Spirit of the Heartland Regional Advisory Council

Susan Giesbrecht is a retired teacher and counsellor with 33 years’ experience. Passionate about lifelong learning, Susan continues to pursue her academic interests by taking post-secondary psychology courses and working towards a master of counselling.

She enjoys helping with local boards such as the Slave Lake Homeless Coalition and the previous Health Advisory Council. Her dedication to education and mental wellness continues by delivering workshops in these areas to community groups. Susan is looking forward to bringing this wealth of experience to her role as regional advisory council chair. 

Francesca Ward is the mayor of Slave Lake and has served in this role since 2023.  A dedicated and experienced community leader, she brings a strong record of regional collaboration, governance and public service to the council.

 In addition to her mayoral duties, Francesca actively contributes to broader regional initiatives, currently serving with the Alberta North Central Alliance and previously as a member of the Tri-Council Health Committee. Her work reflects a commitment to strengthening rural healthcare access, fostering intermunicipal cooperation, and ensuring communities across the region are well-represented in health planning and decision-making. As Vice-Chair, Francesca is focused on collaborative leadership, practical solutions and advancing a responsive, sustainable healthcare system for the region.

Robin has been a councillor for the Municipal District of Opportunity for over 8 years. For the last 24 years, he has served as a Northland School Division trustee, in the chair, vice-chair and advisor roles, currently he is vice-chair. Robin has also volunteered for 30 years on the Pee Kis Kwe Tan “Lets Talk” Society, working with community-based mental health and addiction programs, currently as the vice-president.

Dr. Robin Laughlin retired a few years ago after 50 rewarding years in High Prairie as a general practitioner / family physician. He plans to devote as much time as needed to examine the problems facing health care in the province, especially the depletion of services facing rural medicine and specifically the loss of vital day-to-day care. Robin was local representative on the Alberta Medical Association and is aware of the needs of the local medical community, employees and most importantly, the patients. 

Ken Matthews has been involved in the High Prairie community since arriving in 1971. When several family members underwent major health issues, he started to take a real interest in the health care system. Working with Alberta’s northern and remote housing program, Ken has insights into health concerns in these areas. 

He has been the Big Lakes Council 5 reeve for the past 15 years and was chair of the Lesser Slave Lake Advisory Council for a number of years. Ken also served on the steering committee for the new High Prairie hospital and is currently the chair of the High Prairie and District Health Foundation.

Diane Therriault has lived on a grain farm in Northern Alberta all her life. She has always had an interest in health care, focused on the elderly and people with special needs. In recent years, Diane has been a caregiver to her elderly parents. She volunteered with AHS for 5 years on different committees.  Now, retired, Diane continues to enjoy community involvement. 

Therese Yacyshyn is the former deputy mayor and councillor for the Town of High Prairie. She has served on numerous boards including the Family and Community Support Services advisory board, the Health Attraction and Retention Committee and the Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework Committee. Therese believes in a healthy lifestyle having worked in the environment field for 35 years and is a big advocate with community groups on historical walking trail development and initiatives. She believes positive outdoor recreation and activities are important to healthy living and having elderly grandparents and relatives can play an important role in life. Therese promotes the importance of seniors' well-being such as aging in place, accessible accommodations, meaningful activities and providing for seniors’ needs and resources.