Thank you to everyone currently involved in helping to plan the 2026 conference! A special thank you to the advocates, family members, and support persons involved in our Advisory Council:
Ben Clement
Self Advocate
Gabriel & Paul Cervenko (Ontario)
Sarah Flint (Ontario)
Surrey Place
Michelle Goos (British Columbia)
Vancouver Island Service Delivery Advisor
Community Living British Columbia
Michelle Goos is a mother and advocate who lives in Victoria with her husband and daughter. She works at Community Living BC (CLBC) as a Strategic Initiative Advisor, where she helps design and test new programs for people that they serve and help.
Michelle has always been an advocate, but she really started focusing her advocacy efforts on issues of disability and parenthood when her daughter was born. Like Michelle, her daughter also has an intellectual disability and was diagnosed in grade 3. She’s now 25 years old and lives on her own in a shared living situation. Also like her mom, she loves a challenge, and is a member of an open-water swim team called the Spirit Orcas that swims in oceans and lakes with no wetsuits, and took on swimming the length of the English Channel in 2020!
Maggie May (Ireland)
International Adult Leadership Collaborative (ALC) of FASD Changemakers
Chelsea Rinquinha (British Columbia)
BC Self Advocate Leadership Network Society
Farrah Sattaur (Ontario)
Center for Addiction and Mental Health
Yvonne Spicer (Ontario)
Co-Founder Lifetime Abilities
Theresa Somerton
Self-Advocate
Co-Founder Lifetime Abilities
And thank you also to all the additional people involved in the Program Committee:
Dara Abells MD CCFP MScCH (she/her) (Ontario)
Family Physician
Surrey Place
Oluseye Akinkunmi (Nova Scotia)
Health Services Manager
Nova Scotia Health
Stephanie Andreasen BSc
MSc Student, School and Applied Child Psychology
Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
Tamara Armitage (Alberta)
Program Director
Wetaskiwin and District Association for Community Service
Natasha Henriques MSc (she/her) (Ontario)
Clinical Research Project Manager
The Hospital for Sick Children
Christopher Chipman BA BEd
Associate Director, Programs Portfolio & Business Development
Continuing Professional Development
Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Trevor Cuddy BCom BA MEd DBA(c)
Director, Continuing Professional Development Portfolio
Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Donna Lee BA MA (she/her) (Nova Scotia)
Faculty, School of Health and Human Services
Nova Scotia Community College
Provincial Advisor, People First Nova Scotia
Theresa Grech MC CCC CPRP (she/her) (British Columbia)
Counsellor and Educator
TMG Counselling Group; Behavioural Group and Developmental Disorders Program,
University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
Tara Hyatt MA (she/her) (Ontario)
Quality Assurance, Integrity and Innovation Director
Parents for Community Living KW Inc.
Jennifer Altosaar (she/her) (Ontario)
Manager, Safer Steps My Way
Surrey Place
Talia Katz (Ontario)
Medical Student
University of Toronto
Jackie Kingsbury (she/her) (Ontario)
Manager, Community Networks of Specialized Care
South East Region, Ongwanada
Kayla Kostal MSc (she/her) (British Columbia)
PhD Student
University of British Columbia
Mandeep Mahal MD FRCPC (she/her)
Developmental Pediatrician
Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, BC Childrens’ Hospital
Julia Malchiondo MPH (she/her) (Ontario)
Researcher
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
Alan Martino PhD (he/him)
Associate Professor
Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies
Cumming School of Medicine
University of Calgary
Preetinder Narang PhD (she/her) (British Columbia)
District Behaviour Specialist
Surrey School District
Bekelu Negash
Evaluator
St. Amant Research Centre
Kim Nevilles (Ontario)
Director of Services and Supports
Kerry’s Place Autism Services
Megan Primeau MSc (she/her) (Ontario)
Conference Director, Continuing Professional Development
Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Sarah Hustad (Ames) MD FRCPC (Alberta)
Developmental Pediatrician
Alberta Children’s Hospital
Nicole Staples Dorey MA
Developmental Case Manager, ABILITY Program
SickKids Hospital
Sandy Stemp BScN (she/her) (Ontario)
Chief Operations Officer
Reena
Alicia Thatcher MD CCFP (she/her) (Saskatchewan)
Family Physician
Lori Vaanholt (she/her)
National Vice Executive Director
L’Arche Canada
If you are interested in joining for this year or next, please contact Megan Primeau. Use the links below to access the committee lists from past events: