Charlie Louie, RN, BScN

Chair

Charlie has worked bedside in acute adult medical/surgical for a number of years, but has spent the majority of his nursing career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at BC Women's Hospital. He took 5 years "off" to work at Surrey Memorial Hospital where he managed and opened up their new Child/Youth Services Program, developed and managed their level III Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric In-Patient and Short Stay units, Youth Clinic and their Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Clinic. He is currently a Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) instructor, and helped to develop the provincial charting records for newborn resuscitation. Charlie also sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Neonatal Nurses. Currently, he holds three bachelor's degrees as well as a master's degree, and plans to continue further education.

Ginny Burns, NP(F), MN

Ginny Burns is a Family Nurse Practitioner who is currently working in the Fraser Lake Health Center in Fraser Lake, B.C. She is also a Sessional Instructor at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in the Rural Nursing Certificate Program and Clinical Faculty in the UNBC Nurse Practitioner Program. Ginny has spent the majority of her nursing career working in emergency care, with much of her clinical time spent in rural areas of B.C., (mainly Bella Coola and Fraser Lake) where she quickly grew to love rural and remote practice. A majority of her work as a Nurse Practitioner has been providing care to First Nations and Rural communities in various locations in B.C. and Alberta.

Ginny completed her RN Diploma from BCIT in 1992. She went on to complete her Emergency/Critical Care certificate in 1998 and completed her Bachelor of Technology, Specialty Nursing, and Critical Care/Emergency in 1999. Ginny went on to complete a Masters in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Victoria in 2007. Ginny firmly believes that nurses working in rural environments bring a variety of skills and strengths to the communities in which they work, and can make a real difference in the lives of their clients.

Ashley Durant, RN, BSN

Ashley Durant graduated as a Registered Nurse in 2017 from Douglas College. While completing her BSN, she also completed the High Acuity Speciality Nursing Theory 1 and Dysrhythmia Interpretation and Management course at BCIT. Ashley is currently practicing on a medical floor at Royal Columbian Hospital with experience in Orthopaedic Trauma, Cardiac, and General Surgery. Ashley's ambition is to gain experience at the bedside and to continue her education in the areas of leadership and policy.

Katelyn Fedorak RN, BScN, MSc

Katelyn holds at BScN from Thomson Rivers University, a Master of Science in Global Health from McMaster University, and is pursuing a Post-Graduate Diploma in Primary Health Care-Nurse Practitioner from the University of Ottawa. Currently, Katelyn practices in the ICU and ER in the communities of Chase, Ashcroft, and Kamloops, and also teaches BScN students at Thompson Rivers University. She is passionate about implementing innovations on a global scale, collaborating with teams in rural settings to improve access to primary health care, and new practice initiatives for quality improvement in the health care system.

Eunice Finch, NP-F, MSN, IBCLC

Eunice Finch graduated with her Master of Science in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Northern BC (UNBC) in 2013. She has practiced as an NP in a clinic for marginalized patients and is now practicing in an isolated First Nations community in Northern B.C. Her background in nursing includes maternal child health, acute care pediatrics, maternity, labour and delivery, and the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She has held the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) designation since 2003 and is in her 27th year of nursing practice.

Leila Gold, RN (C), BScN

Leila came to nursing after 10 years as a support worker in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES). Leila is a Registered Nurse with certified practice in Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) management, from Vancouver who completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Langara College in 2014. Her focus has been in community health in the areas of primary care, case management, harm reduction and addiction care. Currently, Leila practices as a mental health and addictions outreach nurse and has worked at the front lines during the overdose epidemic. She is passionate about services that address the social determinants of health and aim to improve accessibility and client-centered care for marginalized populations across British Columbia. She believes that, collectively, nurses can have an impact in changing health care practices.

Pauline James Curtis, RN, BSN, MN

Pauline is an active practicing RN with a Master of Nursing degree in Policy and Practice in Health Care and Social Services from the University of Victoria. She has over forty years' experience working in a variety of direct care and leadership roles in acute care, occupational health, research, long-term care, Emergency Medical Services, self-care, Home and Community Care and government settings across Western Canada.

While working for the BC Ministry of Health as a 'nurse-who-does-policy,' Pauline led or contributed to several initiatives including helping to build the BC HealthGuide Program (now HealthLink BC), the Provincial End-of-Life Care Action Plan, the Provincial Dementia Action Plan, and was the provincial lead for B.C.'s new model of advance care planning in collaboration with key stakeholders. Her primary focus remains seniors and individuals in transition through her on-call work as a Hospital Liaison Case Manager with the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

Janine Lennox RN,MN

Janine is currently a Nurse Educator at Langara College and a practising RN in Home Care. She has been involved in nursing education for 35 years, with direct care nursing experience in coronary care, adult med-surgical and rehabilitation. Janine is currently a member of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) Board of Directors, and sits on several committees within the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC). Her areas of interests include nursing students' transition to practice and Internationally Educated Practitioners.

Melissa Nuttall, RN, BScN

Melissa Nuttall is a Registered Nurse who graduated from the University of Victoria in 2013. She obtained her Emergency Specialization certificate from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and has experience in emergency room, post anesthesia care unit and cardiac short stay nursing. In addition to her diverse acute care nursing experience, Melissa also brings with her a rich nursing leadership background as the past Vancouver Island Director of the ARNBC (2014-2016) in addition to her past service as the Western Regional Director of the Canadian Nursing Students Association (CNSA). Melissa is passionate about identifying inefficiencies in healthcare delivery and making changes to support the accessibility of our public not for profit healthcare system.

Jennifer Siemens, RN, BScN, MSN

Jennifer Siemens is a Registered Nurse from the East Kootenays. She is a full-time faculty member at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. She has completed a Master of Science in Nursing degree from University of British Columbia where she focused on rural healthcare, rural health policy and rural nursing in B.C. She is passionate about advocating for the needs of rural (pop < 20,000) nurses in British Columbia.