Our Team

Michelle Franklin

Chief Executive Officer

Email: [email protected]

Mary Secco

Director of Strategic Initiatives

Email: [email protected]

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Mary Secco

Mary began her career in epilepsy in 2001. For the first 14 years she served as the Executive Director of Epilepsy Support Centre (renamed ESWO). In that time she developed and evaluated many programs that are used locally, provincially and internationally. These include the grade 5 Thinking about Epilepsy program, grade 12 Brain Matters curriculum unit, Wacky Wednesday’s summer camp and the Game ON recreation program.

In 2014 she changed her role to focus on addressing the systemic gaps in services for persons with epilepsy. With generous funding from the Ontario Brain Institute and the Ontario Trillium Foundation she has developed and evaluated the Clinic to Community© health care linkage program. In March 2018, she published the results of a needs assessment: Living with Epilepsy: Voices from the Community to highlight the importance of early intervention and community support for families living with epilepsy.

At a provincial level, Mary served as a patient advocate on the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Epilepsy Implementation Task Force and is a member of the EpLink Community Advisory Committee. She is currently working with a team of researchers to develop and evaluate epilepsy curriculum for classroom teachers. At the national level she served as the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance representative to Neurological Health Charities Canada.

At the International level, Mary is the past Chair of the North America Region of the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) Mary currently serves as the Secretary-General of the IBE (2017-2021) and the Co-Chair of the Global Outreach Task Force (2013-2021) working with the International League Against Epilepsy and the World Health Organization to develop a Global Epilepsy Report and to implement the recommendations of WHA68.20.

Sandra Pidduck

Epilepsy Educator, Chatham Kent and Sarnia Lambton

Email: [email protected]

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Sandra Pidduck

A Chatham-Kent native, Sandra graduated with a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Waterloo in 1990 and went on to get her Masters of Health Administration in 2000. She has spent her career working in a variety of health care settings in London and Chatham area. She did three years working with the Provincial Office of the Canadian Cancer Society educating the public about cancer prevention in Southwestern Ontario. When not working, she is travelling, gardening, doing genealogy and trying to keep up with her teenage daughter. Sandra is really excited to join the team at Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario and to promote epilepsy awareness in children.

Holly O’Neill, BSW, RECE

Director of Client Services

Email: [email protected]

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Holly O'Neill

Holly first began her career as an early childhood educator, working in the field for more than 10 years mainly with infants and toddlers. She continued her education with post-graduate certificates in Early Childhood Resource Consultancy and Autism and Behaviour Sciences. Most recently, Holly graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Social Work program at King’s University College in London. Holly is passionate about social justice, accessibility, and attachment relationships. In her free time, Holly loves to read and write, and to spend time with her wife and their rescued pets. Holly is excited to support individuals with epilepsy through advocacy, education, and the provision of resources.

Lori Duhig

Epilepsy Educator, Windsor-Essex

Email: [email protected]

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Lori Duhig

Lori has spent her life residing in Windsor/Essex County. She has educational background in Human Resources and Child and Youth Worker studies. She has spent the last 5 years working in medical office administration. She also serves on various committees and has held various volunteer positions advocating within the community. Lori holds experience planning and delivering various community events, finding her joy in giving back. She is dedicated to her community and is honoured to share this passion with Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario. In her downtime, Lori enjoys early morning quietness- finding time for the perfect cup of coffee and a walk with her goldendoodle, Sully. Taking family vacations with her husband and two daughters is also high on the priority list. Lori is thrilled to join the team and promote epilepsy awareness in our community.

Avery Hodgson

Outreach and Events Student

Email: [email protected]

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Avery Hodgson

Avery is doing her co-op work term with the team at ESWO by taking on our Special Event Coordinator position! She is currently at Fanshawe College for Event Planning and is so excited to put her knowledge and skills to the test at ESWO!

Avery has been volunteering with ESWO since 2017 doing various events like kids camp, Seize the Day, and our Annual Spring Gala! She is dedicated to making a difference in the community and is grateful to be able to share this passion with Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario! Avery will be here for a short time, but she is so excited to help create awesome events while she’s here!

Katie Hodges

Multimedia Designer

Email: [email protected]

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Katie Hodges

Katie started working at Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario as a Multimedia Designer in September 2022. Before joining our team, Katie graduated from the Creative Photography program at Humber College and continued her education at Fanshawe College, graduating from the Interactive Media Design program.

In her free time, Katie enjoys exploring new places, running, crocheting and spending time with her retired greyhound and rescue cats. Katie is excited about joining the ESWO team and put her extensive skills to use creating graphic content for ESWO.

Abby Duggal

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Lead

Email: [email protected]

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Abby Duggal

Abby Duggal, is a recent graduate of the Faculty of Education, at Western University where she completed her Master’s and PhD specializing in equity, leadership, and policy. She also completed another Master’s degree in Policy, and Administration, from Stony Brook University. She has spent her career working in a variety of teaching settings in London, Ontario, and New York City.

When not working, she enjoys travel, fitness, and spending time with her daughter. Abby is excited to join the team, and make meaningful contributions in the areas of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice with Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario.

Volunteer With Us

The hard work and dedication of our volunteers make our major events so successful, help keep the office running smoothly and allow us to continue to provide programming. We are always looking for volunteers to help support our agency. Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering.
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