2017 NICHE Conference

Justine Jecker

Justine Jecker, MSc. OT, BScKin, is a practicing occupational therapist, having received both her undergraduate and master’s degrees at McMaster University. She is currently working at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (Lakehead University) in Interprofessional Education, while also pursuing her PhD studies in the field of Educational Leadership at Lakehead University. Her areas of expertise include forensic and community mental health, as well as a focus on increasing healthcare access to those living in rural and remote First Nation communities. Her two little passions in life are her children, Valentine and Alexandre, who provide daily inspiration in the pursuit of achieving truth and reconciliation with our northern First Nation communities.

Ken Steele

More than 25,000 higher education professionals across Canada and the US have come to rely on Ken Steele as a definitive source of breaking news, bright ideas and insight into student trends, technological innovation, strategic planning, branding and recruitment marketing.  He has consulted with hundreds of colleges and universities, helping them interpret market research, understand their competitive context, and develop distinctive institutional strategies and brand positions using his proprietary Brand Chemistry™ model.

Ken brings his comprehensive perspective to a broad range of audiences hundreds of times a year, from boards and senior administration, to faculty and support staff, concerned parents, government policy analysts and Canada’s most powerful corporate CEOs.  His presentations provide dynamic “big picture” context for any conference or workshop, and are always timely, customized, dynamic and packed with data and best practices from an astounding range of sources. Clients rave about the impact of these presentations, and the conversations that result.

Ken’s unique perspective has been shaped by award-winning careers spanning 4 decades, first as a humanities computing researcher and Shakespeare instructor, then an IT consultant, ad agency creative director, and ultimately a higher education market research analyst and brand consultant. In 2003, he conceived and co-founded Academica Group, a market research firm doing some of the largest postsecondary consumer surveys in the world, and created the Top Ten, which has become Canada’s leading higher ed news daily.  Ken left Academica in 2012 to focus on his public speaking and facilitation work under the new name Eduvation. He hosts an almost-weekly webcast, Ten with Ken, which explores emerging trends, bright ideas, and higher ed marketing. Ken has published dozens of articles and white papers on postsecondary students and branding, and co-authored Canada’s first book on strategic enrolment management.

In recent years, Ken has delivered keynotes at more than 70 conferences, nationally and internationally, facilitated more than 50 board meetings and leadership retreats, and presented workshops and lectures at almost 100 college, university, or independent school campuses. He speaks on a wide range of topics encompassing social and demographic trends, student attitudes and perceptions, recruitment marketing and institutional branding, student retention and enrolment management, and innovations in teaching and learning.

These biographies (listed below in alphabetical order by last name) have been provided by the speakers.

Dr. Tara Baldisera

Dr. Tara Baldisera is a family physician with a focused practice in interdisciplinary concussion management. She is the Medical Director of Sudbury Sport and Exercise Medicine – Concussion Clinic, a medically supervised interdisciplinary concussion management team. She is also co-lead in a Laurentian University Interdisciplinary Concussion Management study of Varsity Athletes funded through a NOAMA grant. She is an Associate Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and is the Undergraduate Medical Education Chair of Clinical and Communication Skills.

Lise Bonin

Lise Bonin is a professor at Collège Boréal in Sudbury. Lise has been involved in clinical simulation and research emphasizing the importance of interprofessional collaboration for patient/client centred care for residents living in northern and rural populations. Lise has been an active leader in collaboration with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine since 2009.

Steve Cairns

Steve Cairns is an Assistant Professor at Nipissing University within the online RPN to BScN Blended Nursing Program. He holds a MEd in Educational Philosophy from the University of British Columbia, a BEd from the University of Toronto and a BSc in Nursing from McMaster University. Steve has explored a duel career as a nurse and teacher through a variety of work experiences among diverse cultural groups within Canada and overseas. Steve specializes in cultural competency in health care and professional development in nursing. As an on-line educator, Steve facilitates innovative use of synchronous interprofessional learning opportunities to engage students. His current research interests include using a lens of relational inquiry within technology enabled learning among undergraduate nursing students. Steve enjoys an active lifestyle in all seasons with his family in Muskoka, Ontario.

Emily Donato

Emily Donato, R.N., B.Sc.N., M.Ed., PhD (Candidate) is an Assistant Professor in the Laurentian University School of Nursing and is also a student in the Ph.D. in Rural and Northern Health Program at Laurentian University. Areas of research interest include self-directed learning, blended and technology enhanced learning, continuing education, and inter-professional education.

Kathryn Ewers

Kathryn Ewers, RN, MSN, M.Ed., is an Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Collaborative BScN program at Nipissing University in North Bay. She is a member of the nursing curriculum committee and is completing her PhD studies in education at Nipissing University. She is president of the Nipissing Chapter of the RNAO and has experience implementing best practice guidelines.

