Meet Your SDNPC Team

Jamie Graveline - Administrative Assistant

I was born and raised in Pembroke, Ontario, but now call Sudbury home.  I graduated from the Medical Laboratory Technician/Office Assistant Program.  Over the years, I’ve worked in a variety of different medical settings, including a Dental Office, Canadian Blood Services Call Centre, Physician’s Office, a Family Health Team and a Diagnostic Imaging Clinic.  I started SDNPC as a Medical Secretary and now have taken over the role of Administrative Assistant.  I am excited to continue to be a part of the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics Team.  In my free time I enjoy spending time with family as well as travelling!

Sharon Vukoja - Business Operations Manager

Sharon has been the Administrative Lead for our Clinic since it first opened in 2007. She has her Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University and has obtained certification in procurement. She has an extensive background in Construction Management which was an added bonus during our several capital construction projects. She is responsible for ensuring the clinic runs smoothly by ensuring Policies and Procedures are current and in line with Ministry of Labour requirements. She prepares funding reporting for the Board and the Ministry on a monthly and quarterly basis. Sharon is also responsible for the accounting, information technology, and facility management issues as they arise. She has lived in Sudbury most of her life and loves all that our City offers including but certainly not limited to the magnificent natural environment and local theatre.

Carole Pilon - Case Manager

Born and raised in Greater Sudbury, I graduated from College Boreal in 1998. I have worked in the social services and non-profit sector providing support and case management services to marginalized and vulnerable citizens in our area for 22 years. My previous work experience includes working in the youth sector, mental health and addictions sector as well as in the judicial sector. I am excited to add my skill set, resources and experience to this dynamic multidisciplinary team and reputable organisation.

Mallory Keller - Clinical Assistant

Mallory grew up in the small northern community of Red Lake before moving to Sudbury in 2005 to obtain her Administrative Assistant Diploma from Cambrian College. She spent many years working within the cardiology field before joining SDNPC as a Medical Receptionist. As of 2022, Mallory began the new role of Clinical Assistant for our team. In her spare time she loves being with her family and friends at camp and exploring the outdoors.

Jennifer Clement - Executive Director & Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Laurentian University in 1997. After working as in various areas of nursing in Texas, Mississauga and Sudbury, she returned to school to earn her certificate as a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner in 2008. She has been with the clinic since 2008 and has been the Executive Director since September 2012. She obtained her Diploma in Health Care Management in 2017. She is the former vice-chair of a local community board and is the Co-Chair of the newly formed Nurse Practitioner Led Clinics Association. She is also very active with various local and provincial health care initiatives.

Dominique Ansell - M.Sc., MD, CCFP

Dr. Dominique Ansell, originally from Sudbury, is a full time physician in the Emergency Department at Health Sciences North. She completed her family medicine training at the University of Ottawa in the francophone stream and returned to Sudbury to complete an enhanced skills year in Emergency Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. She divides her time between the emergency department in Sudbury, working at the North Shore Health Network Blind River site, teaching medical students and residents at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and she is currently the lead of the local education group for the emergency department. 

Alex Anawati - MD

Dr. Alex Anawati, originally from Sturgeon Falls, is a full time ER MD at Health Sciences North and part-time at the West Nipissing General Hospital. As a member of NOSM’s charter class, he went on to complete a residency in family medicine through the University of British Columbia and a fellowship in emergency medicine at NOSM. Through his training he has lived and learned in almost every province and territory in Canada other than Nunavut and Labrador. Dr. Anawati is a faculty member, Global Health Coordinator and Board of Directors member at NOSM and teaches students and residents throughout all years of NOSM’s program. He is also an advocate for social accountability in healthcare, sits on the Canadian College of Family Physicians Social Accountability Working Group and engaged in research on social accountability for health institutions.

Lionel Marks de Chabris - MD

Dr. Marks de Chabris is a full time physician working in northeastern Ontario. He runs a busy pain clinic and has worked in pain management and addiction medicine for over a decade. A graduate of McGill University, he divides his time between clinic practice, hospital work, teaching at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and lecturing to medical and lay audiences across Canada. He is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management and the Canadian Academy of Pain Management, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine.

Jennifer Zymantas - MD

Dr. Zymantas obtained her MD at Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) at the Thunder Bay Campus in 2011, followed by completion of a Family Medicine Residency at Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) at the Sudbury Campus in 2013. She is currently working as a hospitalist at Health Sciences North (HSN), several of the walk-in clinics and at the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics.

