Santis is a team of doers, drivers and trusted advisors for the most significant policy shifts in health care over the last decade. Our team provides clear insights, an unmatched network of relationships and years of direct experience implementing the health system changes that matter to our clients.
Shay Alford
Role at Santis
Shay leads all digital services that support the marketing and communications needs of both Santis Health and its clients.
Experience
Prior to joining Santis, Shay worked in the digital marketing and technology space for a variety of firms in both Ontario and British Columbia. Most recently, he managed the marketing and external communications strategy for a start-up tech company focused on innovative digital marketing through social media.
Shay’s strategic creative abilities enable him to connect business objectives to tangible results. He previously worked for the Canadian Tire Corporation and Branded Cities, where he developed strategies and creative content that transformed their consumer digital experience and pushed the boundaries of digital and traditional marketing.
Volunteerism and Education
Shay holds a Bachelor of Arts in media production with a minor in marketing from Ryerson University. Shay is also certified in Front End Web Development from Lighthouse Labs.
Hana Baig
ROLE AT SANTIS
Hana supports communications and project management for clients and the Santis team.
EXPERIENCE
Before joining Santis, Hana worked at an advertising agency specializing in health care. She cultivated strong relationships with pharmaceutical clients across various disease spaces, contributing to the development of campaigns for various products. Her experience includes navigating health care regulations to craft impactful campaigns for patients and health care professionals in areas such as Rare Diseases, Respiratory, Inflammation, Immunology, and Dermatology. She is passionate about public health policy and innovation in the digital health care sector.
VOLUNTEERISM AND EDUCATION
Hana graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology and Environmental Health.
Taryn Bratz
Role at Santis
Taryn provides support in external and internal communications, social media, event planning and graphic design to the Santis team and its clients.
Experience
Prior to joining Santis, Taryn completed the Public Relations Certificate program at Humber College. Through this program she learned the fundamentals of public relations, graphic design and media relations. During her time at Humber, Taryn worked on various strategic communications and event plans for clients.
Volunteerism and Education
Taryn has a Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Religious Studies from King’s University College at Western University and a post-graduate certificate in public relations. Taryn also recently completed an American Sign Language course with Canadian Hearing Services.
Hayley Butler
Role at Santis
Hayley leads Santis Health’s video production team and produces all video content for our clients.
EXPERIENCE
Hayley has produced/directed commercials and video content for companies worldwide. She works with a senior filming team, using state of the art cinema equipment to capture the highest quality results to showcase your story on screen.
Her production resume includes videos for: Volkswagen, Honda, Mitsubishi, Audi, Microsoft, HP, Canadian Tire, BDO, TD Bank, BMO, PartyCity, and the Government of Ontario. She has directed medical ads through Canada and America, including a Pharma campaign that aired on CNN in 2022. Her team’s health care work includes production for Women’s College Hospital, Mount Sinai, Wounded Warriors Canada, Niagara Health and The College of Family Physicians of Canada among others.
EDUCATION
Hayley holds a Bachelor of Arts (with honours) in media production from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University).
Hannah Casey
Role at Santis
As a multi-skilled communicator, Hannah can assess the communication strategies of organizations and develop campaigns that are sustainable and engaging to their audiences. Utilizing her broad experience understanding health care issues, Hannah leads Santis’ communications practice and delivers complex messaging effectively through graphic design, social media, corporate communications and media relations.
Experience
Throughout her time with Santis, Hannah has spearheaded communication projects with Trillium Health Partners, Lakeridge Health, Ottawa Public Health and over 20 long-term care homes across the province. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her work focused on leading crisis communications related to outbreaks in long-term care and timely access to COVID-19 testing in key communities.
Prior to joining Santis, Hannah worked at Corus Entertainment where she supported the Global Television publicity team with internal and external communications, event management and media relations. Following her time at Corus, Hannah joined the Movember Foundation, handling their media monitoring and reporting during the height of the campaign.
