Dr. Ryan Thomas is a family physician from Toronto. He also is a Clinical Associate at UHN's Elisabeth Raab Neurofibromatosis Clinic, which focuses on caring for adult patients with neurofibromatosis. He also holds the position of Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine.

Dr Juliette Hukin graduated with her Medical degree from Sydney University, Australia. She completed her Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology training at BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver. She pursued Neuro-oncology fellowship training in New York at Beth Israel and Sloane Kettering. She was fortunate to return to BC Children’s Hospital as Director of the Pediatric Neuro-oncology Program in and lead the BC team with the aim of providing optimal and comprehensive brain tumor care to the children of British Columbia and Yukon. She is a founding member of the Canadian Brain Tumor Consortium and the Canadian Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, and past President of the Canadian Association of Child Neurology. She currently leads the Neurofibromatosis Medical Therapeutics Program and Neurofibromatosis Combined Clinic at BC Children’s Hospital. She is the local primary investigator in the currently closed to accrual Canadian clinical trial evaluating trametinib in the management of plexiform neurofibromas and gliomas. She has published as primary, co or senior author of over 100 peer reviewed journals. She enjoys mentoring and teaching the residents and fellows of both the neurology and oncology training programs, thus nurturing the next generation of academic and community clinicians in the fields of pediatric neurology and neuro-oncology. In her spare time, she may be embracing Shinrin-yoku, exploring the snowy peaks or ocean kayaking.

Dr. Chapman completed her Neurology training at UBC followed by a neurophysiology Fellowship at Harvard. She is a Clinical Professor of neurology at UBC. Dr. Chapman has served as Medical Director of the Neuromuscular Disease Program at the Vancouver Hospital, President of the Canadian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology (CSCN) and Vice President of the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation (CNSF)). Dr. Chapman is currently the Division Head for Neurology for Providence Health Care. She has a strong interest in improving outcomes in healthcare and recently completed a Masters in Healthcare Transformation at the Value Institute at the University of Austin, Texas. She is committed to improving care for patients and enjoys supporting change in her role of Physician Lead for Innovation for the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Tamar Green, an MD graduate from Ben-Gurion University and a specialized child psychiatrist from Tel Aviv University, completed her postdoctoral training in neuroscience at Stanford University. She now serves as a University Medical Line Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, where she directs the Brain Imaging, Development, and Genetics (BRIDGE) Lab. Her research on neurodevelopmental disorders is generously funded by NIH grants and has earned her prestigious awards, including the Francis S. Collins Scholar and the Stephen Bechtel Endowed Faculty Scholarship. Her primary areas of interest include Copy Number Variants, particularly the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, and sex chromosome anomalies such as Turner syndrome and the impacts of X-monosomy on brain development. She currently focuses on RASopathies—disorders resulting from mutations in the Ras/MAPK genes, such as Noonan syndrome and Neurofibromatosis 1.

Dr. Alan Atkins is a psychiatrist providing talk therapy and medical management, in both English and Spanish. After medical school at Brown University, Dr. Atkins completed psychiatry residency and founded a research team dedicated to investigating the healing power of walking in nature. After residency, Dr. Atkins traveled to Colorado to complete a two year fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. There, he served as Chief Fellow and pursued specialized therapy training. Dr. Atkins has been awarded the Kimberly Kelsay Curiosity Award for his enthusiasm for learning from his patients and the Catcher in the Rye award for "going the extra mile" for his Spanish-speaking Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) patients. Contemplative practice, psychotherapy, humor and nature time permeate both Dr. Atkins' clinical and personal interests. His clinical style involves a slow-moving dynamic emphasizing trust, understanding, and diagnostic humility. He takes an integrative and minimalist approach.

Stephanie Lancet is the Program Manager for Communities on the RAPID Project at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, where she leads a nationally distributed team to implement the research project in diverse communities, collect timely data, and foster partnerships that elevate family voices in early childhood policy and systems change efforts. She has over a decade of experience at the intersection of education, equity, and community engagement, including cradle-to-career work with Cal State East Bay’s Hayward Promise Neighborhoods and research and advocacy efforts focused on students with disabilities with the Center for Learner Equity. Stephanie holds a Master’s in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA in Economics and Philosophy from Boston College. A proud daughter of Cuban immigrants and mother to a curious and active toddler, she is passionate about equitable, child-centered education and exploring new foods and flavors.

Dr. Olaf Kraus de Camargo is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University, the co-director of the CanChild Centre for Childhood-onset Disability Research and a member of MacART (McMaster Autism Research Team). He practices as a developmental pediatrician at the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He completed his medical education and pediatric training in Brazil, followed by a residency in Germany where he received training in developmental-behavioural paediatrics/social paediatrics and child neurology. Prior to joining the faculty at McMaster, Dr. Kraus de Camargo held positions in Germany as a Professor of Social Medicine at the University of Applied Sciences Nordhausen and as CEO and Medical Director of Kinderzentrum Pelzerhaken gGmbH, an inpatient and outpatient facility for children with developmental behavioural disabilities and chronic neurologic disorders. Since 2001, Olaf Kraus de Camargo has been involved with the implementation of the WHO - International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). He co-edited the book ICF: A Hands-On Approach for Clinicians and Families. He is a member of the steering committee of PONDA – Physicians of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Advocacy and was a member of the Disability Advisory Committee to the Canadian Revenue Agency from 2021-2024.

Online Profiles: ResearchGate | ORCiD | LinkedIn

Dr Weinstein received his MD from the University of Toronto in 1994 and completed his pediatric residency at the Hospital for Sick Children in 1998. He is a staff physician in the Division of Paediatric Medicine and an Associate Professor at The University of Toronto. He is involved in educational activities at the undergraduate and post-graduate medical level and at the faculty of dentistry. His major teaching focus is on assessment at the postgraduate level. Dr Weinstein’s clinical areas of focus are children with complex medical needs and the care of children and youth with neurofibromatosis.

Lia Sherman is a mother of three and registered nurse living in a small northern BC town. When her youngest, Riley was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis type 1 Microdeletion type 1, everything changed. Drawing on both her professional background and personal journey, Lia has become a passionate advocate for rare disease awareness. In 2025, she launched the Together for Riley, Together for NF campaign to help save the BC Tumour Foundation, raising just over $15,000. She is also writing a children’s book titled Riley’s Ride to help families understand and talk about NF. Lia continues to share her story to support others navigating the world of rare disease.

Originally from southwestern Ontario, Lisa relocated to beautiful British Columbia in the late 1990s with her husband. A dedicated dental hygienist, she retired from her profession in 2007 when the family moved overseas for a decade for her husband's work. Lisa is a proud mother of two adult sons, now 21 and 23. Her eldest was born with spontaneous Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), which sparked her passion for advocacy. She is deeply committed to raising awareness about NF and fostering a sense of community among those affected. Now settled in scenic Kelowna, BC, Lisa enjoys an active lifestyle and can often be found on the pickleball courts, embracing the vibrant local community.