Cynthia Bell
Toronto Region
Biimskwaa Niibiish (Turning Leaf) is also known as Cynthia Bell-Clayton. From the Loon Clan, she is originally from Turtle Island; however, through colonial constructs of reservations, her family are now members of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Indian Reserve. She has been working with her community in many capacities over the past 32 years and supporting youth to understand the importance of culture and language through ceremonies and learning resources. Upon her arrival to Toronto, she quickly settled into the city and began to support her community as cultural programmer, executive assistant, and youth mental health and addictions program manager with ENAGB (“Eshkiniigjik Naandwechigegamig – A Place for Healing Our Youth” – “Aabiish Gaa Binjibaaying – Where Did We Come From?”), while also with the Native Canadian Centre. She is now Executive Director at ENAGB where she, alongside youth, is rebuilding ENAGB as its own agency.
Crystal Chin
Toronto Region
Crystal Chin utilizes her lived and learned experiences as a racialized, young female immigrant living with both visible and invisible disabilities to bring forward the voice and perspective of youth facing intersectional barriers to decision-making tables across the province. A user of and advocate for home care service, Crystal has served in various capacities and for many organizations, including Community Care Access Centres, the Centre for Independent Living Toronto, Patients Canada, the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health and PANORAMA (an Ontario-wide wide citizens’ advisory group). At the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, she previously held the role of co-chair of the Youth Advisory Council and was a foundation ambassador
Most recently, she completed roles with the Standards Development Committee in tertiary care services through Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility.
Crystal is currently involved in the Citizenship Advisory Group, as well as Health Standards Organization as part of Accreditation Canada. She is also a patient partner of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Ontario Brain Institute.
Sangeeta Chopra-Charron (Co-Chair)
Central Region
Sangeeta Chopra-Charron has more than 30 years of experience delivering strategic initiatives for financial service organizations. She served on the 2010/11 board of directors for Peel Children's Centre and Nexus Youth Services. Her experience includes acting as mediator for the Region of Peel, president of a non-profit organization, as well as co-chair of parent councils in both the primary and secondary public-school systems. In addition to her lived experience as both a patient and care partner, she has been involved in many Ontario Health initiatives as a patient advisor. Here, she has worked on the Central Region Patient Family Advisory Council, the Access and Flow Table, and the Ontario Health Team Performance Working Group. She considers volunteering for Ontario Health as essential to help give back to the wider community by using both her personal and professional experiences.
Clare Cruickshank
West Region
Clare Cruickshank was an inaugural member of the Canadian Cancer Society’s patient/survivor/caregiver reviewer program and participated as a lead patient reviewer evaluating grant proposals. She joined the society’s Advisory Council on Research in April 2024. She is also a patient advisor for Patient Expertise in Research Collaboration. Motivated by her personal experiences, Clare focuses on continuous education and lifelong volunteerism. She is committed to improving the quality of life of individuals with chronic health conditions. She is interested in improving patient engagement, equity and inclusion, and quality of life in survivorship.
Natalie del Signore
East Region
Natalie del Signore is a former registered nurse who worked in acute care and research, for both adult and pediatric care. She is a strong advocate for marginalized people who face serious challenges when accessing health care, including newcomers to Canada who experience language barriers. She is also a parent advocate. Her focus is on the very under-represented pediatric voice, especially in the areas of mental health, complex care and chronic pain. She works with many organizations, including Solutions for Kids in Pain and Centre for Advancing Collaborative Healthcare & Education. She is also a patient reviewer for The British Medical Journal. She enjoys yoga and meditation and offers classes as a volunteer to women and children in shelters in and around Ottawa.
Barbara Dolanjski
West Region
Barbara Dolanjski is an instrumental music teacher and four-time sepsis survivor. She was diagnosed with a blood disorder from an early age and has been a regular patient within the health care system for almost 30 years. Barbara began volunteering as a patient and family advisor with Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton Health Team, and the Ontario Renal Network. After surviving a coma, Barbara spent a year on dialysis. She is currently awaiting a kidney transplant. Barbara recently graduated from a continuing education program at McMaster University through Sepsis Canada. She is now a sepsis-patient scientist, one of the first three in Canada, and a published study author. Her goal is to improve patient care through education.
Joan Duke
North West Region
Joan Duke became involved with the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Committee when personal family health experiences led to a desire to influence improvements in the health system. Her interest is in patient-centred care and recognizing the value of the patient stories. She is presently a member of several patient and family advisory committees, including with the Ministry of Health, Thunder Bay Regional Hospital and Ontario Health atHome. She is also very active in the Noojmawing Sookatagaing (Healing Together) Health Team located in Thunder Bay and the district. She actively volunteers with senior centres, Age Friendly Thunder Bay and a classical music group. She also raises funds for cultural groups such as the local theatre, the Victoria Order of Nurses and The Friends of the Library. Joan sees her community volunteer activities as a valuable way to gather community and patient stories that help her to advocate for change. She embeds equity, diversity and inclusion in all her work.
Holly Harris
East Region
Holly Harris is a research professional who leverages her lived experiences of mental health system encounters to inform the development, delivery and research of mental health initiatives. She has a Master’s degree in Critical Disability Studies and a certificate in Research Administration; she is pursuing a PhD in Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies at York University. Holly is currently a Research Coordinator at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She uses her personal and professional experiences to help ensure that many perspectives – including lived-experience perspectives – are meaningfully considered in mental health research, education, and programming.
