Dr. Jennifer Wyman is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, Medical Director of the Substance Use Service at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and Clinical Programs Lead with META:PHI. Her work centers the experiences of people with lived/living experience of substance use in education, research and guideline development. She has led the development of several guidelines on opioid agonist therapy as well as tools to support implementation of addiction care in emergency department and primary care settings. She is involved in evaluating the impact of changes in care on the outcomes and experience of people with opioid use disorder.

Cindy is Onondaga Snipe Clan from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, currently living in the Six Nations Grand River Territory. She has been actively engaged in her personal healing and spiritual training since 1996. She attended the State University of New York at Plattsburgh where she studied nursing and received a Bachelor of Science degree. Kawennanoron is a Ceremonial Leader and Traditional Healer and sits on the Council of Soul of the Mother; a spiritually trained and Creator-centered team, led by one of GCWP-IH’s Decision-Making Council Elders, Kahontakwas Diane Longboat, M.Ed. The Council has travelled among First Nations and across the globe to bring the Sacred Fire. As she works, she creates a sacred space for individuals to meet with spirit for healing and transformation, sharing: “If there is no love, there is no healing.” As Elder-in-Residence, Cindy provides guidance for program development and implementation of practices and protocols specific to Indigenous peoples, as well as personal consultation and mentorship to learners and staff at WCH. As a Traditional Healer, she is also available to meet with Community Members to assist them with their healing journeys, in addition to the services they receive at WCH.

Kate Hardy, MSW RSW MHSc, has worked at Women’s College Hospital since 2013 and helped found the META:PHI program in 2015. As director of META:PHI, Kate liaises with provincial agencies and raises the profile of the rapid access model, which has been adopted by over 70 clinics in Ontario, in addition to clinics in other provinces.

Dr. Meldon Kahan, MD CCFP FRCPC, is currently Medical Director of META:PHI. Dr. Kahan has written a number of peer-reviewed articles on addiction, and has been a principal or co-principal investigator on several randomized trials and observational studies. He has been extensively involved in policy and advocacy. He has helped write several guidelines on opioid agonist treatment and opioid prescribing for chronic pain, and has co-authored several handbooks and guidance documents. His main interest is the integration of addiction medicine into primary care, emergency departments, and hospital units. Dr Kahan has five grandchildren who like to remind him how old and slow he is.

Dan Werb is the Chair in Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto. He is also the Director of the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, and an associate professor with appointments at the Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, and the Division of Infectious Diseases & Global Public Health, University of California San Diego.

Tali is an Advanced Practice Nurse and the Program Manager of the Substance Use Program at The Ottawa Hospital. She has been providing substance use health care in both hospitals and community since 2017 and serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Nurses in HIV/AIDS Care and the Ottawa Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic. She was formerly the Eastern Canada representative on the board of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association.

Dr. Justin Jek-Kahn Koh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Queen's University. He completed his Addiction Medicine fellowship at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use in Vancouver, BC. He currently practices as an emergency physician and addiction medicine specialist at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. His academic interests are focused on improving emergency care for people who use substances through: implementing evidence-based care pathways; expanding access to harm reduction services and substance use treatment; addressing social determinants of health; and promoting healthcare provider behaviour change.

Lauren Morris is a Project Manager in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children, and part of the Substance Use Health Initiative team, supporting the implementation of substance use clinical practice change and education. Lauren has eight years of interdisciplinary research experience in mental health and health equity, with previous research positions with the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Defense Research and Development Canada, and Alberta Health Services.

Trish Tulloch is an Adolescent Medicine Specialist in the Division of Adolescent Medicine and Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Tulloch completed her Paediatric residency training at Ohio State University and fellowship training in Adolescent Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children. She completed a clinical fellowship in Addiction Medicine at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Dr. Tulloch is a staff physician in the Nicotine Dependence Clinic (The Intrepid Lab) at CAMH and the Hospital for Sick Children in the Division of Adolescent Medicine.  She is involved with developing youth vaping cessation clinical interventions (CAMH) and co-leads vaping related studies (SickKids and CAMH). She is the chair-elect for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada committee for the Area of Focused Competency in Addiction Medicine.

