Our Team

Michelle Franklin

Chief Executive Officer

Email: michelle@epilepsyswo.ca

Mary Secco

Director of Strategic Initiatives

Email: mary@epilepsyswo.ca

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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.

Rochelle Sorzano

Epilepsy Educator, Thames Valley
Community Epilepsy Liaison at Children’s Hospital, LHSC

Email: rochelle@epilepsyswo.ca

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Rochelle Sorzano

Rochelle started working at Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario in September 2011. Her education background started with an undergraduate is in Sociology and post graduate in non-profit management. She continues to take courses focusing on research and health promotion. Prior to joining the ESWO team, she enjoyed careers in the Canadian Armed Forces, teaching ESL in South Korea and working for multiple non-profits in London and area. Rochelle truly agrees with Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

As an Epilepsy Educator at ESWO, her role and responsibilities are to provide information to parents, school staff, classmates and caregivers. She enjoys participating in the pediatric epilepsy program at Children’s Hospital, LHSC, to better provide coordinated care for families affected by epilepsy in Southwestern Ontario.

Amanda Ing

Epilepsy Educator, Windsor Essex

Email: amanda@epilepsyswo.ca

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Amanda Ing

Amanda Ing, an Ontario Certified teacher, joined our team as an Epilepsy Educator in Windsor and Chatham. Amanda is an alumna of the University of Windsor, where she earned two Bachelor’s Degrees in Sociology and Education respectively. She has lived in the United States and South Korea as an expatriate teacher and volunteering in international organizations. She has extensive experience in providing transition support for women and families. Her board and committee work has generated significant funding for charitable organizations both home and abroad. When not working, she enjoys cooking new foods, playing mahjong, and cycling with her husband and three daughters. In the words of one of her twin daughters, she "fixes everything when everyone else is a disaster".

Deanna Henry

Epilepsy Educator, Sarnia Lambton

Email: deanna@epilepsyswo.ca

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Deanna Henry

Deanna is our Educator in Sarnia. She completed her B.Ed. from Nipissing University in 2007 and a B.Sc. in Health Science and Psychology Minor at Brock University in 2006 and since then has worked in a variety of settings providing support and education to youth and adults from all different backgrounds. She has over 10 years' experience in planning, implementing and evaluating educational and health programs. Her career has taken her to agencies such as Bethlehem Housing and Support Services in Niagara, at a Youth Shelter in inner city Guadalajara, Mexico and at a Hospital for Children with Disabilities (CRIT) also in Guadalajara, Mexico. She is excited to join our team and continue to follow her passion in Health Education and Support.

Sandra Pidduck

Epilepsy Educator, Chatham Kent

Email: sandra@epilepsyswo.ca

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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.

Jayme Arts

Client Service Manager

Email: jayme@epilepsyswo.ca

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Jayme Arts

Jayme started working at Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario (ESWO) in January 2017 as part of her university practicum. During her practicum, she had the opportunity to help develop YEP! (Youth Engagement Program), created to help empower youth with epilepsy to build resilience and confidence in their lives. Jayme has since completed her degree in Human Ecology with an Honors Specialization in Family Studies and a Major in Dimensions of Leadership. Currently, Jayme is working at ESWO as the Client Services Manager. Previously, she worked in community development for the City of London and as a Community Connector at another local non-profit organization. In her spare time, Jayme loves to travel, scrapbook, snowboard and act in local theatre. She is also an animal lover and spends a lot of her time with her two cats and dog.

Bailey Tschirsow

Outreach and Events Director

Email: bailey@epilepsyswo.ca

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Bailey Tschirsow

Bailey's involvement as a staff member at ESWO began in December, 2014. Prior to this, she worked with youth in an entrepreneurship program, helping them expand their career options or consider self-employment. Bailey completed a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Studies and a Postgraduate program in Communications and Public Relations. Her goal is to impact the lives of others in a positive way. With the help of our clients and community, she hope to host exciting fundraisers and awareness initiatives for our agency. Bailey loves to spend her spare time with her golden doodle pup, Ralph; enjoys camping and hopes to visit as many provincial parks as possible.

Melissa Pushelberg

Multimedia Designer

Email: melissa@epilepsyswo.ca

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Melissa Pushelberg

Melissa started working at Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario as a Multimedia Designer in February 2018. Prior to working here she worked for another marketing company in London and then decided she needed to be utilizing her skills to help people rather than sell to them. As a Multimedia Designer at ESWO, Melissa strives to create engaging graphic content for the ESWO events and marketing material. As well as, manage the website and third party events.

Melissa graduated with an Integrated Three Year Bachelor of Arts Degree in Media Information and Technoculture from Western University and a Two Year Media Theory and Production Diploma from Fanshawe College.

Melissa spends her free time mostly working her other job as a wedding and lifestyle photographer, along with binge watching Netflix series and playing recreational volleyball.

Amy Kittmer

Administrative Assistant

Email: amy@epilepsyswo.ca

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Amy Kittmer

Amy has joined the Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario team once again, filling in a maternity leave as our Administrative Assistant. As our Administrative Assistant, her responsibilities consist of answering phone calls, making and setting appointments for our Epilepsy Educators, generating tax receipts, keeping the office in order and lending a hand with agency events. She has a background and diploma in graphic design and truly enjoys interacting with clients as the front line of communication at our office. Amy is a proud mother of five beautiful children. Her and her husband love to spend most nights cheering their children on as they play hockey, and occasionally joining the game themselves. She looks forward to the year ahead and to supporting staff and clients.

Emma Jayne

Game On Project Manager

Email: emma@epilepsyswo.ca

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Emma Jayne

Emma has been with Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario since September 2016 as the Game On Project Manager. She recently completed her Bachelor of Medical Sciences degree at Western, which probably makes her the youngest member of the Epilepsy SWO team. Emma plans physical literacy activities for the children and runs the Saturday program throughout the year. Emma is also currently working as a Research Assistant in Paediatric Neurology at LHSC, and is hoping to pursue a career in medicine - specifically paediatrics - because she loves working with kids (especially the ones at Game On). In Emma's spare time she enjoy playing hockey, wake surfing, and reading – including her favourites; Game of Thrones and Harry Potter.

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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