Putting the Pieces Together conference

Kris Juck is serving as the Executive Director for Pain Care BC and Cystic Fibrosis Care BC in PHSA. Before this, she served as the Director, Clinical Operations at Royal Columbian Hospital. Within her 10 years at Fraser Health, she led multiple programs in the areas of emergency, surgery, critical care and regional rehabilitation programs. Prior to that, Kris worked in senior leadership roles at BC Children’s and BC Women’s Hospitals in pediatric, surgical and complex pain care spaces.  

Kris has a clinical doctorate in Audiology and a Master of Clinical Science degree. In addition to her past clinical and operational roles, she understands the importance of research and academia. She believes in the importance of enhancing existing services to meet the needs of the patients they serve. Kris is passionate about supporting patients to get the care they need. Right patient, right place, right time!

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Katie Blecker (she/her) is a yoga teacher (RYT-500), disability advocate, and visual artist. Her work as a trauma-informed and adaptive yoga facilitator centers supporting folks who live with chronic illness, pain, disability, and chronic stress using tools such as therapeutic-style asana, pranayama, and meditation. As a queer, disabled, and multiply-chronically ill person, Katie’s lived experiences inform her approach to yoga facilitation, wherein she seeks to offer a no-pressure environment that invites you to show up just as you are on any given day. Katie runs her own online yoga studio and leads a weekly class with the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC. She’s also a faculty member in the yoga teacher training programs at The Vancouver School of Healing Arts, offering curricula based on Accessibility in Yoga.

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Michael Yellow Bird, PhD, is a Professor and Former Dean of the Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba. He is a member of the MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) in North Dakota, USA. He is a certified, internationally trained mindfulness meditation teacher, professional, and scholar and has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 1975. He is a mindfulness consultant and trainer to many organizations, programs, and communities, and serves as a Decolonial Contemplative Mentor and Scholar.

He is the Co-President of the Mindfulness Council of Canada Board of Directors, a Member of the Global Compassion Coalition Board of Directors, the Brown University Mindfulness Center External Advisory Board, and the Council of Elders for Indigenous Mindfulness Practices. His mindfulness and contemplative work and research have been featured on numerous podcasts, websites, magazines, newspapers, and scholarly publications.

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Dr. Susan Holtzman is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.  She is a registered psychologist and offers clinical training in the psychological assessment and treatment of chronic pain.  Dr. Holtzman’s research aims to understand the connection between social relationships and wellbeing.  She is particularly interested in the power of online spaces to improve access to social support for those living with chronic health conditions, such as chronic pain.

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Maria Cecilia is a Peruvian-Canadian curator, creative facilitator, experience designer and life-long learner with over 10 years of experience working in arts & cultural programming, education and community engagement.  

She holds a BA in Communications (2011) with a mention in Audiovisual Production, and an MA in Comparative Media Arts (2016). In 2015, she curated and produced the Andean Horror Film Fest. Since then, she has collaborated with the Reel 2 Real Film Festival for Youth, and the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, among others. She also co-produces The Happy Listening Project, a podcast that aims to share the soothing sounds of nature to support wellbeing and raise environmental awareness.  

She’s grateful to live, work, learn and play in the unceded, ancestral and stolen territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

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Lindsay Wolfson is a women’s health consultant and sex educator. She works as the Research Manager at the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and is pursuing a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University. She holds a Master of Public Health, Social Inequities and Health, from Simon Fraser University. Lindsay is responsible for research and collaboration on projects relating to stigma reduction, and the integration of gender, trauma, culture, violence and equity-informed approaches into policy, research, and practice.  

Lindsay has lived with pain for over 15 years, having experienced migraine and endometriosis. While on her own chronic pain journey, she led a project around women’s chronic pain and prescription opioid use. The project inspired her to return to school, to provide non-pharmacologic and relational care, that supports women on their pain management journeys.

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Jennifer Stinson is the Mary Jo Haddad Nursing Chair in Child Health and a Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences (CHES) research program, within the Research Institute at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. She is also a Nurse Practitioner in the Chronic Pain Program in the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine at SickKids and a Professor in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Department of Pediatric Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She leads the iOUCH lab which seeks to improve health outcomes in children and youth with painful chronic conditions using digital health therapeutics. 

