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.

Jayme Chami

Epilepsy Educator, Thames Valley

Email: jayme@epilepsyswo.ca

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Jayme Chami

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. Jayme has worked as ESWO's YEP! Program Facilitator, Client Services Manager and now, Epilepsy Educator. 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.

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.

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.

Sarah Fields

Epilepsy Educator, Windsor Essex

Email: sarah@epilepsyswo.ca

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Sarah Fields

Born and raised in Windsor, Sarah has an educational background in Criminology, Philosophy, and History. She began working as a teacher at an international school and became passionate about teaching youth. Later becoming a teacher for youth with learning exceptionalities, Sarah quickly learned of the immense need for support of youth with barriers to education in Windsor Essex County. Also working as an Instructor at St. Clair College, she adores educating children, youth, and adults to create novels ways of accommodating students' needs and helping to make Windsor a more barrier free place to live! In her free time, Sarah enjoys spending time with family, hitting up the gym, and singing and acting at her church.

Nicola Cherniak

Client Services Manager

Email: nicola@epilepsyswo.ca

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Nicola Cherniak

Nicola completed her Undergraduate degree in Sociology at Western University in 2014. After working for a major financial institution for 3 years, she decided to go back to school to pursue a career in Social Services. After completing her studies in June 2017, she began working with ESWO.

Nicola’s involvement with Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario began during a 500-hour Social Service Work student placement. She thoroughly enjoyed her time at ESWO and wanted to continue making a difference in the lives of those affected by epilepsy and seizure disorders. Now, as the Client Services Manager, she strives to create a barrier free community where there is no stigma associated with epilepsy.

In Nicola’s spare time, you can find her at the cottage, traveling or hanging out with her husband, daughter and two rescue dogs.

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.

Victoria Foster

Outreach and Events Director

Email: events@epilepsyswo.ca

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Victoria Foster

Victoria is covering Bailey’s maternity leave. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Development Studies from St. Francis Xavier University and her Social Service Worker Diploma from Fanshawe College. When she is not in the office she is either teaching Yoga, spending time with her dog or cooking!

Emma Jayne

Game On 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.

Scott Arts

Game On Activity Director

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Scott Arts

Scott has been with Epilepsy Southwestern Ontario since June 2018 as the Wacky Wednesday’s Camp Manager who later joined the Game On program team. He is currently attending Fanshawe College in the Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership program where he hopes to become a teacher for young children. Scott helps plans physical literacy activities for the children, runs the Saturday program throughout the year and designs weekly camp days for children with Epilepsy in the summer. During Scott’s free time he enjoys staying active by participating on various sports teams. Scott can be found at the rink playing hockey, on the diamond enjoying a game of baseball, or on the links attempting his best at breaking par.

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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