Meet Our Team
CARE Team
Amanda's Background
I’m so glad you’re here. Welcome to our community! I’m a down-to-earth, authentic, and genuine person who is also a skilled, informed, and passionate therapist. I am 2 years post-covid and am a Long-Hauler myself.
I help people who feel stuck in some areas of their lives. There are many different ways that we can get stuck. Maybe it is a behaviour that you are having a hard time changing. Maybe it is an emotional state you can’t get rid of. Or perhaps you have Long-Covid like me and want to talk to someone who understands.
What I do is help people get unstuck. I work with adults to help you regain movement and freedom. My goal is for you to have less frustration, less anxiety, and less depression. Together we can make space for more joy, greater closeness with others, and develop a deep sense of meaning and purpose beyond being a Long-Hauler.
Apurawa's Background
I am a registered Physical Therapist with over a decade in human function, movement, and maximizing physical potential. My expertise includes identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of prevention, treatment/intervention, and rehabilitation.
I use physical and mental approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical, psychological, and social well-being, taking into account variations in health status.
I am passionate about motivating patients to reach their fitness goals.
Ash's Background
Ash is an Adult Nurse Practitioner registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario. She graduated with a Master of Nursing from the University of Toronto in 2017, where she has since been an Adjunct Lecturer. Her previous 14-year clinical background includes critical care, cardiology/cardiac surgery, oncology, urgent care, and telemedicine.
Post-COVID Experience
Ash has a unique understanding of Long COVID as both the patient and the provider, after developing Long COVID following two COVID-19 infections. Due to this experience, Ash is passionate about ensuring people with Long COVID receive the work-up and supportive care they need to cope with the debilitating nature of this condition. While there is no current cure for Long COVID, Ash’s goal is to improve her patients’ quality of life. Ash is based out of Toronto, Ontario and while most of her hobbies before Long COVID were activity-based, Ash now enjoys abstract art, music, and spending time with her dogs.
Bee's Background
After completing her Honours Bachelor of Science, Bee embarked on a 12-year progressive marketing journey, working with brands as diverse as the University of Ottawa, Haygain, and Elanco Pharmaceuticals as well as running her own design and marketing agency for seven years.
Bee is a subject matter expert in online direct marketing, branding, SEO, social engagement, and campaign management. She was previously the Vice President of Global Marketing at Haygain, achieving over 90% increase in e-commerce sales in 2021.
Bee has spent time in both the not-for-profit and for-profit industries, and enjoys building highly engaging communities for brands of any size.
Daphne VijayakumarRegistered Nurse |
Daphne 's Background
I joined Rapid Test and Trace in 2022 and have since taken onto various roles within the company. I am passionate about staying up-to-date with medical research related to Long COVID. Making sure that Long COVID sufferers have the resources to navigate the healthcare system and get the help they need is of utmost importance.
Etishree's Background
Helen's Background
Helen is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, and fitness enthusiast. She is passionate about helping others to improve their health and reach their body composition goals by making healthy, sustainable changes to their diet and habits. Her private practice, Diet Redefined, is focused on weight loss, though she services other areas of nutrition as well.
Karen's Background
Karen Chien Rodriguez is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Social Work. She worked primarily in Southern California in Non-Profit Organizations, Government and Private Companies providing Individual Therapy, Counseling, Training, Consulting, Grant Writing, Program Development, Evaluation, and Coordination. Her work includes services from early childhood to older adults and families from a variety of ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. She is bilingual in Filipino and has a working conversational knowledge of Spanish. Karen has over 15 years of professional experience working with small communities, large corporate companies, public elementary/high schools Universities, and Public/Private Medical settings. She is adept in navigating complex medical systems and government agencies such as Medicare, Medi-Cal, Disability, Social Security, Private Insurance, Social Service Agencies, and Housing Authorities.
Maya's Background
I am passionate about supporting people of all ages to gain independence, confidence and overall well-being through engagement in meaningful activities. I believe that a client and family-centered approach is important to building a solid therapeutic relationship that fosters trust and creates successes.