Volunteerism and Education
Hannah has a Bachelor of Arts degree in media information and technoculture from Western University, a diploma in radio broadcasting from Fanshawe College and a public relations postgraduate certificate from Humber College. She also recently completed her Digital Marketing certificate with BrainStation.
Nancy Dale
ROLE AT SANTIS
An award-winning communicator, Nancy brings over 20 years of communications experience to Santis, delivering results focused campaigns and strategies that forge partnerships, spark conversation and lead to organizational wins.
EXPERIENCE
Before joining Santis, Nancy spent five years leading the health practices at two Canadian PR agencies. Her agency highlights include the launch of TELUS Health’s virtual care services, programs to bring awareness to mental health, drug shortages, disease awareness, physician burnout and vaccination, as well as securing global media attention for the world’s first human lung transplant made possible by a drone delivery. Nancy’s work has led to accolades from the Canadian Public Relations Society.
Nancy also spent about a decade leading senior communication programs for the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), navigating the Association through major public and internal crises after failed negotiations with the government. With a passion for storytelling, Nancy worked to promote the brand of physicians through paid advertising, content marketing and spokespeople. In her time at the OMA, Nancy also developed a passion for the lesser told stories in medicine, particularly in areas like end-of-life care.
Early in her career working for the Government of Ontario, Nancy served in a variety of roles in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Environment.
VOLUNTEERISM AND EDUCATION
Nancy volunteers with Wellspring, an organization dedicated to helping people live better with cancer, providing communications counsel via the Communications Committee of the Board.
Nancy holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from Western University and Certificate in Public Relations from the Toronto Metropolitan University.
Amirah El-Safty
ROLE AT SANTIS
Amirah brings over eight years of experience in content production and communications to Santis Health, where she specializes in project management and translating complex technical narratives into clear and engaging messages. An adept storyteller, her strength is crafting compelling content that aligns with organizational goals, fosters engagement, and promotes a unified brand vision.
EXPERIENCE
Amirah cut her teeth as a journalist but spent the better part of the first decade of her career building an agency within The Walrus called The Walrus Lab. The Walrus Lab creates content, manages awards and scholarship programs, plans events, produces podcasts, writes, edits, and fact-checks for top brands in Canada and beyond. Profits from the work of the Lab fund the journalism of The Walrus.
After her time at The Walrus, Amirah led a communications team at TELUS Health where she was responsible for editorial oversight of all communications channels, content
development, and strategic communications consulting. A highlight of her time there was leading the communications strategy for Total Mental Health (a first-of-its-kind holistic mental health support for employees) while simultaneously shepherding the communications around TELUS Health’s two-billion-dollar acquisition of LifeWorks.
VOLUNTEERISM AND EDUCATION
Amirah volunteers her time on the board of The Local magazine, an independent magazine exploring urban health and social issues in Toronto, and on the board of New Majority, a non-profit, non-partisan organization focused on mobilizing young voters to the polls. Amirah has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a Corporate Communications and Public Relations diploma from Centennial College.
Micaela Ferrari
ROLE AT SANTIS
Micaela provides support in writing internal and external communications, social media, event planning and graphic design to the Santis team and its clients.
EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Santis, Micaela worked as a Communications Officer for Ontario Creates. In her role, Micaela worked on advertising, marketing, brand development, graphic design, social media and procurement. She is accustomed to working in fast-paced environments, coordinating multiple stakeholders, advertisers and designers to deliver ads, social campaign and event designs. Key projects include Ontario’s presence at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival and Berlinale; the Trillium Book Awards; and the agency’s new branding.
VOLUNTEERISM AND EDUCATION
Micaela is a graduate of the Toronto Metropolitan University RTA School of Media: Media Production program with a concentration in Film and Television and a minor in Communication and Design. She graduated with honours and holds a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Leadership Award.
Yvan Marston
Role at Santis
At Santis, Yvan serves as a writing lead and has worked on multiple projects for member associations and hospitals. Much of his work involves collaborating with senior managers, subject matter experts and marketing teams to help build the essential written elements of their communications projects.
