Putting the Pieces Together conference

Patti Williams (Carey) is an Indigenous Elder of Nlaka’pamuxcin, Irish, and Scottish heritage, and a member of the Skuppah First Nation in Lytton, B.C. She lives in Coquitlam on the shared, traditional, unceded territories of the Kwikwetlem, Katzie, and Kwantlen Nations. Patti lives with chronic pain and brings both her lived experience and cultural teachings to her role as a community Elder.

She is a widow, a mother, a sister, a cousin, an Auntie, and a friend. Patti retired after 22 years as an Indigenous Support Worker with School District 42 (Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows). Before that, she worked for 16 years as a Certified Dental Assistant. She currently serves as an Indigenous Elder with the Indigenous Student Centre at Simon Fraser University, where she provides cultural support and guidance to students.

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Building bridges between liberation, art, & liminal spaces, Tanis Dylan Alexis Laird is a neurodivergent, nonbinary, queer trans parent & modern day keening banshee to 2 bio & 2 bonus babes.

Using a culmination of almost 30 years of creative work & life, lived experiences, & a broad spectrum of education, Tanis offers art & apothecary for the heart, head & spirit. Certified as an End of Life Doula, Tanis applies generous doses of grief centered care to all elements.

Magic making, writing, digital storytelling, art, handcrafted objects, custom client work, care for the caregivers, grief spaces & so much more.

Tanis is currently focused on storytelling, writing books/zines about magic & prepping for the future with love as an action & dreams come true in a safer, more joyous & liberated world.

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Therese Lane has lived with pain and arthritis since her mid-teens. She is a volunteer with the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) and a patient partner on several national research projects, including the Chronic Pain Network, the PLAN Trial, and the Canadian Pain Society’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She has also been a steering committee member of this conference since its inception.

Therese’s lived experience has made her a strong advocate for more equitable and compassionate pain care. She works to raise awareness of how pain treatment often fails to reach those who need it most—particularly people who are marginalized, live in poverty, minorities and women. Her past experiences with untreated mental health issues and addiction have given her firsthand insight into the stigma and barriers people face when seeking appropriate care.

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Michelle Wan is a mother of two teenage children. Her first-born daughter received life-saving surgery at birth and lives with medical complexities. She is a member of the SickKids Family Advisory Network and serves on the Research Family Advisory Committee at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Professionally, Michelle has worked in the music and media industries. After her daughter was born, she transitioned to health care working in medical education for the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto and for Janssen Canada. She is now self-employed and focusing on projects related to health care engagement.

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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. The moment she accepted this, she made up her mind not to shrink or give in. Rather, to adjust, adapt, learn, grow, and possibly be the reason someone sees HOPE in their own situation. Thanks to her interest in volunteering for studies, surveys and interviews on chronic pain, she came to know about Pain BC, Pain Canada, Power Over Pain Portal, Chronic Pain Network and others. Today, she is pleased to be a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Committee (LEAC) with the Power Over Pain Network, a co-facilitator with the People in Pain Network, a new member of the Steering Committee for Pain Canada's Putting The Pieces Together (PTPT) Conference, and also sits on the Chronic Pain Network’s Training and Capacity Building Committee. Alvine does not let her pain define who she is.

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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Desmond Williams is the Co-Director of The PEPR Partnership, a member of Pain Canada's National Advisory Committee, and a member of the Putting the Pieces Together Conference Steering Committee. Desmond also helps individuals and groups manage pain through gentle movement and mindfulness practices that have been most supportive in his journey in managing chronic pain. In his advocacy work, Desmond aims to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and promote the power of peer-supported pain management strategies.

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Jenny is a Spoonie, volunteer, patient partner, advocate, speaker, and storyteller.

She devotes her lived experience of chronic pain and complex chronic disease to build partnerships with organizations, initiatives, and projects such as Pain BC, Pain Canada, Chronic Pain Network, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Power Over Pain Portal, Circa Pain, PEPR Project, and the University of British Columbia. Since 2022 Jenny has been a Steering Committee member for Pain Canada’s annual Putting the Pieces Together conference.

