Animal Health Canada Staff Members

Colleen holds a Master of Science in Applied Behaviour and Welfare, and a Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology; both from the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College. In 2020, she received her Certified Association Executive (CAE) professional designation. For over 15 years Colleen has worked within industry and government in various roles supporting animal health and welfare policy development and program implementation. As the Programs Director at Canadian Animal Health Institute, Colleen held a multi-functional role to provide organizational leadership in relation to communications, environmental stewardship programming, stakeholder relations and member service delivery. Prior to CAHI, she worked at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) leading her team on livestock traceability policy and stakeholder relations. For several years Colleen worked at the Turkey Farmers of Canada (TFC) where she was the lead for animal health and welfare, disease surveillance, traceability, antimicrobial resistance, and applied research policy and programming. She has participated on numerous national industry and government boards and committees, including a term as a Director at Large on the NFAHW Council Board representing the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI).

Samantha joined the NFAHW Council, now Animal Health Canada, in 2011, shortly after its inception. Prior to this, she worked for 13 years as an instructional designer and coordinator for the Bank of Montreal at their Institute for Learning. She lives on a hobby farm in Muskoka, Ontario's cottage country, with her husband, two kids and horses.                                                                                    

Samantha obtained a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in Anthropology, and having grown up in Montreal, also attended CEGEP at John Abbott’s College in the West Island of Montreal. 

Nicole joined the NFAHW Council, now AHC, as a Senior Bookkeeper in April 2020. Nicole has over 20 years’ experience in the bookkeeping field across a variety of industries. Her role is to establish and maintain the financial records, support the work of AHC and its divisions, as well as ensuring that the efficient financial processes are well documented. 

Nicole was born and raised in Victoria, Australia where she studied Business Administration. She is also a Certified Health Information Manager (CHIM). 

Nicole, her husband, Michael and 16 year old daughter Mia, have two dogs, a Shitzu/poodle cross, named Panda and an Australian Cobberdog, named Cobber (Australian slang for Best Mate). She really enjoys entertaining, watching movies, as well as travelling, hiking, tennis and cooking.

Doris Leung has been a part of the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System (CAHSS) since 2020. She received her DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) from the Ontario Veterinary College and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of British Columbia. Doris is excited to utilize her knowledge in health communication, veterinary epidemiology, and disease surveillance to create knowledge translation pieces to engage with CAHSS members, foster collaboration, and to promote evidence-based decision making to advance animal health and surveillance in Canada. She currently resides in Vancouver, BC.

Murray grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Sussex, New Brunswick. He completed his undergraduate degree in agriculture and animal science from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College before completing his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island. After graduating, Murray spent two years in New Zealand in a dairy focused clinic before moving back to New Brunswick where he worked for the Government of New Brunswick in large animal practice, and with the veterinary pharmaceutical company Vetoquinol as a technical services veterinarian. He is past president of the Canadian Association of Bovine Veterinarians and the current District 12 director for the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Murray has been an active member of the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System Dairy and the AMU/AMR surveillance networks.

Murray is currently working on a Master’s in health management and public health at the Atlantic Veterinary College with a project focusing on antimicrobial use on dairy farms. He was the dairy subject matter expert for the Canadian Veterinary Medical Associations Stewardship of Antimicrobial use by Veterinarians Initiative (SAVI) in 2018 and 2022. He remains very active in the day-to-day operations of his family’s dairy farm, where they have implemented many of the SAVI recommendations and guidelines successfully, including zero-zero calf care, selective dry cow therapy, and following the prudent use guidelines for treatments when necessary.

Murray is very passionate about the Canadian bovine veterinary, dairy, and agricultural sectors and loves discussing dairy practice, bovine veterinary medicine, and science in general and can be reached to discuss these topics at any time. Other interests include video games, anime, nature, hiking, and history.

Erica holds a Bachelor of Science, Biology from the University of Guelph and spent the first portion of her career in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturing in various quality assurance roles. In 2006, Erica became the Technical Director for the Canadian Poultry & Egg Processors Council (CPEPC), where she was responsible for technical files namely in areas of food safety, animal welfare and animal health. She was the members’ liaison point of contact with CFIA and Health Canada on technical matters and represented the interests of CPEPC on multiple domestic joint industry/government initiatives and also internationally. With 17 years of experience in the poultry industry, Erica brings knowledge and experience gained through multiple outbreaks of Avian Influenza.

Erica is based in Brockville, Ontario where she shares her home with a dog and two cats.

Kemi is an internationally trained veterinarian and holds a master’s degree in Population Medicine (Epidemiology with an applied clinical research specialty). She has experience in animal disease management and public health and is excited to use her knowledge and skills in veterinary medicine, epidemiology and project management. Her passion for animal health and welfare is greatly influenced by her professional background where she has hands on experience working to mitigate the effect of emerging animal diseases like FMD and HPAI, as well as other One Health disease threats. Kemi has been working with the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System (CAHSS) and the African swine fever Executive Management Board (ASF EMB) as a One Health Intern in collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Michelle started her career in livestock production systems working in the pork industry. She then held leadership roles in livestock production research and technology transfer, animal welfare and livestock traceability portfolios with the Government of Alberta ministry of agriculture. Michelle is excited to work with the livestock industry and government to plan and prepare for reportable livestock disease events in Canada.

Michelle obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan and Master of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guelph.

Jackie Wepruk has been the General Manager of the National Farm Animal Care
Council (NFACC) since its inception in 2005. In this capacity she facilitates a
partnership on NFACC between governments, farmed animal industries, the
veterinary community, the humane movement, food companies, and other allied
groups. She assists NFACC’s partners in achieving practical solutions to farm
animal welfare concerns that address the interests of farmers, domestic and
export markets, governments and the Canadian public.

Jackie obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University
of Winnipeg, and a Master of Environmental Design from the University of
Calgary.

Caroline has a Bachelor of Science from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (University of British Columbia, 2007) and a Master of Public Policy (Simon Fraser University, 2016). Since 2010, she has been variously involved in the work of the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) including the development of the Animal Care Assessment Framework, several Codes of Practice and, more recently, providing oversight of Code maintenance processes and facilitating deliberations among NFACC members. Prior to her current position at NFACC, Caroline worked in corporate policy at the First Nations Health Authority, on a regional flood management strategy with the Fraser Basin Council, and in farm animal welfare certification for the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She is trained in conflict resolution and facilitation and lives in Vancouver.

Tanya Frye is a communications professional with 20 years' work experience within provincial and municipal government and not-for-profit organizations. She has spent 10 of those years working within the animal health community. Tanya has an educational background in graphic design and public relations. In 2022, she completed a Change Management Program at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. She looks forward to using her love for communications planning and building relationships to support Animal Health Canada's strategic goals.