Kelly has been a Respiratory Therapist since 1999, graduating from the Michener Institute in Toronto.  She worked in acute care, and as the Clinical Coordinator at the Guelph General Hospital, until 2020, when she joined the CRTO.  Kelly has held the Quality Practice Coordinator role until this year, when she became the Manager of Quality Practice. She is currently completing her Masters in the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Guelph. 

Rob Bryan is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and Certified Clinical Anaesthesia Assistant with more than 32 years of clinical experience and practices at Mackenzie Health at both the Cortilucci Vaughan Hospital and  Richmond Hill Hospital, and at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre in Toronto.

Rob has a special interest in growing the role of AAs on the anesthesia care team across Canada and is the current Chair of the CSRT Certified Clinical Anesthesia Assistant network. Rob has been an active professional association volunteer with the Ontario Lung Association/Ontario Respiratory Care Society and the Respiratory Therapy Society of Ontario and served on various advocacy committees and executive chairs spanning 25 years.

Rob has a special interest in quality assurance programming and in information technology integration in anesthesia care and has participated as a co-lead and subject matter expert on several anesthesia department projects at Mackenzie Health including: pioneering the ACT and establishing the AA role, anesthesia device integration and implementation of the first EPIC anesthesia optime electronic medical record installation in Canada, and the implementation of an electronic automated anesthesia pharmacy inventory management system.

Dr. Cynthia Cupido is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Critical Care at McMaster University. Dr. Cupido has worked as a staff pediatric intensivist at McMaster Children’s Hospitals for more than 2 decades during which time she has held numerous leadership roles including PICU Medical Director, Pediatric Critical Care Division Chief, Program Director of the Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship training program, McMaster Children’s Hospital Organ Donation Physician Lead, Chair of Hamilton Health Sciences Clinical Ethics Committee and Chair of Hamilton Health Sciences Organ and Tissue Donation Committee, to name just a few.

Most recently, Dr. Cupido has taken on the role of developing and launching McMaster Children’s Hospital new Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team as the Transport Team Medical Director.  In this role, Dr. Cupido has developed numerous local, regional and provincial collaborations including working together with the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario to expand the scope of practice for Registered Respiratory Therapist Transport Team members. 

Loredana is a member in good standing of the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario and is a graduate of Conestoga College. She started her career in health care by studying Paramedicine before switching gears to Respiratory Therapy. She started her respiratory therapy career as a Registered Respiratory Therapist with Mount Sinai Hospital and in community care with Newmarket ProResp in 2015.  She further developed her career in ProResp by obtaining her Certified Respiratory Educator Certificate in 2017 and becoming a Clinical Care Coordinator for Markham ProResp in 2018. This experience prompted her to pursue a management position with Orillia ProResp where she found challenge and professional growth and development for the past 2 years. Loredana provides mentorship and leadership to ProResp’s Northern Ontario operations, focusing on complex patient care. 

Carole has been a proud Respiratory Therapist for over 37 years, having graduated from the Toronto Institute of Medical Technology (now the Michener Institute of Education at UHN) in 1985. She worked in hospitals large and small until 2007, when she joined the CRTO staff, serving first in the role of Professional Practice Advisor and later as the Manager of Quality Practice.

Carole completed her Masters in the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Guelph in 2014 and taught part-time for in the Respiratory Therapy Program at Conestoga College for six years. Carole became the CRTO’s Deputy Registrar in 2020, Acting Registrar in 2021 and began her current role of Registrar & CEO in January 2022.

Mike has been a clinical Registered Respiratory Therapist and held various leadership roles over the last 26 years. These clinical roles have had a pediatric and adult focus in community and acute level facilities in Brampton, Toronto and Hamilton hospitals in a multitude of areas including the Emergency Department, Ward, Level 2 and Level 3 ICUs and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) programs. Further, various Clinical Leadership, Clinical Management, Education facilitation and Professional Practice opportunities have afforded opportunities to make a positive difference in patient and staff experiences in a leadership capacity. Mike has been in his current role as Chief of Interprofessional Practice at Hamilton General Hospital for over 10 years.  

