Integrating research expertise, practice-based wisdom, and lived experience, the Coalescing community participants have a broad range of expertise in women’s substance use and addictions, mental health, woman abuse and trauma, Aboriginal women’s health, prenatal and maternity care and many other areas of women’s health.

The Coalescing team at the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health includes:

Nancy Poole, Coalescing project facilitator
Nancy Poole works with the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health on research and knowledge exchange relating to policy and service provision for women with tobacco and other substance use problems. She also works as a Provincial Research Consultant on Women’s Substance Use Issues with BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre. Nancy is well known for her collaborative work on research, training and policy initiatives related to women’s substance use with governments and organizations on local, provincial and national levels. She has recently co-edited a book on women’s substance use issues entitled Highs and Lows: Canadian Perspectives on Women and Substance Use, published by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She is a doctoral student with the University of South Australia studying virtual knowledge translation on women's health and substance use and has a CIHR fellowship with the IMPART program, a training program in Gender, Women and Addictions.

Ginny Gonneau, Alcohol Use By Girls project coordinator

Ginny Gonneau works with the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health as a project coordinator for a special project on the prevention of heavy alcohol use by girls and young women. The project aims to understand key influences and promote promising practices in effective prevention programming for girls and young women. Ginny has a background in women and gender studies, project management and in working with Aboriginal communities.

Doug Lambier, Technical consultant

Doug Lambier is a freelance IT consultant who has helped to shape the technology strategy to enable effective collaboration among the members of a variety of communities of practice. Doug has a Master of Science in Education and has worked with groups in education, healthcare and the non-profit sector.