As an Early Career Education Specialist with MD Management Limited, I work with and support medical students and resident physicians across the country. I am dedicated to sharing knowledge with early career physicians to help them manage their current and future financial states. Taking a holistic approach, I work to deliver tailored presentations on financial wellness to meet educational objectives. My career in the financial services industry began in 2018. I earned a Bachelor of Commerce from Carleton University in 2020. Away from work, I enjoy camping, travelling, and spending time with friends and family.

I am the Manager of Medical Affairs & Physician Recruitment at Blanche River Health (BRH). BRH has two hospital sites in Kirkland Lake and Englehart, Ontario. Our catchment area covers the communities of Kirkland Lake, Larder Lake, Virginiatown, Swastika, Matachewan, Charlton, Englehart, Earlton and Elk Lake.

I’ve been coordinating many aspects of physician recruitment and retention in my two years at BRH, including cross-site physician scheduling (including obtaining various Hospitalist and ER locums), Medical Affairs, credentialing, coordinating all aspects of housing and accommodations for medical staff and medical learners, orientation for new physicians, locums and medical learners, physician remuneration, and act as the BRH Local Education Group (LEG) Administrative Lead in association with NOSM. By far the most important on this list is making physicians and their families feel welcomed and supported in new surroundings and facilities.

In 2020 my husband, 3 dogs and I packed up and left the rat race of the GTA for a community that offered clean air, green space, work-life balance and a friendly, supportive community. We found such passion and warmness in North East and settled just outside of Kirkland Lake, ON. I love the community I live and work in and cannot wait to share with you what my actual commute time is now that I have left the city!

I am an open book – please feel free to ask me anything and I will always do my best to help support our physicians and their families who are considering moving to the North East!

Dr. Cait Champion is a rural General Surgeon and NOSM U faculty member who has been based in Parry Sound since 2019 after completing her surgical training at the University of Ottawa including an MSc (Health Systems). She is interested in rural health systems research and is currently leading the national Canadian Frostbite Collaborative research team, exploring frostbite practices and care access across Canada. She is also actively involved in national rural surgical education and advocacy initiatives through the Canadian Association of General Surgeons. She lives in Parry Sound with her husband, son and puppy and loves hiking, paddling and spending time outside.

Dhiren is a partner at Weaver Simmons. He was born and raised in Northern Ontario. He completed his MBA at St. Mary’s University in Halifax. He then obtained his Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton where he received the New Brunswick Trial Lawyers’ Association and the McInnes Cooper Prizes in Trial Practice. Since being called to the bar in 2015, Dhiren has concentrated his practice in the areas of civil and commercial litigation, primarily in personal injury and insurance law. He also has a thriving Family Law practice. He has appeared as counsel in jury & non-jury trials in the Small Claims Court and Superior Court of Justice as well as successfully appearing before the Ontario Court of Appeal.

It has always been Dhiren’s goal to practice in Northern Ontario and provide residents with access to justice whether they are individual or corporate litigants. When Dhiren isn’t focusing on your file, he is a passionate football fan who also enjoys a round of golf when time permits. He has two young children and enjoys spending quality time with his family. Dhiren is also the co-host of the Off The Cuff podcast.

Zach is a graduate of Laurentian University, and a recipient of both its National Dean’s Entrance Scholarship for Excellence and Leadership Award. He completed a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science at Laurentian, after which he studied law at the Robson Hall Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba. While in law school, Zach participated in several moot court competitions. He was a Western Canada Trial Moot Competition champion in his final year of law school, and placed third in the Sopinka Cup National Trial Moot Competition.

After graduating with his Juris Doctor (J.D.), Zach returned to Sudbury to article with Weaver, Simmons, Northern Ontario’s largest law firm. He remained there following his call to the bar of the Law Society of Ontario and became a partner with the firm in 2020.

