Review Committee
Corrine Kagan, Toronto, ON
Corrine has a background in research funding. In her previous career she developed many funding opportunities and networks for brain and spinal cord research, and worked with researchers, clinicians and funders from across the country, as well as people with lived experience. Now that she has MS, she wants to use her lived experience and passion to support this area of neurology.
Corrine is inspired by the amount of research done in MS, which has led to better treatments and quality of life for people with MS. As Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, it is very important for us to support excellent and relevant research.
Danielle Livesey, Whitby, ON
Danielle is an award-winning communications professional, who together with her family and friends, has been raising awareness and funds for MS Canada through the MS Bike and MS Walk since her diagnosis in 2017. Danielle actively seeks opportunities to get involved with MS Canada and is looking forward to blending her professional skills and passion for MS advocacy during her term as a Community Representative.
Jason Park, Toronto, ON
Jason moved to Toronto in the 1990s to pursue a career in financial markets. It was here that he met his then to be wife Marie-Claude. Very soon after, she received the awful diagnosis of MS after suffering from tingling, dizziness, fatigue and many other of the common symptoms of this disease. And so began Jason’s interest in and connection to MS.
His wife’s determination and resolve to fight MS from the very start is what inspired Jason to get involved with MS Canada. First as a regular donor, then as a volunteer and fundraiser, and now as a member of the investment committee and Community Representative program.
Jennifer Shymanski, Lloydminster, AB
Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Saskatchewan and has been working as an oilfield dispatcher for over fifteen years. She volunteers with the Lloydminster Youth Justice Committee, Lloydminster Community Services Advisory Committee, and the MS Canada peer to peer program.
Jennifer has had RRMS for over twenty years now and has always been passionate about researching new treatments and advances in this disease. She will bring the same passion and determination to the Community Representative program.
Jesse Mirsky, Toronto, ON
Jesse was diagnosed with RRMS in 2020. He leads and facilitates the Newly Diagnosed Peer Support Group through MS Canada. Jesse has also spoken at educational events and webinars designed for people who are newly diagnosed through MS Canada. Additionally, he volunteers with the UK-based MS charity, Overcoming MS. Jesse works for a tech startup based in Toronto.
Through his volunteer work, Jesse’s goal is to help build community for people living with MS. In the support groups he works with, members offer empathy and lived experiences to help others manage through their own diagnosis. Getting to hear people’s stories inspires him and helps him through his own MS experience.
John McGill, Fergus, ON
John McGill is a retired senior high school teacher with a background in biology and chemistry. Since retirement, he has been active in the arts community with the Elora Arts Council, as a Board member. John was diagnosed in 2021 with RRMS. Being diagnosed at a later age in life was totally unexpected and shocking. The diagnosis led John to an active pursuit of researching the available and upcoming treatments for MS. His background in science has given him a unique perspective of the disease and has been helpful in understanding both the disease and available treatments.
John is interested in providing input into existing and emerging research regarding how it impacts the day to day lives of those living with MS. Ongoing and new research offers hope in terms of both treatment and a cure, and John is looking forward to representing a broad and diverse community of people living with this disease.
Joni Straker, Delisle, SK
In 2017, Joni was diagnosed with RRMS and from that point forward, she started to volunteer with MS Canada in various capacities such as MS Walk Provincial Ambassador, Walk of Champions, MS Bike, Burgers to Beat MS, Peer 1:1 Support Program, and Saskatchewan Community Council. Her two teenage boys and husband have been amazing supports, which has allowed her to continue to work full time in a Community Relations role.
Living with MS in the prairies and listening to others impacted by MS, Joni hopes she can use her voice to share lived experience with others on the panel.
Lisa Freeman, Ottawa, ON and Montreal, QC
Lisa Freeman grew up in Victoria, BC and now shares her time between Ottawa and Montréal. She loves reading and writing, improving her English and French, playing the flute, and being outside and in nature with family and friends. After graduating from medical school in Winnipeg, she completed residencies in both family medicine and public health and preventive medicine in Edmonton, along with a Master of Public Health (MPH) focused on health promotion. She most recently worked as a public health specialist physician in Ottawa.
Lisa would especially like to see a focus on research into improving quality of life of those with MS, and more exploration of progressive and advanced forms of MS on the diagnostic continuum, with a view on equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility within research and its funding.
Marie-Claude Bedric, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC
Marie-Claude was diagnosed with MS on June 29th, 2022. She felt sad about her unknown MS condition and felt she was missing some life purpose. A good friend of hers (Jean-Sylvain Ouellette) was organizing an MS mountain bike fundraising event for the third year and Marie-Claude decided to join this event as a fundraiser. With no fundraising experience, she raised over ten thousand dollars.
Marie-Claude is motivated and excited to get involved with MS Canada since she is personally touched by this condition and feels the need to do her part to help the community. She wants to learn with this scientific community, taking part in the process of being a Community Representative.
Sharon Roman, Vancouver, BC
As someone who lives with MS and translates research findings into plain language for the Tremlett Lab at Tremlett's MS Research Explained, Sharon has an appreciation of the significance of research. She believes results should be explained simply and shared widely, empowering people with MS with knowledge to help guide decisions in care. Currently, she serves on the Patient Advisory Panel for the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the Participant Advisory Committee for the BC Brain Wellness program at the Djavad Mowifaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH), and the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s (ASC) Advisory Group.
Sharon loves how MS research is a collaborative and global effort. MS Canada plays an integral role in enabling and fostering these collaborations. She looks forward to learning more about the exciting research being conducted and contributing to the path of MS research.