Our Board of Directors
Providing leadership as we grow from a startup into a sustainable and impactful organization.
The CancerMaps Board of Directors is a volunteer board committed to helping guide the growth and development of CancerMaps Inc.
Board members bring a combination of lived experience, clinical expertise, research experience, and other perspectives that help inform our work and keep the needs of people affected by cancer at the centre of our organization.
Directors serve three-year terms and contribute their time, knowledge, and expertise to support CancerMaps’ mission. As directors of a corporation, board members also have formal legal and fiduciary responsibilities for the organization, including providing oversight, acting in the best interests of CancerMaps Inc., and helping ensure that the organization is responsibly governed as it grows.
Alissa Vivian
BEd MEd PBDE BATreasurer, Board of Directors
Alissa is an educator based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, currently working in Student Services. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Administration, and her work is grounded in equity, inclusion, and collaboration. Alissa is committed to strengthening partnerships, advancing responsive systems, and supporting positive outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.
Alissa has experienced the impact of cancer through family members, including her father, as well as friends and students. These experiences have given her a personal understanding of the challenges faced by people living with cancer and those who care for them.
As Treasurer and a member of the CancerMaps Board, Alissa brings her experience in advocacy, systems-level change, and equity to help improve access to reliable information and resources for people and caregivers navigating cancer.
David Spence
CBMMember, Board of Directors
David is a Patient and Family Advisor with Alberta’s health system and partners with cancer researchers across Canada to promote meaningful patient engagement. Before retiring in 2021, he spent nearly 40 years as a broadcast meteorologist, including 30 years as Chief Meteorologist at CTV Calgary.
David was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012 and successfully treated the following year. He has also experienced cancer through his mother, father, and sister. These experiences have shaped his commitment to ensuring people affected by cancer have a voice in their care.
David joined the CancerMaps Board because he believes everyone affected by cancer deserves reliable, evidence-based information presented with clarity, compassion, and hope. He supports CancerMaps’ mission of empowering patients, caregivers, and families to navigate their cancer journey with confidence.
Dr. Mac Thiessen
MD PhD MN(iis) BSc FRCPCPresident, Board of Directors
Mac is a practicing medical oncologist with a practice focused on breast cancer in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His research explores the relationship between cancer and identity, how people use information to navigate cancer, and ways of empowering people to navigate their cancer journey with greater confidence. He has also studied science communication at the Banff Centre and continues to focus on creating better online resources that reflect what people need to navigate cancer.
Cancer has touched Mac’s life through family, friends, and mentors who have been diagnosed with cancer. These experiences, together with his clinical and research work, have shaped his interest in finding better ways to support people throughout the cancer journey.
Mac founded CancerMaps to make cancer information easier to find, understand, and use, helping ensure people have the tools to navigate their cancer experience in a way that honors who they are.
Dr. Martin Reed
MD FRCPS FCARMember, Board of Directors
Martin is a retired pediatric radiologist who spent more than 50 years at the Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg, including many years as Head of the Department. His clinical and academic work focused on imaging in children, with research interests in congenital and acquired bone abnormalities and the development and use of guidelines for appropriate imaging. He was also active in medical leadership, serving on medical committees and executives, including with the Canadian Association of Radiologists, and as Chairman of the Board of a Winnipeg theatre company.
Martin supported his wife through breast cancer and underwent treatment for prostate cancer himself. He brings the perspectives of both a caregiver and a patient to his work with CancerMaps.
Martin joined CancerMaps because he believes people affected by cancer need reliable, accessible, and user-friendly information to help them navigate their cancer journey.
Ralph Cross
BBA (Distinction)Secretary, Board of Directors
Ralph is a husband, father of two, and grandfather of five. Before becoming involved in cancer advocacy, he spent 35 years in the energy industry in Calgary, Alberta, including holding several executive positions.
In 2018, Ralph was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. As a lifelong non-smoker who was otherwise in good health, the diagnosis came as a shock. His experience with cancer led him to become a Patient and Family Advisor with Alberta’s health authority, where he has contributed to projects focused on ensuring that patient voices are heard and patient needs remain at the heart of decision-making.
Ralph first became involved with CancerMaps in 2021, when it began as a research project. He continues to bring his experience as a patient and advisor to help make cancer information more reliable, understandable, trustworthy, and useful for people navigating cancer.
Shelley Ringland
BN MA EdMember, Board of Directors
Shelley is a retired registered nurse with 35 years of experience, primarily in paediatrics. She also worked as a nurse educator and in community-based care, including as a sexual assault nurse examiner and in an inner-city clinic. Her work has given her experience supporting families in crisis, communicating clearly, and helping people access resources.
Shelley experienced cancer through the loss of a close friend to breast cancer and through family members who have been diagnosed. Following her friend’s death, Shelley and friends and family supported a CancerCare Manitoba memorial fund in her name through several years of fundraising.
Shelley joined the board after seeing a CancerMaps poster in a CancerCare Manitoba waiting room. Through her personal and professional experience, she understands that people affected by cancer need understandable and reliable information to help them navigate their cancer journey, and sees CancerMaps as an important way to meet these needs.
As CancerMaps grows, so will the experience, perspectives, and expertise represented within our organization. We are committed to building a strong and diverse community of people who can help us grow sustainably and ensure our work reflects the needs of people affected by cancer.
Interested in getting involved? Whether you are interested in serving on our Board of Directors or contributing your experience, expertise, or lived experience in another way, we would love to hear from you.
Get in touch to explore how you can be part of what we're building.