Linda Nguyen, RN, is an Interprofessional Education Specialist at The Hospital for Sick Children with over 16 years of experience. She co-leads Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education initiatives, empowering healthcare teams to deliver equitable, patient-centered care. As part of the Substance Use Health Initiative, Linda provides provider education to improve adolescent-specific substance use care. She is leading a project that amplifies patient voices to foster empathy and compassion in healthcare. Passionate about systemic change, Linda equips providers with the knowledge and skills to create more inclusive and supportive care environments

Inderpal Dosanjh is currently the Clinical Research Coordinator within Fraser Health’s Mental Health and Substance Use department focusing on strengthening capacity for impact-driven patient centred research. He completed his Master’s of Public Health at Western University in London, Ontario

Dr. Erin Grennell is a family medicine resident at the University of Toronto, currently working at Michael Garron Hospital. She completed her medical training at the University of Toronto and has a Master of Public Health from Queen’s University. Her specific research interests include public health approaches to substance use, implementation science, and medical education. She plans to focus her future practice on providing holistic and comprehensive care for patients with substance use disorders.

Mackenzie is a clinical research assistant at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She works on various projects within the Methodological and Implementation Research Program and is specifically interested in research that aims to understand and address barriers to accessing health services to contribute to meaningful change towards equitable and client centered care.  

Tianna Costa, PharmD, is a Clinical Pharmacist at CAMH specializing in concurrent disorders. She is currently the Advanced Practice Clinical Lead at the Medical Withdrawal Unit and teaches at UofT.

Dr. Monique Moller is a Staff Physician at CAMH and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. She founded the Addiction Consult Service at CAMH in 2021 and is involved in emergency care, the COMPASS outpatient program, and the Substance Use Intervention Team at UHN.

Jessica Munro, NP, has been working with the renowned IPARC program at CAMH since 2022. Jessica is an ECHO chronic pain HUB member, NP preceptor, and trained in Pain Reprocessing Therapy and Seeking Safety facilitation.

Angie Hamilton is a retired lawyer, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Families for Addiction Recovery (FAR) and the parent of a child who struggles with addiction. Angie is a member of the Policy Committee of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine and a Board Member of The Ontario Family Caregivers’ Advisory Network. Angie is or has been a member of various advisory panels for Toronto Public Health, The Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario and The Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction. She was a member of the National Board of MADD Canada and the Chair of their Public Policy Committee.

Valerie Primeau is a bilingual psychiatrist in North Bay, Ontario. Passionate about quality improvement, leadership and advocacy, she holds the positions of North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) Psychiatry Medical Director as well as Head of Service of Community Mental Health and Addictions. She is the physician lead for the RAAM clinic and the Early Intervention for Psychosis (EPI) program. She was the recipient of the NOAMA Clinical Innovation Opportunities Funding for a research project on Substance use stigma among first responders and ED staff. She sits on the Executive Committee of the Ontario Psychiatric Association (OPA), the Policy Committee of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) and is actively involved in the Section of Addiction Psychiatry at the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA). She recently became a founding board member and treasurer of the Canadian Academy for Addiction Psychiatry (CAAP).

Dr. Farihah Ali is the Scientific Lead and Node Manager for the Ontario Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters within the Institute of Mental Health Policy Research (IMHPR) at CAMH. Dr. Ali's current work focuses on substance use and addiction, harm reduction, addiction policy, and speciality-based addiction treatment to help support the development of evidence-informed interventions, and public-policy to support People Who Use Drugs.

Dr. Sameer Imtiaz is a Staff Scientist at the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and a Member of the Ontario Node of the Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse. He holds a MSc in Epidemiology from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University and a PhD in Medical Science and Addiction Studies from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. Guided by a social determinants of health perspective, he conducts epidemiological and modeling research centered on substance use and addiction, especially the evaluation of programs and policies. The end goal of this research is to inform clinical and policy interventions geared towards improving the health of people who use substances.

