President: Jennifer Vickers-Manzin, [email protected]
Jen Vickers Manzin is the President of the Ontario Association of Public Health Nursing Leaders (OPHNL). She supports the achievement OPHNL’s mission to promote and protect the health of Ontarians through excellence in public health nursing leadership. As we transition from the crisis phase of COVID response, Jen’s voice will represent Public Health nursing leaders in highlighting the significant return on investment of returning to routine public health programming while maintaining the COVID-19 response. Jen brings over 20 years of experience in Public Health in Ontario. She currently holds the position of Director of Healthy Families Division and Chief Nursing Officer for The City of Hamilton Public Health Services.
President Elect: Joanne Figliano-Scott, [email protected]
Joanne Figliano-Scott is a nurse with more than 20 years of working experience at Toronto Public Health. Joanne is currently the Director of Community Health and Wellbeing and Chief Nursing Officer at Toronto Public Health (TPH).
Joanne completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McMaster University and earned a Master of Education from University of Toronto with a special interest in organizational effectiveness.
After graduating from nursing, Joanne worked as a Public Health Nurse at Durham Public Health and taught Community Health Nursing at York University before joining Toronto Public Health.
For more than twenty years, Joanne has worked as a Public Health Nurse, a Health Promotion Specialist, a Public Health Manager, a Senior Policy and Strategic Issues Advisor, and most recently as an Associate Director in the Office of the Medical Officer of Health at Toronto Public Health. In these roles she has supported the organization to develop and deliver quality, client-centered services; contributed to knowledge transfer; and reinforced population health assessment and program evaluation. Joanne has led public health teams in managing strategic issues, advancing policies and engaging internal and external stakeholders on complex public health issues. Joanne has a strong interest in health promotion and advancing effective local public health efforts to reduce inequities in health.
As a Nursing Professional Joanne has helped advance nursing practice as a member of TPH’s Nursing Practice Council, contributing to Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) initiatives, including Best Practice Spotlight Organization. Joanne is currently the Chief Nursing Officer at Toronto Public Health and the President-elect of the Ontario Public Health Nursing Leadership Association.
Treasurer: Marie Wright, [email protected]
Marie has worked in Public Health for 19 years with the Regional Municipality of York. Marie began her Public Health career in the Child and Family Health Division in the role of Public Health Nurse with the Health Babies Healthy Children. During her time at York Region Public Health, Marie has also worked in Early ID, Practice enhancement and has managed several programs including Breast Feeding, Healthy Babies Healthy Children, the Children’s Dental program and the Ontario Seniors Dental program. Currently, Marie is Manager of Projects and Program Policy Strategy. Marie holds a BScN and MHS focused in Health Studies, is skilled in Project Co-ordination, Public Speaking, Public Policy and Strategic Planning. Marie has a passion for facilitation and a keen interest in youth homelessness.
Secretary: Jennifer Mitton, [email protected]
Jen is the Nursing Practice Advisor for Hamilton Public Health Services and holds a clinical faculty appointment in the School of Nursing at McMaster University. She is a graduate of McMaster School of Nursing (BScN and PhD) with over 20 years of public health experience. Prior to her current role, Jen worked as a public health nurse for Niagara Region (School Health & Substance Abuse Prevention), Region of Peel (Substance Abuse Prevention and Tobacco Control) and Hamilton Public Health Services (Tobacco Control). Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Jen has been in the dual role of Nursing Practice Advisor and Advanced Pandemic Planner.
CNO Representative: Judy Buchan, [email protected]
Judy Buchan is the Director of Communicable Diseases and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at Peel Public Health. In this position, she provides strategic leadership and direction to sections within the Communicable Diseases Division. As the CNO, she is responsible for providing nursing leadership, nursing practice quality assurance and continuous quality improvement to support overall organizational effectiveness. Judy has been a member of Ontario Public Health Nursing Leaders since 2016.
Judy is a successful senior leader with more than 25 years of progressive leadership experience in local public health. She has widespread experience in maternal child health, public health, communicable diseases, and nursing practice. Most recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Judy has assumed the role of Director of Public Health Emergencies, leading the COVID-19 operational response for Peel Public Health.
She has a Bachelor of Political Science degree from McMaster University, a Baccalaureate of Nursing Science from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Nursing from Ryerson University. She has also completed the Advanced Health Leadership Program at the Joseph L Rotman School of Management – University of Toronto and well as a Project Management Professional certification.
Professional Practice Lead Liaison: Allison Kern, [email protected]
Allison is the Nursing Practice Leader for KFL&A Public Health. She is a graduate of Laurentian University (BScN and MScN) and a PhD candidate at Queen’s University in Kingston. Allison has 14 years of public health experience. Prior to her current role, she worked as a public health nurse on the Healthy Babies Healthy Children team. Allison was president of the local chapter of RNAO from 2014-2019 and served two terms on the RNAO Board of Directors. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Allison worked in a dual role as Nursing Practice Leader and COVID-19 Case and Contact Management Lead.