Experience
For over 15 years, Yvan’s work has focused on health care writing projects. As a consultant for the Ontario Hospital Association, he has written and assisted with the development of more than 20 OHA publications including a 400-page guide for perioperative supply chain management that became the seminal resource for Ontario hospitals, as well as a number of guides and toolkits related to health human resources.
As a corporate communications writer, he plans and develops complex messaging projects including annual reports for eHealth Ontario, work that grew from his experience with a Fortune 500 company producing annual reports, web content and speeches. He also serves as a technical writing consultant for a medical device manufacturer where he organizes information and learning, and helps to devise and implement content marketing strategies.
Volunteerism and Education
Yvan has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and English Literature from the University of Ottawa and a diploma in journalism from Sheridan College.
Patrick Nelson
Role at Santis
At Santis, Patrick helps health care organizations adapt to the changing health care environment, influence government policy and improve their engagement with members and stakeholders. Patrick has expertise in strategic communications, government relations, public affairs and board governance.
Experience
Prior to joining Santis, Patrick served as the Executive Director of Public and Corporate Affairs at the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), the voice of the province’s 34,000 physicians. Over almost ten years, he led the OMA through several strategic communications campaigns, a comprehensive governance review, as well as a major rebranding of the organization. Under his tenure, member satisfaction with the OMA doubled to a record high and, over the course of a five-month advocacy campaign, the profession witnessed a remarkable 12 per cent increase in public trust.
Patrick also worked in senior communications roles in the Ontario government, as an aide to Ontario’s Minister of Health and as Director of Communications to the Minister of the Environment and to the Minister of Education.
Volunteerism and Education
Patrick served as Past-Chair of the Board of Directors at ALS Canada, following eight years on the Board of Directors and as Co-Chair of the Client Services Advisory Committee and Chair of the Governance Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors at the Pine River Institute which helps treat adolescents with addiction and mental health challenges. He has also served for six years on the Board of Trustees at the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, the largest children’s mental health treatment facility in Toronto. During that time, Hincks-Dellcrest presented him with an Award of Appreciation for his work in receiving additional funding from government to support mental health services for kids. Since 2014, Patrick has also served as the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants.
Patrick also coaches rep baseball and basketball in West Toronto.
Haylee Thompson
Role at Santis
Haylee works on the development of marketing and collateral materials, web design, social media strategies and video and podcast production for clients and internal development.
Experience
In her diverse working background, Haylee spent time in a variety of roles with major companies across Canada. As an innovative and creative professional, Haylee prides herself in thinking outside of the box and continuing to find new and exciting ways to tell stories and shape identity. In her role as Production Manager at StoryBook Theatre, one of Canada’s largest theatres for young audiences, she helped produce live and digital content and worked alongside the Artistic Director. She also spent time developing marketing and social content to promote the organization and generate funding opportunity. She also worked with Canadian Traffic Network as both an airborne and ground reporter, working with dozens of radio and television companies across Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver to write, produce and record news hits.
Volunteerism and Education
Haylee is a recent graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) with a Bachelor of Arts in media production and minor in digital marketing. She also recently completed a certificate in Web Development from Lighthouse Labs. She remains passionate about theatre, particularly young peoples theatre, and creating spaces for exploration. In her spare time, she teaches theatre classes for inner city youth and continues to report on evening and weekend traffic for radio stations around the GTA.
Stephanie Yeoh
ROLE AT SANTIS
Stephanie provides support and leadership to external and internal communications, public relations, copy and release writing to clients as well as the Santis team.
EXPERIENCE
Stephanie is a seasoned PR specialist with a passion for navigating the dynamic landscape of technology in both B2B and B2C realms. With a background in communications, she brings a depth of knowledge and expertise in crafting tailored strategies for clients across Southeast Asia and Toronto, Her forte lies in fostering strong relationships with clients and journalists alike, ensuring impactful coverage and resonance in diverse markets.
Passionate about the ever-evolving nature of the tech industry, she excels in developing content and communications strategies that drive results and foster growth for her clients.
VOLUNTEERISM AND EDUCATION
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University and a Masters of Communications from the University of Ottawa.