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Dr. Evans is the Medical Director of the Wound Healing Clinic at Women’s College Hospital, who is involved in research and teaching. She is also a full-time family physician in the community. Dr. Evans is part of the faculty of the International Interprofessional Wound Care Course (IIWCC) through the University of Toronto. She is senior faculty for Wounds Canada supporting the development of interprofessional education programs for clinicians as well as the delivery and evaluation of these programs. Dr. Evans is on the Board of Wounds Canada and is Co-Chair for the Diabetic Task Force for Wound Canada.

For Anne Shantz, the nursing journey was a second career opportunity following a profession in social services. While completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Western University, one of her first clinical experiences ignited a passion for caring for patients with wounds and ostomies. After graduating, Anne went on to become an Enterostomal Therapist and then several years later returned to Western University to complete a Master’s in the Clinical Science of Wound Healing.

Anne has practiced in a variety of roles supporting wound and ostomy expertise as a front-line clinician, as an educator and in program lead positions. Anne is employed with the South West Home and Community Care as the Clinical Lead for the South West Regional Wound Care Program. In this role, Anne supports patient consultation, cross-sectorial wound care education and regional wound program development.

Helen Arputhanathan is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of international experience in the field of Medical Surgical, Cardiology and Wound Care Nursing.

Helen graduated with a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Nursing) from Victoria University, Australia, completed her International Interprofessional Wound Care Course (IIWCC-SA) from University of Toronto and subsequently her Master in Wound Care from Monash University in Australia. She is also a Nurse Specialized in Wound Ostomy and Continence (NSWOC) and CNA Certified.

Helen worked in an acute care setting for 17 years before working in home and community care in Canada for Victoria Order of Nursing (VON), CALEA (Nursing clinic), Waterloo Wellington and Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Home and Community Care Support Services. Helen currently works in the capacity of a Clinical Manager and Wound Lead in Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant and Erie St. Claire Home and Community Care Support Services.

Her role is to liaise with primary care physicians and contracted service providers to identify issues of concern, collaboratively develop strategies to work towards improvements, and provide recommendations for policies, procedures, and approach to wound care to improve patient outcomes utilizing patient-centered approach and patient navigation to properly assess needs of patients within the Wound Care Program setting, including providing leadership and oversight to the Wound Care Team. She is currently involved in the Lower Limb Preservation Initiative with Ontario Health to support the community patients to reduce avoidable, non-traumatic major lower-limb amputations in Ontario and to improve equitable access to high-quality best-practice early screening, cardiovascular risk factor modification and integrated lower-limb wound care.

Dr. Irmajean Bajnok, is currently working at Wounds Canada as an Education and Policy Specialist. She previously worked as Interim Policy Director and then as Senior Policy Analyst at the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). Irmajean has also held leadership positions at RNAO including Director of the International Affairs and Best Practice Guideline Program and the Centre for Professional Nursing Excellence, as well as in practice settings and international portfolios. Much of her career has been in academia where she has worked in administrative and professional roles at Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto, and Western University. Dr. Bajnok is recognized internationally as a knowledgeable and engaging speaker and consultant focusing on evidence-based practice and education, healthy work environments, leadership and change management.

Dr. Virginie Blanchette is the first podiatrist PhD in Québec and has been an associate professor in the podiatric medicine program at Université du Québec at Trois-Rivières since 2014. Her research specialty is limb preservation, dedicated to the prevention and management of diabetic foot ulcers and their complications with a team approach within patient-oriented research.  She has completed a Diabetes Action Canada postdoctoral fellowship at Laval University and also with David G Armstrong's team at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Wounds Canada since June 2021. She joined the Diabetic Foot Canada Task Force in 2019 to help prevent, manage and address the deficit in awareness, knowledge and funding of diabetes-related foot complications, preventable amputations and loss of life for people living with diabetes in Canada.

