Dr. Wiseman attended medical school in Lexington, Kentucky, completed her psychiatry training in Little Rock, Arkansas, and in Los Angeles, California. She worked for over 15 years as medical director of a large substance abuse treatment program in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (Little Rock). She relocated to Saint John in 2008. In Saint John, she works in the psychiatry department and her duties are split between Ridgewood Addiction Services, the Mental Health Clinic, and the Regional Hospital. Her current area of research interest is computer-assisted therapy for addictions.

Martha MacLean is a Registered Dietitian with 25 years of experience in food, nutrition and dietetics. Martha is currently employed at St. Joseph’s Community Health Centre in Saint John NB as a member of the Primary Health Care Team and the Community Planning Team. She provides nutrition counselling to clients, advocates for food security and access to nourishing foods, provides presentations on a variety of nutrition and healthy lifestyle topics, represents the CHC’s nutrition voice on a variety of committees and manages the Saint John Food Purchasing Club. She is a graduate of McGill University, Montreal, Quebec with a B.Sc. Food Science Major – Dietetics. She has been a Certified Diabetes Educator, member of the New Brunswick Association of Dietitians and Dietitians of Canada and has held Board positions for both organizations.

Dr. Leo Marlon Cruz is an Internist and a Geriatrician at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital. He did his training in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine in Buffalo New York and has been practicing both Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in New Brunswick for the last 8 yrs

Timothy R. Walker, Ph.D. is co-author of The Healing Circle: Integrating science, wisdom and compassion in reclaiming wholeness on the cancer journey. For thirty years, Timothy has worked to integrate mindfulness meditation and contemplative practice into psychotherapy, education, and healthcare. Co-founder of the Healing and Cancer foundation, with a private practice in psychotherapy and a mindfulness based stress reduction clinic in Halifax, he teaches meditation retreats and mindfulness workshops across Canada and the USA.

Lynn Kelly de Groot is a Primary Health Care Consultant with the Addiction Mental Health and Primary Health Care Division, New Brunswick Department of Health. More recently she was the Director of St Joseph Hospital in Dalhousie, New Brunswick where she led the transition of that facility to a Community Health Centre. Since joining the team in 2008, her focus has been on enhancing the provincial primary health care network through collaboration that extends beyond the traditional boundaries of the Primary Health Care team. Lynn received her Nursing Diploma from Vanier College and her B.H.A from Salt Lake University. She is also a veteran graduate of the Nurse Practitioner Program at McMaster University.

Kimberly Chenier is a nurse employed in the healthcare field for the past 29 years having worked in both the hospital setting and private sector. She has worked throughout Atlantic Canada and is currently a Community Program Coordinator within the Long Term Program of Mental Health & Addiction Services for Horizon Health Network.

Dr. Shields is an Associate Professor in the School of Recreation Management and Kinesiology at Acadia University. After completing his B.Sc. in Kinesiology at Dalhousie University and his M.Sc. (Kinesiology) at the University of Calgary, he received his Ph.D. (Kinesiology) from the University of Waterloo. Immediately prior to joining Acadia University he completed work as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Saskatchewan working on the Community Alliances for Health Research funded project In Motion. His research interests include exercise and health psychology, behaviour change, trainer - client interactions, adherence, chronic disease and body image. Dr. Shields received the Research Excellence Award (2009) and the Outstanding Project Award (2008) from Acadia’s Faculty of Professional Studies and the Outstanding Dissertation Award (2006) from the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Claudine Szpilfogel has extensive experience in the Pharmaceutical and Health Sectors. She has worked as a research and health consultant for both the public and private sector with expertise in establishing valuable public-private partnerships. Her experience includes large scale project management, research design, instrument development and evaluation, and applying research to planning and practice with a focus on quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Claudine is also experienced in managing transition of primary care practices to comprehensive primary health care models including development of practice plans, establishment of deliverables, development of external and internal governance structures, and facilitating electronic patient record implementation. Claudine has a B.Sc. in Kinesiology with a focus on Exercise Physiology and a Masters Degree in Community Health and Epidemiology, both from Dalhousie

Leisje MacDougall is the ANCHOR coordinator for the Sydney Family Practice Centre. She is a graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition program at St. Francis Xavier University, and has worked as a dietitian for 10 years. She completed her dietetic internship in Kingston, Ontario and is licensed by the Nova Scotia Dietetic Association.

