Patient and Community Advisory Committee

The Patient and Community Advisory Committee (PCAC) provides advice on issues relevant to the organization’s mandate, from the perspectives of those accessing health care systems in Canada. The committee’s purpose is to provide advice on how to best ensure the voices of those with lived and living experiences accessing health care in health systems in Canada are consistently reflected and embedded in the organization’s work. PCAC is also responsible for collaboratively planning and coleading, with the organization’s Engagement team, meetings of the patient partner community to connect with the patient partners involved in contributing their perspectives and advice on the organization’s projects, committees, and initiatives.

PCAC Meeting Summaries

PCAC Terms of Reference

Chair

Beth Kidd, Alberta

Beth’s extensive experience as a patient advisor and advocate is deeply rooted in her own personal journey. As a caregiver, she provides dedicated support to a loved one living with dementia, has advocated for mental health resources for youth, and navigated addiction support systems for adults. As a patient, her ongoing daily management of chronic migraine further enriches her perspective, allowing her to balance the complexities of chronic illness with her professional and caregiving roles.

Currently, Beth serves as the Executive Director of the Health Coalition of Alberta, representing more than 120 health charities, patient groups, health associations, and individual members. Under her leadership, the Coalition prioritizes using a collaborative approach to address health equity, access to care, medication access, and patient engagement.

Beth’s commitment to health equity extends beyond her professional role and into her extensive volunteer work. She is a lifelong volunteer with many health charities and community groups. In addition to being Chair of the Patient and Community Advisory Committee at Canada’s Drug Agency, she also currently sits on Research Canada’s Board of Directors and the Dementia Network Calgary’s Strategic Council, is a co-leader of Alberta’s Migraine Warriors patient support group, and is a network development advisor with Alberta’s International Medical Graduates Association.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Beth Kidd

Members

Devan Nambiar, Ontario

Devan Nambiar, MSc, is an education and training specialist on 2SLGBTQ+ health and HIV care for organizations, clinicians, and allied health professionals, and his consultant practice, GHIS.CA. He currently works as the Manager of Capacity Building and Talent Development at GMSH. He draws from more than 30 years of HIV activism, advocacy, and service. His expertise includes developing and leading education and training initiatives to improve queer and trans health directed to social service agencies and health care providers. This includes publications, workshops, Continuing Medical Education training modules, guest lectures in medical schools, seminars, and other resources.

He reviews Canadian Institutes of Health Research e-learning modules of Bias in Peer Review. Devan is involved in 5 research studies, mpox, human papillomavirus (HPV) and anal cancer, doxycycline, and 2SLGBTQ+ health education as co-chair, co-investigator, and collaborator. In 2024, Devan was nominated to the US Community Liaison Subcommittee at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). Devan is a South Asian gay man who has been living with HIV for 35 years.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Devan Nambiar

Marilyn Barrett, Prince Edward Island

Marilyn Barrett is the Director of Family Medicine and Distributed Medical Education in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Prince Edward Island. She is a retired community nurse and the former Director of Primary Care and Chronic Disease for Health PEI. 

Marilyn has been a caregiver to multiple family members, which required out-of-province care for health treatment. She is a cancer survivor and is helping to care for aging parents. 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Marilyn Barrett

Abby McFee

Abby McFee is the co-chair for the Patient and Parent Advisory Group at Cystic Fibrosis Care BC and currently works as a policy analyst for the Ministry of Health in British Columbia. Previously, she spent 4 years in the health care sector and 8 years as a regional advocate for the Victoria chapter of Cystic Fibrosis Canada. Abby is originally from Medicine Hat, Alberta, and was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of 9 months after her twin sister received the same diagnosis. She has lived with cystic fibrosis for almost her entire life. 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Abby McFee

Andrew Jantzen

 Andrew Jantzen is a queer, multigender, low-income person from Halifax with Tethered Cord and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. They use a power wheelchair, splints and braces, feeding tube, and support workers to assist them throughout each day.

Over the past 2 decades, they have coordinated forums for people with disabilities in Nova Scotia, spoken in the media, and volunteered to create many opportunities for youth, people with disabilities, and people in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, particularly around health. They currently work for the Nova Scotia provincial government in accessibility, in addition to their personal community involvements. 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Andrew Jantzen

Trish Roche

Trish Roche is a patient and public engagement specialist with experience in research and health care, and an educational background in basic biomedical science. She is a cisgender white woman, descended from English colonial settlers and Austrian and Polish immigrants. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Treaty 1 territory, ancestral Inuit lands, and home of the Red River Métis.  Trish is an advocate for social justice and trauma-informed care, with a range of lived experience including chronic pain and endometriosis. 
 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Trish Roche

Jan Wleugel

For the past 12 years, Jan Wleugel has been active in various volunteer capacities, including with the Ontario Ministry of Health, Myeloma Canada, and the Toronto and District Myeloma Support Group, since his diagnosis with multiple myeloma.

Jan has worked with many organizations to help patients with myeloma understand and deal with the issues they face, especially those who are newly diagnosed. He has also used his financial, risk management, and consulting background to help these organizations formulate polices and provide services to the patient community.

Prior to this, Jan worked as a consultant and leader for a large global consulting company, where he led the public entities and higher education practice. Jan also provided consulting services to the Ontario Ministry of Health, among other clients.

Linxi Mytkolli