Staff

As the Chief Executive Officer, Rob is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Association’s Strategic Direction, including its Strategic Priorities. 

Rob oversees the day-to-day operations of the Association, including providing support to the staff team working on behalf of resident physicians training in Alberta. He works closely with the PARA Executive Board in the development of current strategies to continue to move the strategic priorities forward. 

Rob is involved in the Negotiation Committee and often works directly with PARA’s partners to ensure that the challenges encountered by resident physicians during training are resolved in ways beneficial to all parties.

Tara has been with PARA since 2015, overseeing the Association’s advocacy efforts and initiatives, including the Diversity/Inclusivity portfolio and PARA advocacy related to PracID restrictions and physician resource planning. 

Tara is a passionate communicator and self-proclaimed word nerd, as well as a committed community volunteer. She is also an avid hockey fan, shoe connoisseur and travel addict. Her perfect day would include copious amounts of coffee, a beach, a good book and non-stop tunes.

Kiersten loves creating pieces that showcase the stories of Alberta’s resident physicians. She does this by designing and writing PARA’s communications, publications and promotional materials, as well as maintaining the PARA website and managing PARA’s blog and social media channels. Kiersten is also the Staff Lead for the Leadership and Education Committee, where she helps plan and organize events such as Resident Physicians in the Legislature, Leadership Workshops and Transition to Practice.

Kiersten spends her time with her husband and two children and says that becoming a mom is her greatest adventure yet. She loves to travel, read and bake.

Ravneet is the staff lead for the Nomination and Awards Committee, where she oversees the distribution of awards to resident physicians, physician preceptors and allied staff, as well as administering conference sponsorship awards.

As a Member Services Coordinator, Ravneet works in the areas of Agreement Compliance, excess calls, organizes PARA’s half-day presentations and oversees the Taxi Reimbursement Program. If you have any questions on any of the above, please reach out to her!

When Ravneet is not working, she loves spending time with her two sons and husband. She loves going for long walks (only when it’s warm outside), traveling and watching Netflix.

Emma is here to help with any and all member queries.

In her off time, Emma loves to travel and has spent years travelling and living overseas. Some of her favourite places include Greece, Croatia, Italy and Australia, where she resided for two and a half years. Emma loves dogs (ALL of them) and has a four-year-old Greyhound whose photos take up 99% of her phone storage.

CURRENTLY ON LEAVE

Robin works closely with the Vice President of Community and Internal Relations and the Community and Wellness Committee, organizing well-being related activities and initiatives, as well as overseeing wellness grants and event funding. She is also a staff liaison to the Inclusivity and Anti-racism Working Group.

In addition, Robin works in the areas of Agreement Compliance and organizing Letters of Understandings annually. If you have any questions on the Agreement, she is more than happy to help! Robin sits on Health and Safety Committees with AHS and other unions.

Robin moved to Alberta from Ontario a few years ago and although she misses the Great Lakes and raccoons, taking trips to the mountains and the antics of magpies help fill the void in her heart. She enjoys cooking, growing all varieties of tomatoes and listening to 99% Invisible, ideas and Planet Money.

Adrienne brings a wealth of communications experience to PARA. She is a trained graphic designer and as such, her passion is bringing together well-planned communications and creative visuals for the best possible result.

In her spare time, she enjoy cooking, spending time with her family and cuddling with her two dogs, a Boston Terrier (Lulu) and French Bulldog (George). 

Dr. Nathan Rider says he is honoured to serve and represent resident physicians in Alberta. His focus is on resident physician wellness, governance and transparency. Dr. Rider brings policy expertise, stakeholder relations skills and governance experience from his previous career with the Government of Alberta and involvement with various non-profit organizations. He is currently training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. In his spare time, Dr. Rider enjoys dancing and spending time in the mountains.

