NPAO Board and Staff

Jodi has been a Nurse Practitioner with the Minto Mapleton since 2008 where she was supported under the “Grow your own Nurse Practitioner” initiative. She obtained her Bachelors in Nursing Science from the University of Western Ontario with Sigma Theta Tau recognition in 2005. In 2009 she completed her Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate. Jodi manages a primary care practice across the lifespan. With experience as an RN on labour and delivery at Grand River Hospital she is passionate about both women’s and children’s health. Additionally, she is the rural representative on the Waterloo Wellington Regional Children’s Mental Health Committee. Jodi is passionate about equitable care for all and has been a long standing member of her FHT quality improvement committee and recently the OHT QI committee as well as their collaborative QI initiative with community partners. Jodi helps provide quality care to rural patients by advocating for technological innovation in her region. She has presented at AFTHO and NPAO conferences about her team’s collaborative care psych program through OTN as well as enhancing primary care through multi-digital solutions. She recognizes the importance of team based primary care and has participated in political advocacy locally. She is looking forward to continuing to pursue such themes on a larger platform with NPAO. In her spare time she has completed medical missions to West Africa, Guatemala and Peru.  She loves swimming and skiing with her family and being a hockey mom. For self care she enjoys “sewing for her sanity”.

Barb is currently cross-appointed with the Lawrence S. Bloomberg, Faculty of Nursing University of Toronto and is currently an instructional assistant in the Adult NP program. She holds memberships with the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses (CCCN), International Society of Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ISACHD), Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada (NPAC), Registered Nurses of Ontario (RNAO) and Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and is the current President of the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario. Barb is certified in cardiovascular nursing (CCN(C)), basic and advanced cardiac life support.  Her accomplishments include a patient education initiative, a children’s storybook to help parents discuss their heart surgery with their children, and the development of a mindfulness recovery program after cardiac surgery.  She has co-authored publications in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) and cardiovascular surgery. She has co-published in the Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership and recently published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology (CJC) Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, which explores cannabis use in ACHD.

Sarah completed her undergraduate education in nursing at Queen’s University. After graduating in 2007, she began work at the Hospital for Sick Children in the neuroscience and trauma inpatient unit. Sarah enjoyed working in Asia for a period of time where she was involved in community-based research on diabetes prevention. After returning to Canada, she also returned to her first love of paediatrics, enrolling in the joint Master’s of Nursing/Paediatric Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Toronto and graduating in 2016. Sarah has worked in paediatric diabetes, complex epilepsy and obesity management. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Food Security from the Chang School at Toronto Metropolitan University and a Professional Diploma of Tropical Nursing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Sarah chairs the paediatric community of practice with the NPAO.

Sarah is also a wife, mom to two wonderful young boys and farms alongside her family in the Kawarthas.

In joining the NPAO board, Sarah is excited to enhance the voice of NPs working in paediatrics across the province, and furthering the NPAO vision of exceptional healthcare for all.

Noorin is a passionate nurse leader with over 20 years of clinical experience.  After several years in critical care, she pursued her passion for learning and graduated from the Master in Nursing program at the University of Toronto.  She has been practicing as a Nurse Practitioner since 2010.  She is currently practicing as a Nurse Practitioner at Sunnybrook Health Science Center and as an entrepreneur in medical aesthetics.  In her previous hospital leadership role, she was responsible for professional practice of nursing and health professions in the Peter Munk Cardiac Center, General Surgery and Psychiatry program at the University Health Network.  She is actively involved in the academic realm with an adjunct lecturer appointment through the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. She has worked in the role of clinical consultant for the development of the first decision aid tool on refractory angina. She has developed a supplementary chapter on chronic angina self- management in Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions, a program through Stanford University. She is most passionate about her volunteer work which has focused on resolving issues pertaining to access to healthcare and healthcare education for marginalized populations. Her goal is to enhance the patient experience through patient education and she uses this to guide her clinical practice.

Julian is a lawyer that specialises in Civil Litigation and Privacy law. Julian completed his bachelor’s degree at York University. After graduating, he pursued a Juris Doctorate at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Prior to serving as Board Director of Governance, Julian served in the role of Legal Advisor to the NPAO Board where he regularly provided support to the Board on its responsibilities to the organization and to the Members. Julian also contributed to the development of policies while serving as Board Legal Advisor.

In his current role as Board Director of Governance, Julian is responsible to ensure the NPAO is aware of its risks with respect to legal and regulatory requirements as it concerns the affairs of the NPAO and to the Board’s decisions. Julian regularly contributes to Board discussions and decisions as a non-NP board member and provides a non-clinical lens to the Board on pertinent issues and decisions.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery
Adjunct appointment, University of Ottawa & University of Toronto

Jessica Romeo completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Ottawa in 2007 and went on to earn her Masters of Nursing degree and Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) certificate from the University of Toronto in 2012.  She has worked at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario since 2007, which initiated as an RN on the surgical inpatient unit, followed by her current role as the pediatric NP for the Division of Orthopedic Surgery.  Additionally, she has experience working as a NP in primary care with a Family Health Team.

Jessica holds joint appointment as adjunct faculty with both the University of Ottawa and University of Toronto Schools of Nursing, and participates regularly as a guest lecturer, and NP preceptor.  Her clinical practice focuses on the care of hip dysplasia in infants and children, as well as Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis and general orthopedic concerns in the early stages of child development.  Jessica is also a Principal Investigator with the CHEO Research Institute and is actively involved in division wide orthopedic research.

Dr. Kelly Kokus is Nurse Practitioner specializing in substance use disorders at the Brant Haldimand and Norfolk (BHN) Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinics. She graduated from the collaborative nursing program through Loyalist College and Brock University in 2013. She worked as an occupational health nurse  at Unilever from 2014-2018. She attended D’Youville University in Buffalo, New York, from 2014 to 2019, where she completed a Master of Science in Family Nurse Practitioner program, and Doctor of Nursing Practice – Family Nurse Practitioner stream. She has been a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner since 2017. Currently, she is completing the fourth and final course for the Mental Health and Addictions NP Certificate through the University of Toronto. Dr. Kokus has worked on several mobile addictions outreach teams before starting her current role as the BHN RAAM NP in July 2019. She has held numerous leadership roles within various nursing organizations. Most recently, she has held the position of Ontario representative on the International Society of Addiction Nurses Canadian Executive and is the Co-Chair of the NPAO’s Mental Health and Addictions Community of Practice. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, running, gymnastics, figure skating and going to bakeries.

Kevin Zizzo completed his Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) through Ryerson University and George Brown College. After gaining several years of clinical experience he pursued a graduate level education and obtained a Masters in Nursing (MN) and a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) Certificate through the University of Toronto. In addition, Kevin is one of seven individuals in Canada to obtain a Graduate Diploma as an NP in Anesthesia Care (GDipNPAC). His clinical experiences have primarily been in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Community Health in remote First Nations communities, Pediatric Cardiology, and Pediatric Anesthesia. Kevin is a strong advocate for NP practice and has a passion for educating future nurses. He is cross appointed as an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto.