of the Neuro. She is looking forward to the mentorship experience.
Lia Sanzone, N, BScN., M.Sc.(A), M.Sc.Adm (Cert.)
Lia is the Director of the BScN Program at the Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN) at McGill University. Prior to joining McGill, she held leadership/ management positions at the CLSC Metro which was later amalgamated into the CSSS de la Montagne. She is known for the Nurse Mentorship programs that she has initiated for students (NPMP), the Nightingale Fellows Program, and for being a leader in SBNH. In the last year, she was promoted to Associate Professor and granted the Nursing the Future award for her role in mentorship. Since 1989, she has practiced using an SBNH approach in her clinical, educational and leadership roles.