Marilyn Barrett, Director

Marilyn Barrett is the Director of the Health and Wellness Centre at the University of Prince Edward Island. She formerly held the role of Director of Primary Care and Chronic Disease Prevention/Management for Health PEI in Prince Edward Island, a position she held from December 2010 to August 2018. Marilyn has held a number of management positions in Health PEI, including Manager of Implementation and Change Management for the CIS Project which implemented the Electronic Health Record in the health system in Prince Edward Island. In addition, she has held a Chief Nursing Officer position for community hospitals and continuing care, Director of Acute and Continuing Care (rural community hospital, home care, and long term care) and worked at the UPEI School of Nursing in positions of Clinical Instructor and Clinical Coordinator.  

Marilyn has a diploma in Nursing from the PEI School of Nursing (1987); holds a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of New Brunswick (1996) and a Master’s Degree in Nursing from Athabasca University (2009).

Marilyn has been a surveyor with Accreditation Canada since 2012 and her greatest strength as a surveyor is the diversity of her experience, particularly knowledge gained in the build and implementation of the electronic health record in Prince Edward Island hospitals.  

Marilyn is a past board of directors’ member of the Canadian Nurse's Protective Society (CNPS), is a past president with the Association of Registered Nurses of Prince Edward Island and has served as a board member of the Canadian Nurse's Association. She sits on the Granting Committee of the Community Foundation of Prince Edward Island, is the Secretary/Treasurer for the PEI Funeral Home and Professions Board, is past chair of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Atlantic Canada and is serving as a Patient on the Community Patient Advocacy Committee at CADTH (Canadian Agency for Drugs and Therapeutics for Health). Marilyn has recently joined the Board of Directors of Canadian Blood Services representing Atlantic Canada.

Dr. David Wong, Physician

Dr. David Wong is the Medical Director of the Provincial ADHD Program and is a retired pediatrician in Summerside. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong and received training in pediatrics and infectious diseases in the United States of America before coming to Prince Edward Island in 1986.

After seeing many children with ADHD, he decided to help adults with this condition after his retirement. Dr. Wong still practices part-time at the Summerside Medical Centre, seeing adults with ADHD. He attends the ADHD clinic at UPEI during the fall and winter semesters. He has written many columns on ADHD in the Guardian newspaper over the years. You can read these columns at www.askdrwong.ca to learn more about ADHD.

Dr. Wong and his wife live in Summerside. They have two adult sons and four grandchildren. 

Dr. Mitch Zelman, Physician

Dr. Mitch Zelman has practiced as a general Paediatrician for more than 30 years. He has worked on Canada’s East Coast (PEI) as well as the West Coast (Vancouver Island).

Throughout his career, Mitch has enjoyed a diverse Paediatric practice focusing on asthma and allergies, Public Health, and most recently primarily working with individuals with ADHD, autism and other neuro-diverse conditions.

Mitch grew up in Montreal, attended McGill Medical School and completed his Paediatric Residency at the IWK Hospital for Children in Halifax. He was honoured to be named the Canadian Paediatric Society Distinguished Community Paediatrician of the year in 2020.

Mitch enjoys an active lifestyle participating in activities such as paddle boarding, kayaking, running, hiking, swimming and yoga. Mitch is happiest near the ocean and holds a special place in his heart for PEI where he loves spending time with his family.

Dr. Brent Macdonald, Psychologist

A native Islander, Dr. Brent Macdonald is a registered psychologist in Alberta, BC, PEI, Nova Scotia, and the Northwest Territories, and is a certified teacher with over 25 years’ experience working with individuals with a variety of complex learning differences. Dr. Brent maintains consultative relationships with a variety of public, independent and charter schools across Canada. He is a sessional instructor in the Departments of Psychology, Continuing Education, and Community, Health & Education at Mount Royal University. He is also an adjunct assistant professor with the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Brent is a frequent guest on CBC Calgary and PEI, Global Television, Breakfast Television, CITY-TV, and CTV. He is currently the lead psychologist with his own practice, Macdonald Psychology Group with offices in Calgary and Charlottetown. He and his team provides counselling and assessment services, along with consultation services to educators and parents. Brent works extensively with high-performing individuals with a focus on overcoming perfectionism and enhancing mental toughness. In relation to mental toughness, Brent has recently published Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight: Mental Toughness for Everyone with Kendall-Hunt Publishing.

