Dr. Ojistoh Horn

President

Dr. Ojistoh Horn is Kanienkeha:ka (Mohawk) is from Kahnawake where she lives with her family. Her father is from Akwesasne, where she currently works.  She is a family physician taking care of her people through all stages of the lifecycle. Supervising medical students and family medicine residents during their rural rotations in Akwesasne, she emphasizes the complexities of providing primary care to Indigenous peoples and their communities. Drawing on both Western and Traditional paradigms, working with like- minded physicians across the country, with a focus on the effects of the environment and pollution on health, she promotes the inclusion and support of traditional knowledge and ‘ways of being’ into a framework for providing wholistic and primary care to her people.

Dr. Alexa Lesperance

Vice-President

Boozhoo! Masaabikwe ndzhinikaaz, makwa ndoodem. Greetings, my name is Alexa Lesperance. I’m an Anishinaabe bear clan kwe/woman originating from Rocky Bay First Nation located in the Robinson-Superior Treaty area and Whitefish Bay First Nation in Treaty #3 area. I currently live in Thunder Bay, ON and work as a family physician in a variety of clinic-based practices.

Medicine has been a long and difficult journey. However, I’ve been so blessed to have many Indigenous physicians that have guided, mentored and supported me the entire way. There is so much power in seeing yourself reflected in the room, and without those helpers I truly would not be where I am today. I’m so honoured to be a part of this board and I hope to continue to help strengthen IPAC’s already growing capacity for mentorship. We are stronger together and have so much to learn from one another. There will come a day when we won’t always ‘just have to survive’ but we can thrive too- and our ancestors will smile. Chi miigwech, all my relations.

Dr. Jamaica Cass

Secretary

As a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Turtle Clan, Dr. Cass practices Indigenous Health as a primary care physician at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and has an additional focused practice in Obesity Medicine, for which she is board-certified.  Through her community-focused practice, Dr. Cass advocates to reduce gaps in services and inequities in care for Indigenous patients- current efforts are focused on inequitable access to medication.

Through the Department of Family Medicine, she serves as an Assistant Professor, Program Director for the Indigenous Health Enhanced Skills Program and Director of Indigenous Health at Queen’s University.  Dr. Cass was the 2024 awardee of the Principal’s Teaching and Learning Award for Indigenous Education at Queen’s. 

Dr. Cass is deeply involved in shaping medical education, contributing to policy development, community engagement, admissions and curriculum design at the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine. Dr. Cass holds a Medical Doctorate from Tulane University and completed her family medicine residency at the University of Calgary. With a background in breast cancer molecular biology, she earned her PhD from Queen’s University, garnering recognition with various institutional and international awards. Throughout her academic and professional journey, Dr. Cass has been actively involved in Indigenous mentorship and advocacy, fostering a supportive environment for Indigenous learners and a safe space for Indigenous patients.

Dr. Cass enjoys creating beadwork and has recently started designing textiles with Indigenous themes.  She is a mother, wife, auntie, daughter and resides on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe.

Dr. Brent Young

Treasurer

Dr. Brent Young is Anishinaabe and a member of Sandy Bay First Nation. His mother is a Sixties Scoop Survivor, and his grandmother was a survivor of Sandy Bay Indian Residential School. He was born and raised in Unama’ki. He is a family physician at Sipekne’katik Health Centre, academic director for Indigenous health at Dalhousie Medical School, and founding clinical lead of Wije’winen Health Centre. He played a key role in supporting the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre in establishing this multidisciplinary primary care service for the urban Indigenous community of Halifax in 2022.

Through his leadership, Dalhousie Medical School has seen a substantial increase in the number of Indigenous medical students being admitted through a new Indigenous Admissions Pathway. This pathway is poised to become a key driver of the Indigenous physician workforce in the region and across Canada. He has also contributed to several national efforts to advance Indigenous health, notably as co-chair of the Anti-Racism Work Group with the National Consortium of Indigenous Medical Education and as a member of the Indigenous Health Committee with the Canadian College of Family Physicians. His primary area of interest is dismantling anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare systems using strengths-based frameworks.

Dr. Ryan Giroux

Physician Director

Ryan is a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. His paternal family is Métis with roots in Fort Chipweyan, Alberta, and he has mixed European heritage on his Mom’s side. He grew up on Treaty 6 and 8 land in Athabasca, Alberta, and now resides in Toronto where he works as General Paediatrician. He works primarily with urban Indigenous families and refugee/newcomer families at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Inner City Health Associates. Ryan is an Indigenous Educator at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, is the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s PGME Indigenous Health Lead, and is the Co-Chair of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Health Committee for the Canadian Paediatric Society.

Dr. Tina Nash

Resident Director

My name is Tina Nash (Creyke), I am a member of the Tahltan Nation and the first female member of the nation to hold a degree in medicine. I am a mother and grandmother and currently in my first year of residency through the University of Alberta, Rural Family Medicine, Yellowknife program. I completed my undergraduate medical training through the University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine and prior to medicine, I worked with the Indigenous Mental Health Program with Alberta Health Services for 22 years. I look forward to serving Indigenous people in the north and providing a voice for Indigenous Residents on the 2024/2025 IPAC Board. Meduh for the opportunity to serve.

Shelley Young

Student Director

Shelley is a proud Mi’kmaq from Eskasoni First Nation (NS). She currently resides on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek in Kingston (ON) with her husband and two children as she studies at Queen’s School of Medicine. Before Medicine, Shelley was always drawn to advocacy and helping field. Some of Shelley’s background includes working in pain research, as a clinical social worker, and community health director. Shelley helped spearhead an Aboriginal Children’s Pain Study that led to the Aboriginal Children’s Hurt and Healing Initiative (IWK); and she is currently part of a research team focused on improving food insecurity in Northern Remote regions of Canada. When Shelley isn’t working or studying she enjoys an active lifestyle, and she often travels and dances Jingle on the powwow trail with her family.