As a registered social worker, I was first introduced to DBT during my internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton in 2003.  After starting my current position at Joseph Brant Hospital, DBT wasn’t even on the horizon until management realized small programs could learn and run a full program simultaneously with community psychiatry.  Before full training was available I was given the opportunity to observe and participate in an ongoing group at St. Joseph’s at which time I also began to implement the skills in my own life.  When funding came through for training approximately 10 years ago, a number of staff became trained and we began to run a full program.  As the concurrent disorders clinician at Joseph Brant I also run a 15 week skills group, and have found that patients who complete more than one round of our group have the best outcome.  

Wiplove Lamba is an addiction psychiatrist who was a part of the team that started the RAAM clinic and inpatient consultation service at St. Michael’s Hospital in 2014.  He was trained in Psychiatry and completed an addiction psychiatry fellowship at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  His main work involves helping the generalist build competency in working with people who use drugs.  He has co led many skill based workshops at the local and national level, and helped build and maintain project ECHO Addiction Medicine and Psychosocial Interventions in Ontario through CAMH.

Edwin Wey is a social worker with the Addiction Consult Service at Mount Sinai Hospital. Supporting both inpatient and outpatient care with connection to resources, case management, access to psychotherapy and education for both patient and staff. Recently trained on cognitive processing therapy and looking to add more DBT into his clinical work.

Sarah began her work with the Moss Park community in 2017, responding to the overdose crisis through volunteer work in Toronto’s first unsanctioned overdose prevention site. Sarah has continued her work with the service through its transitions to a sanctioned OPS and later a CTS with an expanded scope of clinical care and non-clinical services. Sarah has twenty years’ experience working in community health care settings with priority populations across the lifespan. Sarah’s work is grounded in relational practice, attachment theory, trauma informed interventions, and restorative processes.

Erin is a Registered Nurse practicing at the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service (CTS). From 2017-2018, Erin served as a volunteer for the unsanctioned Overdose Prevention Site in Toronto's Moss Park, whose roots in direct action and community self-determination profoundly shaped Erin's Philosophy of Care in nursing practice. Erin was the 2021 recipient of the Canadian Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Award for Excellence in Advocacy, and in 2021 completed a RNAO Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowship on Leadership in CTS Nursing. Erin is currently pursuing a Masters of Nursing at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Meldon Kahan, MD CCFP FRCPC, is currently Medical Director of META:PHI. Dr. Kahan has written a number of peer-reviewed articles on addiction, and has been a principal or co-principal investigator on several randomized trials and observational studies. He has been extensively involved in policy and advocacy. He has helped write several guidelines on opioid agonist treatment and opioid prescribing for chronic pain, and has co-authored several handbooks and guidance documents. His main interest is the integration of addiction medicine into primary care, emergency departments, and hospital units. Dr Kahan has five grandchildren who like to remind him how old and slow he is.

Katie Dunham BSc Hons BScN MN NP-PHC is a primary care nurse practitioner with a background in global humanitarian aid, emergency nursing, primary-care, rapid access addiction medicine, withdrawal management in a community based live-in setting, and virtual addictions care through the Digital Front Door platform.  She acts as Nurse Practitioner Lead for Stonehenge Therapeutic Community Rapid Access Addiction Medicine and is faculty at the University of Toronto Bloomberg School of Nursing. She is passionate about expanding access to substance-related care through education, and optimizing existing care pathways through community partnerships.

Miguel Andres Hernandez-Basurto found their way into substance use and addiction work as a harm reduction and public health nurse. Through these roles, they discovered the need to elevate the voices, narratives and experiences of people living with substance use disorders.

Prior to joining CCSA in November 2021, Miguel led clinical teams through the COVID-19 pandemic. They coordinated vaccination clinics in Thunder Bay for individuals who are vulnerably housed. They also helped develop risk management strategies to respond to the constantly changing landscape that came with the first three waves of the pandemic.

Miguel has worked as a registered nurse, public health nurse, clinic nurse and primary care nurse in various Thunder Bay medical centres. They also served as quality assurance lead at Thunder Bay District Health Unit and manager of primary care, Norwest Community Health Centre. They hold a bachelor of science and nursing from Lakehead University and a master’s in public health from Memorial University.

Miguel spends their free time with two dogs and a cat (who thinks he’s a dog) and working out with friends, as well as exploring their new passion for mountain biking.

