Our 2027 co-chairs are Dr. Sarah Lespérance and Dr. Jeana MacLeod. The SRPC Rural & Remote Planning Committee is responsible for organizing the dynamic and ever-growing Rural & Remote Medicine Conference. This year, the conference will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, known for its beautiful waterfront, maritime history, fresh seafood, lively nightlife, and friendly East Coast atmosphere. With over 1,000 participants, it is one of Canada’s largest rural medicine gatherings. Known for its outstanding peer-to-peer learning and hands-on workshops, it is also one of the few conferences that does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Sarah Lespérance, R&R 2027 Co-Chair
Dr. Sarah Lespérance is a rural generalist physician, currently practicing in Nunavut and the region of Mi’kma’ki known as Amherst, Nova Scotia. Prior to this, she worked across Inuit Nunangat in northern Canada, including Nunavut, Labrador, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. She is the current Assistant Program Director for Dalhousie University’s family medicine residency program, and she is actively involved in clinical teaching. She has been involved in research in areas of rural physician wellness and resilience, latent tuberculosis treatment in Nunavut, curriculum for rural operative delivery, maternity care, and physician partner perspectives on recruitment & retention. She has held multiple leadership, governance, and advocacy roles, often focusing on issues related to education, maternity care, health human resources planning, women in leadership and reconciliation.
Dr. Jeana MacLeod, R&R 2027 Co-Chair
Jeana is a family medicine physician, rural residency trained at Dalhousie’s Annapolis Valley site in 2024. She is born and raised in Cape Breton and attended Dalhousie for medical school following a five year career in community outreach work. She continues to reside and work in Nova Scotia dividing her professional time between hospitalist service in Kentville, clinical locums in Inverness, and providing patient care and quality improvement leadership for a refugee health clinic in Halifax. Outside of medicine, she is most often found experimenting in the kitchen with a new recipe or taking a mindful moment with a puzzle or craft. Jeana attended the last Rural & Remote in Halifax as a medical student, and is thrilled to welcome folks back as conference co-chair. Find her throughout the conference for Nova Scotia travel tips, or to strike up a conversation about medical education, physician wellness, or family medicine leadership.
Planning Committee
Nicolas Potvin
Michelle Lajzerowicz
Margo Wilson
Laura Downing
Sarah Giles
Alexis Sharp
Therese McCurdy
Laura Miller
Dafenone Uwujele
Becky Maher
Tara Freeman
Noah Williams
Yaneesh Jerath
Amber Hodder
Ariel ThomasHara Saadia
Kristina Le Drew
Brittany Traverse
Kaela Fraser
Kayla Krasnor
Mia Van Oirschot
Adrienna Marchand
Nicole Walsh
Shatel McCracken
Jasmine Ryan
Sai Bolleddula
Jessica Katerenchuk
Inaam Chattha
Sheena Corfe
Laura Soles
Stephanie Welton
Martha Marchand
Nicole LeBlanc
Kelly Peters
Kush Patel