Alana Aquino is a Registered Nurse with a BScN from McMaster University and a Master of Nursing with a focus in Education from Athabasca University. She is currently the Education and Development Clinician of the Diagnostic Imaging and Medical Diagnostic Units at Hamilton Health Sciences. Prior to her role as an Educator, she was a member of the Vascular Access Team at Hamilton Health Sciences where she was involved in day to day patient care including vascular access assessment, insertions and collaboration. Alana also worked on curriculum/policy development, and the creation of a Centre of Excellence at Hamilton Health Sciences which provides education and support to other centres for PICC insertions and vascular access problem solving. This is Alana’s third year on the CVAA Board of Directors and she is excited to continue to advocate for excellence in vascular access and utilizing the right device, for the right patient at the right time.

Emily Higgins is a passionate registered nurse currently working as a Territory Manager at Ambu, specializing in Anesthesia, Patient Monitoring, and Emergency Medicine. With a strong foundation in critical care and vascular access from her time at Mount Sinai and Princess Margaret Hospitals in Toronto, Canada, she brings deep clinical expertise and a commitment to improving patient outcomes through education and evidence-based practice. Emily holds a Master of Management of Innovation from the University of Toronto and serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Vascular Access Association (CVAA), where she is also a former member of the Guidelines Development Group. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, yoga, and cycling.

Christina Belza received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McMaster University before working in a variety of areas including Blood and Marrow Transplant, Clinical Response Nurse and the Emergency Department before pursing her Masters. She has been a nurse practitioner for the past 15 years in the pediatric intestinal failure program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. In her work capacity she manages inpatient and outpatients on long-term parenteral nutrition and intestinal failure. Academically, she completed her PhD in clinical epidemiology with a focus on evaluating burden of care for caregivers of children with intestinal failure. Her research interests also focus on evaluating long-term outcomes for children with intestinal failure and implementation of novel therapies to improve long-term morbidity and mortality.

Julia is a seasoned registered nurse with 20 years of experience in infusion therapy and vascular access. She recently moved from managing an Education team into a new role as Special Projects Lead at a national infusion clinic network, where she leads technology, integration and data projects and supports the roll out of their new EMR platform. Passionate about ensuring decisions are made with data and nursing input, Julia has recently started working towards publishing her work and projects to share experience with others. Her work is rooted in improving patient outcomes and efficient use of nursing resources. Outside of work, she’s often found running, reading, or hiking with her partner Justin and dog Ellie.

Catherine developed her advanced vascular access skills working in the NICU placing PIVCs and PICCs during stabilization at high risk deliveries and bedside care. Her prior nursing background was in hemodialysis, ER, and ICU. Catherine has worked for Hamilton Health Sciences for 24 years and joined the Vascular Access team in 2018 and now advocates for device selection and best practices in insertion, care, and maintenance. Catherine facilitates hands-on training and staff development at the Centre of Excellence for adult PICC insertions. She collaborates with colleagues and the multidisciplinary team to update vascular access policies in accordance with changes in best practices. Catherine had the honour of working on the 2024 National CVAA Guidelines Development Group to promote best practices in vascular access and infusion therapy. Catherine loves kayaking, fishing, and spending time with her family.

Elizabeth McMurray is a Clinical Specialist for Infection Prevention and Surgical Solutions with Solventum, Medical Surgical supporting Ontario and Manitoba. A graduate of Ryerson, now Toronto Metropolitan University with a BSc in nursing in 2005, she started her nursing career on an acute surgical floor at a large academic teaching hospital in Southwestern Ontario. Throughout her 20-year nursing career she has held various positions including, staff nurse, Clinical instructor (for Western University), Clinical Nurse Educator, Professional Practice Consultant, Clinical Informatics, and most recently, prior to coming to Solventum, Operating Room manager. During this time Elizabeth completed her Master of Nursing in advanced practice leadership at the University of Victoria in 2016. Elizabeth is also CVAA certified as an industry partner, and was a member on the CVAA Guideline Development Committee for the 2024 CVAA Guidelines.

Nadine graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Dalhousie University in 2004 and started her career on the Medical, Surgical, Neurosciences Unit at the IWK Health Centre. She accepted a position as central venous access nurse and PICC Inserter in 2012 and graduated with a Master of Nursing from Dalhousie in 2015. Nadine continued to further her education and graduated from University of Toronto in 2017 with a post-masters certificate as a pediatric nurse practitioner. She currently works as nurse practitioner with the general surgery service at the IWK and continues her work as a PICC inserter and improving venous access for patients. Nadine has been a member of the NS CVAA chapter since 2012 and is the current chapter president.

Gillian holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies and Gerontology from McMaster University. She is CVAA Certified and Vascular Access Board Certified, with a true passion for vascular access and infusion therapy. Currently, she works on the Vascular Access Team at Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) Queen’s Blvd location (formerly St. Mary's General Hospital) and serves as an educator in infusion nursing practices at Conestoga College. Gillian has a diverse background in community care, acute care, and endoscopy brining a wealth of experience to her role as a director. She is particularly excited about the launch of the new Best Practice Guidelines and is committed to advancing patient care through evidence-based practices. In her spare time, Gillian enjoys traveling, skiing, playing board/card games, and spending quality time with her husband, daughter, and friends.

Juan Jose Avila Amariles is currently a second-year nursing student at McGill University and the current President of VASC, the CVAA student chapter at McGill. Through his clinical rotations, he is gaining hands-on experience while also encouraging fellow students to develop a deeper awareness of vascular access. He fosters curiosity by rekindling the same sense of intrigue we all had when first learning about vascular access and its critical role in patient care. By advocating for additional education through workshops and hands-on lab activities, Juan aims to equip students with the knowledge and confidence needed to handle real patient scenarios effectively. As this marks his first involvement with the CVAA Board of Directors, he is eager to learn and, in turn, raise awareness among other educational institutions about the importance of providing more resources on vascular access. And what better way to do so than by establishing and leading a CVAA chapter? Beyond contributing the student perspective to the Board of Directors, Juan also brings a cultural touch—perhaps even a few salsa moves to share along the way!