Shawna O’Hearn, PhD, MA, MSc (OT) (She/Her)
An Occupational Therapist and Geographer with a powerhouse background in leadership, Shawna O'Hearn brings passion, purpose, and a bold voice to the conversation around women’s health. With years of experience championing inclusive workplaces and empowering others to thrive, she is on a mission to break the silence around menopause, reduce stigma, and make sure every woman feels seen, heard, and supported.
Whether she’s leading teams or leading tough conversations, her energy is contagious and her message is clear: women deserve to navigate every stage of life with confidence, knowledge, and community.
shannon platt
Shannon Platt's own journey into women’s health began during pregnancy and postpartum, when she quickly realized how confusing and inconsistent the available fitness guidance was. That experience inspired her to dive into research, pursue specialized certifications, open up a women’s health/pelvic floor clinic and dedicate her career to supporting women at every stage of life.
Over the years, Shannon has had the privilege of coaching hundreds of women—not just through pregnancy and postpartum recovery, but also into the transformative season of menopause. Shannon specializes in helping women navigate the physical changes of midlife with confidence by focusing on strength training, pelvic floor health, energy optimization, and practical strategies that truly fit into real life.
Today she runs her own coaching business out of ProEdge Elite Training and from home. Her mission is simple: to empower women to feel strong, capable, and vibrant through the menopause transition and beyond.
katherine risley - moderator
As a Managing Partner with KBRS, and a certified coach, Katherine has a passion for making a positive impact and helping people and organizations achieve their goals. She is committed to continuous improvement in the best interests of her clients, candidates and her KBRS team.
dr natalie rosen R.Psych
Dr. Natalie Rosen (she/her) is clinical psychologist and a professor in the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience and Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Her research focuses on understanding how couples cope with sexual dysfunction and changes to their sexual relationship—including during reproductive transitions such as menopause. She is committed to translating her research findings into novel interventions and to sharing evidence-based information with service providers and the public.
Dr. Rosen has authored over 175 peer-reviewed publications and she is the current Past-President of the Canadian Sex Research Forum. As a registered clinical psychologist, Dr. Rosen maintains a small private practice focused exclusively on sex and couple therapy.
dr toni sappong MD, CCFP
Toni Sappong
Dr. Sappong is a family physician committed to serving vulnerable and marginalized populations to improve health equity. She completed her medical training at the University of British Columbia, and her family medicine residency at the University of Toronto before coming to Dalhousie as a faculty member in September 2024. She currently works at the Newcomer Health Clinic and is the physician lead at the Nova Scotia Sisterhood, a province-wide, free program for Black women to access healthcare in their communities. As interim academic director of Black Health in the Faculty of Medicine,
Dr. Sappong aims to reduce barriers to medical training for Black and African Nova Scotian individuals, to ensure the success of Black learners throughout their medical training, and to contribute to the building of a strong Black and African Nova Scotian health force.
Dr. sarah naomi shaw MSW, EdD, MD, FCFP
A lifelong advocate for girls and women, Dr. Shaw is passionate about advancing women’s health across the lifespan. Currently, she serves as Chief Medical Officer of Lume Women + Health where she provides direct medical care in the areas of prevention, healthy ageing and hormonal health, as well as education and training to the clinical team and broader community. She spent over a decade as a clinical supervisor at the University of Toronto teaching medical students. Before co-founding Lume, she provided general family medicine care in downtown Toronto and, more recently, served as Chair of the Board of Directors at Taddle Creek Family Health Team.
Dr. Shaw’s career began with a foundation in social work, leading a community organization to improve the health of individuals involved in sex work in Nova Scotia. In addition to her medical degree, Dr. Shaw has a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University. Her psychology and social work backgrounds ground her firmly in a bio-psycho-social approach that allows for whole person care. She is a Menopause Specialty Certified Practitioner.
tara taylor - healthy tomorrow foundation
The Healthy Tomorrow Foundation is all about creating a happy and healthy tomorrow for all Nova Scotians through movement.
The Foundation offers many programs to get Nova Scotians moving and their movement ambassador, Tara Taylor, will join us at the Menopause Show to get us on our feet and engaged for the afternoon's activities.
To find more visit: Healthy Tomorrow Foundation
Dr. tanya tulipan MD, FRCPC Psychiatric Emergency Services
Dr. Tanya Tulipan is a Psychiatrist working at Nova Scotia Health and the IWK. She is also an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University.
She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario Medical School and completed her residency in Psychiatry at McMaster University. Her professional interests include Perinatal Mental Health, Women’s Mental Health and Emergency Psychiatry.
Dr. lisa white
Dr. Lisa White is a psychologist with a special interest in menopause, mental health and wellbeing. For over 30 years, Lisa has focused her work and studies on helping professions in numerous capacities - within community, correctional, hospital, and university settings.
She has also worked in private practice since 2017. Her therapeutic practice focuses on adults seeking individual therapy for a wide range of concerns. Her approach is trauma-informed with training in a variety of treatment modalities.
Over the past five years, she has developed a special interest in understanding the effects of the menopause transition and post-menopause experience on the mental health and wellbeing of women in mid-life. She has felt privileged to “walk beside” and support her clients during this sometimes challenging and also dynamic time of life. She is regularly inspired by the resilience and wisdom of the people she has worked with through the years.