Lindsay Martinek graduated from the University of Guelph in 2001, with a B.A.Hon in Criminology, public policy and a minor in biomedical science.  She then attained her RT diploma from the Michener Institute.  Immeduately after her graduation in 2004, Lindsay began working at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, with her primary focus in the emergency departent, inpatiet wards and the neonatal intensive care unit.  Throughout her early years at Sickkids, Lindsay became actively involved in departmental and hospital committees, ongoing professional development and soaking in as much experience at the bedside and in leadership as she could, eventually leading to enrolling in a Masters Degree program in health leadership which she completed in 2013.  Lindsay moved to Michael Garron Hospital (Toronto East Health Network) in 2012 to take on a leadership position as Manager of Interprofessional Practice managing all of the allied health disciplines in the organization.  It was through this role she discovered her love of clinicla operations leadership.  She spent 6 years in the Manager role and was then promoted to the Director of Interprofessional Practice, responsible for both nursing and allied practice and team based care delivery, hospital wide.  In 2020 the nursing resource team as well as the renal and oncology programs were added to Lindsay’s porfolio.  Additionally, Lindsay is responsible for the academic partnerships across the orgaization and for all students both clinical and non-clinical who rotate through the hospital.  Lindsay is also the President of the Board and Executive Commuttee at the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario!  Outside of her professional responsibilities, Lindsay is married with two children (11 & 13) who keep her exceptionally busy with rep sports and the usual cadence of family life!  In her somewhat limited spare time, Lindsay is an avid skiier, hiker and gym goer. She also enjoys downtime with a good book or some netflix and a good glass of wine!

Emily McMullen has been a Respiratory Therapist since 2001, graduating from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.  She began her career working in Acute Care Hospitals and Complex Continuing Care facilities where she gained clinical experience providing patient care and education.  In 2018, she transitioned to community care and began working for Somerset West Community Health Centre where she led the development of the Complex Respiratory Care Program, a Respiratory Therapy outreach program based in Primary Care.  Currently, Emily is the Manager of the Lung Health Program at Somerset West Community Health Centre in Ottawa.

Dcn. Dan McPhee currently works part time for the Brant Community Health System as a semi-retired RT and is a Deacon in his home community with the Perth Huron Crossroads family of parishes.  In addition to this he holds an active role focussing in Youth Mental Health, and Mentorship, with the Tanner Steffler Foundation.

Dan is a graduate of Algonquin college and later completed the Canadian Healthcare Association’s Modern Management program. 

His early career took him to Central Newfoundland which prepared him to be ready for anything and everything that could happen, on short notice. Working with limited resources prepared him (and laid a solid foundation) for his later career in Rural Ontario,  spending 10 years developing cardiorespiratory services for several small community hospitals in Huron, Bruce and Grey counties. He spent 6 years on the CSRT BOD between 2006 and 2012.   In 2016 he entered Seminary part time to pursue formation for ministry in the Diaconate and was Ordained in 2021.  Dcn. Dan is passionate about helping others become the best they can be, is interested in solution based communication and in service wherever needed.  

Valerie Perron is a Respiratory therapist who graduated from La Cite Collegiale currently working with Somerset West Complex Care Program offering a wide range of support with ventilation at home. Valerie has over 6 years of experience in critical care from The Ottawa Hospital. She then expanded her knowledge and pursued chronic ventilation with palliative care in the eyes of a respiratory therapist at Ottawa’s long term ventilation center St-Vincent Hospital. Her new role as community respiratory therapist at Somerset West allows her to bring all her skills together to offer the best care for trach or ventilated patients at home.

Thomas Piraino is a Registered Respiratory Therapist working at Kingston General Hospital in Ontario, and a Research Collaborator at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto working with Dr. Laurent Brochard. He is also a Lecturer (Adjunct) for the Department of Anesthesia, Division of Critical Care at McMaster University. 

Shaf has worked in the field of health regulation for the last 14 years, in various positions including investigator, subject matter expert for professional conduct, manager of Professional Conduct, and currently is the Deputy Registrar at the CRTO.   Shaf possesses a wealth of regulatory and investigative experience and has a Juris Doctor (JD) from Western Michigan University Law School and a degree from the University of Toronto.   He is passionate about the work he does and is grateful to be in a position to assist Respiratory Therapists to provide the best possible patient care to Ontarians.

