Linda McGillis Hall, RN, PhD, FCAHS, FCNEI, FAAN, FCAN is a Professor in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto. She served as the Associate Dean Research at the Faculty (2007-2013 and 2014-2018), Acting Dean (July-Dec 2011), and Interim Dean (July 2013-August 2014). She has contributed to the curriculum design of several programs including a combined MN/MBA and MN/MHSc program at the University of Toronto earlier in her career. She has supervised a number of PhD students who have gone on to successful faculty careers at universities across Canada including the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University, and McMaster University, as well as several who went on to innovative healthcare system leadership and/or scientist roles in both Canada and the U.S. She currently teaches courses on advanced nursing leadership theories and concepts in the Masters of Nursing, Health Systems Leadership and Administration program and is a recognized leader in nursing health services and systems research and leadership, with a particular focus on nurse staffing and creating healthy work environments. Her work has been acknowledged with numerous awards including as inaugural recipient of the Canadian Nurses Association Order of Merit for Nursing Research in Canada (2008), the Award for Excellence in Nursing Research from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (2011), the Mentorship Award from the US Health Services Research Organization Academy Health’s – Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues (2013), was named a Senior Massey Fellow (2015), selected to the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society of Nursing, Nurse International Researcher Hall of Fame (2016), and was named the 2017 Pat Griffin Scholar by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.
Claire Betker is the Scientific Director at the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Claire is a past president of the Canadian Nurses Association and of the Community Health Nurses of Canada. Her PhD work focused on the capacity for public health leadership to advance health equity, a knowledge base that informs her contributions to the NCCDH, the public health field and community.
Myriam Breau is a nursing professor at Université de Moncton (NB) and a PhD candidate at University of New-Brunswick. With 20 years’ experience as a registered nurse in critical care, Myriam has a vast experience in healthcare issues. She is dedicated to researching nurse staffing and its effects on patients in hospital settings. Her work aims to identify and mitigate the negative impacts of inadequate staffing on quality of care, patient safety and nurse outcomes. Through her expertise and commitment, Myriam continues to advance the field of nursing, while improving working conditions for nurses and the quality of patient care.
Alongside her research, Myriam is an exceptional teacher, recognized by her students for her inspiring teaching approach. She excels at making complex concepts accessible and interesting, fostering an interactive and stimulating learning environment. Her dedication to teaching and training the next generation of registered nurses has earned her the Faculty Professor of the year by her students.
Jodi Brennan RN MN is the Chair of the School of Health and Humans Services at Aurora College, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories overseeing various certificate, diploma and degree partnership programs. She has made the north her home for almost 30 years and has been involved in many nursing/health education program initiatives. Her research interests have been in evaluation, promoting leadership competencies and recruitment of youth to the northern workforce.
Dr. Shannon Dowdall-Smith currently serves as the Program Coordinator and Professor for the Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program at Cambrian College’s School of Nursing. In this role she coordinates the degree program, assists with recruitment and curriculum review, teaches various courses, and serves as Chair of the Nursing EDIAI Committee and member of the College’s Research Ethics Committee. Shannon earned a PhD in Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2007, an MSN in Nursing Adult Health and Nursing Education from the University of Texas-Pan American in 1999, and a BScN in Nursing from Laurentian University in 1995. Shannon has also held the position of Assistant Professor for the BSN program at the University of Texas-Pan American. Her current scholarship includes open access resources for clinical de-brief, simulation curriculum for community and mental health placements, and screening curriculum for equity, diversity, inclusion, and indigeneity.
Susan Duncan RN, PhD is Professor and Director of the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria. She has taught nursing practice and theory in undergraduate and graduate programs, and held senior academic leadership positions. Her research focuses on community health nursing, health policy, and nursing education. She has participated as a board member on regional, provincial and national nursing and health organizations to enact progressive health and public policy. She has published and presented several papers on the nursing profession and education, and she brings a global perspective to her work.
Françoise Filion is an assistant professor at the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University, since August 2010. She is currently the project director for the Community Nursing Clinic Network at the School. She is teaching community health nursing to third year students of the bachelor’s program and to the Master’s of Science students (Apply) Nursing. She has also taught clinical courses in post-partum, elderly care and medicine-surgery at the Ingram School of Nursing.