Zach is part of the firm’s Labour and Employment Law group, representing employers throughout the province in wrongful dismissal actions, grievances, occupational health and safety matters, collective bargaining, human rights proceedings, and labour board matters, to name a few. He is frequently called upon to conduct third party investigations of workplace harassment allegations, and to present seminars on employment law topics for businesses and community organizations. Zach has appeared before numerous courts and administrative tribunals, including the Superior Court of Justice, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board. He is an active volunteer in several community organizations.

Anthony Johnson, a self-proclaimed spiritual nomad, is an artist, poet, photographer, cultural documentarian, public speaker, and strategic analyst whose mission in life is to explore the beauty of the Earth and its inhabitants. A proud Dine (Navajo) man who was born and raised on the Navajo Nation, he’s lived in many cities across Turtle Island and even had a short stint in Shanghai, China.

After graduating from Harvard University in 2009 with a Bachelors Degree in Economics and Social Anthropology of East Asia, he has worked in the tech industry, fashion world, and project consulting. His move to Treaty 6 Territory in Edmonton, Alberta marked the beginning of the newest chapter in his life when he wed his husband, Dr. James Makokis, while running the BMO Harris Vancouver Marathon in 2017. Canada, and the world, were introduced to the couple when they competed on and won Season 7 of the Amazing Race Canada.

Anthony currently works as a Project Coordinator in Kehewin Cree Nation where he is helping to revitalize Traditional Cree birthing practices, medicines, and ceremonies as they relate to the Cree 7 Stages of Life philosophy. He is an aspiring filmmaker who believes in the power of stories to bring healing.

Bryan MacLeod is a Chronic Pain Physician and Associate Professor at NOSM U.

He cut his teeth as a rural family physician in Marathon, Ontario after graduating CCFP from NOMP back in The Dark Ages.

Academic interests include active research in Clinician Wellness Interventions; and is a OCFP Practising Well planning committee member and co-lead of their Peer-to-Peer program.

Bryan is a Recovering Over-Achiever and humble Mindful Self-Compassion enthusiast; melding his enthusiasm for a life in medicine with a need for all of us to have a healthier balanced way forward.

Lisa Habermehl MD CCFP FCFP is a family doc who completed residency at the Northern Ontario Medical Program in Thunder Bay in 2002 and has been in the North ever since. She is an Assistant Professor at NOSM University and works clinically in Red Lake. She has served on both the Section on General and Family Practice Executive and the Rural Expert Panel at the OMA and has been tapped to the be the Lead for Primary Care at Ontario Health North West. As an aside, she likes musical theater, knitting and is currently reading "The Food Lab" by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.

My name is Nicole Carrière Hachez. I have been a recruiter for Kapuskasing, Ontario since 2005. I am also the Site Administrative Coordinator for NOSM U, Local Education Group Administrator, Emergency Department – Hospitalist – Anesthesia -Surgery and OR Assist Scheduler. I am passionate about my community and will take any opportunity to talk about how great it is to live in Kapuskasing. I enjoy working with students and residents to organize their schedules to get the best learning experience possible and help them get integrated in the community. I play a big role in assuring that everything is in place for locum physicians working in our community.

Kapuskasing is the largest community located directly on Highway 11 between Thunder Bay and Temiskaming Shores. With a population of just over 8,100 residents, Kapuskasing is surrounded by many small communities, such as Opasatika, Val Rita-Harty, Moonbeam, Fauquier-Strickland and Smooth Rock Falls, and acts as the centre of services to a total population base of approximately 15,000.

Hayley Harlock is the founder of The Flipside Life (TFSL), and a champion of physician families. She is married to a vascular surgeon and a proud mom of three children. Hayley holds a Master of Social Work degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, and previously practiced at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.

After personally experiencing the gap in support available for physician families, Hayley founded The Flipside Life in 2019. Hayley's personal and professional experience, coupled with her natural ability to connect with others and her determination to improve the experience of all physician families, uniquely position her to lead the TFSL community.

The Flipside Life community has grown exponentially since 2019, connecting physician spouses from all over Canada, the USA and beyond. When not working directly with the community, as a leader in physician family wellness, Hayley continues to raise awareness and lead important conversations with stakeholders and other community partners. Hayley has made appearances on numerous podcasts, local and national media, and her work has been published by the Canadian Medical Association and Physician Family Magazine.

Hayley is an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University.

Dr. Joseph has been working for five year works as a Family and ER Physician in the GTA and also in rural and remote parts of Canada (rural Ontario, Northwest Territories and Nunavut). She loves the “career balance” that comes from experiencing the full breadth of primary care in rural towns to working in high volume / high acuity ER settings. These five years have also come with its own challenges of discovering the nuts and bolts of “locum life” and frequent adaptations. Outside of clinical medicine, Dr. Joseph enjoys teaching medical students and coaching/mentoring young physicians.

Dr. Joseph completed her medical school training at the University of Ottawa (2015), and family medicine residency at the University of Toronto (2017). In both those institutions, Dr. Joseph was a tireless advocate and served several leadership roles in local to national organizations such as OMSA and CFPC. Dr. Joseph has been the recipient of several accolades including being a Rhodes Scholarship finalist in Canada, completing an internship with World Health Organization (WHO). She has been featured on several media outlets such as CBC, Toronto Star and Toronto Life, most recently for her frontline work and advocacy around COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Joseph’s interests outside of medicine are broad, ranging from travelling, photography, exploring cultures and foods and hiking. She also runs the Canadian Medical Housing Facebook group that has helped thousands of medical learners finding housing during their various electives and location changes in training.

Sherveen joined Scotiabank in 2005, working in various cities including Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa where she is currently located. Her career has flourished, moving into progressively senior roles over the years. She brings a wealth of knowledge and industry experience to her professional clients and to her team. As Senior Manager, Healthcare & Professional Specialist covering Ontario, Sherveen leads a team of dedicated Specialists who focus on providing practice financing solutions and tailored banking advice. Sherveen also holds a Registered Financial and Retirement Advisor certificate. Outside of work she enjoys exercising and living an organic and healthy lifestyle.

Julie Kivinen is the Northwest Health Workforce Advisor with Ontario Health – Health Force, supporting Northern communities with health care recruitment and workforce planning projects. She has been involved in policy, planning and implementation projects in Ontario’s healthcare system for the past 15 years, most recently in the mental health and addictions sector in the Northwest.

Prior to her time in the NW, she spent nine years in health regulation with the College of Midwives of Ontario. She holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Amsterdam.

I specialize in educating resident physicians and early-career physicians about the financial realities and opportunities that affect them at major transitions in their career. I am passionate about building relationships and helping clients to understand the value of advice from MD Management Limited (MD) as they pursue financial well-being. Over my 10 years in the wealth management industry, my previous client-centric roles have revolved around consulting and financial literacy. I joined MD in 2021 after working in a wealth consultant role at a major Canadian financial services institution. My career in financial services began in 2011. I earned a Master of Science in Economics and International Development Studies from the University of Montreal. Away from work, I enjoy travelling, skiing and hiking.

Mike is a board-certified General Internist in Canada and the US. He is Clinician Scientist at Sinai Health in Toronto and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. He also works clinically at the Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Mike completed his medical degree and internal medicine residency training at the University of Toronto; his Master’s of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at Harvard University, including a research fellowship at the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and his PhD at the University of Toronto, with a focus on the intersection of supervised machine learning and pharmacoepidemiology.

His primary research focus to date has been diabetes; however, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike shifted his research focus to pragmatic clinical trials. He was co-investigator on SOLIDARITY, RAPID COVID COAG, and CONCOR-1, and co-principal investigator for the COVID-PRONE clinical trial. Mike lives in Toronto with his wife Brittany, who is a veterinarian.