Carley Coulombe - Medical Secretary

Born and raised In Sudbury. I grew up in the small community of Dowling. I have worked in the health care field for 10 years. I enjoy helping others. On my spare time I like spending time with my family, camping and fishing. I am very excited to be apart of the Sudbury Nurse Practitioner Team.

Krishna Foster - Medical Secretary

Krishna studied at Humber college in Toronto, where she completed her diploma in Hospitality-Event Management. After graduation, she relocated to Sudbury where she went into the sales industry. Krishna was then hired by the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics in the role of Medical Secretary and says that she is very happy to be a part of this great team. In her spare time, she loves to catch up with her family and watch movies. She is very excited for this new growth.

Wendy-Lynn Ingram - Medical Secretary

Wendy-Lynn comes to SDNPC with over 10 years of experience in the healthcare & support services sector. After completing Business Management at Sault College in Sault Ste Marie, she relocated to Southern Ontario where she went on to obtain additional certifications in developmental support, crisis intervention and suicide prevention. She has always had a passion for helping the public and those in need. She is very happy to be a part of the SDNPC team.

Karen Lappa - Medical Secretary

Born in Saskatoon and raised in Sudbury, have been involved in Administration for many years and worked in Healthcare sector for the last 9 years.  I enjoy outdoor activities, going to the gym, cooking, reading and the arts. I love to travel and experience different cultures.  I am very happy to be a part of the SDNPC team!

Sheri Plexman - Medical Secretary

Sheri brings with her over 30 years of valued experience in a fast-paced medical clinic setting.  Most recently at the LNPCL in Thunder Bay.  She is happy to have relocated home to Sudbury and continue within the NP Clinic model of care.

Debbie Rushton - Medical Secretary

I was born and raised in Sudbury. I enjoy helping others, therefore I knew the medical field is where I wanted to be. In 2020, I obtained a Medical Office Administrator diploma. I then gained experience working in the occupational health field for a little over a year. I am excited to be part of the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics team.

Gillian Sasseville - Medical Secretary

Meet Gillian, Medical Secretary with the SDNPC! Gillian has experience working with various patient populations in the community. She has extensive knowledge of programs and services that are offered in the community and can direct patients to additional services to help them better meet their needs. In her spare time, she enjoys camping and being in nature. Gillian is pleased to be working with such a compassionate and caring team where she can take part in making sure patients receive the best possible care.

Jana Blackburn - Nurse Practitioner (NP)

I obtained a BScN from McMaster University, and a Primary Health Care NP Certificate from Laurentian University. Prior to expanding my horizons to take on the NP-PHC role, my professional career was based in Public Health, having served the communities under the Porcupine and Sudbury & District Health Units. I’m a devoted sports Mom!

Jennifer Dawson - Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Jennifer Dawson is a 2002 nursing graduate from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has spent the majority of her career working in Cardiology, Emergency Medicine and Intensive Care. Overlapping with this, she has also taught BScN students for a period of 6 years and worked in primary care. With a significant acute care background she decided it was time to change the pace and embark upon becoming a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner. She started at SDNPC immediately after graduation in 2012 and since this time she also pursued and completed her Masters in Nursing.

Kim Demers - Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Kim grew up in the true north of Ontario moving to New Liskard following graduation from Confederation College where she obtained her diploma in Nursing. She and her family soon moved to the Sudbury region and she returned to school through Lakehead University to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. After working for many years in the local emergency department, Kim obtained her certificate as a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner in 2007 and has been with SDNPC since 2009.

Mary Geroux - Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Mary Geroux obtained a Registered Nursing diploma from Sault College in 1998 and completed the Critical Care Nursing Certificate from Cambrian College in 2002. She has worked as a Registered Nurse in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, California and Washington D.C. She completed the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate at Laurentian University in 2006. She worked as a locum in Chapleau before being hired to work at the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics in 2007. She left in 2012 to specialize in Bariatrics at Health Sciences North, and returned to her previous primary care practice at SDNPC one year later.

Sherry Giroux - Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Sherry originally hails from Southwestern Ontario. She moved to Sudbury, where she graduated from Cambrian College with a BScN in 2005. After 9 years of emergency nursing, she decided to head back to school to become a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner, joining the SDNPC team in 2015. Outside of work, Sherry enjoys spending time with friends and family, walking her dogs in the bush and being at camp as much as possible.

