Meet Our Hub Leads and Knowledge Brokers
Our Hubs play a vital role in mobilizing research and evidence-based clinical practices, facilitating institutional change, increasing awareness, and fostering a sense of urgency. Hub Leads and Knowledge Brokers work together to advance children’s pain management in their own institutions and support SKIP Affiliates and other children’s healthcare institutions.
Want to make your institution a better place? Reach out to one of our Hub Leads or Knowledge Brokers!
SKIP Eastern Canada Hub
Allen Finley is a pediatric anesthesiologist and an internationally-recognized expert in pediatric pain research and culturally-diverse environments. Dr. Finley holds the Dr. Stewart Wenning Chair Endowed Chair in Pediatric Pain Management at the IWK Health Centre, is the Director of the IWK Complex Pain Clinic and is a Professor of Anesthesia and Psychology at Dalhousie University. His research interests are pain management and pain service delivery for children both nationally and internationally.
Laura Gibson joins the SKIP team with a background in
health policy and has experience working in the areas of research, emergency response planning, long-term and continuing care, as well as in-patient acute care. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science with a specialization in Health Policy Administration and has led province-wide policy development in her previous role at Alberta Health Services. Laura’s passion is for finding practical solutions to complex problems, her goal is to facilitate meaningful and enduring change in the Canadian health care system.
SKIP Francophone Hub
Evelyne Trottier is a Pediatric Emergency Physician at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Université de Montréal. Her primary interests are procedural pain management and knowledge translation. She is currently working on different studies on pain and distress management. She is responsible for the development of clinical practice guidelines on the Urgence Sainte-Justine website for the pediatric emergency departments and is a member of the CPS Acute Care Committee. Her main interest is improving the patient experience through its care.
Marie-Joëlle Doré-Bergeron is a paediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine and an Assistant professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the Université de Montréal. She is the co-director of the chronic pain clinic and the co-director of the complex care program at CHU Sainte-Justine. She is interested in the improvement of procedural pain management for children being treated in hospital and in increasing the availability of resources for children with chronic pain, paying a special attention to resources available for French-speaking Canadians. She also has a particular interest in increasing the recognition of pain in children with severe neurological disabilities in the medical community.
Sarah Loemba joins the SKIP team with her extensive background in community outreach as well as her diverse experiences working with youth. Prior to working with SKIP, she worked at CHU Sainte-Justine in healthcare administration where she closely collaborated to facilitate effective clinical staff management alongside many healthcare coordinators. Sarah completed her Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Sociology at the University of Ottawa and has also earned a certificate in Public Health. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in International Development Management. Along with her passion for health and education, Sarah is devoted to advocating for the promotion of better access and care for all communities on a national and international scale.
SKIP Central Canada Hub
Fiona Campbell is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Toronto, Director of the Chronic Pain Program in the Department of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, and co-director of the SickKids Pain Centre at the Hospital for Sick Children. Fiona is Past-President of the Canadian Pain Society and Co-chair of Health Canada’s Canadian Pain Task Force, through which she is an advocate for a Canadian National Pain Strategy.
Jennifer Stinson is a Nurse Clinician-Scientist in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, a Nurse Practitioner in the Chronic Pain Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, Co-Director of the SickKids Centre for Pain Management, Research and Education and Professor (Status-Only) at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Stinson’s clinical work focuses on working with children and youth with chronic pain and their families as part of an interdisciplinary pain team in the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine at SickKids.
Chad Larabie joins SKIP and SickKids with a wealth of experience in program development, partnership creation and community outreach. Having developed provincial networks and programs for a variety of vulnerable populations in the past Chad is passionate about unifying the stakeholder voice and harmonizing evidence-based messaging. Chad completed a Master’s degree in Health Sciences with a specialization in Neuroscience and has taken the Knowledge Translation Certification Course at U of T. Most recently, Chad has partnered with healthcare associations in Ontario to develop brain injury resources for primary care providers.
