Meet our Speakers

Kristy Côté, Ph.D.

Dr. Kristy Côté is a values-driven executive leader with over 20 years in medical education, healthcare policy, and university governance. She brings deep expertise in people and culture, strategic planning, organizational transformation, and interest-holder engagement. Her work bridges health system priorities with institutional realities, and she consistently delivers impact through complex change leadership and principled governance. Dr. Côté currently holds the position of Administrative Director, Family Medicine and Strategic Advisor to the President. In this dual role, she provides strategic leadership in advancing the discipline of Family Medicine and plays a key role in shaping both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education at NOSM University. Dr. Côté serves as the internal lead for the University’s expansion of Family Medicine and is the administrative lead for the development of NOSM U’s emerging Primary Care Teaching Clinics (PCTCs) initiative. She works closely with a broad network of internal and external partners to support health system transformation and community-engaged medical education across Northern Ontario.

Dr. Côté holds the designations of Certified Human Resource Professional and Certified Human Resource Leader (CHRP, CHRL) as recognized by the Human Resource Professionals Association and most recently obtained the designation of Accredited Board Director (AccBD) as jointly recognize by Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and the Board Diversity Network (BDN).

Dr. Côté is a proud Francophone and honoured member of the Métis Nation of Ontario with Treaty 5 ancestry.

Jason Sutherland, MD, CCFP, PhD

Dr. Jason Sutherland was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. He completed a PhD in Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University before attending medical school at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). A proud graduate of NOSM’s Family Medicine residency program in 2013, he has been practicing Family Medicine in Sudbury ever since.

Dr. Sutherland has a strong passion for medical education and holds the rank of Associate Professor at NOSM University. He is actively involved in teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate learners, has served on several NOSM U committees, and since 2023 is the Postgraduate Family Medicine Program Director.

Nationally, Dr. Sutherland contributes to the advancement of family medicine through his involvement with the College of Family Physicians of Canada, where he serves as an accreditation surveyor and a member of the Certification Process and Assessment Committee (CPAC).

Cath Cosgrave, Ph.D.

Dr. Cath Cosgrave is a leading authority on rural health workforce development and the creator of the internationally recognized Attract Connect Stay Framework (in academia known as the Whole of Person Retention Improvement Framework). With a PhD focused on rural health workforce retention, Cath in the last decade has pioneered community-led approaches to solving complex workforce challenges across rural Australia and New Zealand.

As founder of a consulting business Attract Connect Stay and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Queensland University of Technology, Cath has secured over $1.4 million in competitive research funding and published 23 peer-reviewed articles that influence national and international policy. Her signature Community Connector Program has been successfully implemented across eight regions in two countries, demonstrating measurable improvements in workforce attraction and retention.

A 2018 Churchill Fellow, Cath's research expedition to Canada investigating social connection approaches for rural health workers directly informs her practical, evidence-based solutions. She is a sought-after keynote speaker who translates complex research into actionable strategies that empower communities to build sustainable workforces.

David McCullagh

David McCullagh is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in human capital consulting, SaaS, and data-driven employee engagement strategies. He has led transformative initiatives that improved workforce recruitment and retention through advanced analytics, segmentation, and experimentation. 

David was instrumental in launching Workday in Canada and pioneered the development of HR portals and online total rewards statements, helping organizations modernize how they engage and communicate with their workforce. 

At Intillum Health, David brings his deep expertise in software and workforce strategy to the healthcare sector, where he helps connect communities with physicians through an AI-powered recruitment platform. His work focuses on leveraging technology to solve critical access and staffing challenges in healthcare, making him a leading voice in the intersection of AI, workforce innovation, and physician engagement. 

Sarah Newbery, MD, CCFP, FCFP

Dr. Sarah Newbery is a family physician who has worked in Marathon for the past 29 years.  She has been involved with NOSM U in various capacities since its inception in 2002, including her current role as Associate Dean of Physician Workforce Capacity. In this role she works to create connections across the health care system in Northern Ontario to support efforts to recruit and retain Northern Ontario’s future workforce.  Part of her role includes supporting the development of the Rural Generalist Pathway at NOSM U.