Dr. Chloe Lim is a second-year internal medicine resident physician from the U of C. Dr. Lim believes in work-life balance despite being a busy resident physician! Her goal is to promote wellness in many shapes and forms within all resident physician cohorts, regardless of specialty, school and interests. Dr. Lim hopes to introduce new forms of wellness, including potential sponsorship opportunities with various vendors to support resident physicians with different interests. As the COVID-19 pandemic is slowly leaving our province, she also hopes to focus on new in-person events to promote interpersonal wellness. 

Dr. Michael Taylor is a PGY3 in Emergency Medicine at the University of Alberta. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s combined MD/MBA program with a background in health systems and quality improvement research. As a current residency program committee member, past MD curriculum representative, previous SIM coordinator and previous music teacher, Dr. Taylor has developed a passion for leadership and education in various ways.  Dr. Taylor sought out an executive position with PARA because like many of you, he wants to be informed. He strongly believes that information can be our most important tool to enact change and improve the lives of those around us. Dr. Taylor hopes to work closely with the Leadership & Education Committee to champion general and specific advocacy that is relevant to the dynamic, systemic needs of all PARA members. Moreover, he plans to advocate both internally and publicly for continued collective efforts in whatever way that he can. Outside of PARA business / clinical duties, he enjoys good food, scenic views, campfires, lake life, skiing and making time for family or friends far and wide. 

Dr. Tamara Yee is a resident physician in the pediatrics program at the U of A. This is her second term as Vice President Operations and Finance on the PARA Executive. Her decision to join the Executive Board was based on the support and help she received from PARA during her own residency training and her desire to help her fellow resident physicians.

Dr. Yee brings abundant administrative, financial and operational experience from her past careers in the public and private sector and is happy to use these skills in the VPOF position.

One of her goals as VPOF is to support financial literacy amongst fellow resident physicians by providing learning opportunities and advice. She encourages other resident physicians to reach out, introduce themselves and get involved.

Dr. Lenka Stafl is delighted to serve her fellow resident physicians as the Calgary and Southern Alberta Ambassador (CSAA). She enjoys the fast paced learning of her internal medicine residency and always loves the opportunity to run into and connect with fellow resident physicians from all specialties on the wards. She is an avid mountain enthusiast and enjoys spending her free time scaling peaks with her husband and one-year-old daughter and drinking a hot cup of tea in the alpine. Dr. Stafl feels honoured to be part of an incredible team of executive members invested in the well-being and empowerment of resident physicians. 

Dr. Brandy Love is currently a resident physician in Adult Neurology at the U of A. Concerned over an issue faced by a fellow resident physician; she was encouraged to run for a PARA Executive position to help make positive changes. She describes being a resident physician as a balancing act “learning about medicine and our communities and developing our professional selves, while navigating challenging waters of the culture of medicine, politics and the realities (and joys!) of our own lives,” and is committed to ensuring her fellow resident physicians have what they need to thrive.

With already nearly 20 years’ career experience in health care in the Edmonton area, Dr. Love brings a wealth of knowledge, relationships and understanding to the ENAA position that will help ensure that the needs and voice of resident physicians are heard. “I really believe my experience helps me see "the forest for the trees" when it comes to health care leadership,“ she explains. In her new position, she looks forward to listening to resident physicians and representing them at forums within the northern half of the province.

Outside of work, Dr. Love describes herself as a complete nerd who really, really, really loves neurology and can’t imagine doing anything else in medicine. She invites anyone who “wants to sit around and localize the lesion” to give her a shout!

Dr. Boutet is excited to represent her fellow resident as the Alberta Medical Association Ambassador. Her major interest is resident physician wellness and advocacy. She has been involved in the promotion of resident physician wellness for many years, first as a wellness ambassador for internal medicine resident physicians at McGill and now at the University of Alberta. Her goal is to advocate and improve the working environment for all resident physicians and to advocate for optimal working conditions. On a personal note, she enjoys driving to the Rockies for hikes with her husband and flying to the east coast to spend time with her family. 

Dr. Lauren Bilinsky currently does not have a biography.