Content Advisory Panel

Chris Daw

Chris Daw

Chris is a multi sport, multi-attending Paralympic athlete who has been involved in sport since the age of seven. He has been a member of the Canadian Teams for Athletics, Basketball, Rugby, sit Volleyball and Curling, for both Olympic (administration) and Paralympics (athlete) games. In 2006, Chris won Curling gold 2006 at the winter Paralympic Games in Torino. He is only one of a few athletes to represent Canada at both summer and winter Paralympic Games. Chris loves not only being an athlete but also a coach - receiving the 2004 Ontario Coaching Award of Excellence.

Chris currently sits as Vice President of Athletes Canada. Athletes Canada is the voice of all Canadian national team athletes, Athletes CAN ensures an athlete centered sport system by developing athlete leaders who influence sport policy and, as role models, inspire a strong sport culture. Athletes CAN is a multi-sport organization representing all national team athletes including Aboriginal, Paralympic, Pan American Games, Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games athletes, among others. He also sits as a High performance Advisor for the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Patricia Leonard

Patricia Leonard is the Director of the Neuroscience & Trauma Program at Hamilton Health Sciences, and has had twenty-five years of clinical and administrative experience working in both rehabilitative and acute care environments. She is currently collaborating with Canadian Paraplegic Association president, Bill Adair, on the development of a Model Spinal Cord Injury System. The CPA and Hamilton Health Sciences have formed this partnership to lead the development and implementation of a model system to support people with SCI achieve full citizenship and community integration.

Cyndy McLean

Cyndy McLean

Cyndy McLean is the director of the Health and Performance Centre at the University of Guelph, where she is responsible for the direction and operation of this multidisciplinary sports medicine and health promotion facility. She is actively involved with the Rick Hansen Foundation as an Ambassador and Event Leader for the annual Wheels in Motion fundraiser in Guelph, ON. Cyndy is a member of both the provincial and national wheelchair tennis teams.

Keith Sequeira

Dr. Keith Sequeira completed his medical school training in 1994 from the University of Toronto. His major areas of interest are Spinal Cord Injury, Acquired Brain Injury, and Pain Management. His major focus is education and clinical care, but he also is collaborating on research that, at present, primarily pertains to spinal cord injury. He is the associate director of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program at Parkwood Hospital in London, Ontario, where he oversees the medical management of patients with acute and chronic spinal cord injury.

Joanne Smith

Joanne Smith has been actively involved in television production, hosting, and presentation on disability-related events and issues. She has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on various projects including Moving On, a national program on disability issues in Canada, and she has been a reporter at both the Sydney and Salt Lake City Paralympic Games. She has also played a key role in the development of the Canadian Paraplegic Association Ontario's Peer Support Program.

Rich Vanderwal

Rich Vanderwal

Rich Vanderwal is widely recognized for his involvement in Therapeutic Recreation, which actively promotes recreation for people with physical disabilities. As a rehab consultant, Rich assists newly injured individuals with SCI through information, resources and life skills to aid in their coping and adjustment to achieve independence, self-reliance, and full community participation. Rich has successfully developed and implemented adapted sport programs and is very involved with the Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing – Ontario, Canadian Paraplegic Association Ontario's Peer Support Program, and the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association.