Tiffany McGilvery - Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Tiffany graduated cum laude from the Laurentian University School of Nursing in 2009. She worked in geriatrics for the next two years with a special interest in palliative care, wound care, and management of dementia. She obtained a degree as a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner from Laurentian in 2012 and has been working as a Nurse Practitioner with the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics since October 2012.

Nicole Welsh - Nurse Practitioner (NP)

I completed my Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate in 2009 at Laurentian University and had worked with the Barrie and Community Family Health Team until recently relocating to Sudbury with my family in 2017. Since moving to Sudbury I have briefly worked with the Bariatric clinic and the Violence Intervention and Prevention Programs at HSN. I joined the SDNPC team in October 2017 and have enjoyed working with the team and hope to spend many years getting to know our patients and community.

Vickie Luckham - Pharmacist (RPh)

After graduating from University of Toronto Faculty of Pharmacy, I completed a hospital pharmacy residency program at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton. Pursuing an interest in primary care, I moved "north" to work as the Clinical Pharmacist at the Elliot Lake Family Health Team, where I supported patients' medication-related needs. I was able to participate in additional training in smoking cessation and chronic disease management programming and helped contribute to quality improvement around cancer screening within the clinic. Since moving to Lively to raise my family, I have enjoyed working in the community pharmacy setting. Working with Med-I-Well Services Ltd., which provides pharmacy consultant services to the SDNPC,  I am excited to return to primary care at the Lively site.

Sarah Gatien - Registered Dietitian (RD)

Sarah is returning to her hometown of Sudbury after over 16 years away.  She earned her MSc in Applied Human Nutrition in 2017 and trained to be a Registered Dietitian at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Sarah also completed an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a neuroscience special interest from the University of Ottawa (2007) and a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia (2011). 

Sarah most recently worked as a Clinical Dietitian in the Algoma Regional Renal Program and Superior Family Health Team in Sault Ste. Marie.  In her time outside of the clinics, Sarah enjoys working on edible gardening and continuing her research in childhood nutrition. Sarah is thrilled to be home to support her community and to be closer to family.

Sarah Slack - Registered Nurse

Sarah obtained her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Laurentian University with a minor in Gerontology. Born and raised in Sudbury, she has had experience working in the acute care setting as a surgical nurse on various surgical units. She is an active volunteer in various nursing committees and loves spending time outdoors and traveling. She is passionate about providing quality care to the residents of Northeastern Ontario and is excited to be a part of the team at SDNPC!

Christina Dippong - Registered Practical Nurse (RPN)

Christina graduated from the Registered Practical Nursing program at Canadore College in 2000, and has worked in a variety of community, hospital and nursing home settings. She was hired at the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics in 2011. She has since obtained her reflexology and foot care certifications, providing services at both the Lively and Sudbury sites, as well as home visits for the patients of the clinic.

Lucas Nupponen - Registered Social Worker (MSW, RSW)

I was born and raised in Greater Sudbury. I obtained my Honours Bachelor of Social Work at Laurentian University in 2016. I then acquired my Master of Social Work at Carleton University in 2019, with a focus on direct intervention. I have varied social work experience both in community-based settings and clinical settings. My practice framework is informed by the person-centered approach and cognitive theory. I thoroughly enjoy working on a multi-disciplinary team and in collaboration with my fellow SDNPC colleagues to better serve the community.

Bev Sloan - Registered Social Worker (RSW)

Born and raised in Sudbury, I have had the opportunity as a Social Worker to work in many types of settings before coming to the SDNPC. I enjoy primary care as it affords flexibility in working with different groups of people to help deal with mental health issues, chronic disease management and prevention. Having worked in both acute care and community settings, I enjoy the opportunity to working as part of a multidisciplinary team. I get to meet with patients individually, in groups and sometimes in their home to work towards improved health and quality of life.

Emily McDonald - RN BScN

Emily began her nursing career as an RPN in Southern Ontario, working in primary care, public health and community medicine. She went back to University in 2018 and graduated from McMaster University in 2021 with her Bachelors of Science in Nursing, becoming a Registered Nurse. Emily has worked in community mental health in northern Ontario since 2021 and had the pleasure of relocating to Sudbury in 2023 when offered the opportunity to work with SDNPC! Emily has been in the health care field for over 10 years and throughout this time, has learned that her passion is with community/primary care nursing!

