Lesley grew up in Barrie and completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Human Nutrition at the University of Guelph in 2012. After graduation, NOSMU’s Dietetic Practicum Program (DPP) was the perfect fit as she was looking for a practicum program that would push her outside of her comfort zone to develop skills and confidence working in diverse practice settings. From 2013 to 2024, Lesley worked as an acute care RD at Health Sciences North in Sudbury in various practice areas including critical care, medicine, and oncology. During these years, she worked closely with the DPP as a preceptor, a member of the DPP Committee, and as a contributor to many curriculum working groups. Inspired by her work with patients across Northeastern Ontario, Lesley studied at College Boreal to achieve advanced-level competency in French as a Second Language. In July 2024, Lesley embarked on a career change and is now the Chair of the School of Health and Wellness at Cambrian College in Sudbury. Lesley is currently pursuing her Master of Health Administration at Laurentian University.

Katie completed her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics at Brescia in 2012. Hoping to return to her hometown of Thunder Bay, she pursued the Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program, as this was the perfect fit to gain experience and confidence working in dietetics within northern communities. Since completing NODIP in the 2012-2013 year, Katie began a journey through many contract jobs gaining experiences in a wide variety of both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings. Remaining in Thunder Bay, Katie worked with the Regional Stroke Program as well as Diabetes Health Thunder Bay and the Centre for Complex Diabetes Care. She then obtained her Certification in Diabetes Education in 2015. Today, Katie has found her niche and works as part of an interdisciplinary team providing care to patients in Renal Services at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. This position allows her to work with patients located throughout northwestern Ontario and utilize the knowledge and skills she has gained in her career thus far.

Gill completed her BASc in Applied Human Nutrition at the University of Guelph and then went on to complete NODIP in 2013. Gill began her career as an RD working in her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie in Outpatient Nutrition Counselling and at the Diabetes Education Centre. During this time, she recognized her true passion for pediatrics and worked with management and local pediatricians on a proposal to address the lack of services available locally. Since then, she has worked as the local Community Pediatric Dietitian and provides care for children across the health care system, including neonatal intensive care, inpatient pediatrics, outpatient counselling and feeding clinics, home care and pediatric diabetes. Gill recently completed her Master of Health Management at McMaster University and was presented with the Professional Achievement Award for her graduating class in recognition of her career achievements that made a significant contribution to the area of healthcare management. Gill supported NODIP as a preceptor, workshop facilitator and research adviser. From 2017-2019, she advised on a research project in the development and evaluation of a nutrition toolkit for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Phase 1 of this project was accepted as a poster presentation at the Dietitians of Canada Annual Conference (2018) and the Northern Health Research Conference (2018). In September 2019, she started a new chapter in her life, and became an undergraduate medical student at NOSM U. In 2023, Gill commenced her Family Medicine Residency with McMaster University.