Board of Directors

Andrew Springer has been a practicing chiropodist since 1983. He has practiced in a variety of public and private practice settings. During his career he has been active in a number of professional activities requiring leadership, vision, integrity and compassion, including serving as President of the Ontario Society of Chiropodists and the College of Chiropodists of Ontario and in several capacities - clinical, management and administrative - at North York General Hospital, West Park Healthcare and Providence Healthcare. Andrew is also a member of the Ontario Diabetes Foot Care Task Force and consultant to the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle. In 2010, Andrew received the recognition of “Outstanding Dedication and Service to the Advancement of the Profession” Ontario Society of Chiropodists.

John is a general surgeon and physician lead at the Fraser Health Complex Wound Centre in British Columbia.  He has specific interests in the optimal delivery of interprofessional wound care as well as physician engagement in quality improvement.

Petra O’Connell is a health consultant and the past Senior Provincial Director of the Diabetes, Obesity and Nutrition - Strategic Clinical Network. She was responsible for developing diverse clinical and research network and for overseeing the design, evaluation and spread of initiatives that transform the delivery of health-care services in these three interconnected clinical streams across Alberta. Three province-wide initiatives involve the development of a diabetic foot care pathway for use in primary care.
Petra has extensive experience in strategic and operational planning and evaluation across health care settings and has held senior management positions in strategic and hospital facilities planning, hospital support services operations and ambulatory care management.  She has a BSC in Medical Laboratory Sciences and a master's in Health Services Administration from the University of Alberta and has published in the areas of health technology assessment, clinical practice guidelines, and innovations in health care organization.

Ellen is a registered dietitian with a wide range of nutrition interests including diabetes management, wound care, heart health, weight management, enteral nutrition and eating disorders. She is registered with the College of Dietitians of British Columbia, Dietitians of Canada and is a professional member of the Diabetes Canada and Wounds Canada. She is a member of Wounds Canada's Board of Directors. She holds a clinical instructor position with the Land & Food Systems Faculty at UBC. Ellen received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and her Masters in Human Nutrition from UBC. She works in Diabetes Education with North Shore Chronic Disease Services at Vancouver Coastal Health, where she collaborates with clients to attain their nutrition and health goals. 

Dr Virginie Blanchette is the first podiatrist PhD in Québec and has been an associate professor in the podiatric medicine program at Université du Québec at Trois-Rivières since 2014. Her research specialty is prevention and management of diabetic foot ulcers and their complications, with a team approach within patient-oriented research (POR). She is currently a Diabetes Action Canada trainee with Charles de Mestral and France Légaré. Dr Blanchette holds a PhD in biomedical sciences from Université de Montréal, a doctorate in podiatric medicine (DPM), and a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in medical biology from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). She joined the Diabetic Foot Canada Task Force in 2019 to help to prevent, manage and address the deficit in awareness, knowledge and funding of diabetes-related foot complications, preventable amputations and loss of life or people living with diabetes in Canada. She is a member of many research networks.

Holly Calliou is a Cree woman from Alexander First Nation. She graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2006. Holly worked at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital from 2006-2007. She started working for Indigenous Services Canada in 2007 where she was able to work on a few different First Nations in Alberta. Her primary focus during her time with ISC was in Public Health. In 2015 she was offered the position of Home Care Coordinator for Enoch Cree Nation. This gave her the opportunity to practice with a completely different focus. This position has enabled her to develop more as a nurse and to help as many people as she can in the community. She works closely with physicians, surgeons and other health professionals to provide the best care for her clients. Holly was the recipient of the Indigenous Health Care Professional Scholarship from Wounds Canada in 2022 and the Aboriginal Role Model of Alberta for Health in 2022.

Dr. Evans is the Medical Director of the Wound Healing Clinic at Women’s College Hospital, involved in research and teaching. She also is a full-time family physician in the community. Dr. Evans is part of the faculty of the International Interprofessional Wound Care Course (IIWCC) through the University of Toronto. She is senior faculty for Wounds Canada to support the development of interprofessional education programs for clinicians as well as delivery and evaluation of these programs. Dr. Evans is now co-chair for the Diabetic Task Force for Wound Canada.

Susie is a community pharmacist, where she has applied herself as a Certified Diabetes Educator, Certified Fitter of Compression Therapy and Certified Respiratory Educator.