Dr. Elaine Toombs is an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology at Lakehead University. Her research primarily focuses on First Nations mental health using community-based methods, including how eHealth interventions can be used in a culturally-relevant manner with Indigenous people seeking treatment for substance use. As a co-investigator, Dr. Toombs has held over 1.5 million dollars in research funding to date, and has published over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts in a variety of scientific journals on topics related to First Nation mental health, resilience, and wellbeing. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Toombs is a registered clinical psychologist at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care and provides on-reserve assessment, intervention, and consultation services for First Nation children, adolescents, and adults in the Robinson Superior Treaty Area.

Kate Turner is an Evaluation & CQI Coordinator with Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and a lead on the BIRCH project.

Charlotte Munro, based in Stratford, Ontario, is a dedicated advocate for equitable healthcare and support services. Drawing on her extensive lived and professional experiences, Charlotte has been actively involved in patient engagement for several years. She has co-authored opioid-related research publications, advised on drug policy, and contributed her expertise to various mental health and substance use advisory boards, committees, and lived experience groups.  Charlotte’s work is driven by a commitment to addressing social inequalities and promoting trauma-informed, harm reduction approaches. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Indigenous Social Work and holds a diploma in Child and Youth Work. In addition, Charlotte is a group facilitator with Pay What You Can Peer Support (PWYCPS), a non-profit organization providing accessible, low-barrier peer support for mental health and addiction challenges.

Dr. Adam Newman practiced full scope family medicine in Sioux Lookout and Kingston for 20 years before obtaining Certification from the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine in 2013. Since then his practice has been focused on Addiction Medicine and Harm Reduction exclusively, including perinatal addictions and substance use. He is the Most Responsible Physician for opioid dependent mothers and infants rooming-in at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), where he is also a member of the Substance Treatment And Rehabilitation Team (START), which provides Addiction Medicine consultation and treatment for inpatients at KHSC.

Dr. Snider-Adler is an Addiction Medicine Physician, Medical Review Officer and co-author on a published review and book chapter related to cannabis for medical use and impairment risk. Dr. Snider-Adler has been qualified as an expert providing reports and testimony at many Canadian hearings and court cases. Her passion lies in education, and she is a regular speaker at Canadian and international conferences, addressing topics such as fitness for duty, workplace substance use, medication safety (including medical cannabis), fitness for duty, drug testing and substance use disorder diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Katie Dunham BSc Hons BScN MN NP-PHC is a primary care nurse practitioner with a background in global humanitarian aid, emergency nursing, primary-care, rapid access addiction medicine, withdrawal management in a community based live-in setting, and virtual addictions care through the Digital Front Door platform.  She acts as Nurse Practitioner Lead for Stonehenge Therapeutic Community Rapid Access Addiction Medicine and is faculty at the University of Toronto Bloomberg School of Nursing. She is passionate about expanding access to substance-related care through education, and optimizing existing care pathways through community partnerships.

A first-generation Canadian, I am deeply passionate about supporting my community. My journey began working part-time in recreation, helping youth access extracurricular activities and low-barrier resources. This sparked my interest in community-based work, leading to an undergraduate degree in International Development from the University of Guelph, with a focus on the Canadian context, and a graduate certificate in Youth Justice and Interventions from Durham College. Over the past five years, I've worked extensively with vulnerable populations aged 15+, holding various roles in the field. I am currently completing my master’s degree at Yorkville University, I am awaiting my RP (Qualifying) designation and will begin working under a psychotherapist’s supervision in May 2025.

Jason Perfect is a dedicated Peer Support Worker and has been working with Stonehenge Therapeutic Community since 2022, bringing lived experience and compassion into the role. With a strong commitment to supporting others while they navigate their journeys, Jason provides guidance, empathy, and encouragement to individuals looking to overcome substance use challenges. Jason specializes in fostering trust and connection, empowering folks to develop healthy coping strategies and achieve personal goals. His work is informed by formal training in Peer Support as well as a deep understanding of the recovery process. Passionate about breaking stigma and building hope, he is a valued member of the recovery community and an advocate for lasting change.