They believe personhood should never be threatened by patienthood, and as a champion of peer support as social change Jenny is dedicated to walking alongside folx who live with pain and the ones who support them.

They are thrilled to collaborate with fellow Spoonies and peers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to improving the lives of people with lived and living experience of pain.

Jenny’s Digital Storytelling Project, "Masakit", expresses how pain is not just a personal and individual experience, but one that is deeply impacted by cultural, community, collective, and systemic factors.

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Delane Linkiewich has been living with chronic pain for over 15 years and is a  passionate advocate for people who live with pain. She is actively involved in the pain community and is a patient partner with the Chronic Pain Network on their Patient Engagement Committee. She is excited to be returning as a member of the PTPT steering committee!

Delane is also a PhD student in the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Program at the University of Guelph. Delane takes a patient-oriented approach to exploring the social context of youth living with chronic pain, namely peer support and peer relationships. Her program of research is focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating a group peer support intervention for adolescents with chronic pain.

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Alex Haagaard is a design researcher who specializes in inclusive service design, digital accessibility and healthtech. They have lived with chronic pain since early childhood and this experience informs their interest in designing and advocating for system-level changes to how healthcare services are conceptualized, planned and delivered.

They are currently a member of Pain Canada's Putting the Pieces Together conference steering committee, the Ontario Health Patient and Family Engagement Committee, the Canadian Medical Association Journal's Patient Advisory Panel, and they co-chair the Chronic Pain Network's Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Science Committee.

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Mehmoona Moosa-Mitha is a South Asian Muslim woman and settler on Coast Salish territory, originally from Tanzania. She is a researcher and community advocate whose work focuses on how marginalized identities are shaped by coloniality and colonization. Through community-based participatory action research, she applies a decolonial lens to the study of trauma and pain, transnationality, social work, and citizenship. Mehmoona is deeply committed to amplifying voices and perspectives often overlooked in academic and healthcare contexts.

Jenny is a Spoonie, volunteer, patient partner, advocate, speaker, and storyteller.

She devotes her lived experience of chronic pain and complex chronic disease to build partnerships with organizations, initiatives, and projects such as Pain BC, Pain Canada, Chronic Pain Network, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Power Over Pain Portal, Circa Pain, PEPR Project, and the University of British Columbia. Since 2022 Jenny has been a Steering Committee member for Pain Canada’s annual Putting the Pieces Together conference.

They believe personhood should never be threatened by patienthood, and as a champion of peer support as social change Jenny is dedicated to walking alongside folx who live with pain and the ones who support them.

They are thrilled to collaborate with fellow Spoonies and peers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to improving the lives of people with lived and living experience of pain.

Jenny’s Digital Storytelling Project, "Masakit", expresses how pain is not just a personal and individual experience, but one that is deeply impacted by cultural, community, collective, and systemic factors.

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Vina Mohabir (she/her) is a PhD student at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children. As a disabled Indo-Caribbean settler, cancer survivor, and person with chronic pain, Vina brings lived experience to her scholarship and advocacy. Her work is grounded in intersectional, anti-colonial, and feminist praxis, informed by over a decade of community-engaged work across health equity, youth advocacy, and digital innovation.

Vina’s doctoral research focuses on reimagining stigma reduction in chronic pain care for equity-deserving youth. Using participatory action research, she is co-designing a digital therapeutic to reduce stigma experienced by Black youth with sickle cell disease. This work is situated within broader systems of anti-Black racism, medical violence, and structural inequity. Her research weaves together critical qualitative methods, intersectionality-based analysis, and digital health implementation science.

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Heather Dyck is one of the millions of Canadians living with chronic pain, a reality she has faced for over 55 years. Despite this, she is also a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Her professional career was cut short when she "retired" at the age of 31 due to complications from multiple chronic autoimmune diseases.

Heather is a passionate patient researcher at the provincial, national, and international levels, as well as a dedicated patient partner contributing to system planning, change, and improvement within the Saskatchewan Health Authority. She is also an accomplished artist.