Nationally, Susie serves on and leads several committees: with Diabetes Canada as a chapter author of Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines and member of the dissemination and implementation committee; and with Wounds Canada where she serves on the Board of Directors and has co-authored Wounds Canada Best Practice Recommendations. Provincially, Susie serves on a variety of committees to effect practice and health care in our communities such as the Health Quality Ontario, Diabetes Quality Standard Advisory Committee and the Ontario Immunization Advisory Committee.

Susie is the 2020 Charles H. Best Award recipient, given to a health-care professional who has made a significant difference across Canada towards improving the quality of life of individuals living with diabetes, and was awarded the 2021 Diabetes Canada Educator of the Year.

Dr. Kayssi is a vascular surgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and a wound care physician at Women’s College Hospital. He obtained his medical degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, before relocating to Toronto to pursue training in general and vascular surgery. He subsequently completed a fellowship in limb preservation and wound care under the supervision of Dr. Richard Neville in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Kayssi is a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health, where he obtained a Master of Public Health focusing on quantitative methods and is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Jane is an occupational therapist and the Education and research coordinator-wound care for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Jane was educated at the College of Occupational Therapy, now Trinity College, and at the University of Manitoba, completing IIWCC in 2017.
She is responsible for administration and teaching of wound care courses, and development of best practice in wound care. Jane is the co-chair or the Skin and Wound Care Practice Committee and has a tremendous team of wound care specialists to call on to assist with wound consultations and clinician networking. Jane has participated in medical missions to Haiti and is a volunteer puppy raiser for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Bernadette Mitchell-McDonald is the Senior Manager of Provincial Clinical Programs for Nova Scotia, overseeing the government provincial wound program for the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care. With nearly 30 years in diverse roles in wound care, Bernadette has collaborated with the provincial government on the development of the provincial wound program. Bernadette has also developed and led a wound prevention programs in long-term care settings. A registered nurse, she holds a Bachelor of Commerce from St. Mary’s University, completed the IIWCC, and earned a Master of Science in Skin Integrity and Wound Management from the University of Hertfordshire. Bernadette is passionate about improving wound care to improve the quality of life for individuals living in continuing care.

Linda Moss is a patient advocate for pressure injury prevention representing her family, who lost their dad Bob Wilson in 2019. Unfortunately, the family never knew a pressure injury was festering under the sheets while her father was in hospital until it was too late. The family’s story made national news, and since then Linda has been active in raising awareness about the danger of pressure injuries and what caregivers can do to help prevent them. She is seeking to make the path a little smoother for other families so they can avoid what her own family experienced. Linda says, “With every tragedy there is always a lesson learned and teachable positive movement forward for change.” She believes care teams and caregivers are “essential together,” and the first step in any prevention or further complications is a collaborated and communicated care plan. She has been partnering with organizations that understand and support her family’s cause so preventative change can happen. Her goal is to foster a conversation and raise awareness among caregivers, medical staff, leadership and policy makers to discuss wound care and patient safety standards in Canada.

Maria Petri is an accomplished and driven professional with over 25 years of experience in the non-profit and business sectors. Her expertise lies in management, operations, finance, and program development, where she has consistently achieved outstanding results. Maria possesses exceptional skills in organizational leadership, stakeholder and business development, revenue generation, and delivering excellent customer experiences.

Throughout her career, Maria has demonstrated a strong aptitude for fundraising and donor relations. She has successfully raised funds, managed donor relationships, organized fundraising events, acquired major gifts, implemented donor stewardship initiatives, and engaged volunteers. Maria's contributions to the not-for-profit sector have been widely recognized, and she is highly regarded for her ability to drive innovation, foster growth, and ensure the success of organizations.

Janet L. Kuhnke RN, BA, BScN, MSc Family Systems, NSWOC, DrPsychology is a nurse researcher and is specialized in wound, ostomy, and continence care (NSWOC).
She is an Associate Professor of Baccalaureate Nursing in the School of Nursing, at Cape Breton University.
Janet is active in Wounds Canada as a researcher and program evaluator.

Her community-based research focuses in prevention of intravenous abscesses, prevention of diabetes related foot ulcers and amputations, and mental health and spiritual wellness. Janet's doctoral studies in psychology focused on the quality of life – spiritual and mental health well-being while living with diabetic foot ulcers; Two-Eyed Seeing principles guided this work.

Janet continues to coach and mentor students in baccalaureate and master qualitative research projects and thesis.

Please reach Janet at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 1 902 563 1209.