Speakers W-Z

Dr. Adrian Wagg was appointed to the University of Alberta in 2010. He leads a continence research program and is a senior investigator within the Transforming Research in Elder Care program led by Dr. Carole Estabrooks. He is responsible for intervention trials which aim to improve the quality of care for nursing home residents and also, to improve the quality of work life for those staff who provide direct care to residents.

Lan Wang, Senior Analyst at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), has over a decade of experience working with health workforce data for over 30 health care professions in Canada. She is involved in conducting and presenting analysis across a broad range of topics, including long-term care and women in leadership.

Teresa Webb was diagnosed with Logogenic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (LvPPA), a subtype of Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD), in 2010 at the age of 55. Prior to her diagnosis, she was a Registered Nurse and Clinical Operational Manager at United Health Care (UHC). In this role, Ms. Webb was responsible for assessing patient needs and providing guidance through the appropriate healthcare networks. She traveled extensively across the state of Arizona, meeting with providers to discuss programs focused on improving the quality of care for Medicaid and Medicare Advantage members. In a previous role, she managed the day-to-day operations of a 60-bed Medicare and Medicaid skilled nursing facility.

Ms. Webb first noticed changes in her memory and speech during a public presentation when she had difficulty with word-finding. Additional concerns, including trouble concentrating, short term memory loss, and inability to keep up with daily work responsibilities, led her to make an appointment with a neurologist. After experiencing a brain aneurysm, Ms. Webb underwent a craniotomy for aneurysm clipping. Diagnostic testing initiated after this procedure, including neuropsychological evaluation, confirmed the diagnosis of LvPPA.

Ms. Webb refuses to allow the diagnosis to slow her life journey down! She is an active member of The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration Think Tank Advisory. She also has been active with the nonprofit To Whom I May Concern, sharing her experience living with dementia through live performances and the film This Is My Voice. Ms. Webb is the founder and chair of Frontotemporal Dementia Advocacy Resource Network (FTDARN), a nonprofit established by those living with FTD to meet the basic needs of others with a diagnosis and she facilitates a video support group for individuals living with FTD and other dementias. Ms. Webb focuses on positive living with dementia by staying physically active; she participates in half marathons to raise funds for dementia research. Ms. Webb educated those who attend the gym she belongs by appearing in a short film that speaks to the need of those diagnosed staying physically active. This film was shared nationally as well as the gym sites in Canada. When not running, Ms. Webb can be found at the gym or a Pilates studio.
Ms. Webb lives in Phoenix Arizona with her wife, Denise and their 5 dogs and 1 parrot.

According to Ms. Webb, “I know what my future entails, but the future isn’t here yet. Today I chose to live it fully.”

Lindsay is Director of Life Enrichment at Osgoode Care Centre. She is a seasoned recreation therapy professional and leader with 20 years of experience. Prior to joining Osgoode Care Centre, Lindsay was Chief of Professional Practice for Recreation Therapy at the Royal Ottawa. Lindsay holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree in Recreology, has completed the OANHSS Administrator Leadership program and has a Lean Yellow Belt.

Dan Weiberg’s biography coming soon.

Helen Wei-Randall, Program Lead, Home and Continuing Care Data Management, Canadian Institute for Health Information. With over a decade in healthcare information, Helen Wei-Randal has worked in the areas of pharmaceutical economics research, health work force information, population health analysis, and currently home and continuing care data management. Her work interests include interpreting data into narrative for publication and educational purposes to support the best use of data at all levels.

Jenna’s is focused advocacy and promoting well-being for individuals living with dementia. Invited to speak nationally, she consults for organizations about care practices, organizational change and leadership. She is an Eden Alternative Associate, degree in Education from the University of Maine, a Masters from Goucher College, and a LNHA from The University of Connecticut. As a movement psychotherapist, she is currently LiveWell’s Director of Learning. She is also a graduate of the LeadingAge Leadership Academy.

Dave Wessinger is the co-founder and president for PointClickCare Technologies Inc.
In his role, he is responsible for leading the company’s Sales, Marketing, Operations, Customer Success, Strategic Initiatives and Customer Experience teams. For more than 20 years, Dave has worked in the senior care information technology industry and is actively involved in many industry associations and advocacy efforts on behalf of senior care providers, including CPAC, NASL, AHCA IT, CAST, and ONC.

Prior to co-founding PointClickCare, Dave was a manager of IT for a multi-site provider and focused on software implementation and adoption. His unique blend of senior care provider knowledge and technical expertise proved invaluable in the creation of the PointClickCare solution, and the design decision to leverage SaaS as the delivery platform in 1999. Today, over 17,000 facilities rely on the PointClickCare platform to care confidently for millions of patients each day. Dave continues his passion for the industry and is committed to helping providers improve outcomes through the use of Health Information Technology.

Dave currently sits on the board of directors for PointClickCare Technologies Inc.

Steve comes from a Service Desk back ground so has customer service running through his blood. He transitioned into Project Management 10 years ago at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and learnt his trade in a very sophisticated project management environment, working on extremely high risk trading platform upgrades. Steve went on to run a 2 year IT Transformation Program at Australia’s second largest Fund Manager, QIC, migrating their entire datacentre in the cloud and creating a new global network.

Two 2 years ago, Steve’s focus changed entirely when he left the commercial world of financial services to join Feros Care, a not for profit in the Aged Care and Disability support sector. Steve now runs Feros’ IT project portfolio and in house software development teams, focussed entirely on creating solutions that improve Feros’ clients’ lives. “Right now”, Steve says, “my career satisfaction is at an all-time high and I want to ride it as long as I can”.

Tara-Lee Yakielashek was appointed Executive Director, Beacon Hill Lodge in July 2013. In this capacity, she leads her team of care providers to work with individuals and families to personalize services, that consider the Residents’ desires & preferences for care-to live life to the fullest. Tara-Lee joined Revera in 2012 as Executive Director, Home Health in Winnipeg and prior to her role at Revera, was Director of Sales at Tourism Winnipeg.

As a Research Associate with the SE Research Centre, Karthika participates in project management and coordination of various research activities, with a focus on bridging the gap between innovation and clinical practice. Much of the work she is involved with is aimed at improving health care, aging, and end of life experiences. Karthika’s previous areas of research work have included knowledge mobilization and patient engagement, public health program evaluation, health equity (racialized and immigrant older adults), maternal-child health, and diabetes prevention strategies. Karthika received her Master of Public Health degree, specializing in Population Health Sciences, from Simon Fraser University, and her Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Honours Bachelor of Arts in Gerontology from McMaster University.