Sheena Fortuna works as a Wound Care Consultant at Oak Valley Health. Previously, she held the position of lead registered nurse at Women’s College Wound Care Centre. With a clinical background centered on dermatology, wound care, and community nursing, she brings extensive expertise to her role. She is an executive member of the Canadian Dermatology Nurses’ Association (CDNA). She contributed to the development of a guideline on Management of Malignant Wounds for Alberta Indigenous Health. Committed to advancing nursing education and professional growth, she is currently enrolled in a Master of Science in Nursing program at Toronto Metropolitan University, focusing on the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

Rosemary Hill has been a nurse for 37 years and works full time at Lions Gate Hospital – Vancouver Coastal Health. In 2004, Rosemary completed the Wound Ostomy Continence program at Emory Medical University, Atlanta Georgia, and has been practicing within that role. Her past volunteer activities include a two year term (2016-2018) as President of Nurses Specialized in Wound Ostomy Continence Canada (NSWOCC). She continues to be involved with practice standards as it pertains to Wound and Ostomy care and is a member of the BC Provincial nursing skin and wound committee and continues to be the chair of the BC Provincial Nursing Ostomy committee. Her experiences in wound and ostomy care, has provided her with opportunities to speak nationally and internationally (WUWHS, EWMA , SAWC).

Additionally she was the recipient of the Award of Excellence in Practice from the Association of Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia (ARNBC). Recently her volunteer activities have taken her to Argentina where she worked with a select group of Canadian NSWOCs to offer wound education and introduce a standardized wound assessment tool in the province of Salta. She hopes to continue to support the NSWOCs in Argentina with wound care standardization.

Dr. Amanda Mayo is a full-time physiatrist in Quality Improvement at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She sub-specializes in amputee rehabilitation.

Her research in quality improvement focuses on improving the continuum of care for individuals with limb loss and limb preservation.

Jane McSwiggan is an Occupational Therapist and the Education and Research Coordinator-Wound Care for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. She is responsible for the delivery of all the wound care courses and has a tremendous team of wound care specialists to call on to develop content and teach the courses. Jane enjoys being a resource to the health care community for problem solving, networking and connecting people with each other and is thrilled when she can make someone’s day a bit easier. Ask her about networking, wound care, and volunteering as a puppy raiser for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Dr. Douglas Queen, an international wound care consultant and researcher, co-founded the International Wound Journal alongside Dr. Keith Harding in 2004. Dr. Queen brings over 38 years of international expertise in commercial development, market access and med-tech R&D. Dr. Queen is one of the industry’s foremost experts in wound care and brings a unique combination of clinical knowledge and business acumen to the broader healthcare arena.

Douglas received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering studying Wound Care Dressings in 1986 from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, and also earned his MBA from Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK in 1996.

After completing his education, Douglas spent the initial part of his career working for ConvaTec, a medical device company focused on delivering products and services in the areas of skin, wound and ostomy care. His tenure at ConvaTec included roles in Research & Development and Sales and Marketing, spanning European and North American markets.

Douglas has also worked as an independent medical device consultant specializing in the wound care field, for the past 24 years. During this time, he has advised key opinion leaders, large, multinational companies, and smaller start-up companies in the areas of education, research, development, commercial development and market access.

Dr. Graham Roche-Nagle is a native of Waterford, Ireland. He is the Head, Division of Vascular Surgery, R. Fraser Elliott Chair in Vascular Surgery at University Health Network and Associate Professor at University of Toronto. He received his medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1998 and finished his clinical training on the Irish Senior Registrar Training Program. He then completed a 2-year fellowship in vascular surgery at Toronto General Hospital and St. Michaels Hospital Toronto. He is certified in general vascular surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and also holds certification from the European Board for Vascular Surgery.  In addition, Dr Roche-Nagle has been awarded an MBA in Healthcare Management (University College Dublin) and a Masters in Medical Education (Queens University, Belfast).

He served as Medical Director of the Canadian Vascular Quality Initiative for 10 years, has served in leadership roles at the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Society for Vascular Surgery. He has published over 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the recipient of numerous teaching awards.

Marlene Varga has been a Registered Nurse for over 30 years with Covenant Health in Edmonton, Alberta. Marlene developed an interest in skin and wound care early in her career and was influenced by several wound care leaders. She completed a MSc in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair at Cardiff University and continues to volunteer as an honorary tutor to support students and enhance her knowledge and experiences. Marlene currently works as a Clinical Nurse Specialist leading the development, implementation and evaluation of an organizational pressure injury prevention program. She is an advocate for prevention, wound management and patient education and engagement/inclusion. Marlene has a keen interest in  animals (she has a dog named Nova), and enjoys traveling, reading, golf, and yoga in her free time.