OUR LEADERSHIP
The Kids' Health Links Team
Our amazing KHLF Team is project specific and on contract for implementations of our programs and initiatives. We have no permanent employees or overhead.
Krista Naugler, National Program Manager
As Upopolis' National Program Manager, Krista is focused on outreach to hospitals and health care centres both across Canada and the U.S. She supports and seeks out new partners, leads training, and looks for ways to increase usership. She also manages special projects and partnerships that involve the Upopolis Program, as well as acting as liaison with the TELUS team responsible for hosting and maintaining the technology platform. Krista is also the main point of contact and responsible for liaising with partner hospitals and organizations, approve referrers, and super users. Krista is a certified child life specialist with over 25 years of experience working in a pediatric tertiary health centre and has been with Upopolis for over five years.
Jessica Miller-Poesch, Upopolis Program Coordinator
Jessica, is the Upopolis Program Coordinator, focused on-site content and programming, supporting users, and managing the Umentor-Upal Leadership Program on the platform. Jessica is also responsible for Uknow, the multimedia library of age-appropriate medical information on Upopolis. Her important work includes updating and adding vetted and valuable resources to the Uknow space and helping to manage the Upopolis hospital and health care organization spaces. Jessica is always looking for creative ways to keep Upopolis users engaged and grow the value and content on the site!
Tija Praulins, Sibling Group & Social Lead
Tija Praulins is a Certified Child Life Specialist who joined KHLF in February 2019 as the Sibling Group and Social Lead for Upopolis. She expressed that she was drawn to Upopolis because it recognizes and supports technology to educate and connect youth and shares this same belief with her KHLF team. Tija’s current role at Upopolis is complemented by her full-time work at McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH), where she coordinates programming, entertainment, and in-kind donations for hospitalized patients and their siblings. Prior to this, Tija worked in the pediatric emergency department and in pediatric inpatient settings including general medicine, oncology, surgery, and the intensive care unit, and has also supported children of adult patients in the acute setting.
Nancy Morphet, Grief Group Lead
Nancy Morphet joined the KHLF team in July 2021 as the Upopolis Grief Group Lead. Nancy has extensive experience administering and promoting programs in both the service industry and healthcare/non-profit sector. She has been a Certified Child Life Specialist since 2005 and has over ten years of experience working in pediatrics, providing therapeutic recreation and child life services to patients and families accessing E.R., rehabilitative, day surgery, inpatient and outpatient clinic settings. Her career to date has included working at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, The Hospital for Sick Children, and Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre. In 2020, Nancy completed her Master of Science in the advanced stream of the Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care program at McMaster University. She is excited to be part of the Upopolis Grief Island initiative as this role incorporates two areas of great personal interest which were key components of her post-graduate studies: grief, loss and bereavement in childhood and adolescence, and the use of virtual care platforms to provide psychosocial support to youth and families. Nancy believes that there is power in narrative. Her goal is to foster a compassionate space for connection, sharing information and resources that can help youth navigate life challenges. During this time more than ever, youth coping with the death of a loved one need opportunities to engage with others, feel supported and find resources that make sense for them. Nancy loves that the Upopolis platform offers a safe and secure way for youth to feel empowered to share their own stories and looks forward to welcoming participants into the Upopolis community!
Kathy Payette, M. Psych., Director, Children’s Mental Health at Lutherwood, joined the KHLF in 2011 as the initial Umind Ambassador with the challenge to inspire Children’s Mental Health Agencies and services across Canada to join KHLF in building and populating a web-based library with practical, hands-on resources that could be shared nationally. Children and families have been the focus of Kathy’s career. Starting with early childhood education and expanding to child and adolescent mental health, Kathy has worked in both community and the hospital settings. Over the years Kathy has been manager of the Child & Youth Adolescent Inpatient Unit at Grand River Hospital, an affiliate profession at McMaster teaching Leadership to Child Life Specialist, past Chair of the Canadian Association of Child Life Leaders, Ministry Child & Youth Service Planning Council, Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council and a Facilitating member of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. Kathy has a strong community lens and has been a catalyst for change in Waterloo Region. Stakeholder relationships have included the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Community & Social Services, Ministry of the Attorney General, community agencies, agency staff, families, and youth. When asked why she is passionate about her work for KHLF; Kathy reflects, with gratitude, on KHLF’s willingness to recognize children, youth and families struggling with mental health issues and the need for professionals, across the country, to have the best and most up-to-date resource at their fingertips. That Canada be aligned in how we support others and our desire to ensure all kids and families have the resources they need; when and where they need them.
Marni Herold, MSc, Research & Evaluation Analyst, Lutherwood, joined the KHLF team in 2012 as a Umind Mental Health Ambassador with a focus of populating the on-line resource library with relevant and timely tools. Marni’s role has expanded over the years to include planning and moderating webinars, social media content, membership support, and overseeing post-secondary student placements. Marni’s passion and ability to find and then share information and resources is a great match with the vision of Umind and KHLF.
Carla Nikitin has had the privilege of being part of the Umind team since 2016. She works in an administrative capacity researching resources, tracking registrations, and updating website content. Carla has, and continues, to enjoy her time being part of this team! Carla Nikitin is a graduate from the University of Guelph with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor in Child and Family Studies. After completing her studies in Guelph, Carla moved to Kitchener-Waterloo where she completed her Social Service Worker diploma at Conestoga College, and then spent time in various social service roles in the area. This included working with homeless youth in Cambridge, as well as a child custody and supervised access program in Kitchener. Even though she loved her roles in the city, Carla had a desire to shift into community mental health, specifically in rural communities. Carla was born and raised in Huron County, understanding the need for mental health resources in these areas. This led her to her role as a Case Manager with the Canadian Mental Health Association in Huron-Perth from 2017-2021. Carla is currently with the Canadian Mental Health Association in Grey-Bruce as an Intensive Case Manager. Carla now lives in Bruce County with her partner and their dogs, Gunner and Remi. She enjoys spending time outdoors, playing baseball, and evenings at the beach watching the Lake Huron sunsets.
Jessica Miller-Poesch, Program Manager
Cathy Humphreys - Clinical Advisor to Upedia
Co-Director and Chair of Admissions, Child Life Studies; Assistant Clinical Professor, Dept. of Pediatrics; Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University.
