Executive Team

Join the Executive Team!

Open MHING Executive Positions:

• Chair-Elect (2-year term)
• Student Rep-
• Region 4 (Mississauga, Brampton, Waterloo)
• Region 5 (Muskoka, Parry Sound, Simcoe, Grey Bruce)
• Region 8 (Durham, East York, Quinte, Kawarthas) 
• Region 9 (Kingston)
• Region 11 (Algoma, Nipissing, Sudbury)
• Region 12 (Sioux Lookout, Lakehead, Kenora-Rainy River)

Please email mentalhealthnursingrnao@gmail.com with any questions or to submit your expression of interest!

Andrew is the current Chair of the RNAO Mental Health Nursing Interest Group, and has served as the Finance ENO since 2021. He works as a Practice Consultant at London Health Sciences Centre focusing on prevention of violence in the workplace, and an after-hours leader for mental health programs at St. Joseph’s Healthcare London. He has spent more than a decade working in a variety of mental health nursing roles including as a frontline RN, a Nurse Educator, and teaching students at a variety of nursing programs across Ontario. He completed his BScN at McMaster University, MN at Western University, and MBA at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Andrew is passionate about education, policy design, and violence prevention.

I am a registered Nurse working in an acute psychiatric mental health unit at Windsor Regional Hospital. I graduated from the University of Windsor where my passion for psychiatry grew during my clinical placement at Windsor Regional Hospital’s Mental health unit. I am fascinated by all topics related to mental health. I hope to continue my education further and work towards  a masters in Nursing. I am hopeful to make some changes and implement some good where I can. My interest spans the opioid crisis which is currently growing in Greater Essex County. I am also passionate about Public health and decreasing the stigma that continues to cling to Mental Health.

Danica Kaplan is the past Region 10 (Ottawa) representative of the RNAO’s Mental Health Nursing Interest Group (MHNIG). Danica graduated with her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2019 and has since gained experience in settings such as inpatient acute psychiatry, counselling in women’s health advocacy and ethics, works in her nurse psychotherapy private practice, as well as involvement in community advocacy for nurse psychotherapy.

Danica draws from her training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy from the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and pulls from somatic approaches as well as attends her Masters in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University.

Lisa Crawley has been a nurse for thirty years. Initially drawn to work in HIV/AIDS and predominantly hospice, she developed a passion for mental health and addictions. She holds a Masters Nursing from the University of Victoria and has been a certified Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse through the CNA for twenty years. Lisa has worked as a nurse manager in a variety of settings including forensics, family practice and most recently on an acute general psychiatric inpatient service. While holding the position of manager, Lisa has concurrently worked in the direct care role in sexual/domestic violence and psychiatric emergency. Her previous board experience includes being the Past-President of the Canadian Federation of Mental Health Nurses (CFMHN), Past-President of the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) as well as past board member of the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada in addition to two terms on the MHNIG board 2007-2011. She is currently serving her second term as Secretary, Executive Board for Fife House. Lisa is excited to return to MHNIG as the Ontario Representative to CFMHN and to support the work of the board and members.

Stephanie Edmonds is a Registered Nurse who has spent her 15-year career advocating for people living with mental health conditions.  In her current position as a Forensic Mental Health Nurse, she promotes Trauma Informed Care and innovations in Harm Reduction approaches for a population that is highly stigmatized and misunderstood.  She is passionate about advancing the Mental Health specialty within Nursing Practice, especially in the role of Nurse Psychotherapist.  She hopes to bring this passion and dedication to the MHNIG Executive to revitalize the group’s social media presence and revamp our digital footprint to bring more nurses with an interest in Mental Health to our cause!

Tiffany Cheng graduated from the University of Ottawa’s School of Nursing in 2022 and has dedicated her career thus far to serving those struggling with mental health and addictions through harm reduction. She started off in the CTS at Somerset West Community Health Centre (Ottawa) and moved to Toronto to work at Regent Park Community Health Centre for a year. She has returned to Ottawa with the hopes of growing her career and connections as she pursues higher education in public health and policy. Working in a field that is highly sensitive to policy changes, Tiffany often became disheartened by the detrimental effects of inadequate policies that do not put the needs of this population first. She is eager to expand on her knowledge and be involved in mental health advocacy work in collaboration with other passionate nurses through this position in MHNIG.

Outside of nursing, Tiffany loves to scrapbook, write occasional pieces of poetry, and runs a book club with friends.

Membership and Education Executive Network Officers- Kailey Montgomery and Kasia Zurawski 

Shauna Graf graduated from Western University in 2013. She brings over eleven years of experience at St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ontario, where she has held various nursing roles within the Veterans Care Program, Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry, and Adult Ambulatory Mental Health Care programs. 

Currently, she serves as a Consultant on the Quality, Transformation, and Innovation Team, where her work has centered on implementing the Zero Suicide framework—an evidence-based approach to suicide prevention—within St. Joseph’s, the local community, and beyond. Shauna is the co-author of Zero Suicide in Your Community: An Implementation Guide for Community Organizations, which expands the application of quality improvement principals to implementing suicide prevention best practices from healthcare settings to community-based, non-healthcare environments.

Shauna is committed to adapting to the needs of our population, supporting our workforce of skilled mental health nurses, and leading change in mental health care in Ontario.            

Outside of work, Shauna has two major passions. Spending time outdoors- camping, hiking, and taking day trips with her partner and three dogs, and music- attending concerts, playing guitar, and singing (while no one else is listening!).