Jenni Hayman

Jenni Hayman is a learning designer and Program Manager with eCampusOntario. She has significant experience supporting higher education faculty members and learners to create engaging experiences in online and technology-enhanced contexts. Jenni is also an Ed.D candidate at Arizona State University with a dissertation focus on the use of open educational resources (OER) in Ontario. You can follow her on LinkedIn or Twitter: @jennihayman

Carolyn Hill

Carolyn Hill resides in North-Western Ontario. She started her career in health care as a Personal Support Worker in 2007. She then graduated as a Practical Nurse in 2013 currently furthering her education by completing the RPN to BScN Blended Learning Program through the Nipissing University. Her ten years of experience has been gained in six years of long term care, and four years of medical surgical patient care in a northwestern Ontario health centre.

Shannon Kenrick-Rochon

Shannon Kenrick-Rochon is a Nurse Practitioner with a specialty in Primary Care that currently works in the community with a focus on concussion. She is currently the case manager with the Sudbury Sport and Exercise Medicine-Concussion Clinic. Shannon has been involved in post-emergency department concussion follow up and unique opportunities to enhance continuity of care. Shannon completed an Advanced Clinical Fellowship focusing on concussion with the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.

Laura Killam

Laura Killam is an advocate for safe, effective clinical education. Her research has been centered around student perceptions of their learning. Recently she has turned to examining IPE as a method of improving clinical experiences.

Kathy King

Kathy King teaches Community Health Nursing in the Nipissing/Canadore BScN program. She has a keen interest in injury prevention and has worked with many community health-care providers and community partners on injury prevention projects.

Dr. Bryan MacLeod

Dr. Bryan MacLeod is a family physician with a focused practice in chronic pain, and Physician Lead of St. Joseph’s care group chronic pain management program. He is currently the only full-time pain physician in Northwestern Ontario. He is the Primary Investigator for PainResearchNWO. He is past Director of Palliative Care for the Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre, Regional Cancer Program. Academically he is a very active Associate Professor with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. He was the outgoing Director of Faculty Development for the Northern Ontario Medical Program (McMaster), and the incoming one for NOSM.

Larry McLeod-Shabogesic

Larry McLeod-Shabogesic was born in Garden Village on Nipissing Reserve in April of 1945.  He is one of eighteen children.  He has retained many of the Traditional skills, one of them being his Ojibwe language.  Mr. McLeod teaches much of his subject matter by using arts and crafts as a vehicle to promote learning. The arts and crafts include birch bark canoe making, snowshoes, rebuilding dwellings (longhouses) and birch and ash baskets.  He is a gifted story teller and knows the history of native people pre and post contact, from the native as well as the written perspective.  For many summers he has taught and directed Summer Native Youth Programs.  Mr. McLeod is a person that can understand and walk both ways of life.  He has a B.A. in History and Native Studies, a Social Counselling Certificate and an Ontario Teaching Certificate.  He was raised Roman Catholic and is able to consolidate these teachings.  Mr. McLeod also carries many of the ceremonies and is able to do medicine lodge teachings.

Dr. Jennifer Nash

Dr. Jennifer V. Nash completed her Bachelor of Health Science (Hons) degree at McMaster University in 2004 and her Doctor of Chiropractic Degree at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 2008.  Jennifer joined a multidisciplinary clinic upon graduation and has worked alongside physicians, nurses, naturopaths, registered massage therapists and social workers since that time.  She is certified in providing Active Release Technique (ART) and Graston Technique (GT) soft tissue therapies and the provision of the Goodlife with Osteoarthritis in Denmark (GLA:D) Canada neuromuscular exercise and education program. In 2009 completed an internship at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland as the second even chiropractor to be accepted. Jennifer began as an instructor/facilitator in the well-known Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) Program at McMaster University in 2012; she is now an Assistant Professor and facilitates several courses at all levels of the program with a focus on inquiry based learning and group process; also created a new undergraduate course on pain in 2013.  She is passionate about interprofessional education and collaboration and is one of the Faculty Leads for the Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research (PIPER) at McMaster.  In addition Jennifer works as a consultant to the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) contributing to outreach, advocacy and health policy related work.

Emily Oldreive

Emily Oldreive is a Registered Nurse currently working at the North Bay Regional Health Centre in North Bay. Emily graduated from Nipissing University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2016. Emily was one of the Head Coordinators of Nursing Games 2017 hosted at Nipissing University. Along with the help of 7 other Nipissing BScN students, Emily worked to make Nursing Games a success. The Nursing Games focused on the use of competitive gaming and simulation within the current BScN curriculum. Nursing Games saw 217 nursing student’s from across Ontario come to North Bay to compete in the Nursing Games, and the submitted abstract is the result of the survey of participants conducted after the Nursing Games.

Laurie Peachey

Laurie Peachey has nursing experience in perinatal and pediatric nursing while also enjoying various roles in nursing education since 2004. Currently working as assistant professor with the School of Nursing, Laurie teaches in the collaborative nursing program at Nipissing University and Canadore College. Laurie has completed the Canadian Nurses’ Association’s certification in perinatal nursing and she has subsequently developed several components of maternal child nursing in the curriculum in the format of classroom lecture, online delivery, simulation lab and clinical practicum experiences. She has integrated the classroom and lab settings to prepare students for a clinical practicum in the collaborative program that includes a two-day maternal child simulation experience combined with traditional practicum hours. In her doctoral thesis, phenomenology is used to examine the lived experience of new graduates after their final practicum, which incorporated traditional experiences with the use of maternal child simulation. Her research interests are rooted in practice education to include the use of maternal child simulation and the transition of new graduates entering practice.