Victor J. Strecher, PhD, MPH
Professor, University of Michigan Schools of Public Health
Founder and CEO, Kumanu, Inc.

Vic is a professor at the University of Michigan’s Schools of Public Health and Founder of Kumanu, Inc. His latest neuroscience, behavioral, and epidemiologic research; his two books, Life On Purpose and the graphic novel On Purpose; his free massive open online course Finding Purpose and Meaning in Life, which in its first seven months has over 90,000 enrollees, and the Purposeful application his business (Kumanu) created are all focused on the importance of developing and maintaining a strong purpose in life.

Jake Tran is the President & CEO at the Toronto Grace Health Centre since 2018.  Jake brings over 23 years of experience as a clinical Respiratory Therapist in acute care and community settings.  He has experience in complex continuing care, transitional care, wound care, respiratory care, and mental health programs.

Jake Tran holds a Master’s Degree in Science in Community Health from the University of Toronto.  He completed his Advanced Health Leadership Program and International Interprofesional Wound Care from the University of Toronto, and is a Ph.D. Candidate from Queens University with interests in Wound Prevention/Care and “successful aging”.

He enjoys many outdoor activities with a keen interest in road-cycling. The longest distance travelled in one-day was 250km—From Markham -> Orillia -> Barrie -> New Market -> Markham.  Total hours on the bike was 10 hrs!

Miriam Freymond Turnbull graduated from the Toronto Institute of Medical Technology, now the Michener Institute of Education at UHN, in 1981. Her career started in the acute care setting, where she worked in both tertiary and community hospitals gaining clinical experience with all ages from the neonate to the elderly. After 10 years of learning and building an extensive clinical experience base, she transitioned to community care where she worked as a clinician for a short time before accepting the challenges of a progressive career in leadership with ProResp.  She completed her MBA at Wilfrid Laurier University in 1999, complementing her clinical knowledge with business acumen. Miriam actively leads ProResp’s operations in successful formal and informal partnerships within Ontario’s health system – with Hospitals, long term & retirement care, hospice/palliative care, the broad community care team, and most recently the evolution of Ontario Health Teams. Miriam has a passion for our profession and for making a meaningful difference in the respiratory health of Ontarians.      

Karl graduated from the Michener Institute in 1996 after completing his undergraduate degree in Physiology from McGill. In 2019, Karl completed his Master of Education from Athabasca University and was conferred a Fellowship of the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists. Throughout his 26-year career, Karl focused on post-secondary education, developing skills in teaching and curriculum design. While at SAIT Polytechnic, Karl was introduced to simulation-based education at the Centre for Medical Simulation at Harvard/MIT. By 2006, he designed and launched some of the earliest immersive simulation-based curricula for Respiratory Therapy in Canada. Since 2007, Karl’s influence and experience broadened through interprofessional mentorship and collaboration in clinical simulation-based education design, both at Conestoga College and with members from local, provincial, and national groups. In 2018, he received the Simulation Citizenship Award from Simulation Canada. Karl holds high value for interprofessional collaboration in education and clinical practice. Karl maintains a clinical presence serving at Cambridge Memorial Hospital as a casual RT.

Brian Whitwham has a diverse litigation practice with an emphasis on complex commercial disputes and professional discipline.  He has represented clients at all levels of the Ontario court system on a broad range of matters, including contractual claims, shareholder disputes, commercial leasing disputes, professional negligence actions, and injunction proceedings.

Beyond his advocacy work before the courts, Brian has appeared before many regulatory tribunals and administrative boards in defence of clients within professional discipline proceedings, particularly in the health sector. In that regard, he has assisted health professionals at every stage of their regulatory proceedings, from the initiation of the investigation to the completion of the discipline hearing.  Brian was recognized as a “Future Star” in the 2020 edition of the Benchmark Litigation Canada rankings.

Prior to joining Miller Thomson in 2014, Brian worked in Toronto at another national law firm, where he managed a broad litigation practice with a focus on medical malpractice, criminal, and regulatory matters.

Brian obtained his Juris Doctorate from Western University in 2010 and was called to the Bar the following year.  Before he attended law school, Brian spent several years as a newspaper reporter and his work was recognized both provincially and nationally.