Dr. Labine graduated NOSM family medicine residency in July 2020 and has since locumed in various communities throughout Northern Ontario to date. Her locum practice consists of hospitalist, emergency and clinic coverage.

Chase Everett McMurren lives and works in Tkarón:to | GichiKiiwenging | Toronto, though comes from Lethbridge, which is on traditional Siksikaitsitapi | Blackfoot Confederacy Territory and is covered by Treaty 7. His clan is the Turtle and his spirit name is Water Song Medicine Keeper. His ancestors are Michif/Métis, Celtic, French and Ukrainian. Dr. McMurren feels privileged to practice medicine & provides integrative medical psychotherapy, primarily for physicians and artists struggling with grief and overwhelm.

Dr. McMurren also has a small home-visiting palliative practice for long-living people with advanced illness. Currently, Dr. McMurren serves as the Indigenous Health Theme Lead in the MD Program and the Indigenous Practitioner Liaison within the Office of Indigenous Health in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. At the moment, Dr. McMurren is honoured to be the Co-Chair of the Practising Well Implementation Group at the Ontario College of Family Physicians, & the Co-Chair of the National Consortium for Indigenous Medical Education (NCIME) Working Group on Physician Wellness and Joy in Work.

I understand the value of advice and take pride in providing physicians and their families with thoughtful planning to help them meet their financial needs and reach their goals in life. Taking a holistic approach, I work to consistently deliver tailored planning solutions to ensure my clients’ overall financial wellness. I joined MD Management Limited in 2017, after working in a financial service representative role at a major Canadian financial services institution. My career in financial services began in 2006. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies and Psychology from the University of Waterloo. I am also working toward the Certified Financial Planner® designation. Away from work, I enjoy travelling and taking in new cultures and cuisines, living an active lifestyle and relaxing with a good novel.

Dr. Anish Mody is a Family Physician practicing in Ottawa.

Dr. Mody worked in rural Saskatchewan out of residency, mostly doing locums. He also served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan implementing "Transition to Practice" lecture series to Family Medicine Residents.

He moved to Ottawa in 2017 and currently serves as a Lecturer with the University of Ottawa. He takes on leadership roles with OMA, serving as a District 8 Representative and Vice President of the Ottawa Medical Society. His true passion is in practice management. He is part of OMA's Practice Efficiency presentation development. Recently, he started consulting in practice management and is willing to help physicians in need.

He started his own clinic along with a colleague, called Novel Health in 2021. Novel Health was this year's recipient of the OMD 2021 Luminary Award - Team for outstanding contribution in digital health in Ontario.

Dr. Mody recently spoke at OntarioMD's Digital Health and Virtual Care conference on secured messaging.

When he is not busy in his clinic, he spends time with his wife and newborn son. He enjoys cycling, yoga, and recently started to play tennis.

Dr. Newbery is the inaugural Assistant Dean of Physician Workforce Strategy. In this role, she works with faculty, communities and other partner organizations to support strategic initiatives to enhance the physician workforce for Northern Ontario.

A rural generalist family physician of 26 years in the community of Marathon, she has held leadership roles in primary care, the hospital sector, the OCFP and the NW LHIN. She brings her knowledge of Northern Ontario and the health care system to her service in this role.

As part of a small team of OMA staff working remotely from the OMA, Richard has been working with and supporting physician leaders, OMA members and health system stakeholders in Northern Ontario since 2007. He is the primary point of contact for physicians when they want to access the support and services of the OMA. Richard supports the implementation of OMA priorities and activities in the North and helps to inform members about OMA initiatives, services and policy positions. Working with physician leaders and member he brings forward northern issues for the OMA to resolve on behalf of members. Prior to joining the OMA Richard worked with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Regional Office which included Northern Health Programs. He is a lifelong resident of Northern Ontario.

Having been born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, Natalie obtained her Bachelor of Commerce at Laurentian University in 2020. Natalie also obtained her Juris Doctor in 2020 from the University of Ottawa’s Programme de common law en français.