Most recently, Leisje’s role has been Primary Health Care Dietitian with the Sterling Health Centre in Glace Bay. In addition, she was a Clinical Dietitian for the Cape Breton District Health Authority in the areas of women’s health, cancer prevention & screening, mental health and long-term care. Prior to this, Leisje worked across Southwestern Ontario in several project management and administrative roles for acute care nutrition and food services. Professionally, Leisje has been involved with Dietitians of Canada as a member of the Southwestern Ontario Professional Development Action Group and the Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiovascular Network. She has been a lecturer for a college level nutrition course and has been a presenter at national conferences.

Throughout her career, Leisje has demonstrated a commitment to quality improvement and client-centered care. She is extremely pleased to be working as part of the ANCHOR team.

Krista Courtney-Cox brings a diverse clinical and research background to her position of ANCHOR Coordinator at Duffus Health Centre.

Most recently, Krista was a Cardiology Research Coordinator, in the Division of Cardiology at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre (QEII HSC) where she was involved in all aspects of clinical trials. This included screening and recruiting study participants, adherence to research-related policies, follow up patient care in collaboration with physicians, client education of risk factor modification and promotion of healthy lifestyle habits.

Previously, Krista held the position as project coordinator with the Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Nova Scotia (ICONS) project. This large, province-wide disease management study sought to improve the quality of care for patients with cardiovascular disease across Nova Scotia. In this capacity, Krista worked directly with health care policy makers, providers and patients in order to achieve this ambitious goal. Prior, she was a Cardiology Staff Nurse at the QEII Health Sciences Centre and also worked with parents in home care settings.

Krista received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Dalhousie University. She is also a member of the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia, the Society of Clinical Research Associates, the Canadian Lipid Nurse Network and the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses.

Dr Brenda Durdle is a Psychologist, with a Masters degree in Psychology from Acadia University and a Ph. D in Psychology from Queen’s University. She is registered with the Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology and has over fifteen years experience providing psychological services to diverse populations including university students, adult survivors of abuse, and sexual offenders. She has worked at the Nova Scotia Hospital, the Kingston General Hospital, and Cape Breton University. She currently has a position with the Cape Breton District Health Authority where she works half time with the Pain Clinic and half time with the Cape Breton Heart Lung Wellness Centre. She also has a private practice in Sydney. She is a member of the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Brenda has sound experience working extensively with individuals, with a wide range of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, adjustment and coping, anger management and personality disorders. She has a particular interest in stress reduction programs such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Jon Kabat-Zinn). In her spare time, she is working on developing collaborative projects with health and community psychologists in Cuba.

Belinda is a graduated from University of Western Ontario: Bachelor or Physiotherapy. From 1988-91 she was part of the St. John’s Rehabilitation Centre in Willowdale, Ontario specializing in orthopaedic rehabilitation (joint replacements, fractures etc) and part of the Amputation Rehab program (lower extremity). From 1991 - 92 she worked at the General Hospital, St. John’s, Newfoundland Outpatient services: orthopaedic and neurological. Presently Belinda works for the Cape Breton District Health Authority in Outpatient orthopaedic service and the Chronic Pain Clinic

I graduated from The Miss AJ MacMaster School of nursing in 1982 and received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing via distance education from Saint Francis Xavier University in 2010. From 1982 – 1997 I worked as a staff nurse at The Moncton Hospital on various med-surg units. In 1997 I took a position at The Petitcodiac Heath Centre, a community clinic affiliated with the Moncton Hospital, where I met my first mentor in diabetes care, Dr. Karen Silver, and participated in 3 clinical research trials as her study coordinator. From 2002-2005 worked as the Coordinator for the Diabetes Education Clinic, Sackville Memorial Hospital, became a Certified Diabetes Educator in 2004 and recertified in 2009. I have also received certification in Primary Health Care Collaboration, Gerontological Nursing, and as a Facilitator on The Diabetes Conversation Maps.

I am Chair for the South-East New Brunswick Chapter of the Diabetes Educator Section of the Canadian Diabetes Association, a member of the planning committee for the annual New Brunswick Provincial Diabetes Educator Conference, as well being active on various other committees, expert panels, and a speaker/presenter involving diabetes care at the local, provincial and national level.

I have been active in my community as a past Cub leader and a volunteer with Girl Guides, and am currently a board member on the Salisbury & District Recreation Council. I have also been on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Salisbury for the past 12 years, presently serving as President of this board.

I have an extremely supportive family; my wonderful husband and 3 children; one son who is a Military Police Reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces currently serving in Afghanistan, and a son and daughter who are still in high school.