Dr. Patricia Poulin is a Clinical Health and Rehabilitation Psychologist at The Ottawa Hospital Pain Clinic, an Associate Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and Assistant Professor at in the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine at The University of Ottawa. She engages in supervision, training, and mentoring in each of these roles. Dr. Poulin is also one of the principal applicants responsible for the Chronic Pain Network (CIHR Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Network in Chronic Diseases) and is the lead investigator for network research conducted at The Ottawa Hospital Pain Clinic.

Kendra Coupland (she/her) is a meditation teacher, yoga grandmaster and multi-disciplinary artist of mixed Caribbean and Romani heritage. As a survivor of violence, Kendra brings a compassionate, trauma-informed, and intersectional framework to her practice. Her work strives to create safer spaces for people who experience marginalization to practice self-liberation, and she is whole-heartedly dedicated to building communities of loving kindness and care.

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Alice is a member of the Association Québécoise de Douleur Chronique (AQDC) since 2018. She served as a facilitator for peer support groups starting in 2019 and joined the board of members in 2020. In June 2023, Alice was appointed as one of the Vice-President of AQDC.

In addition to her advocacy work within AQDC, Alice is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Sciences. Her research focuses on pain neurophysiology, and she is a lecturer of neurophysiology at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières since 2018.

Alice is driven by a deep-seated commitment to making scientific knowledge accessible to the broader public.

After a long struggle with her new reality of living with chronic pain as a young adult, Alvine realized the very first step to finding peace and a possibly long lasting solution to her pain was acceptance. Thanks to her interest in volunteering for studies, surveys and interviews on chronic pain, she came to know about Pain BC, Pain Canada as well as Power Over Pain Network. She is now a volunteer with the Power Over Pain Network as a Lived Experience Advisory Committee (LEAC) member, and starting a new role as a co-facilitator with the People in Pain Network. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Letters (Double major - 2014), but after having worked in non-related fields, she has decided to become a social worker. Pain may have delayed her but can never take her dream and passion away from her.

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Virginia McIntyre is the President and Executive Director of the People In Pain Network (Society). Her dedication to improving pain management and raising awareness about chronic pain is evident in her active participation in numerous research projects and pain-related initiatives. She serves on several influential committees, including the Pain Canada National Advisory Committee and the US Association for the Study of Pain’s PWLE Committee. Additionally, she chairs the Canadian Pain Society’s Communication Committee and PWLE Committee.

As a public presenter, advocate, and educator, Virginia emphasizes the importance of pain resources and peer support. Her ongoing work as an international presenter and advocate highlights her commitment to advancing the understanding and management of chronic pain.

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Fern is a professional foodie working as a personal chef as well as a registered nutritionist. She has been managing her chronic pain for over 10 years and has recently joined Pain BC as a group facilitator. One of her favorite activities for taking care of her mind and body is climbing.

Maripier used to be a Registred Nurse after graduating from Université Laval in 2005. She has been on disability leave since 2015 for chronic pain to her arms mainly and is also a full time mom of two teenagers with special needs. Since the pandemic, she started working with AQDC.

Okimawapiw Iskwew nitisiyihkâson

Lisa L’Hirondelle’s Cree name means Boss Lady SittingWoman. Her Metis Cree/French descendance comes from of her father's family on BuffaloLake Metis Settlement and her mother's in Lac La Nonne area and EnfranchisedPapaschase First Nation. She was born in Treaty 6 territory and now resides inTreaty 7 territory as a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. She is a wife,mother and kokum, as well as a Clinical Social Worker, Family Counsellor,Indigenous Hospital Liaison, Artisan and a recognized Kairos Blanket ExerciseFacilitator.

Lisa values all aspects of wellness along withrelationality, cultural continuity of care and her gifts as a helper. Sheconnects in culturally relevant, safe, and meaningful ways to provide pathwaysfor healing alongside her Indigenous relations.

Jason Busse is a Professor in the Departments of Anesthesia and Health, Evidence and Impact at McMaster University, Director of the National Pain Centre, and Associate Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. He holds a CIHR Canada Research Chair in the Prevention and Management of Chronic Pain.

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Desmond Williams is a community healer and TRE (Tension, Stress & Trauma Release Exercise) practitioner, international pain advocate, Audio Engineer & Sound Designer, stand-up comedian and writer & orator whose work is grounded in the culture, music, dancing, laughter and storytelling of his upbringing with the traditions of the Nlaka’pamux First Nations and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. 

Desmond’s work explores healing practices for People of the Global Majority, and how to foster the care and support needed to explore the depth of living this existence safely and effectively with others.

