Morris Manolson - Co-Chair

Morris F Manolson is a Professor at the University of Toronto focusing on preventing bone loss associated with osteoporosis and inflammatory arthritis. In 2007, he received the "Quality of Life” award from the Institute for Muscularskeletal Health and Arthritis, and in 2008 he received the Canadian Institute of Health Research-Institute for Gender Health/Ontario Women's Health Council Senior Investigator Award, both in recognition of the importance of his work towards preserving bone health in arthritis and osteoporosis.

He currently serves on grant and training scholarship reviewing committees for the Canadian Institute of Health Research and The Arthritis Society and is on the steering committee of the Skin Investigation Network of Canada.  His current research is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research and has produced three patent applications and over 65 peer reviewed papers which have accumulated close to 5000 citations from other refereed journals (based on ISI Cited Reference Searching).

Simon Cheng - Director

Simon has been living with psoriasis for over 20 years. When not raising awareness about psoriasis through his role on the Board of Directors, Simon brings his passion to incubating social enterprises and raising funds for a variety of organizations. Simon’s business development skills and his lived experience with psoriasis help shape CAPP’s work. He previously held positions providing investment advisory services to high net worth individuals and institutional investors. 

Christian Boisvert-Huneault - Co-Chair

Christian Boisvert-Huneault is the manager of the radiation oncology department at the Cedars Cancer Centre of the McGill University Health Centre in Montréal, Québec. Radiation therapist by training, he manages financial, human and technological resources to ensure that patients requiring radiation treatments receive care in a timely manner. He has a bachelors with honors in human kinetics from the University of Ottawa and a diploma in radiotherapy from Dawson College. He is a member of the exam sub-committee of L’Ordre des Technologues en imagerie médicale, radio-oncologie et électrophysiologie médicale du Québec. He is also a cyber-mentor on Academos, a French language online mentoring platform connecting professionals with young people with similar interests and to help guide them with their career choice.

Christian is invested in patient education and patient empowerment, working on many quality improvement committees at the MUHC. His work with the St Mary’s Research Centre on a tool kit for cancer patients completing active treatment was selected as ‘Innovate’ Top-ranked abstract at 2017 RTi3 conference, Canada’s premier annual meeting for the radiation therapy community.

Christian has suffered from psoriasis since 2015, affecting mostly his hands, which makes handwashing difficult, an important part of infection prevention. He joined CAPP in 2017 in hopes of continuing to empower and educate people affected with psoriasis as well as their friends and family.

Reena Ruparelia - Director 

Reena has been living with psoriasis for upwards of 26 years. She was diagnosed at the age of 14 which was a devastating and life changing moment for her. Most of her early years living with psoriasis were really difficult - she felt alone, depressed and ashamed.

In 2016, she went through a severe flare-up and ended up bedridden. It was at this time she realized things needed to change and turned to the online community for support. After meeting others living with the condition, she started to feel less alone and even started her own account documenting her psoriasis journey. This step of sharing and connecting with others helped her become more accepting of herself and her skin. It also led her to seek out treatment and resources to help her live better with psoriasis.

Nowadays, things have really changed for Reena as she is no longer ashamed and alone, but instead connected. She runs her very own Instagram Community (@psoriasis_thoughts) where she aims to empower and inspire other living with the condition to love and accept themselves as they are.

Professionally, Reena is a Life Coach, Empowerment Speaker and Mindfulness Meditation Guide, who aims to help people live well and feel good!

Amanda Shanks - Director

Amanda has spent her career in academic management roles in the higher education sector and is currently an independent Human Resources business consultant, part-time instructor and certified personality theory training facilitator. Amanda was Founder and President of a grassroots youth support organization, and also established a higher education program for students with significant learning challenges. Amanda completed her undergraduate studies in English and Business in the U.K. and after relocating to Canada, graduated with a Human Resources Management Post Graduate Diploma from McMaster University. Amanda holds a CUCA designation from the Centre for Higher Education and Research, University of Manitoba, and a Mental Health in the Workplace Counselling Certificate from Queens University.

Amanda has been living with psoriasis for over eighteen years, however, the condition became progressively worse in 2005. In 2012, Amanda was fortunate to be asked to participate in a clinical trial for a new biologic treatment which positively changed her life. After being invited to speak to medical researchers at a large pharmaceutical company in Montreal to discuss psoriasis and the trial, Amanda discovered a passion for educating others about psoriasis and supporting those who live with this devastating condition and is now pleased to bring this experience to the board.

In her spare time, Amanda is active in the community, enjoys writing, and is currently working on her first book. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends and walking trails with her husband and beloved rescue dog Shep.

Holly Rockbrune - Treasurer   

Holly is an insurance professional with experience in supplementary insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, and travel insurance. As an experienced people leader, Holly manages of a team of adjudicators and administrative staff. Holly is fluently bilingual in French and English and maintains her French language through work and speaking with her oldest daughter who attends an all French school.

Holly completed an undergraduate degree from McMaster University in Psychology and holds an MBA from Ryerson University with a focus on Human Resources. Holly is a married mother of two young children and was diagnosed with psoriasis following the birth of her first child.

Holly volunteers on the board of directors for the Rainbow Songs Foundation as the Fundraising Chair. In addition, Holly is a committee member with the Royal Ontario Museum Diversity and Inclusion committee. Holly is an advocate for accessibility in the community and is also passionate about mental health.

Holly is an insurance professional with experience in supplementary insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, and travel insurance. As an experienced people leader, Holly manages of a team of adjudicators and administrative staff. Holly is fluently bilingual in French and English and maintains her French language through work and speaking with her oldest daughter who attends an all French school.

Holly completed an undergraduate degree from McMaster University in Psychology and holds an MBA from Ryerson University with a focus on Human Resources. Holly is a married mother of two young children and was diagnosed with psoriasis following the birth of her first child.

Holly volunteers on the board of directors for the Rainbow Songs Foundation as the Fundraising Chair. In addition, Holly is a committee member with the Royal Ontario Museum Diversity and Inclusion committee. Holly is an advocate for accessibility in the community and is also passionate about mental health.

Kimberly Seguin – Director

Kimberly Seguin has been a nurse for 15 years with the last 10 years as a case manager helping patients navigate the world of biologic treatments.

She also has Psoriasis. She was finally diagnosed in her mid twenties after 6 years of being treated for a multitude of different things. After being referred to a dermatologist her Psoriasis diagnosis was made and she has been successfully treated with a combination of topicals ever since.

In her spare time you can find her reading, doing yoga or spending time with her family and friends.