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Our Team

Partnership is at the heart of what we do.

SKIP’s impact is made possible by our partners. We work across—and far beyond—our network, uniting champions in Canada and internationally to develop, deliver and amplify evidence-informed solutions for kids in pain. To the thousands of people who share in SKIP’s mission, we thank you for being part of our team.  

Scientific Leadership Team

Our scientific leadership team steers the SKIP network in a collaborative approach with our hubs to ensure that our knowledge mobilization activities are rooted in evidence, guiding our initiatives and engaging partners, including patients and families, to come together in support of SKIP’s mission.   

  • Christine Chambers, Scientific Director   
  • Katie Birnie, Associate Scientific Director   
  • Alex Neville, Scientific Lead Patient and Family Partnership 

Administrative Centre Team

Based at Dalhousie University, the Administrative Centre Team provides backbone support and operational leadership for SKIP, ensuring the network runs smoothly and effectively across all hubs and initiatives. 

  • Louise Tunnah (Managing Director; on maternity leave) 
  • Lisa Dias (Director of Strategy and Operations) 
  • Sofia Olaizola (Project Coordinator) 
  • Tiara Ranasinghe (Project Coordinator) 
  • Megan Ridgway (Project Coordinator) 

SKIP Hubs

Our SKIP Hubs are foundational to our national knowledge mobilization network. Each brings a wealth of scientific and clinical expertise in children’s pain management. By collaboratively finding innovative solutions to local and regional challenges, they play a vital role in mobilizing evidence-informed solutions across the country. To connect with any of our Hubs, reach out to: [email protected].    

SKIP Eastern Hub

Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, IWK Health is a major pediatric hospital and trauma centre that provides care to children, youth, families, and women from the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The SKIP Eastern Hub works in partnership with IWK’s Maritime Child Health program, strengthening regional collaboration to improve outcomes for children and families. 

  • Marsha Campbell-Yeo (Hub Advisory Committee Member) 
  • Mathew Kiberd (Hub Advisory Committee Member) 
  • Katie McDonald (Hub Advisory Committee Member) 
  • Alex Neville (Hub Advisory Committee Member) 
  • Jennifer Parker (Hub Advisory Committee Member) 
  • Mike Sangster (Hub Advisory Committee Member) 
  • Patti Douglas (Clinical Implementation Specialist) 

SKIP Francophone Hub

Based in Montreal, Quebec, the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), affiliated with the Université de Montréal, is the largest mother and child centre in Canada. This SKIP Hub is delivered in partnership with Tout doux, a program to improve procedural and acute pain institutionally and beyond, in the francophone network. 

  • Marie-Joëlle Doré-Bergeron (Hub Co-Lead)
  • Evelyne D. Trottier (Hub Co-Lead)  
  • Valérie Boulay  (Knowledge Broker) 
  • Patricia Laforce (Knowledge Broker; on Maternity Leave)  

SKIP Central Hub

Based in Toronto, Ontario, the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), affiliated with the University of Toronto, is Canada’s most research-intensive hospital and the largest centre dedicated to improving children’s health in the country.  This SKIP Hub is delivered in partnership with the SickKids Pain Centre, supporting collaboration to advance pediatric pain research and knowledge mobilization.  

  • Fiona Campbell (Hub Co-Lead)  
  • Jennifer Stinson (Hub Co-Lead)  
  • Laura Milne (Interprofessional Education Specialist)  

SKIP Western Hub

Based in Edmonton, Alberta, the Stollery Children’s Hospital is the only specialized healthcare facility for infants, children, and youth in central and northern Alberta, and serves a geographical area of over 500,000 km. The Stollery Children’s Hospital is a ChildKind International certified facility. This SKIP Hub works in partnership with the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (generously funded by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation) and Alberta Health Services, to support better pain care for children in Western Canada and beyond. 

  • Samina Ali (Hub Co-Lead)  
  • Tara McGrath (Hub Co-Lead)  
  • Andrea Razcon Echeagaray (Clinical Implementation Specialist)  
  • Angela Bokenfohr (Clinical Nurse Specialist for Pediatric Trauma, Surgery, and ChildKind)   

SKIP Strategic Initiatives Hub

Based in Calgary, Alberta, the Strategic Initiatives Hub is housed at the University of Calgary and provides leadership on key SKIP strategic projects and initiatives. 

  • Katie Birnie (Hub Lead)  
  • Justin Bonhomme (Project Coordinator)  
  • Megha Rao (Knowledge Broker)  

SKIP Board

  • Emily Gruenwoldt (Co-Chair) – Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Healthcare Canada 
  • Justina Marianayagam (Co-Chair) – Resident Physician, Patient Partner, and Advocate, University of British Columbia
  • David Anderson – Dean of Medicine, Dalhousie University 
  • Katie Birnie – Psychologist, Associate Professor, and Associate Scientific Director, University of Calgary and SKIP 
  • Christine Chambers – Psychologist, Professor, and Scientific Director, Dalhousie University and SKIP
  • Remi Ejiwunmi – Vice President – Women’s and Children’s Health, Registered Midwife, Trillium Health Partners
  • Larry Freeman – Retired Partner at Stewart McKelvey 
  • Charles Macdonald – Dean, Faculty of Science and Professor of Chemistry, Dalhousie University 
  • Ripudaman Minhas – Pediatrician, Unity Health Toronto 
  • Bonnie Stevens – Retired Faculty and Senior Scientist, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children 
  • Jaris Swidrovich – Pharmacist and Assistant Professor, University of Toronto 
  • Kira Young – Patient Partner, McMaster University