Lilian Hulme-Smith
Central Region
Lilian Hulme-Smith is a retired public servant who spent her career in social and supportive housing administration and risk management. She was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis in 2007. She now uses a scooter or wheelchair for mobility and drives a modified van using hand controls. With the help of her service dog, Gavin, she continues to live an independent and active life. She is a patient partner on the advisory council at Mackenzie Health Richmond Hill Hospital and sits on the hospital’s Complex Care, Rehab and Inclusion and Diversity Committees. She is a patient advocate with several organizations, including the York Region Accessibility Advisory Committee, the City of Richmond Hill Mayor's Age Friendly Community Council, Ontario Health Central Region, West York Ontario Health Team and Collaboration Council, and Ontario Health atHome. She is particularly interested in raising awareness about equitable access for people with disabilities.
Lester Krames
West Region
Lester Krames is Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, and a retired registered psychologist who maintained a private clinical practice working with care partners. He is a cancer survivor and cared for his wife who passed after fighting cancer for 27 years. He volunteers as a patient and family advisor with many health organizations, including Hamilton’s Juravinski Cancer Centre; Ontario Caregiver Organization (Caregiver Mental Health Working Group); Caregivers as Partners in Care Learning Collaborative; Ontario Health Rapid Response Team; and Cancer Care Ontario. He is passionate about recognizing the role of care partners, who are willing to learn and assume the duties necessary to provide better care. He is a strong advocate for building better partnerships with health care teams.
Consuelo Kuettner
East Region
Consuelo Kuettner has navigated the health system and many governmental organizations for more than 30 years as the care partner for a family member with complex health needs. She is a strong advocate for people facing barriers or who have been silenced or excluded by the system. She is involved with several organizational boards and is a founding board member of the Ontario Health atHome Central East. Her work has been recognized with several awards, including a caregiver award from the Access Centre, advocate award from the Teacher Assistance Association, and a nomination for woman of the year for the City of Kawartha Lakes. While she continues to support seasonal farm workers from Mexico during the summer.
Maxime Lê
East Region
Maxime Lê has been a patient partner at The Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute since 2017. He uses his lived experience of chronic and acute illness and invisible disability to improve patient care and health communication. His expertise centres on bridging the gap between health care providers and patients. He is particularly focused on fostering trust and inclusivity through digital and AI-driven health communication solutions. Maxime is the outgoing co-chair of the Ontario Health East Patient and Family Advisory Council, patient partner and investigator at the Equity in Health Systems Lab, and a board member of the Patient Advisors Network. He also runs a health communication firm dedicated to helping health organizations reach their audiences. He is a frequent presenter at conferences and a prolific writer in health forums and news outlets. He is passionate about initiatives that work towards ensuring health equity and creating a health care system that is inclusive for all.
Matthew Maynard
West Region
Matthew Maynard has lived with an inherited blood disorder since birth. He regularly accesses the health care system in Hamilton, London, Stratford, Grand Bend and infrequently Toronto. He is also a care partner for family and friends. Matthew has extensive experience in advocacy, co-design and community development. He holds positions at the clinical, regional, provincial, national and international levels. He is excited for the opportunity to participate as a patient and care partner in the development of an accessible and compassionate care model for all.
Jennifer Monteith
Toronto Region
Jamaican-born Jennifer Monteith was the first Black woman featured in Eaton’s catalogue, an experience that launched her modeling career and work in Black community advocacy. A single mother and sole family provider after the loss of two husbands, she was propelled into entrepreneurship. Recognizing the need for diversity in the fashion world, she began to identify and promote black youth through her business venture, Different Faces Model and Talent Agency. She also founded and operated The Exhibitor Support Centre – “The Office Away from the Office” from 1998 to 2019. In January 2010, she received a second chance at life when she became a heart transplant recipient. As a role model and spokesperson for the Trillium Gift of Life Network, she shares the story of her life-changing experience with health care professionals and gives encouragement to other patients who have received or are waiting for their own gift.
George Saarinen
North West Region
George Saarinen worked as a developmental service worker in group homes for developmentally disabled individuals for 30 years. He was also a funeral director for 10 years. Now retired, he supports aging family members navigating the health care system by arranging services with various agencies as their needs change. He believes in giving back to the community when and where possible. In his role as co-chair of a Patient and Family Advisory Council in the North Region, he connects with other health system users to share experiences and perspectives with health care providers to ensure care is patient and family centred. He is also a school board trustee with Lakehead Public Schools and has been an active labour union advocate.
Adam Wheeler
Toronto Region
Adam Wheeler has lived experience of mental illness and has been a care partner to friends and family with mental health and substance use challenges. He is both a social worker who has worked in health care settings and a lawyer who has practiced at the intersections of health and justice. He is currently chair of the board of directors of the Gerstein Crisis Centre (a community-based mental health and substance use crisis response agency), vice-chair of the board of directors of Madison Community Services (a supportive housing agency), and a member of the Constituency Council at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. In addition, Adam is a volunteer advisor for Ontario Health’s Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence. This includes work on the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program; Depression and Anxiety-Related Disorders Table; and Planning and Performance Council. As a patient and family advisor, he is interested in health equity, the social determinants of health, evidence-based care, human-centred use of technology to improve wellbeing, and links between mental health and addictions.
Anne-Marie Yaraskavitch
East Region
Anne-Marie Yaraskavitch has been a care partner for family and friends living with diverse illnesses in a wide variety of care settings and geographic areas. These journeys have highlighted for her the need for patients, families and care partners to be involved in identifying and co-designing solutions for health, social care and support needs. She is currently a lived experience advisor with Ontario Health East Region, Lakeridge Health, and Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario. Over the past 16 years, she has also been an advisor on various other regional and provincial health system planning tables, including with Durham Ontario Health Team. Caring for her father sparked a special interest in the needs of older adults. This led her to complete a degree in gerontology after her early retirement in 2001. Anne-Marie combines this special knowledge with business management and strategic planning skills gained during her career in the corporate sector, and her personal experiences as an older adult. These insights assist in her primary advocacy efforts which are focused on the health, social care and support needs of older adults and their care partners.