While chronic pain is a daily part of Heather’s life, it does not define or limit her. She continues to lead with resilience, creativity, and a deep commitment to improving the healthcare system for others.

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Building bridges between liberation, art, & liminal spaces, Tanis Dylan Alexis Laird is a neurodivergent, nonbinary, queer trans parent & modern day keening banshee to 2 bio & 2 bonus babes.

Using a culmination of almost 30 years of creative work & life, lived experiences, & a broad spectrum of education, Tanis offers art & apothecary for the heart, head & spirit. Certified as an End of Life Doula, Tanis applies generous doses of grief centered care to all elements.

Magic making, writing, digital storytelling, art, handcrafted objects, custom client work, care for the caregivers, grief spaces & so much more.

Tanis is currently focused on storytelling, writing books/zines about magic & prepping for the future with love as an action & dreams come true in a safer, more joyous & liberated world.

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Jillian Banfield is the Lead for Patient Partnership in CIHR’s Institute of Genetics. She develops processes, guidance, and relationships to enable patients and caregivers to contribute their lived expertise to health research.

Jillian has extensive experience in clinical research and patient partnership in research. Jillian also lives with a genetic condition and disability, so brings her lived experience to her work.

Prior to her work in clinical research, Jillian obtained a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Waterloo.

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Jenny Russell is a divorced, queer, hearing impaired comedian and epileptic who can be seen on stages all over Vancouver. Raised on theatre and burlesque, but finding a home in standup, Jenny uses all of the experiences in her life to craft funny out of sometimes heavy things.

Sandra is a graduate of the Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) program from the University of Calgary, and she is a trained Digital Storytelling facilitator from The Story Center, USA. She believes in the importance of bringing lived experience experts as partners to health research teams and has seen the direct impact on the conduct and outputs of research. She helps support research teams in working together in patient engagement and patient-oriented research for the AbSPORU Patient Engagement Team.

She has an interest in qualitative arts-based research approaches, specifically Digital Storytelling. It is her lived experiences as a person living with Crohn’s disease and a cancer survivor that motivates her to work collaboratively in health research.

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Dr. Furlan is a physician-scientist and Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her research focus is on the management of chronic pain. This includes diagnosis, treatment and education. She is Chair of ECHO Ontario Chronic Pain and Opioid Stewardship, and she has a YouTube channel for people with chronic pain. with more than 750K subscribers. She is the author of two books and more than 150 peer-reviewed publications.

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Anne Marie Pinard is an anesthesiologist and head of the chronic pain department at the CHU de Québec. She is a professor at Laval University and a researcher at CIRRIS. She holds the Leadership Chair in Chronic Pain Education, aiming to improve chronic pain management and provide patients with validated resources and a self-management tool. She is actively involved in various initiatives addressing chronic pain at both the provincial and national levels in Canada. She is also the mother of two young adult daughters who are her greatest pride and joy. She enthusiastically and humbly shares her knowledge and experience of the past 23 years with people living with chronic pain

Balancing an active life as a clinician, program developer, mother, partner, and long-distance cyclist, Charmaine arrived at a well-deserved break from work life in 2006. The tables turned in 2015 when she became a patient, with RA. Now a director of Dragon Claw Charity, she’s turned her medical and creative mind to advancing the patient voice within the autoimmunity community.

Linda Wilhelm is the President of The Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance and co-chair of the Chronic Pain Network’s patient engagement committee. She has been living with Rheumatoid Arthritis for over 40 years, has been actively sharing her lived experience with researchers, patient communities and government to help improve the health care system for 25 years. Linda has participated in several expert advisory committees for Health Canada, CIHR and in her home province of New Brunswick, most recently being a member of The Canadian Pain Taskforce. She currently holds a position on The NB College of Pharmacists Council as a community/patient representative.

Haley Matthews, of Caribbean and African Nova Scotian/Indigenous (Métis) heritage, is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) and Certified Engineering Technologist (CET). She works with the NS Department of Health and Wellness on the Drug Information System and is completing a second master’s in psychology. A former Research Network Manager with SPOR networks BRIC NS and CPCRN, she also led STEM and health outreach. Her lived experience with chronic conditions—including ASD, an underdeveloped esophagus, and pulsatile tinnitus—fuels her passion for patient-oriented research. Now a patient partner with PTPT and CPN’s advisory group, Haley advocates for inclusive, supportive research and healthcare systems.

Delane Linkiewich has been living with chronic pain for over 15 years and is a  passionate advocate for people who live with pain. She is actively involved in the pain community and is a patient partner with the Chronic Pain Network on their Patient Engagement Committee. She is excited to be returning as a member of the PTPT steering committee!

Delane is also a PhD student in the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Program at the University of Guelph. Delane takes a patient-oriented approach to exploring the social context of youth living with chronic pain, namely peer support and peer relationships. Her program of research is focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating a group peer support intervention for adolescents with chronic pain.

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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. The moment she accepted this, she made up her mind not to shrink or give in. Rather, to adjust, adapt, learn, grow, and possibly be the reason someone sees HOPE in their own situation. Thanks to her interest in volunteering for studies, surveys and interviews on chronic pain, she came to know about Pain BC, Pain Canada, Power Over Pain Portal, Chronic Pain Network and others. Today, she is pleased to be a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Committee (LEAC) with the Power Over Pain Network, a co-facilitator with the People in Pain Network, a new member of the Steering Committee for Pain Canada's Putting The Pieces Together (PTPT) Conference, and also sits on the Chronic Pain Network’s Training and Capacity Building Committee. Alvine does not let her pain define who she is.

Haley Matthews, of Caribbean and African Nova Scotian/Indigenous (Métis) heritage, is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) and Certified Engineering Technologist (CET). She works with the NS Department of Health and Wellness on the Drug Information System and is completing a second master’s in psychology. A former Research Network Manager with SPOR networks BRIC NS and CPCRN, she also led STEM and health outreach. Her lived experience with chronic conditions—including ASD, an underdeveloped esophagus, and pulsatile tinnitus—fuels her passion for patient-oriented research. Now a patient partner with PTPT and CPN’s advisory group, Haley advocates for inclusive, supportive research and healthcare systems.

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.

Patient Partner, Member of Board Directors at CAPA, Regional Representative for FAC, and founder of WKG Foundation, Lucy is a person with lived and living experience of chronic pain. Throughout her professional career, Lucy helped many businesses and beginner entrepreneurs as strategist. Her first book 'Get Your Career Started - a Guidebook for Young Graduates' is still popular in Europe. Her new book 'Career Transition for People with Disabilities' will be available soon.

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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Desmond Williams is the Co-Director of The PEPR Partnership, a member of Pain Canada's National Advisory Committee, and a member of the Putting the Pieces Together Conference Steering Committee. Desmond also helps individuals and groups manage pain through gentle movement and mindfulness practices that have been most supportive in his journey in managing chronic pain. In his advocacy work, Desmond aims to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and promote the power of peer-supported pain management strategies.

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Jenny is a Spoonie, volunteer, patient partner, advocate, speaker, and storyteller.

She devotes her lived experience of chronic pain and complex chronic disease to build partnerships with organizations, initiatives, and projects such as Pain BC, Pain Canada, Chronic Pain Network, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Power Over Pain Portal, Circa Pain, PEPR Project, and the University of British Columbia. Since 2022 Jenny has been a Steering Committee member for Pain Canada’s annual Putting the Pieces Together conference.

They believe personhood should never be threatened by patienthood, and as a champion of peer support as social change Jenny is dedicated to walking alongside folx who live with pain and the ones who support them.

They are thrilled to collaborate with fellow Spoonies and peers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to improving the lives of people with lived and living experience of pain.

Jenny’s Digital Storytelling Project, "Masakit", expresses how pain is not just a personal and individual experience, but one that is deeply impacted by cultural, community, collective, and systemic factors.

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Dr. Katelynn Boerner is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Developmental Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She is an Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Member of the Academy of Translational Medicine, and provides care as a registered psychologist with the Complex Pain Service at BC Children’s Hospital.

Katelynn’s research focuses on making pain research and care more accessible and equitable for young people. She is especially interested in understanding the role of sex, gender, and neurodiversity on pain.  

In addition to her work, she is an amateur pianist, a fair-weather runner, the proud mum of an awesome little kid, and is always on the hunt for an amazing coffee.

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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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Desmond Williams is the Co-Director of The PEPR Partnership, a member of Pain Canada's National Advisory Committee, and a member of the Putting the Pieces Together Conference Steering Committee. Desmond also helps individuals and groups manage pain through gentle movement and mindfulness practices that have been most supportive in his journey in managing chronic pain. In his advocacy work, Desmond aims to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and promote the power of peer-supported pain management strategies.

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Alex Haagaard is a design researcher who specializes in inclusive service design, digital accessibility and healthtech. They have lived with chronic pain since early childhood and this experience informs their interest in designing and advocating for system-level changes to how healthcare services are conceptualized, planned and delivered.

They are currently a member of Pain Canada's Putting the Pieces Together conference steering committee, the Ontario Health Patient and Family Engagement Committee, the Canadian Medical Association Journal's Patient Advisory Panel, and they co-chair the Chronic Pain Network's Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Science Committee.

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Jenny is a Spoonie, volunteer, patient partner, advocate, speaker, and storyteller.

She devotes her lived experience of chronic pain and complex chronic disease to build partnerships with organizations, initiatives, and projects such as Pain BC, Pain Canada, Chronic Pain Network, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Power Over Pain Portal, Circa Pain, PEPR Project, and the University of British Columbia. Since 2022 Jenny has been a Steering Committee member for Pain Canada’s annual Putting the Pieces Together conference.

They believe personhood should never be threatened by patienthood, and as a champion of peer support as social change Jenny is dedicated to walking alongside folx who live with pain and the ones who support them.

They are thrilled to collaborate with fellow Spoonies and peers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to improving the lives of people with lived and living experience of pain.

Jenny’s Digital Storytelling Project, "Masakit", expresses how pain is not just a personal and individual experience, but one that is deeply impacted by cultural, community, collective, and systemic factors.

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Therese Lane has lived with pain and arthritis since her mid-teens. She is a volunteer with the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) and a patient partner on several national research projects, including the Chronic Pain Network, the PLAN Trial, and the Canadian Pain Society’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She has also been a steering committee member of this conference since its inception.

Therese’s lived experience has made her a strong advocate for more equitable and compassionate pain care. She works to raise awareness of how pain treatment often fails to reach those who need it most—particularly people who are marginalized, live in poverty, minorities and women. Her past experiences with untreated mental health issues and addiction have given her firsthand insight into the stigma and barriers people face when seeking appropriate care.

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Delane Linkiewich has been living with chronic pain for over 15 years and is a  passionate advocate for people who live with pain. She is actively involved in the pain community and is a patient partner with the Chronic Pain Network on their Patient Engagement Committee. She is excited to be returning as a member of the PTPT steering committee!

Delane is also a PhD student in the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Program at the University of Guelph. Delane takes a patient-oriented approach to exploring the social context of youth living with chronic pain, namely peer support and peer relationships. Her program of research is focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating a group peer support intervention for adolescents with chronic pain.

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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. The moment she accepted this, she made up her mind not to shrink or give in. Rather, to adjust, adapt, learn, grow, and possibly be the reason someone sees HOPE in their own situation. Thanks to her interest in volunteering for studies, surveys and interviews on chronic pain, she came to know about Pain BC, Pain Canada, Power Over Pain Portal, Chronic Pain Network and others. Today, she is pleased to be a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Committee (LEAC) with the Power Over Pain Network, a co-facilitator with the People in Pain Network, a new member of the Steering Committee for Pain Canada's Putting The Pieces Together (PTPT) Conference, and also sits on the Chronic Pain Network’s Training and Capacity Building Committee. Alvine does not let her pain define who she is.

Pete Bombaci is a social change leader and the founder/CEO of GenWell, Canada’s Human Connection Movement. Since 2016, he has led its mission to educate, empower, and catalyze Canadians around social health and its impact on well-being. Under his leadership, GenWell delivers social health education and six national campaigns, fostering connection in workplaces, schools, and communities.

Previously, Pete served as Country Director of Movember Canada, raising $142 million for men’s health. A sought-after speaker and thought leader, he inspires individuals, businesses, and policymakers to invest in social connection for a healthier, more connected Canada.

You can find out more about the movement at www.GenWell.ca.

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Nikki Chopra is a Pain Coach with both lived and professional experience in chronic pain management. Born with malfunctioning kidneys and weak bones, she underwent multiple surgeries and, at one point, was unable to walk for two years. Drawing on her own journey of resilience and recovery, Nikki now helps people living with chronic pain develop self-management skills, restore function, and improve their overall quality of life.

Her coaching approach blends evidence-based strategies with empathy, empowering clients to move beyond limitation and rediscover joy and independence. Nikki has supported individuals through Pain BC’s Pain Health Coaching Program and her private coaching practice, and she is committed to reframing pain not as an ending, but as a pathway to growth and transformation.

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Ada, teller of the digital story, Turning the Page, is a retired educator, writer, and volunteer coach for Pain BC. She is a graduate of Ottawa Teachers' College, obtaining her BEd at UBC and MA at SFU. Her thesis focused on themes of story, identity and belonging. Her work as an elementary classroom teacher in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, and as a faculty associate in the teacher education program at SFU, gave her a deep understanding of individual differences, cultural diversity and the need for an inclusive lens when it comes to teaching, learning, and now coaching.

Ada has lived with chronic pain for more than twenty years and is happy to share with and empower others to find their own ways of managing and living a fulfilling life alongside it. She has published several articles and stories as well as a recent award-winning memoir. She is an avid knitter, a longtime meditator and a loving mother and grandmother.

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Sandra is a graduate of the Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) program from the University of Calgary, and she is a trained Digital Storytelling facilitator from The Story Center, USA. She believes in the importance of bringing lived experience experts as partners to health research teams and has seen the direct impact on the conduct and outputs of research. She helps support research teams in working together in patient engagement and patient-oriented research for the AbSPORU Patient Engagement Team.

She has an interest in qualitative arts-based research approaches, specifically Digital Storytelling. It is her lived experiences as a person living with Crohn’s disease and a cancer survivor that motivates her to work collaboratively in health research.

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Jenny is a Spoonie, volunteer, patient partner, advocate, speaker, and storyteller.

She devotes her lived experience of chronic pain and complex chronic disease to build partnerships with organizations, initiatives, and projects such as Pain BC, Pain Canada, Chronic Pain Network, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Power Over Pain Portal, Circa Pain, PEPR Project, and the University of British Columbia. Since 2022 Jenny has been a Steering Committee member for Pain Canada’s annual Putting the Pieces Together conference.

They believe personhood should never be threatened by patienthood, and as a champion of peer support as social change Jenny is dedicated to walking alongside folx who live with pain and the ones who support them.

They are thrilled to collaborate with fellow Spoonies and peers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to improving the lives of people with lived and living experience of pain.

Jenny’s Digital Storytelling Project, "Masakit", expresses how pain is not just a personal and individual experience, but one that is deeply impacted by cultural, community, collective, and systemic factors.

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Zana is a retired business owner.  Her company managed not for profit organizations from all sectors, including construction trades, finance, animal protection, science and technology.  

Now in her retirement she enjoys reading and writing, long walks, visits with family and friends, and when the pain allows painting, sewing and clay work.

Virginia McIntyre is the volunteer 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. Virginia is notably the first Canadian with lived experience to be awarded the Mayday Pain and Science Fellowship (2023/24).

Virginia co-hosts a compelling new podcast, Action On Pain, that amplifies the voices of people living with pain and is grounded in Health Canada’s Action Plan for Pain. Follow Virginia on LinkedIn to keep informed

Her ongoing work as an international presenter, educator and advocate highlights her commitment to advancing the understanding of peer support and management of chronic pain.

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Heather Dyck is one of the millions of Canadians living with chronic pain, a reality she has faced for over 55 years. Despite this, she is also a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Her professional career was cut short when she "retired" at the age of 31 due to complications from multiple chronic autoimmune diseases.

Heather is a passionate patient researcher at the provincial, national, and international levels, as well as a dedicated patient partner contributing to system planning, change, and improvement within the Saskatchewan Health Authority. She is also an accomplished artist.

While chronic pain is a daily part of Heather’s life, it does not define or limit her. She continues to lead with resilience, creativity, and a deep commitment to improving the healthcare system for others.

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Susan is a queer woman living on the reservation of the Okanagan Nation in Vernon BC, which is on the traditional territory of Syilx people. She lives with her partner, dog, and cat. Susan is a person with disabilities who writes in a variety of modalities for fun and occasional profit. When she is not reading, writing, or attempting to garden, Susan volunteers her time as a peer facilitator for the LGBTQIA2S+ chronic pain group through Pain BC, and enjoys starting, if not finishing, crochet projects.

Jenny is a Spoonie, volunteer, patient partner, advocate, speaker, and storyteller.

She devotes her lived experience of chronic pain and complex chronic disease to build partnerships with organizations, initiatives, and projects such as Pain BC, Pain Canada, Chronic Pain Network, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Power Over Pain Portal, Circa Pain, PEPR Project, and the University of British Columbia. Since 2022 Jenny has been a Steering Committee member for Pain Canada’s annual Putting the Pieces Together conference.

They believe personhood should never be threatened by patienthood, and as a champion of peer support as social change Jenny is dedicated to walking alongside folx who live with pain and the ones who support them.

They are thrilled to collaborate with fellow Spoonies and peers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to improving the lives of people with lived and living experience of pain.

Jenny’s Digital Storytelling Project, "Masakit", expresses how pain is not just a personal and individual experience, but one that is deeply impacted by cultural, community, collective, and systemic factors.

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Desmond Williams is the Co-Director of The PEPR Partnership, a member of Pain Canada's National Advisory Committee, and a member of the Putting the Pieces Together Conference Steering Committee. Desmond also helps individuals and groups manage pain through gentle movement and mindfulness practices that have been most supportive in his journey in managing chronic pain. In his advocacy work, Desmond aims to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and promote the power of peer-supported pain management strategies.

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Tahir Janmohamed is the Founder & CEO of ManagingLife, a published researcher, and a leading expert in using digital tools to support people living with chronic pain. He created Manage My Pain, the world’s most downloaded and clinically validated pain management app, designed to help individuals track their symptoms, better understand their condition, and access psychological support grounded in evidence-based pain science.

Tahir’s work bridges technology, clinical care, and lived experience. Motivated by his own mother's experience with pain, he has spent over a decade developing tools that prioritize usability, trust, and accessibility, enabling people with pain to be heard, supported, and believed. Manage My Pain is used by over 125,000 people in 130+ countries and has been adopted by clinicians, researchers, insurers, and health systems to improve engagement and clinical outcomes, and shorten disability durations.

Tahir frequently speaks on patient engagement, digital health innovation, and the ethical use of AI in care. At Pain Canada's conference, he will share how digital tools like Manage My Pain, and the soon-to-be-launched AI companion Solace, can empower people with lived experience, enhance self-management, and close critical gaps in pain care.

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Haley Matthews, of Caribbean and African Nova Scotian/Indigenous (Métis) heritage, is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) and Certified Engineering Technologist (CET). She works with the NS Department of Health and Wellness on the Drug Information System and is completing a second master’s in psychology. A former Research Network Manager with SPOR networks BRIC NS and CPCRN, she also led STEM and health outreach. Her lived experience with chronic conditions—including ASD, an underdeveloped esophagus, and pulsatile tinnitus—fuels her passion for patient-oriented research. Now a patient partner with PTPT and CPN’s advisory group, Haley advocates for inclusive, supportive research and healthcare systems.

Alex Haagaard is a design researcher who specializes in inclusive service design, digital accessibility and healthtech. They have lived with chronic pain since early childhood and this experience informs their interest in designing and advocating for system-level changes to how healthcare services are conceptualized, planned and delivered.

They are currently a member of Pain Canada's Putting the Pieces Together conference steering committee, the Ontario Health Patient and Family Engagement Committee, the Canadian Medical Association Journal's Patient Advisory Panel, and they co-chair the Chronic Pain Network's Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Science Committee.

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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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Desmond Williams is the Co-Director of The PEPR Partnership, a member of Pain Canada's National Advisory Committee, and a member of the Putting the Pieces Together Conference Steering Committee. Desmond also helps individuals and groups manage pain through gentle movement and mindfulness practices that have been most supportive in his journey in managing chronic pain. In his advocacy work, Desmond aims to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and promote the power of peer-supported pain management strategies.

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Jenny is a Spoonie, volunteer, patient partner, advocate, speaker, and storyteller.

She devotes her lived experience of chronic pain and complex chronic disease to build partnerships with organizations, initiatives, and projects such as Pain BC, Pain Canada, Chronic Pain Network, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Power Over Pain Portal, Circa Pain, PEPR Project, and the University of British Columbia. Since 2022 Jenny has been a Steering Committee member for Pain Canada’s annual Putting the Pieces Together conference.

They believe personhood should never be threatened by patienthood, and as a champion of peer support as social change Jenny is dedicated to walking alongside folx who live with pain and the ones who support them.

They are thrilled to collaborate with fellow Spoonies and peers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to improving the lives of people with lived and living experience of pain.

Jenny’s Digital Storytelling Project, "Masakit", expresses how pain is not just a personal and individual experience, but one that is deeply impacted by cultural, community, collective, and systemic factors.

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Alex Haagaard is a design researcher who specializes in inclusive service design, digital accessibility and healthtech. They have lived with chronic pain since early childhood and this experience informs their interest in designing and advocating for system-level changes to how healthcare services are conceptualized, planned and delivered.

They are currently a member of Pain Canada's Putting the Pieces Together conference steering committee, the Ontario Health Patient and Family Engagement Committee, the Canadian Medical Association Journal's Patient Advisory Panel, and they co-chair the Chronic Pain Network's Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Science Committee.

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Delane Linkiewich has been living with chronic pain for over 15 years and is a  passionate advocate for people who live with pain. She is actively involved in the pain community and is a patient partner with the Chronic Pain Network on their Patient Engagement Committee. She is excited to be returning as a member of the PTPT steering committee!

Delane is also a PhD student in the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Program at the University of Guelph. Delane takes a patient-oriented approach to exploring the social context of youth living with chronic pain, namely peer support and peer relationships. Her program of research is focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating a group peer support intervention for adolescents with chronic pain.

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Desmond Williams is the Co-Director of The PEPR Partnership, a member of Pain Canada's National Advisory Committee, and a member of the Putting the Pieces Together Conference Steering Committee. Desmond also helps individuals and groups manage pain through gentle movement and mindfulness practices that have been most supportive in his journey in managing chronic pain. In his advocacy work, Desmond aims to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and promote the power of peer-supported pain management strategies.

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Patti Williams (Carey) is an Indigenous Elder of Nlaka’pamuxcin, Irish, and Scottish heritage, and a member of the Skuppah First Nation in Lytton, B.C. She lives in Coquitlam on the shared, traditional, unceded territories of the Kwikwetlem, Katzie, and Kwantlen Nations. Patti lives with chronic pain and brings both her lived experience and cultural teachings to her role as a community Elder.

She is a widow, a mother, a sister, a cousin, an Auntie, and a friend. Patti retired after 22 years as an Indigenous Support Worker with School District 42 (Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows). Before that, she worked for 16 years as a Certified Dental Assistant. She currently serves as an Indigenous Elder with the Indigenous Student Centre at Simon Fraser University, where she provides cultural support and guidance to students.

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