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Team & Board

Meet the people behind NOFCC’s work.

NOFCC is guided by staff and volunteer board members who care deeply about supporting Northern Ontario families through childhood cancer.

Board of Directors

NOFCC’s volunteer Board of Directors helps guide the organization’s mission, accountability, and long-term direction.

Jamie Cresswell

Chairman (2016)

Jamie grew up in a small community outside of Sudbury. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Laurentian University and later attended Algonquin College in Ottawa for his electrical apprenticeship. He worked for many years in the electrical trade across residential, commercial, industrial, and mining workplaces. His work in health and safety led to a leadership career with Redpath Canada and is now the General Manager HSE of Redpath Americas

Jamie’s son, Mathieu, was diagnosed with a stage 3 brain tumour in 2013. He underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumour, followed by radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Mathieu required a second surgery to remove cancerous tissue; however, no further radiation or chemotherapy was required after that surgery. He continues to be monitored at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.

Jamie and his family are extremely grateful for NOFCC’s assistance, which allowed them to focus on Mathieu’s health while knowing support was available when needed.

Jane Rodrigues

Secretary (2019)

Jane was born and raised in the Sudbury area and attended Laurentian University, graduating with a BA degree in 1968. After attending teachers’ college she taught at Marymount College until 1980. Jane has two children, Matthew who works as a medical physicist for a pharmaceutical company in Seattle, Washington, and Sara who lives in Toronto and is a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Jane has held a variety of jobs in her lifetime, but since 2001 has been the Teacher Librarian at St. Charles College. In the past Jane has volunteered at the Cancer Centre, the Hospice, and the Ronald McDonald Family Room. She is presently a volunteer with the Angels in Pink and Seniors Helping Seniors in Coniston. When she was asked to join NOFCC’s board, she was pleased to accept and support an organization focused on the health needs of Northern Ontario families.

Lissa Lynn Gagnon

Lissa Lynn Gagnon

(2022)

Lissa Lynn Gagnon is a Professor with the School of Nursing, Laurentian University. After accomplishing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1996, she pursued graduate studies focusing on work environments in oncology nursing. She subsequently obtained her Master of Science in Nursing in 2008.

Since graduating, Lissa has assumed various roles and responsibilities for positions such as staff nurse, nurse manager, and nurse educator. She is pleased to be an active Board member of Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer.

Tina Leduc

(2025)

Tina Leduc is a senior manager at Science North and a proud graduate of Laurentian University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Born and raised in Sudbury, she is committed to giving back to the Northern Ontario community where she continues to raise her family. For nearly a decade, Tina has served on nonprofit boards supporting children and families. As a board member with Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC), she brings both professional leadership and personal understanding—having supported her father through cancer—to help ensure families across the North have access to the care and support they need.

Melissa Cotesta

Melissa Cotesta

(2026)

Melissa Cotesta is the Founder of AuthenticExec, a leadership and organizational performance advisory firm focused on helping leaders build stronger organizations by putting people at the centre of performance. With a background spanning healthcare leadership, human resources, process improvement, education, and executive advisory, Melissa has spent her career helping people and organizations navigate change, improve how they work together, and create environments where people can thrive.

Her connection to the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer is deeply personal. Melissa’s sister was diagnosed with cancer at just eight years old and passed away at the age of 18. Growing up alongside childhood cancer gave Melissa a firsthand understanding of how a diagnosis affects not only a child, but an entire family.

She remembers how much every extra piece of support mattered. A little help, a thoughtful gesture, someone who understood, or one less thing for her parents to worry about could make an incredibly difficult day just a little easier.

That experience has stayed with Melissa throughout her life and is a significant part of why serving on the NOFCC Board means so much to her. She brings her professional experience in leadership, strategy, healthcare and community building to the board, but she also brings the perspective of someone who has lived alongside childhood cancer and understands the importance of ensuring families never have to navigate it alone.

For Melissa, this work is more than board service. It is an opportunity to honour her sister, support families facing something no family ever expects to face, and help strengthen the network of care that can make an enormous difference during some of the hardest moments of their lives.

Shannon Myher

Shannon Myher

Treasurer (2022 & 2026)

Shannon grew up in Sudbury. She attended Laurentian University and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor’s of Engineering. She spent several years gaining experience as a Junior Engineer at various mine sites in Ontario and Quebec and obtained her P.Eng. designation in early 2015. She returned to LU to complete her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, graduated in 2019, and obtained her CPA designation in the fall of 2021.

She is honoured to have been accepted into the NOFCC community as the Treasurer and hopes that her contributions can offer some support to those who must navigate the challenges associated with childhood cancer.

Andrea Lamarche

Andrea Greidanus

Childhood Cancer Survivor (2022)

Staff

The staff team supports NOFCC’s programs, events, family assistance, and community relationships across Northern Ontario.

Dayna Caruso

Executive Director (2012)

Dayna is an Honours graduate of the Psychology Program at Laurentian University and has special qualifications in neuroscience, family life studies, sexuality, and women’s studies. Dayna worked as a Brain Injury Rehabilitation Worker for the Northern Lights Program and Ontario March of Dimes for seven years, having been hired in the second year of her Honours BA. Dayna was honoured to receive a 40 Under Forty Award for the Greater City of Sudbury in 2019.

Dayna was hired by the Board of Directors in 2012 to help recruit volunteers and manage fundraising for the organization. She was quickly promoted to Executive Director in 2014 as the needs of the charity began to grow and the responsibilities of her position required more attention. Dayna has played an important role in growing the name of the charity and developing it into the organization it is today.

Dayna is the proud mother of two little girls and is honoured to be part of an organization that is so critical to supporting families undergoing the unimaginable journey of childhood cancer.

Candy Beatty

Program & Event Coordinator (2025)

Candy was born in Saskatchewan, raised in Edmonton, and grew up and raised a family in Sudbury for the last 32 years (give or take a few years on the road).

She comes to the NOFCC after a year away in New Mexico where she travelled the USA extensively and researched for her next book. Educated at Sudbury’s Cambrian College in Journalism and at Laurentian University in Communications, Candy has dedicated her professional life to serving the communities of Northern Ontario.

Carmen Nyabeze

Office & Volunteer Coordinator (2026)

As Office & Volunteer Coordinator for the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC), Carmen provides administrative and volunteer support to help the organization serve children and families across Northern Ontario. She holds diplomas in Public Relations and Addictions & Mental Health, bringing communication skills, compassion, and a people-centered approach to her work. As a proud mother of seven, Carmen understands the vital role that compassionate support plays during life’s most challenging moments and is grateful to be part of NOFCC’s mission to support children and their families.