Our Team

Sheri Roach 

President

Sheri is a registered nurse with a varied background encompassing patient care, education, health administration, research, and policy. She currently teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs at Dalhousie University School of Nursing.  She completed her BScN at the University of Alberta, and MN and MHA at Dalhousie University. Sheri is excited about the value that a provincial nurses association will contribute for Nova Scotians and for all nurses.

Sohani Welcher

Vice-President

Sohani graduated from Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Psychology. She went on to attend what was known as the Halifax Infirmary School of Nursing from 1988 – 1990 and then worked on medical-surgical and otolaryngological (ENT) inpatient units at the (old) Halifax Infirmary, before moving to the Victoria General Hospital and working on the inpatient nephrology, renal transplant, and GI surgery unit. From there, she continued to accrue further knowledge and skill as a Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) certified gerontological nurse (since 2000) working in the Geriatric Day Hospital, Memory Disability Clinic, and Veterans residence floors at the Veterans Memorial Building. During her nursing career, Sohani has also worked for the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) and Dalhousie University School of Nursing. Sohani graduated with her Master of Nursing – Specialty Nurse Practitioner Stream from Dalhousie University in 2005 and returned to nephrology nursing in 2006 in the advanced nursing practice role of Nurse Practitioner (NP).

As a proud founding member of the Nurses Association of Nova Scotia (NANS), Sohani strongly believes in giving back to, as well as promoting, her profession. Sohani has always valued fostering connections with, and the growth of other nurses and nursing students. These values have led her to proudly participate as a founding member of the Nurses Association of Nova Scotia (NANS). Other volunteer nursing activities have also included active memberships with the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association (CGNA), the Nova Scotia Gerontological Nurses Association (NSGNA), the Canadian Association of Nephrology Nurses and Technologists (CANNT), the Nurse Practitioners Association of Canada (NPAC), and the Nurse Practitioners Association of Nova Scotia (NPANS).

Alyson Lamb

Director

Alyson Lamb is a Registered Nurse and the Executive Director QEII in the Central Zone, Nova Scotia Health. Alyson been a registered nurse since 2005 after graduating from the University of Toronto School of Nursing. Alyson a progressive leadership journey starting as a Registered Nurse providing direct care to patients and families on medical and surgical units. She then completed her Master of Nursing and Master of Health Administration. Alyson has led various throughout her career and is passionate supporting the delivery of high quality care.

Outside of work Alyson loves spending time with her family, coaching and playing ringette, volunteering, and simply being outside with her kids.

Barbara Whynot

Director

Barbara is a dedicated healthcare professional with over 32 years of nursing experience, primarily at the IWK. She began her career in Obstetrics, specializing in Labour and Delivery, and concurrently served for more than five years as a LifeFlight RN, providing critical care transport.

Barbara was also a pioneer in forensic nursing, becoming one of Nova Scotia’s first Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (S.A.N.E.s) in the early 2000s. She remained in this role for over a decade while continuing her work in Labour & Delivery and LifeFlight.

Transitioning into leadership, Barbara managed a large inpatient unit at the IWK, overseeing care for postpartum women, gynecology, and breast health patients. In the final ten years of her career, she led Occupational Health at the IWK, playing a pivotal role in staff and physician support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her contributions included leading vaccine clinics and collaborating with the province to provide critical support to Long-Term Care facilities.

After retiring in 2023, Barbara returned to the S.A.N.E. program, continuing to provide compassionate care on a call basis in emergency departments across Halifax.

Barbara is a lifelong learner, holding a Bachelor of Science, a Nursing Diploma and Degree, a Diploma in Forensics, and a Master of Health Administration.

Beyond her professional commitments, Barbara enjoys reading, traveling, tackling jigsaw puzzles, and gardening.

Damilola Iduye

Director

Damilola is a Senior Instructor at the Dalhousie School of Nursing, where she primarily teaches population health nursing and social responsibility. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing Science from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a Master of Nursing focusing on Health Policy from Dalhousie University, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She is currently enrolled in the PhD in Public Health Science at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. As a C. David Naylor Fellow and Vanier Scholar, her doctoral research lies at the intersection of race, ethnicity, policy, immigration and citizenship status, structural racism, and health.  

Since 2014, Damilola has been involved in various provincial and national projects and committees on the integration of internationally educated nurses (IENs) into the Canadian nursing workforce. Damilola is the Co-Founder and President of the Nova Scotia Internationally Educated Nurses Network (NSIENN), which she co-leads with eight other IEN leaders. In recognition of her contributions to supporting the professional integration of IENs in Nova Scotia and across Canada, Damilola was awarded the Top 25 Immigrants in the Maritimes award in 2018. This award honours Maritimers who stand out in their towns and cities and have made a difference in their communities.  

