With more than 23 years of nursing experience, Mychele brings extensive clinical expertise and leadership to her role as Director of Nursing & Allied Health. Her career spans oncology, PICC nursing, post-anesthesia care, perioperative services, and progressive healthcare leadership.

Holding a Bachelor’s in Nursing and currently pursuing an MBA, Mychele is also Healthcare Lean Green Belt certified and trained in the Studer approach to performance excellence. She is committed to advancing high standards of care through evidence-informed practice, innovation, and continuous quality improvement.

Guided by Carefor’s values of Respect, Innovation, Partnership, Excellence, and Responsiveness, Mychele is passionate about fostering collaborative interdisciplinary teams that deliver safe, compassionate, and client-centred care. She is dedicated to building strong partnerships, supporting staff to achieve their full potential, and ensuring services remain responsive to the evolving needs of clients, families, and communities.

“I am honoured to lead our Nursing and Allied Health teams as we work together to advance excellence in care, strengthen partnerships, and deliver responsive, compassionate services that improve the lives of those we serve.”

Nicole Melnyk, is a Registered Nurse with 15+ years’ experience, bringing extensive experience across acute care, women’s health, education, and clinical settings in Canada and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology & European Studies (Hons), Bachelor of Sciences in Nursing (Hons) both from York University, and a Master of Education with a Health Professions Concentration from the University of Ottawa.

She is a strategic healthcare leader focused on advancing quality, safety, and patient experience through evidence-informed practice and system-level improvement.

Nicole has contributed to health professions education through her work at Fanshawe College, and Accreditation Canada (EQual Program). She is committed to strengthening clinical practice, policy development, and organizational excellence. Nicole is also currently serving on the Board of Directors for the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), including work on the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee, supporting regulatory oversight and public protection.

Sara Olivier is currently the Advanced Practice Nurse and Program Manager for the Champlain Regional MAiD Network based out of The Ottawa Hospital. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Université de Montréal and a Master of Nursing Degree from Athabasca University. She has been at TOH since 2016 and led various programs including chronic pain, substance use, palliative care, and medical assistance in dying.

Over the years, she spearheaded a variety of quality improvement initiatives, supported her teams through the implementation of a new EMR and through the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a strong nursing advocate and values teamwork and staff empowerment.

Originally from Montreal, Sara is fully bilingual and has been calling Ottawa home since 2016.

Dr. Paul Hacker is a community-based Palliative Medicine physician in Ottawa. A graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, he has practiced in General Practice, Anaesthesia, and Hospitalist Medicine in diverse Ontario communities, and since 2010 has devoted his practice exclusively to Palliative Medicine in Ottawa. He also holds a faculty appointment with the University of Ottawa, Department of Family Medicine.

Dr. Hacker has extensive leadership and governance experience. He has served as a hospital department chair and program director and currently serves as Lead Physician of Community Palliative Medicine Associates. At the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), after serving in various representative roles, he was elected to the Board of Directors, where he is Vice-Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, and also serves as a Director of OMA Insurance. In 2025, he joined the Carefor Board of Directors, where he contributes to the Finance and Risk Management Committee and the Quality Committee.

Don Breedon joined Carefor in 2025 as Director, People & Culture, bringing HR leadership experience from health care, post-secondary education, municipal government, and private sector engineering. He provides strategic and operational leadership for all aspects of human resources, with a focus on aligning people practices to support Carefor’s mission and enhance the employee experience.

Don approaches human resource management as an integrated system (spanning recruitment through retirement) and is driven by a commitment to continuous improvement. His work is grounded in understanding the unique goals and challenges of each organization he supports, ensuring that HR initiatives are practical, purposeful, and responsive.  He is a Certified Human Resources Professional and Leader (CHRP, CHRL), designations that reflect his ongoing commitment to professional excellence and continuous learning.

Don is passionate about building strong, supportive workplaces where individuals and teams can thrive. He brings a collaborative mindset and a systems-thinking approach to his work and views his role as one of enabling the success of others, by supporting leaders, empowering employees, and aligning people strategies with organizational goals

Josée Ravary is a bilingual registered nurse with nearly 24 years of experience. She obtained her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Ottawa in 2012. She has her yellow belt certification within the LEAN and Six Sigma program. In her role, she will oversee the Personal Support Services of our Home and Clinical Care Programs and Ottawa Inner City Health.

Throughout her career, Josée has built a diverse background in acute care settings, including inpatient medical and surgical units, outpatient services, and home and community care programs. She has always been passionate about delivering high-quality client care and adapting to the evolving landscape of healthcare. Her experience also includes teaching at the university level, where she has contributed to the training and education of new healthcare professionals, helping to shape best practices and clinical expertise.