Dr. Jennifer Wyman is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, Medical Director of the Substance Use Service at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and Clinical Programs Lead with META:PHI. Her work centers the experiences of people with lived/living experience of substance use in education, research and guideline development. She has led the development of several guidelines on opioid agonist therapy as well as tools to support implementation of addiction care in emergency department and primary care settings. She is involved in evaluating the impact of changes in care on the outcomes and experience of people with opioid use disorder.

Andrew McLeod is a Registered Social Service Worker and an Addictions Counsellor as well as a person with lived experience who accessed methadone for nearly 2 decades.  Andrew works as a community consultant for META:PHI, and as a Social Service Worker and Addictions Counsellor for Alpha House and Renascent.

Dr. Kim Corace, PhD, C.Psych. is the Program Director of Evidence-Based Evaluation & Clinical Programming in the Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders and Clinical Programs at The Ottawa Hospital, Vice-President of Innovation & Senior Scientist at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Ottawa, Clinical Investigator at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and  a Clinical Health Psychologist. Through her roles, she partners with providers, agencies, and people with lived expertise to provide strategic leadership for mental health and substance use health system transformation and integration, including innovation in service delivery models. Her work focuses on reducing stigma, increasing access to care, and improving substance use health and mental health outcomes.

Tali is an Advanced Practice Nurse and the Program Manager of the Substance Use Program at The Ottawa Hospital. She has been providing substance use health care in both hospitals and community since 2017 and serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Nurses in HIV/AIDS Care and the Ottawa Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic. She was formerly the Eastern Canada representative on the board of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association.

Ashley Smoke is the Team Lead of the REDPath Project at NWAC, Cofounder of ONPUD and Lived Experience Engagement Consultant with PHAC and co-Chair of Health Canada’s PWLLE of Substance Use Council, among other positions and research affiliations.

Dr. Pamela Leece practices clinically in substance use at Women’s College Hospital (WCH), The Works, and Kickstart Medical. She also works as a consulting Public Health Physician with the Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention (HPCDIP) department at Public Health Ontario.  She is an Assistant Professor cross-appointed with the Department of Family and Community Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at University of Toronto. In her current role as a WIHV Innovation Fellow at WCH, her research focuses on population health and health systems research on substance use.

Andrew Nash is a survivor. Born to abusive parents, he was removed from their care as a toddler and grew up cycling through group homes. He began using drugs at age 16, and became homeless for four years at age 24. Since then, through many treatment programs and therapy, he learned a new way of living, shedding his victimization past and taking his power back. Now working as a Peer Support Worker with The Neighbourhood Group at UHN emergency departments, Andrew has found his calling. Through his lived experience and trauma-informed approach, Andrew is proud to offer hope, compassion, and encouragement to others who are struggling. This is what Peers do.

My name is Nerissa MacLean. I have been employed with TNG community services Urban Health and Homelessness sector, since 2020. My journey started in the Covid Isolation Hotel program as a peer support specialist. During this period, I quickly transferred to The Toronto General hospital and The Toronto Western Hospital Emergency departments. I relied heavily on my lived experience to support individuals in the ED. My present role as a follow up worker at the Community Stabilization Connection Centre involves working collaboratively with peer support specialists within TNG, supporting our most vulnerable community members.

Dr. Sarah Whynot is a family physician with enhanced skills training Emergency Medicine and Addiction Medicine, completed at the University of Toronto. Her clinical practice, based in Toronto, includes Emergency Medicine, inpatient Addiction Medicine consultations, and RAAM clinic. Dr. Whynot is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and serves as the Education Lead for the Division of Mental Health & Addiction. Outside of her clinical and academic roles, she is a proud mother of two toddlers, a classically trained pianist, and a mediocre but enthusiastic runner.

Bio: Dr. Jennifer Ng earned her medical degree from the University of Alberta and completed her family medicine residency at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. After residency, she completed her addiction medicine fellowship with the British Columbia Centre for Substance Use.

Presently, Dr. Ng is a clinical lecturer with the University of Toronto and practices both addiction medicine and family medicine. Driven by a passion for acute care medicine, she currently works on various inpatient addiction medicine consultation services in Toronto, ON and in Edmonton, AB. Outside of medicine, you can find her at dog parks and coffee shops.

