Governance and Leadership

Dr. Dignam has been part of the Sunbeam community since 2017 providing primary care for many of the residents at Sunbeam. She works collaboratively with the healthcare team to ensure all residents receive well-rounded, multidisciplinary care with a focus on prevention, safety and enhancing the quality of each day for the residents.

Dr. Dignam trained to be a Registered Nurse at Western University, as well as obtain an undergraduate degree in Health Sciences, before starting her medical degree at McMaster University. She then completed her Family Medicine training locally at McMaster’s Waterloo campus. Dr. Dignam has worked in Waterloo Region since graduating.

In addition to her work at Sunbeam, Dr. Dignam provides locum coverage to family practices in need, as well as provide COVID related support over the last couple of years. Dr. Dignam also has a special interest in lifestyle medicine, promoting wellness through lifestyle change, and in teaching health care providers.

Dr. Dignam thoroughly enjoys her work at Sunbeam, as she values the importance of providing exceptional health care to all people, especially those who are vulnerable. She appreciates the importance of providing support to families as well.

Dr. Dignam particularly enjoys her interactions with the residents here at Sunbeam! “Each and every smile is beautiful”. She also feels very fortunate to work with a such kind, dedicated health-care team. Dr. Dignam looks forward to working closely with the leadership team in her role as Attending Physician to further advance the good work being done at Sunbeam, and within the developmental community.

Katharine joined the Sunbeam team as Executive Assistant in September 2021. She has an extensive customer service background as well as working and volunteering with various not-for profit organizations in Waterloo Region. From a young age, Katharine had a passion for helping in her community.

Katharine holds two diplomas from Conestoga College from the Office Administration-Executive Program and the Dietetic Technician Program.

In her free time, Katharine enjoys spending time with her husband, furbaby, step-son and family. She enjoys camping, diamond painting, and volunteers with the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival Committee as Secretary and sits on the Pancake Committee.

This year, Laura will celebrate 40 years in Developmental Services.

She is appreciative of the opportunities and experiences that working for Sunbeam Community and Developmental Services has provided her.

Deborah says “I have had the honour of working in the Developmental Services sector since 1987”. She has always strived to advocate for individuals and ensure that the supports they receive are focusing on their wellbeing and hopes and dreams. She worked for Community Living Cambridge for 22 years supporting individuals to volunteer or work in the community; she also managed the Job Track program for 10-years and worked on the pilot project that introduced the new Application for Developmental Services and Supports, and became an Assessor for Developmental Services Ontario (DSO). She started working for Sunbeam Developmental resource Centre in 2017, and currently manages the Transitional Aged Youth Coordination Program, the Sunbeam Host Family Home Program, and the Continued Quality Assurance Department.

Tracy has worked in the Developmental Services Sector for the past 20 years, and has been with Sunbeam for the past 14 years.
Tracy fills the role of Director at Sunbeam Developmental Resource Centre.

Neil supervises clinical services, (speech, behaviour, autism behaviour, Applied Behaviour Analysis, health care and social work, in addition to intake and Sunbeam Developmental Resource Centre administration. He is originally from St. John’s Newfoundland and is living in this area for 20-years, while working for Sunbeam.

Neil has over 40 years experience working with people with Intellectual Disabilities and ASD, and has a degree in Master of Education (Counselling) and Bachelor of Science (Psychology).

Jen has been working in the Developmental Services sector for 18 years, with 8 years in a leadership role.  Jen is dedicated to advocating for the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities to participate and contribute their value to the community they live in. Jen also has a passion for educating others, and has sat on both Regional and Agency Committees to develop and facilitate Healthy Sexuality and Abuse Prevention Education. Jen is excited to be joining such a welcoming and dynamic team, and looks forward to building collaborative partnerships within the Sunbeam Community, as well as providing exceptional service to the individuals, families and community we serve.

Lourdes is a foreign  trained physician with many years of experience working with people affected by HIV and AIDS in Mexico. As she settled in Canada with her family in 1998, her commitment to social causes brought her to the Developmental Services field; during the last 20 years she has worked passionately to promote social inclusion for people who have been labeled disabled. Her goal is to look for opportunities to build a community that values inclusion and recognizes that everyone has a contribution to make.

Lourdes’ focus in her role as the Director of Community Living Services, is to continue with Sunbeam’s long history of providing high standards of support to the important people who use our services, and to raise awareness so they can be seen as the contributing, valuable and important fellow citizens they are.

As an RN and Manager at Sunbeam, Heather provides support to our medically-fragile homes and to those who live and work there while engaging in agency-wide health services. She has worked in developmental services since 2008, and spent two years nursing in South Africa running a pediatric HIV/AIDS health clinic. She is a strong believer in holistic, evidence-based, person-centred care performed in a climate of care continuity. When Heather is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, going camping and hiking.

Coming soon.

Erika is an experienced Registered Nurse from Kitchener, Ontario, with a background in emergency medicine, public health, nurse instruction, and pieces in between. Erika graduated from McMaster’s Nursing program in late 2016 and began her nursing adventure shortly thereafter.

Erika is a returning member of the Sunbeam Community. Having volunteered in the Respite Program throughout nursing school, Erika is delighted to return to the community in the capacity of Nurse Manager as of March 2022.

Erika is a firm believer in the care of the whole person, and practices nursing with an evidence-based, and collaborative approach.

In her spare time Erika enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, practicing yoga, and reading a good book.

Amanda Ficca has joined the sunbeam team as the Manager of Community Living Services. She comes to us from the Durham region where she worked in a similar role supporting individuals and their families in various capacities. She holds a Masters in Counselling Psychology and an Honours in Criminology and Psychology. She started working in the developmental sector in her youth and though it was not the career path she had started on, she found a passion for the work of inclusivity and advocacy that steered her to her current role.

Amanda loves working collaboratively with individuals, their families and the community to ensure people are supported in living their dreams, are safe and participating in their community as much as they wish. When not working Amanda loves the outdoors, coffee and a good book, traveling and spending time with her family.

Prior to coming to work at Sunbeam Nancy worked as Director of Community Services with Kerry’s Place Autism Services and Director of Residential Services with Niagara Support Services.  Her focus at Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) is to ensure a fair and equitable process is maintained for people applying for and receiving adult developmental services.  She is passionate about inclusion and participation for all which has led to her work at Sunbeam.  She is the proud mom of 2 young boys and enjoys spending lots of time being active outdoors!

Prior to joining Sunbeam in 1989 Tim worked in retail banking and productivity improvement consulting. The focus of his role is supporting and coordinating Sunbeam’s administrative departments in meeting the needs of the people we serve and our associated community.

Tim says ‘Participating in the growth of our services and continually improving our organizational performance, continues to motivate our work’. Married to Laurie, they have a daughter in Calgary and a son in Waterloo. Outside of work Tim enjoys coaching Lacrosse, running, reading and going to their old family cottage.

Sana Ali joined Sunbeam as a Manager, Financial Services in 2019. She is a CPA, CMA graduate with over 12 years of experience in the finance field. Sana helps senior management and Board of Directors in decision making, by providing them with accurate and up to date financial information and analysis.

She enjoys working at Sunbeam because of the great cause the organization works for. During her spare times, Sana enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Natalie Perna is a graduate of McMaster University and Conestoga College and holds her CHRL designation from the HRPA. With over 10 years of broad-based Human Resources experience, her goal is to continuously improve the workplace for staff and for clients. Natalie loves what Sunbeam Community and Developmental Services does for individuals and families and is proud to be part of an organization with such a long standing reputation in the community in which she lives.