Ms. Acholia Theriault has been working for over 25 years in many different area of nursing. She graduated with a diploma from the Miss A.J. MacMaster School of Nursing in Moncton in 1986 and with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at UNB in 2008. She received her Canadian Nurses Association certification in Geriatrics in 2008 and was given the Excellence in Education award from Horizon Health, Zone 3 in 2008.

Recently she has worked in Geriatrics, and Rehabilitation, and developed the Healthy Aging Clinic, a geriatric outpatient clinic in Fredericton and Waterville.

She is currently employed at the Doctor Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton as a Discharge Coordinator. She is a strong patient advocate, especially for aging persons and their families. She has given talks to many community groups and has developed conferences with the Alzheimer Society in Fredericton for seniors and families at home.

Executive Director, Addiction and Mental Health Services, NB Department of Health. After performing her undergraduate work at the University of New Brunswick and Saint Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., Barb obtained her Masters degree in Social Work from Carleton University in 1992. A native New Brunswicker, she has dedicated most of her career to the field of mental health, working as a clinician, manager and director in both rural and urban settings. In 2002, she became provincial Director of Child and Youth Addiction & Mental Health Services and, in 2007, assumed the role of Executive Director for Addiction and Mental Health Services with the Department of Health. She has also lectured on a part-time basis at Saint Thomas. While Barb relaxes in her spare time on the golf course, it is the ferry ride to her summer home on NB’s Deer Island that most contributes to her sense of wellness.

Kelly Lawson is an Occupational Therapist. She obtained her Bachelor of Science at Acadia University prior to graduating from the school of Occupational Therapy at Dalhousie University in 2006. Kelly first began working in vocational rehabilitation helping individuals with injury and chronic pain return to work in Moncton NB before moving to Saint John NB to work with psychiatric inpatients. Kelly has worked with the acute mental health population, she has helped implement a web-based skills program for those with addictions and other serious and persistent mental health issues. Currently Kelly is based in the community of Saint John where she works with the long term mental health population, helping individuals to achieve the quality of life they desire across the spectrum of self-care, productivity and leisure. Kelly is in the process of becoming a certified Choice Theorist (Glasser) and is an avid believer in the principals of Choice Theory.

Kelly is very involved with community initiatives in Saint John including FUSION, Saint John Animal Rescue League, the Canadian Council of Rehabilitation Work (CCRW), the Schizophrenia Society and the United Way. Kelly is an entrepreneur at heart with 3 businesses of her own. Kelly loves anything web-based and is very engaged in the world of social media.

My name is Jason Smith and I have lived with mental illness for approximately 14 years. Through self education and personal psychology and the right combination of medications I have defeated the worst of the symptoms and now lead a relatively normal life. I am currently working as a peer support specialist at Mental Health Recovery Services.

Isabel Savoie is a Wellness Consultant with the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sports in the area of psychological health and resilience. She has worked on a number of projects in the health and wellness field in both New Brunswick and India. She has a Masters degree in counselling and a Bachelor of Psychology from the Université de Moncton. Isabel lives in the Fredericton area where she also teaches Oriental Dance, Bellyfit and Zumba.

Pat Charlton has worked in the health system for the past 25 years in a variety of capacities and largely in primary care health promotion, illness prevention roles. Her current role is Special Projects Officer in the Community Hospital and Primary Care Division of Health PEI. Pat is Chair of the Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Working Group which is in place to develop an integrated approach for the delivery of services for the prevention and management of chronic disease. She holds a Bachelor of Science Physical Education and Masters of Adult Education both from St. F.X.U. in Antigonish, N.S.

Kendra Biggar is a registered Respiratory Therapist with over 30 years of experience at Prince County Hospital in Summerside, PEI. She is clinical leader of the RT Dept and is a Certified Respiratory Educator. Since 2003, she has networked with educators on a N.B.- P.E.I. Asthma/COPD Educator Committee. Kendra is a representative for the RT Dept on several hospital committees and serves as a Board Member of the PEI Lung Association. During the past year, she has participated on a Provincial Acute Care Pathway Committee (COPD, CHF and CAP) and provided on-site screening at Harbourside Family Health Centre with the Primary Care COPD Demo project.

Justin Morris

• graduated from CEGEP in Ste-Foy Quebec in 1997
• Respiratory Therapist at the George L. Dumont hospital for the past 14 years
• Extensive experience acquired through working in various services including the OR, ICU, ER, pulmonary function clinic and on the wards
• was acting Assistant Director for Respiratory Services for 2.5 years
• is currently working as an educator in the Pulmonary Health Centre with patients who have COPD
• has expertise in smoking cessation and pulmonary rehabilitation

Francine King