More recently, Josée played a key role in developing a newly funded program designed to support the neurodivergent population—an initiative that has just completed its second year as a proof of concept. This collaborative effort between three organizations has helped bridge a critical gap in care for individuals whose needs would otherwise go unmet. Leading teams through change and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration with key partners from hospital to community-based programs and the education system, all of which have been central to the program’s success.

Nawriz Al-Ali began his career at Carefor – in April 2022 – as a IT Manager, then within two years he was promoted to Director of IT. He started in the IT field over 20 years ago, with progression from technical roles to managerial roles. His career included working internationally, in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. He currently leading the digital transformation of Carefor, along with enhancing its Cyber Security posture. Since he joined, he took on initiatives that helped save tens of thousands of dollar.

Nawriz graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Electrical Engineering degree; at later stage, he graduated from University of Ottawa with an MBA. These degrees go along with the many IT industry related certifications, such as: CEH, CISM, CISSP, CCNP, etc.

Nawriz is very focused on building a strong IT team, through training, supervision, mentoring, and guidance. He is always involving his team with career building projects. He is very involved in handling complex IT issues along with his team. In addition, he works very diligently building strong relation with other departments across Carefor.

Judie Leach Bennett is Vice-President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer for Canadian Blood Services leading a team of professionals who provide pan-Canadian legal, governance, and risk guidance to the organization and its subsidiaries.

Previously, Judie has held both business and legal roles with Canadian Blood Services, advancing initiatives in innovation, risk management, ethics, compliance, process improvement, and international collaboration. Judie began her career as a lawyer with a Toronto law firm, acting in product liability litigation and class action proceedings.

Having received her law degree from the University of Western Ontario and Master of Laws from the University of Ottawa, Judie is accredited by the Law Society as a Certified Specialist in Health Law and holds certifications in risk management, healthcare ethics, and governance.

Judie joined the Carefor Health and Community Services board in 2024 and previously served as board chair of the Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa.

Marcelle Thibeault, is a Registered Nurse and a bilingual, seasoned healthcare executive. She will have leadership responsibility for Carefor’s client service operations across all three of our service lines: Home and Clinical Care, Retirement Homes, Community Support Services and Hospice.

Marcelle grew up in Kapuskasing, a small community in Northern Ontario. 24 years ago, she relocated with her family to the Ottawa area. 

She is a nursing graduate from the University of Ottawa and holds a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Phoenix. She brings with her 30 years of experience in healthcare with 23 in progressive management roles. Her experience spans primary care, public health, home care coordination, tertiary care specialities in nephrology, oncology, surgery, and critical care and professional practice in home care. 

Early in her career, Marcelle managed several federal and provincial family health programs. As Clinical Director in the hospital sector, she co-led several professional practice model implementations and co-led the implementation of Electronic Clinical Documentation in perioperative services.  She leveraged funding proposals and led her teams through several evidence-based quality and integration initiatives such as Cancer Care Closer to Home, Quality Based Procedures, Bundle Care Model, the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, and several projects as part of a 5-year LEAN Surgery Transformation.  

“I am very excited to join the team at Carefor. Providing excellent, quality and compassionate care to clients drives my practice. I am inspired by everyone who helps deliver such care”.   

Aside from her career, Marcelle cherishes her family.  With her husband, they have raised three boys through whom they’ve acquired three great daughters-in-law and enjoy three wonderful grandchildren. In her spare time, Marcelle enjoys painting, reading, boating, skiing, travelling and spending time with her family. “I am grateful and excited to join the Carefor family and look forward to meeting you”.

Dennis Garvin has an extensive leadership background in the health care sector.  He graduated from the University of Ottawa Biomedical Sciences Program, completed a Masters in Business Administration and has had a successful career in both the private and public healthcare sectors ever since. 

Dennis is the Vice President of Operations at the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association, leading medical laboratory operations across sixteen hospitals in Eastern Ontario.  Prior to this, he served as the Executive Director of Clinical Operations at The Ottawa Hospital.  This included senior operations leadership within a large academic health sciences centre across multiple clinical portfolios as well as home and community care, clinical risk management, patient relations, and organizational development experience.  Dennis’ experience includes supporting health care partners and leading the integration of clinical services across the Champlain region.  Dennis was an instrumental clinical operations leader within the hospital setting while the system faced unprecedented pressure responding to COVID-19 pandemic.