Outside the IEN community, Damilola has been part of a pan-Canadian working group aimed at unifying Black nurses in the country since 2020. The outcome of this collaborative partnership is the formation of the Pan-Canadian Association of Nurses of African Descent (PCANAD), a grassroots not-for-profit organization representing various provincial and jurisdictional organizations of nurses of African descent in Canada. Damilola currently serves as PCANAD’s President. Additionally, she is one of the founding directors of the Black Nurses Association of Nova Scotia. Damilola values the role of a professional association and is excited to contribute to the growth of the Nurses Association of Nova Scotia and the opportunities it presents in strengthening the voices of all nurses across the province.  

Jason Reeves

Director

Jason graduated from Nova Scotia Community College in 1995 and has worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse for the past 29 years. His early career was focused on a variety of acute care roles within the Nova Scotia Health Authority including Surgical, Medical, Orthopedics and Emergency Nursing.  Jasons passion for Nursing policy was ignited from involvement with Nursing regulation as the Board Chair for both the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Nova Scotia and the newly created Nova Scotia College of Nursing.

Over the past five years, Jason primary area of practice has been Learning and Development and currently holds a position with the Canadian Nurses Association as their Accreditation Advisor. Jason has been an active director with NANS for the past 18 months and wants to ensure that nurses have a voice at all levels of healthcare.

Benedicte (Bene) Franquien

Director

Bene’s career in the Canadian healthcare system reflects her deep commitment to client care and the well-being of her colleagues. Starting in Ontario and continuing in Halifax with VON, she thrived as a Visiting Nurse and then as a Clinical Educator, where she passionately shared her knowledge. Now working with the Practice, Quality, and Client Safety team, Bene believes that "home is where the clients are the happiest," emphasizing her focus on people-centered care.

She is also eager to promote a nurse association in Nova Scotia, recognizing that a unified community can enhance advocacy and support for nurses, ultimately leading to improved care for clients. Bene’s journey embodies her dedication to lifelong learning and collaborative growth in the nursing profession.

Nicholas Swift

Director

Nick graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He has spent the majority of his nursing career at Valley Regional Hospital where he has held various positions, including Emergency Department Staff Nurse, Emergency Department Assistant Manager, and Cardiovascular/Stroke Coordinator. Since 2019, Nick has been practicing as a Clinical Nurse Educator supporting multiple care areas and special projects.

In 2022, he obtained his Master of Education from St. Francis Xavier University. Nick has a keen interest in simulation-based education and is passionate about supporting others through their professional learning journeys.  

Alison Petten

Director

Alison’s nursing career has provided her the opportunity to work alongside colleagues in acute, home, residential and long-term care. For the past 20 years, she has focused on providing education for nurses and other caregivers throughout Nova Scotia with goals of helping to make their caregiving easier, effective and enjoyable. Nursing is now more challenging than ever but she still loves it and wants to do what she can to support her colleagues and her profession.

Years ago at association AGM's there were hundreds of nurses in the same room sharing, learning, discussing and debating. They had open forums where all were welcome to bring up an issue, concern or suggestion. Successes were shared. There were workshops where nurses learned very useful things together. They ate, argued, debated, voted, laughed… together! Nurses established committees to explore and act on issues of their choosing to support each other and their profession.

Alison appreciates having a college to protect the public by setting standards for nursing school and practice, and to respond to complaints. She appreciates having unions so employed nurses have collective agreements to protect their workplace rights. She appreciates having an association again where nurses collaborate to learn, advocate, explore issues and communicate with colleagues and others to support nurses and nursing.

Kerri Sue Reeves  

Director

Kerri Sue has practiced as an LPN for over 20 years, with experience in mental health, med /surg, emergency departments and pandemic response. She currently supports South Shore Regional Hospital as an Operations Leader. Kerri Sue has been involved with many quality improvement and safety initiatives with NSH, including optimizing scopes of practice for LPNs, emergency department wait times, Nonviolent crisis intervention training, supporting new hires and overall access and flow for improved care experiences for patients.

Kerri Sue completed a Certification in Leadership through Dalhousie University and is a grassroots member of the Nurses Association of Nova Scotia. (NANS) Kerri Sue is excited for an association for nurses in NS to amplify our voices and share our unique experiences and knowledge with one another.