Ewa Ceccon -

Ewa has been a Northern Ontario resident for many years. After she graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2002, she returned to Sudbury to complete her BScN at Laurentian University. After starting her career locally at HSN in 2006, she continued her education to complete the Nurse Practitioner program in 2011, and her Masters of Nursing in 2013. Ewa works locally as a Nurse Practitioner at the Family Health Team.  Throughout her career, Ewa has held the firm belief that a team-based approach to health care makes the biggest impact on clients during their individual health care journey. One of her top objectives is bringing equal access to health care for Northern Ontario residents.

Lisa Demers -

Born and raised in Sudbury, Lisa is an alumnae of Laurentian University, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science as well as a Bachelor of Education. She is a dynamic, bilingual leader who has enjoyed working in post-secondary education and palliative care, and has extensive experience in non-profit management, volunteer management and event management.

Lisa has been a member of the Rotary Club of Sudbury since 2006 and served as President in 2012-13. She was awarded the Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, the Outstanding Service Award in 2009 and became a Paul Harris Fellow in 2013.

Lisa is the proud mom of 2 grown children, Taylor and Connor. In she spare time, she enjoys reading, golfing and spending time outdoors with friends.

Marilyn Butcher - B Sc N RN

Marilyn has been actively involved in health care for over 40 years – either as a NP or a RN, working in hospital, community, aboriginal health and public health sectors. Previously, she was the co-author, initial clinic director and board member of SDNPC and owner/operator of Walden Today, a local community newspaper. She currently operates as a health care consultant with aboriginal health access centers in Ontario. She enjoys spending time with her family and travelling.

Steve Mantler - Chair

Over the last 20 years, Steve has leveraged his Advanced Diploma from Cambrian College in Electronics Engineering Technology in the fields of Industrial Automation, Robotics, and Information Technology. He is currently the Telecom Administrator at Cambrian College.

Steve has extensive governance experience, having served on a number of local and provincial boards and committees. Most recently he served as a Governor on the Cambrian College Board of Governors where he sat on two Presidential Search Committees and earned the Advanced Good Governance Certificate from The College Centre of Board Excellence.

Steve is also a supporter of the arts in Sudbury and co-hosts Art Battle Sudbury, which is part of an international live competitive painting organization.

Sylvain R Leduc - Director (2019-Present) NP-PHC

Sylvain graduated from the diploma nursing program at Cambrian College in 1990. He has had a variety of work experience early on working in ICU, Emergency care and in Nephrology. He completed the integrated BsCN / NP PHC from Laurentian in 2005. Following his NP program, Sylvain worked in Cardiac Rehabilitation for 7 years. He then started work at the centre de santé communautaire du grand Sudbury in Primary Health Care. His masters of science in Nursing was obtained in 2013 where he focused on LGBTQ health issues pertaining to the reduction of HIV and the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis. He is currently an adjunct professor at Laurentian University in the Nursing department. He is the lead course profressor for the Advanced Health Assessement and Diagnostic.

Sylvain was the North East Ontario representative at the College of Nurses of Ontario from 2011 - 2015

Kelli-Ann Lemieux - MLT, MBA, CHE

Kelli-Ann was born and raised in Northern, ON and has over 24 years of clinical and health leadership experience working in both rural, community and academic hospitals across the North. Kelli-Ann started her career working at the Lady Dunn Hospital in Wawa, ON and then moved to Sault Ste. Marie where she worked from 2001 to 2017. In 2017 Kelli-Ann joined Health Sciences North in Sudbury and is currently serving as Vice-President, Surgical and Clinical Services. Kelli-Ann started her career after graduating as a Medical Laboratory Technologist from Cambrian College, holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Athabasca University and is also a Certified Health Executive (CHE) with the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL). Kelli-Ann, along with her husband of over 27 years, are the proud parents of 3 grown children. She loves spending time with her family at their cottage.

Anne Despatie - MScN, NP-PHC

Born and raised in the Sudbury area, Anne attended Laurentian University for her nursing studies. She completed her BScN in 2009 and went on to work at HSN in various surgical departments. In 2018, she completed her MScN and NP-PHC certificate. As a Nurse Practitioner, she has worked offering primary care services to the francophone population in the Sudbury area as well as providing virtual care to patients with limited access to primary care providers.