Chair

Nicole is a professor in the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Nursing and Cumming School of Medicine in pediatrics, psychiatry, and community health sciences departments. She is also research chair in parent and child mental health, director of RESOLVE Alberta, and principal investigator of the CHILD Studies program.

Nicole was recognized for her leadership in receiving the Canadian Nurses Association’s Jeanne Mance Award for contributions to the health of Canadians and induction into the American Academy of Nursing. She has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and three books on parenting and child health and development.

Councillor, Registered Nurse 

A nurse for over 15 years, Amy is an active nursing leader, speaking at conferences and leadership seminars. She is the founder and CEO of the International Network of Nurse Leaders, which brings together nurses from all over the globe to strengthen nursing leadership and advance the profession. Amy is also the host of the Shift Change podcast for nurse leaders featuring advice and stories from incredible nurses.

She also works as the director, health professions for the Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) and is passionate about rural primary care, perinatal & women's health and equitable access to healthcare in rural areas.

Councillor, Registered Nurse 

Originally from Yellowknife, Ashley now lives in Grande Prairie and works as a flow nurse in the emergency department. One of Ashley’s focus is being an advocate for harm reduction. In her current role, Ashley was instrumental in advocating for Naloxone kits in her department. 

Ashley is a UNA advocate, and her efforts have gained extra staffing on nights within her unit. An active volunteer within her community, Ashley has participated in her community’s sexual assault/domestic violence response team and assisted with mock disaster scenarios. She is also a member of the National Emergency Nurses Association – Alberta Chapter. 

Councillor, Registered Nurse 

Ashna is a staff educator and nursing supervisor for Red Deer Hospice Society. For the last 14 years, she was a nursing instructor at Red Deer College for the University of Alberta bachelor of science in nursing program. At the start of her career, she has worked in areas of surgical oncology at the Foothills Medical Center, palliative care, general surgery, ICU at the Peter Lougheed and ER at the Red Deer Regional Hospital. She has served on many nursing and community committees including:

• Provincial board of directors for the Alberta School Councils’ Association
• Learning resources committee at Red Deer College
• Faculty association Red Deer College Council
• Collaborative committee for University of Alberta on Quality Assurance

Councillor, Registered Nurse 

Derrick is actively engaged in provincial and national health issues. He is dedicated​ to advancing the nursing profession in Alberta and to finding innovative ways of delivering care that will enhance quality and the healthcare experience for every Albertan. His experience has given him the skills to build partnerships that can advance policy, regulation, and legislation to support high-quality health services. He enjoys designing and scaling up provincial-level programs that lead to better health outcomes for Albertans.  

Derrick’s clinical background includes orthopedics and emergency. He currently works at Alberta Health as a nurse consultant and is a co-chair of the Public Health Agency of Canada vaccine vigilance working group.

Councillor, Public Representative 

Jill holds baccalaureate degrees in both nursing and law. She began her nursing career as a practical nurse while pursuing her diploma in nursing, later returning to university to complete her bachelor of nursing degree. After fourteen years, she left nursing to pursue a career in law. Her legal practice has included health law and patient safety policy development, administrative law, family law and civil litigation. She is also an experienced adjudicator having presided over trials and hearings as a justice of the peace in the Provincial Court of Alberta and as the chair of two Alberta administrative tribunals. She is an active community volunteer in grief support programs and with children facing life-threatening illnesses.

Councillor, Public Representative 

JoAnn is health-care professional with 20 years’ experience in health-care project management and planning. JoAnn has provided leadership roles in emergency medical services cancer control, population public health and now supports the Chief Medical Informatics Office.

JoAnn is a registered advanced care paramedic, holds a project management / change management designation and is completing her masters of management (MM) at the Faculty of Business at UBCO.

Other board experience includes the Grande Prairie Public School District and the Alberta Insurance Rate Board.

Councillor, Registered Nurse 

A former emergency nurse, Justin is an instructor and master's graduate student in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. An innovative leader, Justin is immersed in education, leadership, and governance and offers extensive committee experience serving as chair at both student and professional levels. He holds graduate certifications in leadership for health systems transformation and healthcare innovation and design.

Councillor, Public Representative 

Having garnered substantive commercial, financial and risk management experience in the private sector, Kim is now deploying this experience within the not-for-profit health sector. Kim is currently a board member and vice-chair of the Canadian Spondylitis Association and remains a finance committee member of the Canadian Liver Foundation, having earlier been a board member from 2010 to 2020.

Councillor, Public Representative 

Dr. Peter Obiefuna is a lawyer and managing counsel at Arizen Law, Edmonton. Peter has experience sitting on the Municipal Government Board, the Edmonton Police Service chief's advisory council committee, and other community-based committees.

Peter has university experience in medical and nursing education, biomedical research, and industry experience in computer science. Peter holds a PhD in physiology (Lagos), an MS in computer science (East Carolina, USA) and an LLB (Hons; London, England).

Councillor, Public Representative 

Scott retired from Syncrude Canada Ltd., where he held senior management positions in finance, internal audit, strategic project development and corporate business control. Scott is the former chairman of the Northern Lights Regional Health Authority in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo; was the vice president of the Alberta Senior Communities Association, and a board member of both West Wind Communities and the Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation.

Councillor, Public Representative 

Steven brings extensive life experience as a leader, soldier and humanitarian. He has dedicated himself to teaching others to lead and shares his insights through keynote speeches, workshops, coaching and consulting.

Councillor, Public Representative 

Susan is a recognized business leader experienced at building and leading collaborative teams to leverage technology for clients and partners to realize positive business outcomes. Client relationships, business transformation, technology, and general management skills gleaned from a career of varied experiences and roles in the information technology industry.  Noted for her tenacity to fairness, advocacy for inclusion, and mentorship of young adults to pay it forward, she remains a lifelong learner and is passionate about health and wellness. 

Councillor, Registered Nurse 

Sue is a faculty instructor with the School of Health and Wellness at Bow Valley College and is a registered nurse with psychiatric emergency services at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Active in the disability community, Sue co-founded ENABLE, a social enterprise that matches people with disability to support workers.

Sue holds baccalaureate degrees in science and nursing, and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Calgary.

Councillor, Registered Nurse