SKIP Children's Healthcare Canada Hub
Emily Gruenwoldt is the President & CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada and Executive Director of the Pediatric Chairs of Canada (PCC), positions she has held for four years. Previous to these roles, Emily spent over ten years with the Canadian Medical Association in various Director-level roles including Professional Affairs, Physician Leadership Development, and Strategy & Innovation. Emily has significant health care governance experience having served two terms as a board member for each of Care for Home & Health Services and The Ottawa Hospital, and one term at Arnprior Regional Health. Emily is also co-founder of Emerging Health Leaders.
Catherine Riddell is the Manager, Heath Networks at Children’s Healthcare Canada and joins the SKIP team with many years of experience supporting children’s healthcare. Catherine has significant experience in pediatric clinical research as well as in facilitating the use of administrative data for performance management, quality improvement, and research. She also brings skills and knowledge in clinical operations, data management and privacy, and knowledge translation. Catherine is excited to collaborate withe the team on the mission to improve children’s pain management.
SKIP Western Canada Hub
Samina Ali is Professor of Pediatrics and an Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Alberta, as well as a practicing pediatric emergency physician. She holds provincial and national funding for the study of children’s acute care and emergencies. Her research program is focused on improving children’s pain and distress, mainly as it relates to emergency department visits and procedures. She focuses her efforts on improving the pain experience for children in both hospitals and the community by determining what works best, and how best to help the community adopt better pain management.
Hayley Turnbull is a pediatrician who is passionate about quality of life for her patients and families. With a special interest in pediatric palliative care, Dr. Turnbull brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Western hub, and we are excited to see her contribute to our mission of improving pain management for children across Canada.
Elise Kammerer is an experienced researcher and knowledge mobilization professional who has led educational and improvement initiatives in both Canada and Germany. Drawing on her background in health promotion and engagement of underrepresented groups, Elise is passionate about understanding and overcoming barriers to children’s pain management through the co-development of initiatives with patients, families, and healthcare professionals. She is particularly interested in helping to empower families to advocate for better pain care on behalf of their children.
Guen received her Master of Clinical Science in Wound Healing in 2013 and began working at the Stollery Children’s Hospital as a Nurse Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence.Taking her knowledge from working with adult patients and collaborating with Child Life Specialists, Guen learned more about the use of language and how to make things go better for the patient, family, and everyone involved by spending time with families and understanding what was happening for them. Over time, Guen began to implement changes to reduce pain and harm for the child during wound care. Transitioning to SKIP and our local ChildKind International team is a natural progression for Guen, as we need to create the best experience for the child as much as possible. She is looking forward to building awareness, increasing access to resources, and implementing strategies so children and their families have a positive pain experience at the Stollery.
SKIP Strategic Initiatives Hub
Katie Birnie is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the University of Calgary where she leads Partnering For Pain, a patient- and family-partnered research program. Dr. Birnie’s work involves new knowledge generation, synthesis, and mobilization. She is a champion for patient engagement, and supports children and their families through her work at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Raad Fadaak joins the SKIP team with a history of focusing on high-impact qualitative health research, global health, pandemic preparedness, and healthcare policy. Before SKIP, Raad was a researcher on Canadian federally-funded rapid response grant for COVID-19, analyzing the pandemic response in Alberta, Canada. Raad brings his experience leading and supporting diverse teams, both academic and professional, bringing together emerging leaders, communities of practice, and young talent. He is committed to interdisciplinary and multisectoral work, with a strong foundation at the intersections of research, knowledge mobilization, quality improvement, policymaking, and partnerships. He is excited to join SKIP to further his strong drive for collaboration, impact, curiosity, and exploring new horizons.
Megan MacNeil joins the SKIP team with a broad range of experience in health system transformation having led numerous local, provincial and national programs. Prior to joining the team, Megan managed a provincial family health program, creating a new model of health service delivery that supported preventive, personalise and community-relevant care to Albertan families. She brings with her over 15 years of experience structuring quality programs and partnerships in the public health and digital health innovation fields. Megan is passionate about children’s health and helping families and caregivers have access to quality, evidence-based care where and when they need it.