As an occupational therapist, I have experience working in acute care with a range of populations and conditions including neurology, orthopedics, cognitive impairment, geriatrics and general medicine. I also have experience supporting families and children in preschools, clinics, the home, and more through virtual therapy. Currently, I work in private practice, supporting both adults and children through virtual therapy.
My passion for finding creative solutions to support people’s well-being has led me to explore the intersection of occupational therapy and holistic practices. I am passionate about learning how to implement integrative & complementary health practices such as mindfulness, breathwork, and yoga to promote healing and well-being.
When I am not working, I enjoy snowboarding, playing music, travelling, volunteering with animals, and spending time with my family.
Thalia's Background
high-motivated and results-oriented professional who has developed a diverse skill set to meet the
dynamic requirements within the industry. Known for being a self- starter as well as a great team
player. Looking for an opportunity to assist companies of any sector in becoming more successful by
contributing my knowledge, creativity, and vigor to their problem-solving needs.
Advisors
Dr. David Juncker (he/him/his)Chair – Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University |
Dr. Juncker's Background
David’s current interests are in the miniaturization and integration in biology and medicine, which includes the engineering and utilization of novel micro and nanotechnologies for manipulating, stimulating and studying oligonucleotides, proteins, cells, and tissues. The emerging field of nanobiotechnology, in a broad sense, is the most exciting to David, and is also key to tackling some of the significant challenges in biology and medicine, for example identifying novel biomarkers for early disease diagnosis and developing low-cost point-of-care diagnostics.
Jennifer Robson (she/her/hers)Carleton University |
Jennifer's Background
Jennifer is an associate professor of Political Management at Kroeger College and cross-appointed to the School of Public Policy and Administration. Her research has included studies of social policies such as family benefits, education savings, poverty in Canada, wealth inequality, tax policy and the financial lives of low and modest income persons.
Dr. Satish Raj (he/him/his)Section Chief, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Cardiac Sciences, Division of Cardiology, University of Calgary |
Dr. Raj's Background
Satish R Raj is a Heart Rhythm Cardiologist and founder of the Calgary Autonomic Investigation & Management Clinic. He is currently a Professor of Cardiac Science at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute and the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
His primary research interests relate to understanding and better treating postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), vasovagal syncope, orthostatic hypotension, and long-COVID syndrome. He is also looking at repurposing drugs in novel ways to treat vasovagal syncope and orthostatic hypotension.
Dr. Raj also serves as a Medical Advisor to many POTS patient groups, including POTS UK, and Dysautonomia International, and is a Past-President of the American Autonomic Society.
Dr. Sean Staniforth (he/him/his)Head of Emergency Medicine at Lions Gate Hospital |
Dr. Staniforth's Background
Dr. Sean is head of Emergency Medicine at Lions Gate Hospital, Director of Trauma at LGH and Clinical Instructor of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. In addition, he conferences regularly with the BC Ministry of Health, Fraser Health, and Coastal Health to share information and collaborate on how to best navigate through the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Management
Andrea's Background
Andrea is an experienced organizational strategist with a proven track record of leading teams to their peak potential in a variety of settings. She joined the founders of Rapid Test & Trace in October 2021 and has been instrumental in positioning the organization for growth beyond COVID-19.
Andrea is a dedicated professional focused on enabling her colleagues to overcome the many challenges of a start-up operation in the health and wellness industry. She’s excited about leading the team at RT Medical as we embrace new opportunities in a dynamic post-pandemic economy.
Adam's Background
Adam is a marketing communications consultant with a background in digital marketing, stakeholder relations, and public engagement. His work with small-medium businesses impacted by the pandemic motivated him to take action and he co-founded Rapid Test & Trace in 2020. Adam aims to help Canadians gain access to reliable health care.
Harkeet's Background
Harkeet is a life-long entrepreneur with expertise in supplier management, logistics, sales and business administration. He also has experience in real estate development and VC investment.
Sandy's Background
Along with co-founding Rapid Test and Trace, Sandy is an entrepreneur in the real estate and hotel sectors, writer, and former political advisor. He is a regular media commentator on Canadian and international political affairs for a number of Canada’s major media outlets.