Dr. Carolyn Lemsky is a board certified neuropsychologist with 25 years of experience working in rehabilitation settings in the U.S. and Canada. For the past 15 years she has been the Clinical Director at Community Head Injury Resource Services (CHIRS) of Toronto—a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care funded agency designed to promote community re-integration of persons living with the effects of acquired brain injury. At CHIRS she maintains an active clinical practice along with her administrative, research and training activities.
For the past nine years she has been the director of the Substance Use and Brain Injury Bridging Project, a research and knowledge transfer initiative funded by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation. Along with her partners at the Center for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) she has trained over 2000 mental health, addictions and ABI providers in basic skills needed to promote the development of more accessible addictions programming for people living with Substance Abuse and ABI. The SUBI program is responsible for initiating screening for brain injury at CAMH, and the first Canadian pilot treatment program for co-morbid ABI and addiction. Products of the SUBI project include a provider’s training manual, and client workbook.

Wiplove Lamba is an addiction psychiatrist who was a part of the team that started the RAAM clinic and inpatient consultation service at St. Michael’s Hospital in 2014.  He was trained in Psychiatry and completed an addiction psychiatry fellowship at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  His main work involves helping the generalist build competency in working with people who use drugs.  He has co led many skill based workshops at the local and national level, and helped build and maintain project ECHO Addiction Medicine and Psychosocial Interventions in Ontario through CAMH.

Walker is a Peer Support Worker at Women’s College Hospital’s Substance Use Clinic, where she brings her lived experience to provide compassionate and informed support to others. She is deeply passionate about assisting individuals on their journeys through addiction recovery, mental health challenges, accessing affirming medical care, and navigating government and housing systems. Drawing from her personal insights, Walker advocates for the value of non-clinical perspectives in clinical settings, emphasizing their role in fostering understanding and trust between service users and providers. Her work focuses on creating supportive, person-centered care that empowers individuals to achieve their goals.

Susan Dobson (pronouns: She/Her/Hers) has had a long-standing passion and interest in addressing issues of social justice. Susan brings a unique perspective to her work, as a person with lived experiences of mental health distress as well as a person with lived experience as a family member of a psychiatric consumer/survivor.   Susan has been working in the social services field in the GTA for more than 20 years.

Trained as a Peer Supporter in 2011, Susan has been the Executive Director for the Krasman Centre for the last 10 years. Krasman Centre is a community-based Mental Health and Addictions agency offering a wide range of Peer Support-based programs.

Dr. Pamela Leece practices clinically in substance use at Women’s College Hospital (WCH), The Works, and Kickstart Medical. She also works as a consulting Public Health Physician with the Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention (HPCDIP) department at Public Health Ontario.  She is an Assistant Professor cross-appointed with the Department of Family and Community Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at University of Toronto. In her current role as a WIHV Innovation Fellow at WCH, her research focuses on population health and health systems research on substance use.

Esther Tailfeathers, born and raised on the Blood Reserve. Graduated from University of North Dakota School of Medicine, completed her Family Medicine Residency in Edmonton at the University of Alberta.  Has worked in many Native communities including The Blackfeet Reservation in the Emergency Room, the Blood Reserve for almost 20 years, and served the remote northern community of Fort Chipewyan.  She was the Medical Lead of the Indigenous Wellness Core for AHS until June of 2023.  She is most proud of organizing a relief mission to Haiti after the earthquake, a team made up of Blood Tribe paramedics, nurses and health care workers which took care of more than 2000 patients during their relief effort.

Most recently she has worked with her community in response to the Fentanyl Crisis which started in the fall of 2014.The Opioid Crisis and community strategies of Harm Reduction, Treatment and addressing upstream determinants in her home community has been where the concentration of her work over the last 10 years.

She is most proud of her 2 Children; Elle-Maija Tailfeathers who is an award-winning actor and filmmaker winning Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Night Raiders and most recently Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a dramatic series for Little Bird; and Piinaakoyim Seen From Afar, who is a tribal council member for Blood Tribe and who recently won the heavyweight title in Boxing at a recent Tournament.