Meet CHILD-BRIGHT’s new Director of Operations

CHILD-BRIGHT is pleased to welcome Tom Philpott MBA, MHA, CHE to the network as our new Director of Operations! 

As Director of Operations, Tom oversees all management, business, and administrative processes and procedures for CHILD-BRIGHT activities, including for the five network programs. He contributes to program development and guides performance monitoring and reporting of all network activities while ensuring the timely and high-quality delivery of all CHILD-BRIGHT goals and administrative milestones. 

Tom has over 25 years of health research and innovation experience spanning the public and private sectors, including health care delivery, academic research, and health tech R&D. He was awarded a B.A. from McGill University in Political Science and History, an MBA from Ivey Business School (Western University), and a Master of Health Administration from the Telfer School of Management (University of Ottawa).  

Tom is no stranger to the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), whose Research Institute houses CHILD-BRIGHT’s head office. He began his health care career at the MUHC in 2005, eventually becoming executive director of Community for Excellence in Health Governance, based at the MUHC, which had an international impact on the quality of care in large health systems and long-term care facilities. Tom also served as executive director for Kids Brain Health Network, hosted at the University of British Columbia, a national ecosystem of centres of excellence addressing neurodevelopmental disorders. Immediately prior to CHILD-BRIGHT, Tom was working as COO for Circle Innovation, a Simon Fraser University-affiliated non-profit assisting health tech entrepreneurs develop innovative products for the marketplace using a unique co-creation model. 

Other career highlights include contributing to the launch of the international branch of the McGill University Health Centre, leading strategic priority implementation and change management at a large health authority undergoing a merger in Nova Scotia, and helping plan a new research centre for Providence Health Care in British Columbia. In his personal time, Tom volunteers in admissions for McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine, is kept busy as an active dad with his family, and regularly practices meditation.  

Welcome, Tom! 

CHILD-BRIGHT wishes to thank former Director of Operations Lorraine Reynolds, who brought her wealth of administration experience to CHILD-BRIGHT in 2019 and quickly proved to be a dedicated, astute, and skillful Director. She steered the network through the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw the organization of the network’s first ever hybrid conference in 2023.  

We are also grateful for the tireless efforts of our interim Directors of Operations, Christine Marcotte and Pierre Zwiegers, which proved crucial to navigating the transition.  

Meet the youth with lived & living experience shaping CHILD-BRIGHT's research

CHILD-BRIGHT's National Youth Advocacy Council, or NYAC, is composed of research partners under 30 living with brain-based developmental disabilities. 

They’re helping to move the needle on doing research with (not just for) people with lived and living experience of disability. We’ve dubbed them our Lived & Living Experience Leaders!

This spring and summer, we highlighted their pivotal work at CHILD-BRIGHT as consultants and co-researchers in a LinkedIn-exclusive series. Now, you can read all 10 profiles here!

“[Self-advocacy] is about being vocal and creating representation for people with disabilities.”

— Logan

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“I’d like to see more youth with disabilities taking the lead on research projects.”

— Mathias

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“When it comes to health research, marginalized groups need to be included in the conversation.”

— Kelsey

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“[Being part of the NYAC has] helped me a lot. I have people I can talk to.”

— Jacob

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“Even though I’ve spent a lot of time studying neurotypical social interactions, it can be hard. I don’t always understand ironic jokes or innuendos. It’s a daily challenge.”

— Hans

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“We live in a world that doesn’t always give people like me the opportunity to speak for themselves.”

— Gillian

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“You wouldn’t create a product without consulting with consumers. We’ve been making these research products that didn’t involve the end users.”

— Claire

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“I think it’s important to look at brain and mental health using an intersectional lens.”

— Shafniya

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“Being unapologetically myself allows other marginalized people to identify me as a safe person, which means I can help advocate on their behalf.”

— Tommy

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“I’ve embraced my autistic traits. In embracing them, I’m able to be a better self-advocate.”

— Sierra

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Child health researchers can engage the NYAC as part of CHILD-BRIGHT’s Lived and Living Experience Consultation Service. Learn more and submit a request for consultation on your research project:

Lived & Living Experience Leaders: Meet Logan Wong

Logan is social worker and one of the longest-standing NYAC members! For him, self-advocacy has become a way to raise awareness and educate others. 

Logan Wong, Co-Chair of the NYAC

“It's about being vocal and creating representation for people with disabilities,” he says. “Especially brain-based disabilities, because they’re often invisible.”

Logan, who holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Toronto, knows all about helping people with social disadvantages. “Sometimes I feel like I’m a professional advocate,” he jokes. 

Logan has been with the NYAC since it was formed in 2018. Today, he’s the council’s co-Chair with Hans Dupuis. In the past six years, Logan has been a youth research partner on multiple studies and worked with organizations and universities across the country, including Holland Bloorview Rehabilitation Hospital. Currently, among other projects, he sits on the advisory committee for “What Decision-Makers Want,” a study of psychosocial interventions in Canada being conducted in partnership with CHILD-BRIGHT's Strongest Families Neurodevelopmental Program. 

