Leona Cullen is a seasoned administrative, operations, and HR professional who has served the Burnaby Division of Family Practice over the past 10+ years in various capacities. 

Leona joined the Burnaby Division in September 2013 as a part-time administrative assistant and quickly took on additional responsibilities. In 2019, she moved into the Office Manager and Division Coordinator roles and currently serves as the Interim Executive Director. Leona brings more than 35 years of experience in diverse industries including non-profit, recreation, recruiting, and academia. Her notable roles prior to joining the Division include Communications Manager with the BC Chiropractic Association and Office Manager with Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver. 

Leona's passions include coordinating member and community events, social media, and opportunities to connect with members. In her free time, she enjoys music, movies, volunteering, and impromptu adventures with friends and family. 

Elena joined the Burnaby Division in August 2023 as our new Patient Attachment Coordinator.

She brings years of international experience in Human Resources and administration in the healthcare sector, as well as local experience in administration, customer service, and data entry. She has interest and passion to be part of the Canadian public healthcare system.

Elena holds a diploma in Healthcare Office Administration and has completed an MOA practicum.

In her free time, Elena enjoys spending time with her family and friends, getting out into nature and exploring beautiful places near Vancouver. She also enjoys travelling, reading, and practicing yoga.

Georgiana joined the Burnaby Division in February 2020. She brings previous experience in private and public healthcare organizations supporting Family Physicians and their practice teams, managing and overseeing day-to-day operations of various departments. She has a strong interest in Quality Improvement, clinical operations, health policy and is passionate about inspiring and driving change and translating complex processes into clear, actionable steps. Outside of work, you can find Georgiana enjoying nature, reading, traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Huyanne joined the Burnaby Division in June 2022,  Huey (preferred) is an experienced community programmer in both municipal government and not for profit settings. With a B.A. in Political Science and a Dialogue and Civic Engagement Certification both from Simon Fraser University, Huey has been working in DTES community services and local asset development in various capacities since 2009. 

She currently holds the role of PCN Senior Manager, Community Partnerships and Engagement, supporting PCN governance work, Regional and Local Leadership Tables, and community building.  Bringing an intersection of experience from Food Security Programming, Mental Health outreach, Family and Seniors engagement, Wellness and Recreation advocacy, and project facilitator roles; she is committed to a holistic and systems approach to community care. 

Huey’s out of work passions are reading a book a week and exploring BC nature trails with her two dogs.

Jaskirat joined the Burnaby Division in May 2020 as an Information Technology Coordinator and soon added Patient Attachment to his role . He has expertise in Computer Science and applications. In addition to his role, Jaskirat is also a part of the Employee Engagment Committee. 

He has completed his post-graduate diploma in Computer Science from Douglas College. He is also a graduate in Computer Applications from Punjabi University, Patiala, India. 

Jaskira's out of work hobbies are swimming, hiking and working out. He enjoys living in British Columbia and is always passionate about new adventures in life.

Manny joined the Burnaby Division in October 2017 as the Project Administrator.  She worked at the BC Patient & Quality Council from 2011 to 2017 as the Program Assistant.  She brings more than 15 years' experience in office administration and customer service.  She also served as an executive assistant for the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce in the UK.  Her office administration skills are combined with experience in employee training.  Manny holds a Business Administration Diploma from CDI College.

Manny is a mom to two boys and in her spare time loves traveling and being with her family.

Matt Cooper is an experienced business and financial professional who brings years of hands-on management experience from the corporate world to the non-profit healthcare space. As Program Manager, he oversees the robust Long Term Care Initiative – comprised of 30 physicians and 12 care homes – organizing 24/7 physician coverage, and supporting best practices and quality improvement across Burnaby. Matt is passionate about equitable and accessible healthcare, and business efficiency! He enjoys engaging with physicians about their perspectives as owner/operators.

In his spare time, Matt enjoys powerwalks, swimming, reading nonfiction, and exploring culture through cooking. He also enjoys spending nice days at the beach with his senior Labrador, Benson.

Melissa Sharp is a communications professional who is passionate about advancing the health and wellbeing of her community. She brings years of experience as a communicator in non-profit and post-secondary spaces, with a focus on community engagement, public programming, and partnerships.  

She began consulting for the Burnaby Division of Family practice in late 2020 to support pandemic response and brand development for the Burnaby Primary Care Networks (PCN). She joined the team officially in June 2022 as PCN Communications Officer and now leads communications strategy and implementation across the PCN and the Division as Communications Manager. 

Outside of work, Melissa enjoys knitting, puttering in her balcony garden, and cycling around her neighbourhood. 

Natasha is a Master of Public Health graduate of Simon Fraser University. She has previously worked on an initiative to promote equitable extreme weather response in Burnaby. Natasha joined the Division in June 2023 as a Project Coordinator. 

Natasha is especially passionate about promoting planetary health and mental health. In her free time, she reads, runs and hikes, and spends time with her snake (Simon) and cat (Wilson).

Rissienne (Riss for short) arrived in Canada in February 2024 and joined the division as the Executive Assistant in March 2024. She brings valuable experience from her previous roles in government agencies, including the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (Ancestral Domains Office), the Department of Justice, and the Philippine Postal Corporation. Her background also includes insights gained from her time in law firms before joining BDFP. Armed with a Juris Doctor degree and a B.S. in Legal Management, she provides a solid foundation to the team.

In her spare time, Riss indulges in humor by pretending to be a YouTube mom with endless resources and an unrealistic figure. However, her real joy comes from spending time with her family, especially her beloved toddler, Rylo. She believes that life is too short not to laugh every day, which contributes to her positive demeanor.

Robbie joined the Burnaby Division in August 2020 initially as a MOA/Site Navigator. After a few months, he took on the role as Site Coordinator for the Burnaby Central Park Covid-19 Testing Site.

In May 2021, he became the Recruitment & Retention and Data Management Coordinator for the Division. Robbie brings with him years of experience in customer relations, business development and data management. He has a strong interest in public health and passion for community service. Robbie aims to help and improve healthcare in the Burnaby community.

In his free time, Robbie enjoys snowboarding, discovering new food and traveling the world with friends and family. 

Veronica draws on several years of interdisciplinary inquiry, first in academic research, and more recently within health service delivery. As a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded Masters student at McGill University, Veronica investigated the psychological effects surrounding pharmacological prescribing and the doctor-patient relationship. Through her epidemiological and clinical trial work with Simon Fraser University’s Community Health Research Team, she had the privilege of listening to the experiences of many people dealing with chronic disease, or more broadly, their lives. Through an intersectional lens, she has lead implementation and evaluation work in secondary prevention telehealth programming with Fraser Health, among a wide array of public, private, and community partnership projects. Having joined the Burnaby Division of Family Practice in the throes of COVID-19, Veronica is thrilled to bring her insights into the broad reach of primary care. Happiest in the kitchen in the company of others, her wish is to promote wellness and build community through endeavours that nourish what we all share as humans.