Meet The Team

DAWN BARKER

Dawn Barker, who was proudly born in Barbados is a dedicated mother, sister, and friend whose journey with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) at the age of 44 transformed her into a passionate advocate for health education and awareness. Since co-creating Every Breast Counts, Dawn  launched the NUY50 campaign to empower under-served communities, particularly Black women, by addressing disparities in breast cancer care, and ensuring access to vital information. Dawn has gained meaningful support from Women’s College Hospital and The Canadian Breast Cancer Network, to name a few.

She believes you don’t go through something as traumatic as cancer and come out of it the same… it changes you. Her faith keeps her grounded and has been her anchor in the storms of life, including losing both parents in the span of a four year period.

Through her advocacy, Dawn actively collaborates on many research projects as a community partner, bridging the gap between scientific research and community needs. Her volunteer work with organizations like The Olive Branch of Hope and The Canadian Cancer Trials Group, exemplifies her commitment to driving equitable healthcare and inspiring hope for those navigating their own health journeys.

Dawn believes that the best way to help drive change, is to be involved in the change!”

Debbie Pottinger was born in Jamaica and emigrated to Canada in 1976. She is a mother of four and a nana to three grandchildren. To her family and friends, she’s known as a Spiritual Warrior, Soul Sista, Nana, Mother and Daughter. She has been a community worker for over 30 years.

In 2017, Debbie was diagnosed with Stage 3 Her2 positive breast cancer. She then embarked on her journey of healing; a healing of her mind, body, and soul. Her treatment included six rounds of chemo, 25 rounds of radiation and finally a left mastectomy reconstruction surgery in 2019. She also began hiking as part of her healing and became a Certified Hiking Leader.

In conversation with another cancer survivor, she was told, “You never know how what you share may help someone else in this journey.” This gave her the motivation to confront any fears of sharing her own journey at an Olive Branch of Hope Prayer Evening. She found power in sharing her experiences.

She used her own journal, where she documented her personal care journey as a guide to help co-create this webpage for Black women who may be seeking the same information she wished was available to her at the time.

Her hair loss journey digital story was created with support from Breast Cancer and Diversity Project, a participatory research initiative with experienced storytellers and health services researchers from Peel Region, the Institute for Better Health, StoryCentre Canada and funded by Trillium Health Partners Foundation. You can see a preview of it below:

Shireen Spencer is a 4+ year breast cancer survivor who is friendly, gregarious and passionate about bringing out the best in people. She is a teacher, pastor, author and business owner, married to the love of her life Che Spencer and has two wonderful teenaged boys.

Shireen loves sharing her story of what she has been through in her life and health struggles to encourage and bring healing to others suffering the same challenges and heartaches. She is a speaker at various conferences and platforms, as well as a Patient and Family Experience Advisor (PFEA) for Lakeridge Hospitals and has shared her story often for new hire training. She is a volunteer for the LGFB program, the Hearth Place and an Olive Branch of Hope Ambassador.

Talina Higgins currently practices as a registered nurse in Toronto after having earned a BScN degree from the University of Windsor. Nursing the sick back to health while advocating on behalf of their needs has always been the focus of her care. Outside of work, she can be found volunteering and advocating in support of the Afro-Canadian community. She also enjoys sharing her creativity through painting, sculpting, event planning and interior design.

As website co-creator of this project, Talina has been able combine all her passions in a purposeful way that will improve not only the knowledge but health outcomes of Afro-Canadian women facing breast cancer.

Michelle Audoin is an experienced and passionate patient advocate and community collaborator. She uses her living experience of cancer to shine a light on some of the disparities Black women experience when navigating a breast cancer diagnosis. Her advocacy work focuses on driving systemic change through partnerships including volunteer roles at CCTG, OICR PFAC, 3CTN, Women’s College Hospital and Princess Margaret.

Michelle uses her elementary school training to educate others by sharing her story and experiences on podcasts, panels, and awareness campaigns. She is most proud of raising two amazing and compassionate kids who support her cancer advocacy work.