Our Team

Co-Chair

Ms. Bucci is a public health consultant with twenty years of experience in health policy. She is the co-founder of Bucci-Hepworth Health Services Inc., a Canadian-based consultancy with international offices, and the Society for Intelligence Management (SIM). Prior to her work as a consultant, Ms. Bucci was a research associate at the Centre de recherche en droit public at l’Université de Montréal and the Centre for Genomics and Policy at McGill University’s and Genome Québec’s Innovation Centre. Between 2010 and 2022, she was the senior manager of Immunize Canada and a liaison member to the Canadian Nurses Coalition on Immunization (CNCI). She was a member of the Elimination of Cervical Cancer Advisory Committee and the WHO’s Vaccine Safety Network (VSN) Advisory Committee. She also served as Chair of the VSN’s research working group. She represented the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) on the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) between 2019 and 2024. She is currently a board member of HPV Global Action, the co-chair of the Working Group to Increase Vaccination Rates in Adults with Respiratory Issues, member of the World Meningitis Day planning committee, and consultant to the HELPinKIDS&ADULTS team at the University of Toronto.

Co-Chair

Craig Thompson is an international public-health executive, strategist, innovator, and entrepreneur with significant leadership experience spanning government, public health, academia, military service, and the not-for-profit sector. He is Founder and Chair of the Society for Intelligence Management, a founding partner of Bucci-Hepworth Health Services, and a Lecturer at the Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale, where he teaches leadership, critical thinking, communications, and innovation.

Craig previously served as a Public Health Director specializing in communicable diseases at the British Columbia Ministry of Health, with executive responsibility across immunization, tuberculosis, blood-borne pathogens, and sexual health. He led major provincial portfolios, advanced legislative and policy change, developed emergency-preparedness frameworks, and helped launch or expand twelve immunization programs.

Craig led the creation of ImmunizeBC—the first branded provincial immunization program in Canada—and developed Canada’s first provincial immunization clinic locator. He also helped create and advance I Boost Immunity and Kids Boost Immunity, pioneering new approaches to digital education, vaccine confidence, and knowledge translation.

He was instrumental in expanding the scope of practice of pharmacists, midwives, licensed practical nurses, and naturopathic physicians, transforming vaccine delivery and significantly expanding access to immunization services across British Columbia.

Craig has also led training, professional-development, and exchange initiatives for Indigenous community nurses, strengthening nursing practice, professional capacity, and community-based public-health services. His broader leadership has included serving as Chair of the Pan-Canadian Immunization Policy and Health Promotion Committee and as an Executive Member of the World Health Organization’s Vaccine Safety Net. He also chaired the BC Immunization Committee and BC Promotions Committee and served as a member of the Canadian Immunization Committee.

Director

M.S.C.

Kathryn is the Mother of two children, Stepmother of three children and Grandmother of six children. After leaving a career as a financial planner, she became involved in the interior design business. She decided to expand upon this career and opened a furniture store in 2001, along with her husband Don who was a retired Platoon Chief from the Kitchener Fire Department. In addition to that she is a residential contractor, dealing with a wide range of projects from basements, kitchens, bathrooms and total renovation of entire houses, taking them, from creating the design concept to implementation, hiring and supervising the trades and seeing each project through to completion.

Her proudest accomplishment has been being a Mother, a role that, for her, embodied the essence of her being. In 1995 she was shaken to the core of her existence in the sudden death of her son Michael Longo age 19 from Meningococcal Septicemia. The loss of Michael in her life channels so much of how she lives her life and what energy she puts into the various aspects of her life. As a symbol of her love for him and who he was as a person, Kathryn is the Founder and Past Chair of Meningitis Foundation Canada and currently serves in the role of Executive Director. It is her desire that people learn from her experience and it is her hope that no family needs to suffer the pain of losing a family member to vaccine preventable meningitis. It is also her prayer that in her lifetime she will see an end to this insidious disease. Kathryn is part of the Founding and Steering committee of CoMO (Confederation of Meningitis Organizations) that serves as a worldwide network to share best practice and to support other Meningitis organizations.

Director

Andrea and her husband Rob live in Toronto, where they have raised their two children, Chloe and Maxwell. Andrea worked in newspaper marketing for ten years until her second child was born. For the last ten years, she has been a Patient and Family Partner volunteer at Unity Health, advocating for patients and their families.

Last December, while a first year university student living in residence, her daughter Chloe became very ill with Meningococcal Septicaemia. It was a terrifying and traumatic experience. She was very lucky to survive.

Chloe had received all of the scheduled vaccines. Andrea and her family did not know Chloe wasn’t protected against Meningitis B, which was responsible for the outbreak at her university. They also learned there are vaccines to protect against Meningitis B, but they were not yet a part of any province’s vaccine schedule. Andrea would like to help spread awareness about Meningitis, including Meningitis B which is now the most common type affecting youth and young adults, advocate for vaccine availability, and help families who have been affected by Meningitis.

Director

Marion lives on the edge of Moorefield with her family. Marion has worked for GHD (formerly Conestoga-Rovers & Associates) and eSolutionsGroup Limited for over 32 years and during that time worked in multiple departments holding various positions from word processing, assisting in financing department, project coordinator, Executive Assistant, web master and technical support to various clients, including Meningitis Foundation for maintaining their websites. Marion is involved and donates time to her church and other volunteer organizations in her community.

Director

Dr. Anna Taddio is a Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and Senior Associate Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children. She completed her Bachelor of Science In Pharmacy and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacology And Toxicology at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Taddio’s program of research aims to improve pain mitigation during medical procedures, particularly for children, in order to optimize health outcomes. She currently leads a national inter-disciplinary team that is studying and promoting evidence-based pain mitigation during vaccination, (HELPinKids&Adults). This work was used as the basis of a global guideline by the World Health Organization.

Dr. Taddio has authored over 250 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. She is the recipient of numerous awards including: the Canadian Publication of the Year Award by the Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CSPT) (2020), the Noni MacDonald Award by the Canadian Paediatric Society (2020), the Senior Investigator Award by the Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and most recently, the inaugural holder of the GSK Chair in Vaccine Education and Practice-Oriented Tools, appointed by the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto (2024).