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Alex is a qualitative researcher focused on digital health equity and service co-design. They have lived with chronic pain and fatigue since early childhood but did not receive a diagnosis until they were thirty. Half a decade later, their pain and fatigue are still poorly managed.

Since 2018, Alex has worked as a design and brand strategy consultant specializing in disability and LGBTQ2S+ inclusion. Alex’s research and design practice are informed by their lived experiences of invisibilized disability, queerness and housing instability, as well as their rural background.

Alex has a B.Sc. in Pathobiology from the University of Toronto, and an M.Des. from OCAD University in interdisciplinary art, media and design. They are currently on the steering committee of Pain Canada’s Putting the Pieces Together conference, and co-chair the Chronic Pain Network’s Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Science committee.

Virginia McIntyre is the President and Executive Director of the People In Pain Network (Society). Her dedication to improving pain management and raising awareness about chronic pain is evident in her active participation in numerous research projects and pain-related initiatives. She serves on several influential committees, including the Pain Canada National Advisory Committee and the US Association for the Study of Pain’s PWLE Committee. Additionally, she chairs the Canadian Pain Society’s Communication Committee and PWLE Committee.

As a public presenter, advocate, and educator, Virginia emphasizes the importance of pain resources and peer support. Her ongoing work as an international presenter and advocate highlights her commitment to advancing the understanding and management of chronic pain.

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Fern is a professional foodie working as a personal chef as well as a registered nutritionist. She has been managing her chronic pain for over 10 years and has recently joined Pain BC as a group facilitator. One of her favorite activities for taking care of her mind and body is climbing.

Alice is a member of the Association Québécoise de Douleur Chronique (AQDC) since 2018. She served as a facilitator for peer support groups starting in 2019 and joined the board of members in 2020. In June 2023, Alice was appointed as one of the Vice-President of AQDC.

In addition to her advocacy work within AQDC, Alice is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Sciences. Her research focuses on pain neurophysiology, and she is a lecturer of neurophysiology at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières since 2018.

Alice is driven by a deep-seated commitment to making scientific knowledge accessible to the broader public.

After a long struggle with her new reality of living with chronic pain as a young adult, Alvine realized the very first step to finding peace and a possibly long lasting solution to her pain was acceptance. Thanks to her interest in volunteering for studies, surveys and interviews on chronic pain, she came to know about Pain BC, Pain Canada as well as Power Over Pain Network. She is now a volunteer with the Power Over Pain Network as a Lived Experience Advisory Committee (LEAC) member, and starting a new role as a co-facilitator with the People in Pain Network. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Letters (Double major - 2014), but after having worked in non-related fields, she has decided to become a social worker. Pain may have delayed her but can never take her dream and passion away from her.

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Maripier used to be a Registred Nurse after graduating from Université Laval in 2005. She has been on disability leave since 2015 for chronic pain to her arms mainly and is also a full time mom of two teenagers with special needs. Since the pandemic, she started working with AQDC.

Katie Blecker (she/her) is a yoga teacher (RYT-500), disability advocate, and visual artist. Her work as a trauma-informed and adaptive yoga facilitator centers supporting folks who live with chronic illness, pain, disability, and chronic stress using tools such as therapeutic-style asana, pranayama, and meditation. As a queer, disabled, and multiply-chronically ill person, Katie’s lived experiences inform her approach to yoga facilitation, wherein she seeks to offer a no-pressure environment that invites you to show up just as you are on any given day. Katie runs her own online yoga studio and leads a weekly class with the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC. She’s also a faculty member in the yoga teacher training programs at The Vancouver School of Healing Arts, offering curricula based on Accessibility in Yoga.

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Natanya is a multifaceted professional with a rich background in mindfulness, mental health, and community management. Currently, she serves as the Assistant Executive Director of Mindfulness Everyday and Migraine Coach at Natanya Coaching.  

Her career is marked by significant roles such as Executive Director at the Mindfulness Council of Canada, Executive Officer at Community and Cultural Connections, Operations Manager at the National Children's and Youth Law Centre, and Manager at Carer Assist.  

Natanya's educational journey includes training as a Mindfulness-Based Chronic Pain Management Facilitator, a Coach Leadership accreditation with CTI, and a Graduate Certificate in Management from UTS, Sydney. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Psychology, and Administration from the University of Canberra and has completed Crisis Counselling with Lifeline Australia.

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