Natalie completed her articles with Weaver, Simmons LLP and was called to the bar in March 2021. She is now an associate in the firm’s Corporate/Commercial Law Department and Labour and Employment Law Departments.

Natalie is fluently bilingual and practices law in both official languages.

Sabrina is a Family Medicine Resident and Master's of Medical Studies Candidate at NOSM U West - Thunder Bay Campus.

As an aspiring ER physician she came up with the idea of Scout Health in 2019 when she had a patient present to ER with chest pain after their rural ER closed due to staffing issues. Since then she has teamed up with software engineer Drew Payette to bring you Scout Health, Canada's first healthcare recruitment application for rural and remote areas.

www.scouthealth.ca

I understand the value of advice and take pride in providing physicians and their families with thoughtful planning to help them meet their financial needs and reach their goals in life. Taking a holistic approach, I work to consistently deliver tailored planning solutions to ensure my clients’ overall financial wellness. I joined MD Management Limited in 2022, after working in a senior financial advisor role at a major Canadian financial services institution. My career in financial services began in 2010. I hold a diploma from the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning as a Registered Financial and Retirement Advisor, as well as a diploma in financial planning. I am working toward the Certified Financial Planner® designation. Away from work, I enjoy playing golf, soccer and supporting Liverpool FC.

Rose joined Scotiabank in 2016, working in various cities including Hamilton, Toronto and Vancouver where she is currently located. Beginning at the branch she progressed in taking on several roles over the years, including becoming the first and only Healthcare & Professional Advisor role in British Columbia during her tenure. She brings extensive leadership and collaborative experience to her community stakeholders. As Manager, Partnerships & Programs, Early Career, Rose works closely with key partners within the early career space, including Healthcare & Professional Advisors nationally. Rose holds a Honours B.A. from the University of Toronto. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time cooking, baking and travelling with her husband and their dog.

Dr. Rose Zacharias is a family physician with a hospital-based practice. For the last 20 years, she has practiced as an emergency department physician, a hospitalist and surgical assistant, primarily at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital. She currently works in a COVID-19 screening unit, providing medical coverage to psychiatry in-patients at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health in Penetanguishene. Dr. Zacharias has been a member of the Ontario Medical Association Board of Directors since 2020.

Her advocacy work is focused on physician mental health and wellbeing and she is involved in physician wellness initiatives, from implementing a peer support program at the start of the pandemic to involvement in the Organizational Wellness Network at the OMA’s Physician Health Program. Dr. Zacharias is known as a conversation catalyst, bringing depth and curiosity to conversations, from her medical and wellbeing practice to the boardroom and beyond. As a graduate of Harvard University’s Media and Medicine Certificate Program, she enjoys writing and believes in the power of combining evidence and narrative to bring about positive change. She is married to a pediatrician and they have four children.

Sarah Zawierzeniec is the Northeast Health Workforce Advisor with Ontario Health – Health Force, supporting northern communities with health care recruitment and workforce planning projects. Upon completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree with a specialization in communication studies and subsequently a post-graduate certificate in Human Resources Management, Sarah began working at Health Sciences North in Sudbury in the Medical and Academic Affairs department assisting with locum coordination and physician recruitment for the hospital.

Over the past 4 years, Sarah has been working for Ontario Health supporting Health Human Resource planning and initiatives for northern Ontario. She recently completed a Masters of Business Administration from Laurentian University.

Tim completed his MD at UBC in 2018, and made the cross-country trek to complete his residency in Family Medicine at NOSM, in Thunder Bay, in 2021. He has made his home in Northern Ontario, venturing into independent practice as a full-time rural locum, serving a rotating roster of rural Northern communities. He also has an interest in global health, and how it applies to rural Canada, having completed a graduate certificate in global surgical care (and currently pursuing his Master's).