Graduated in 1981 with a BSc(N) from the Faculté des sciences infirmières at Université de Montréal, she worked for four years as a staff nurse at the Jewish General Hospital on the medical/cardiology floor and also at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. From 1984 to 1986, she completed a master’s degree in community health nursing at Université de Montréal and then went on to work as a nurse educator. She was also nurse coordinator at the Student Health Services of McGill University from 1985 to 1994. In 1997, she assumed the role of Research Project Manager for Dr. Celeste Johnston at McGill, which was to last for thirteen years, and was also a part-time facutly lecturer at the Faculté des sciences infirmières at Université de Montréal during this time.
Dr. Price is a Professor with the School of Nursing, Dalhousie University, and an Affiliate Scientist at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is a Collaborator with the Pan-Canadian Health Human Research Network (CHHRN), a Co-Investigator with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Workforce Planning and an Associate Research Scholar with the Healthy Populations Institute. Dr. Price’s research is focused in the areas of health services, professional socialization, interprofessional collaboration and healthcare work environments. Dr. Price has lead several innovative knowledge translation and dissemination projects including the use of arts-based media to promote career choice, professional socialization and interprofessional collaboration within nursing and the health professions.
Dr. Rani Srivastava is Dean of Nursing at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. She also holds adjunct positions at York University, Toronto, ON and Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS. and is recognized as a Fellow Canadian Academy of Nursing (FCAN) and Fellow Transcultural Nursing Society Scholars (FTNSS). Dr. Srivastava is recognized for her leadership in cultural competence and bridging academia and practice environments. She is author and editor for The Health Care Professional’s Guide to Cultural Competence (2nd edition published 2022) and has written several book chapters and articles on topics of cultural identity, religion, ethics, and family-centred care. Her scholarship focuses on cultural competence in clinical care, organizational cultural competence, and anti-racism in practice and education.
Dr. Daphney St-Germain is a full professor at Université Laval, in Nursing Faculty, in Quebec City. She is also the director of the research and professional Master in the graduate program. She is a registered nurse holding a Doctorate in public health (2007), in health care organization option, and a researcher at Institut de eadaptation en déficience physique de Québec, a physical rehabilitation center. She has been a panel expert member in the Knowledge Translation and Implementation Science Toolkit development for Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario and Canadian Patient Safety institute organizations. She has been the principal investigator for Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant research developing a reflexive nurse’s portfolio focusing on patient safety competencies and Caring approach called: INSÉPArable project. Dr. St-Germain obtained a certification as Patient Safety Trainer (2014) from Kingston University under the leadership of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) and conducted significant researches and scientific publications with a strong interest in the development of the nursing profession. Since 2021, she is a member of Graduate Education Committee members who reviewing the National Nursing Education Framework and thus aiming to “influence the development of principles and guidelines for graduate nursing education and advancement in Canada” for Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing. Both in research and teaching, she is involved for years in several professional activities related to continuous improvement of nursing quality of care, patient safety, humanization of care and innovative processes in healthcare system. Moreover, she is writing a book that supports these topics, applied in both clinical and management, and will be launched in 2023.
Dr. Jean-Daniel Jacob is the Executive Director for the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN). He oversees the Association’s departments and activities, leading our team to advance our mission while ensuring the provision of optimal service to our members. He works closely with the CASN board of directors to ensure that they are well-equipped to meet the organization’s goals.
Dr. Jacob is a Full Professor at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa. Dr. Jacob holds a doctoral degree in nursing from the University of Ottawa and has extensive experience as an educator and administrator, having taught at both the baccalaureate and graduate levels, and serving as Director of the school of nursing for 3 years. During his time as Director, Dr. Jacob had a positive influence on the school of nursing, particularly in advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion within the school. His scholarship interests primarily focus on psychiatric nursing and forensic psychiatry. His substantial background in nursing education, research, and leadership at the university is complemented by his non-profit leadership experience as former Chair of Droits-Accès Outaouais’ Board (2017–2023), making Dr. Jacob ideally suited to direct operations at the CASN national office.