Logan has parlayed his social work training and experience as a research partner into his work as an IDEAA consultant. The acronym stands for inclusion, diversity, equity, anti-racism, and accessibility; Logan uses this intersectional approach to help non-profits build more diverse and equitable work environments.  

As someone living with cerebral palsy, autism, and multiple anxiety disorders and who is trans and biracial, Logan is candid about the importance of lived experience within health research. "I came out as trans while working with CHILD-BRIGHT,” he says. “I changed my name, pronouns, and identity documents while on the NYAC.” He says that, throughout the process, everyone at CHILD-BRIGHT was incredibly supportive: “They accepted me for who I am as a person.” 

Logan is firm in his belief that engaging those with lived experience in health research leads to more relevant, impactful outcomes. “I'm grateful to CHILD-BRIGHT for giving me the opportunity to get involved in childhood disability research,” he says. “I’m looking forward to doing more on the NYAC.” 

You can learn more about Logan and his consultation work on his website.

Lived & Living Experience Leaders: Meet Mathias Castaldo

For 29-year-old Mathias, self-advocacy is about making his voice heard. He was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects his movement and posture.

Mathias Castaldo, NYAC member

A strong supporter of patient-oriented research (POR), Mathias believes in utilizing his lived experience to create meaningful change in the health field. “I’d like to see more youth with disabilities taking the lead on research projects,” he says.

Mathias holds a BA in Psychology from Toronto Metropolitan University and an MEd in Developmental Psychology and Education from the University of Toronto.

He works at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital as a Family Support Specialist and a Youth Facilitator, where he is a resource person for youth with disabilities and their families and supports them through the transition to adulthood: “I like being able to share my lived experience to help others!” 

Mathias joined the NYAC in 2018 as its inaugural chairperson and was an integral part in its formation and development. Since then, Mathias has played important roles on several research teams and offered key feedback on projects through the NYAC consultation service.  

Presently, he’s a youth research partner on the 2022 Training Innovation Fund-winning project CEE YOU!: Critical Ethical Engagement of YOUth in Patient-Oriented Research. The team’s goals are to gain a better understanding of youth participation in POR and enhance researchers’ ethical engagement of youth with disabilities. Mathias’ involvement in the project is multifaceted. “I’ve had the opportunity to create the research poster, conduct interviews with participants, complete data analysis, and write lay summary reviews,” he says. 

Like many of his fellow NYAC members, Mathias feels that one of his biggest challenges is contending with society’s prejudice toward different abilities. Stigma and ableism have impacted his motivation to play sports, pursue post-secondary education, and even find employment, he says: “I get self-conscious... I’ve become less inclined to disclose my disability out of fear of others’ reactions.” Despite these obstacles, Mathias has competed in athletics and excelled in school. “I don’t allow my cerebral palsy to define who I am,” he says proudly. 

Lived & Living Experience Leaders: Meet Kelsey Seguin

Kelsey is a PhD student in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa. A member of the NYAC since March 2023, she’s been an active and enthusiastic addition to the team.

Kelsey Seguin, NYAC member

“Self-advocacy in health research is a topic that’s close to my heart,” says Kelsey. “It’s essential when you’re living with a brain-based disability.” Kelsey wants her voice to be heard, and she knows her perspective is valuable.

“When it comes to health research, marginalized groups need to be included in the conversation.”‍

Since joining the NYAC, Kelsey has reviewed research proposals for CHILD-BRIGHT's projects and co-created our most recent KM Family Hub webinar, “Pathways through Partnership: Knowledge Mobilization with Families of Children with Disabilities.”

Kelsey lives with spastic hemiplegia, a type of spastic cerebral palsy (CP) that affects movement on one side of the body. “In my case, it was caused by a lack of oxygen in the brain at birth,” she says. Kelsey was born prematurely at just 25 weeks and was quickly diagnosed with CP. “But here I am,” she says with a laugh. Her symptoms include chronic muscle pain and spasticity (stiff or rigid muscles). The condition also affects her fine motor skills. “I love building LEGOs,” says Kelsey, “but I need to take frequent breaks. The pieces are so small!” 

When asked how her condition has affected her life, Kelsey is thoughtful. “Most of the time, I don’t think about it,” she says. “This is just my normal.” She points out that the larger issue is how society views people with disabilities. “I get funny looks when I walk because I have a limp,” she says. As part of her doctoral work, she’s looking at the experiences of parents raising children with CP, encountering many “false assumptions” in the process: “People will ask, ‘How can you be a researcher if you have a disability?’”  

Research partners with lived experience sometimes come up against these preconceptions, too. “Some people think involving people with disabilities in research is too risky,” says Kelsey. “We’re seen as vulnerable.” Along with her fellow NYAC members, Kelsey hopes to challenge these biases and inspire others to make their voices heard.