She is a past president of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, has been involved in numerous Ontario and national committees and is active with both the CFPC and Society of Rural Physicians of Canada. Passionate about community-engaged health care, she works to advance equitable access to care for the people Northern Ontario, with a focus on rural and remote communities. 

Mélanie Goulet

As the Physician Recruitment Coordinator for the Hearst Medical Recruitment Alliance (HMRA), Mélanie plays a key role in attracting and retaining physicians to ensure accessible, patient-centered care in her community. She also serves as Site Administration Coordinator (SAC) with NOSM University and Local Education Group (LEG) Administrator, supporting medical learners and teaching physicians throughout their placements in Hearst.

In addition to recruitment, Mélanie manages scheduling for key hospital services, including emergency, in-patient, and locum coverage, helping maintain continuity of care and avoid service interruptions.

With a background in sales, marketing, and business administration, Mélanie leverages her bilingual proficiency in English and French to build strong connections with healthcare professionals and learners.

As Chair of the Northeastern Ontario Physician Recruitment Alliance (NEOPRA) and a board member of the Ontario Physician Recruitment Alliance (OPRA), Mélanie advocates for rural and remote healthcare across the North. Passionate about innovation and collaboration, she embraces technology and social media to enhance recruitment efforts while promoting Northern Ontario’s exceptional quality of life, vibrant bilingual culture, and strong sense of community.

Through her leadership and partnerships across the region, Mélanie is helping build a more connected and sustainable healthcare network for Northern Ontario.

Ryan Humeniuk

Ryan Humeniuk is the Business Development Officer for Health and Life Sciences with the City of Greater Sudbury. He leads initiatives to attract investment, support innovation, and grow the region’s health and life sciences sector.  Ryan has coordinated the City's physician recruitment efforts for the past 18 years, and he has extensive experience building partnerships that strengthen both healthcare delivery and economic development across the region. Dedicated to promoting Greater Sudbury as a hub for medical innovation and healthcare excellence, Ryan continues to champion initiatives that strengthen both the region's economy and its capacity for world-class care.

Dan Ward, MHA, MA, BSc (Hons), CHE, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Dan Ward is the Director of Clinical Partnerships and Hospital Relations at NOSM University. He is an accomplished healthcare leader with extensive experience in medical administration, strategic planning, and health system partnerships. As Director of Clinical Partnerships and Hospital Relations at NOSM University, Dan leads initiatives that strengthen hospital relationships, support academic health science collaboration, and advance NOSM University’s mission and vision.

Prior to joining NOSM University in August 2024, Dan served as Director of Medical Affairs at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), Executive Director of the Enhanced Care Team Clinic, Executive Director of the Nipigon Family Health Team, and Manager of Ambulatory Mental Health and Supportive Services (TBHRSC).

He holds a Master’s in Health Administration from the University of Regina, a Master’s in Medical Anthropology from the University of Saskatchewan, and an Honours Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from Lakehead University. Dan has completed executive leadership training at the Rotman School of Management, holds the Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation, and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian College of Health Leaders - Northwestern Ontario Chapter.

Joey McColeman, MBA

Joey McColeman is the Senior Director of Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) at NOSM U.  He has worked in medical education for over 20 years, holding a variety of progressively senior roles, including NOSM U’s Director of Continuing Education & Professional Development (CEPD), and managing all of the University’s Royal College specialty residency programs as PGME Education Manager.

In his leadership roles, he has been instrumental in change-management initiatives helping lead the redesign of adult-learning frameworks for residency training, guiding structural repositioning of medical training delivery systems across regional, provincial and national levels, and adapting leadership strategies aligned with evidence-based and best-practice models.

Mr. McColeman views education as a lifelong journey, holding an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from Laurentian University, and earning an MBA in 2020, and believes that medical-education institutions must be agile, inclusive and deeply connected to the communities they serve. Maintaining relationships with the distributed communities and sites supporting clinical training across Northern Ontario, he is especially interested in the delivery of socially-accountable and -responsible delivery of residency education across the North and its impact on Northern Ontario’s physician workforce and patient care access, reflecting NOSM U’s broader mission of responding to Northern Ontario’s unique health-human-resource needs.