Cindy Peltier

Dr. Cindy Peltier is Anishinaabe-kwe with familial connections to both Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory and Nipissing Nation. Recently appointed as Chair in Indigenous Education at Nipissing University, she will lead the process of Indigenization – a term understood widely to mean the respectful inclusion of Indigenous knowledge to enhance learning. Dr. Peltier will support a diverse research culture at Nipissing. Prior to accepting the position at Nipissing University, she worked with northeastern Ontario Anishinaabe communities for more than fifteen years as an educator, principal, educational consultant, and post-doctoral research fellow with the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research at Laurentian University. Dr. Peltier’s own research focuses on Anishinaabe mino bimaadiziwin, the experiences of Anishinaabe with cancer and the use of Indigenous healing. She has extended this work more broadly to the concept of Indigenous wellness. In her work, she strives for equity in health and education while sharing the critical importance of the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in these processes.

Dr. David Porter

Dr. David Porter is the Chief Exeutive Officer at eCampusOntario, Canadian Network for Innovation in Education: CNIE-RCIE, and the Open Education Resource Foundation. eCampusOntario.ca is the primary face of the Ontario Online Learning Consortium (OOLC), a not-for-profit corporation whose membership is composed of all publicly-funded colleges and universities in Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Dielle Raymond

Dr. Dielle Raymond grew up outside of Powassan, Ontario, graduating from Almaguin Highlands Secondary School. She received her Honor’s Bachelor degree in Journalism from Carleton University in 1997, and then moved to the West Coast to pursue a career in private investigation and law. Through her own healing journey and inspiring interactions with naturopathic doctors, Dr. Raymond decided to become a naturopath herself! She moved to Toronto, Ontario, to take a specialized scientific preparatory program, and then her fouryear diploma, at The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Raymond completed a year-long pediatric-focused internship at The Robert Schad Naturopathic Clinic, and particularly enjoys working with children. She is also a certified Reiki Master. She has experience working with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, people with intellectual disabilities (Community Living), crisis counseling, and educating children. She is a member of The Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors, and The Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors. Dr. Raymond served on the Health and Social Services Committee for the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative, and currently serves on the Quality Assurance Committee of the regulatory body for the profession, The College of Naturopaths of Ontario, after serving a full term as the Councillor for her district in Ontario. Dr. Raymond also offers guest lectures and hosts her own cooking classes. Clients include the Ontario Ministry of Health, the Department of National Defence, Nipissing University School of Nursing, MS Society of Canada, gd2go, TOPS Weight Loss Groups, Living Fit North Bay, Trinity United Church, The Pat Haufe Food Summit, O’Hana Yoga and Wellness Centre, and the CTS Canadian Career College (Pharmacy Technician Program).

Lee Rysdale

Lee Rysdale is a Registered Dietitian with over 30 years of experience in clinical, community and public health settings. She has also worked for the provincial government and is a community-based researcher. She is an Assistant Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) which includes the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP) where she oversees the research and evaluation curriculum. She is also responsible for the development and implementation of Indigenous cultural competency curriculum for allied health learners. Lee will share an interprofessional initiative to integrate Indigenous health and cultural competencies into the training and practices of future allied health practitioners.

Stephanie Swiergosz

Stephanie Swiergosz is a third year medical student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sudbury, Ontario. She is originally from Larder Lake, Ontario. During her first two years of Undergraduate Medical Education she was an executive member of the Laurentian Interprofessional Health Council. She has a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University in Kinesiology. During her time there she volunteered in many initiatives regarding food insecurity and the social determinants of health. She is passionate about preventative medicine and holistic health care. This passion naturally lead her into learning more about interprofessional health education and what can be done at a student level to support optimum health care team functioning in the future. Stephanie is interested in Family Medicine and is hoping to remain in Northern Ontario for the remainder of her schooling and future practice.

Dr. Theresa Turmel

Dr. Theresa Trumel is an Anishinaabe-kwe from Michipicoten First Nation. She completed the program requirements of the Ph.D. Program: Indigenous Studies from Trent University, and graduated September 13, 2013. Her dissertation titled, Gaagnig Pane Chiyaayong: Forever We Will Remain: Reflections and Memories: ‘Resiliency’ Concerning the Walpole Island Residential School Survivors Group, is the hallmark of significant learnings of a twenty plus year relationship she has fostered with the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA) and its offspring, the Walpole Island Residential School Survivor Group (WIRSSG). Her dissertation is a participatory, community-based partnership with the WIRSSG whereby she discovers mnidoo bemaasing bemaadiziwin and offers an Anishinaabe perspective of resiliency. Her most significant research work has been working with Indian residential school survivors in a special project capacity and a critical analysis of resiliency theory. Theresa has also been employed by First Nations’ organizations within the healthcare field, and has been employed by Canadore College teaching Indigenous Wellness and researching Indigenous Quality Assurance.