Meet our Dedicated Team

The Ontario Physician Recruitment Alliance was established by a team of community recruiters to provide centralized support and funding for local recruitment programs province wide. Within this larger Alliance are five geographic regional groups that work together on shared physician recruitment goals and community engagement.

The members of OPRA have a focus on international recruitment, standardization of financial incentives, immigration processes, system education, accessing provincial and federal grants, and advocating for the removal of barriers faced by recruiters and incoming physicians. This team is committed to transforming how doctors are recruited, onboarded, retained, and supported.

With the goal of increasing physician numbers in mind, the outcome of putting more family doctors in place is the streamlining of services, the reduction of the strain on emergency departments, and improvements in individual care. When the number of family doctors does not meet the demand, OPRA team members are also pivotal in finding solutions for the community shortages in primary care.

By engaging local and internationally trained physicians, medical students, and family medicine residents, OPRA members are expanding efforts to meet the urgent healthcare needs of Ontario’s people.

It is important to note that as this is a community-based alliance, only those regions with recruiters in place are part of the team. There are several Ontario towns, counties, and cities that do not have a community family doctor recruitment lead in place.

Jill Croteau
Jill CroteauOPRA Chair
OPRA Executive Lead; SOPRA Regional Chair
Andrea Loewen
Andrea LoewenOPRA Director
OPRA Stakeholder and Advocacy
Melanie Delion
Melanie DelionOPRA Director
COPRA Chair, OPRA Strategic Initiatives
Dr. Jeff Remington
Dr. Jeff RemingtonOPRA Director
OPRA Primary Care Advisory Lead
Melanie Goulet
Melanie GouletOPRA Director
NEOPRA Regional Co-Chair
Abbigail Brennan
Abbigail BrennanOPRA Director
NEOPRA Regional Co-Chair
Chastity Saudino
Chastity SaudinoOPRA Director
NEOPRA Regional Co-Chair
Cindy Snider
Cindy SniderOPRA Director
EOPRA Regional Interim Chair
Brad van den Heuvel
Brad van den HeuvelOPRA Director
OPRA Sponsorship Chair, SOPRA Regional Vice-Chair
Stephan Smit
Stephan SmitOPRA Director
NEOPRA Regional Co-Chair
Zoe Brenner
Zoe BrennerOPRA Director
OPRA Director, NWOPRA Co-Chair
Owen Doerksen
Owen DoerksenOPRA Director
NWOPRA Regional Co-Chair