Dr. Brent divides his time between Calgary and PEI, where he lives in Belfast and enjoys all the Island has to offer, not the least being the fantastic food!

Cindy Parrill, Primary Health Care-Nurse Practitioner 

Cindy Parrill is a Primary Health Care-Nurse Practitioner (PHC-NP) who has been hired to assess and treat adults who have Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Cindy was born and raised in Newfoundland and Labrador and she is the second oldest of seven siblings. She has been working as a Registered Nurse since 1994 and has a PHC-NP since 2000, working in a variety of settings that have given her the knowledge and confidence to work autonomously in a collaborative practice. Her work in PHC has focused mainly on adults and the elderly. Most of her work has been in a rural setting and she has worked with a diverse population in rural NL, Saskatchewan, and PEI.

Cindy has a diploma of nursing from Western Memorial School of Nursing (1994); holds a Bachelor of Nursing from Athabasca University (2003); an NP certificate (2000) and a Master of Nursing from Memorial University of NL (2011). She is also a member of the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (CADDRA).

She has two married adult children and five grandchildren. She and her husband have decided to put down permanent roots in PEI so they can spend quality time with their daughter and her young family. She enjoys reading, walking, yoga, music and theatre and spending time with her family. She has recently had a cottage built at St. Peter’s Harbour and she is looking forward to making many wonderful memories in this beautiful province. 

Stephanie MacDonald, Nurse Practitioner 

Stephanie MacDonald is a Nurse Practitioner (NP) at the Provincial ADHD program as well as the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre. She was born and raised in Charlottetown, PEI. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at St. Francis Xavier University in 2008. She worked primarily in emergency as a Registered Nurse at the QEH in Charlottetown for almost 10 years and later did some remote nursing in northern Manitoba.   

She completed her Master of Nursing/Nurse Practitioner in 2019 from Dalhousie University and has been practicing as an NP in primary care in PEI since. Stephanie joined UPEI in 2021 and has been working in Summerside with Dr. Wong since the fall of 2021 providing ADHD care on a part time basis. She will now provide services at the provincial ADHD program.   

In her downtime she enjoys cooking, going to the beach, and spending time with friends and family.   

Stephanie is thrilled to become a member of the PEI provincial ADHD program and the Health and Wellness team at UPEI and looking forward to connecting with the students, faculty, staff, and families. 

Emily MacLeod, Registered Nurse

Emily MacLeod is a Registered Nurse at the Provincial ADHD program. She graduated from UPEI’s nursing program in 2021. She has previous nursing experience working on a medical unit in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Emily is excited to begin working in this new role to help individuals with ADHD develop skills and coping strategies to better manage their symptoms of ADHD. Emily grew up on Prince Edward Island and now lives with her husband, and her dog, Charlie. She enjoys hiking, travelling, baking, tennis, the beach, and spending time with friends and family. 

Rebekah Gough, Registered Nurse 

Rebekah Gough is a Registered Nurse who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UPEI in 2019. She has worked as a nurse in the ICU, ER, and medical surgical nursing units in PEI as well as in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. 

Rebekah joined the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre in 2022 as a part of the provincial ADHD program for adults on PEI. She is excited to partner with people with ADHD to explore the ways it affects their lives and help them find skills and coping strategies to better manage its symptoms and co-occurring conditions.  

Rebekah lives close to Charlottetown with her husband and son, and in her time off she enjoys biking, reading, being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family. 

Anna Smith, Occupational Therapist 

Anna Smith is an Occupational Therapist at the Provincial ADHD Program. She was raised in Summerside, PEI. She completed her Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at UPEI in 2018 and her Master of Health Sciences Occupational Therapy at Dalhousie in 2021. She moved to Ottawa, ON in 2021 to work at CVE Inc to focus on adult clients with complex mental health concerns, return to work services, and neurodivergent affirming OT Coaching. She continues to work with CVE Inc as a virtual contractor.

In 2024, Anna was very excited for the opportunity to return to PEI to work at the Provincial ADHD Program as an Occupational Therapist. When not at work, she enjoys deeply researching areas of interest to briefly try out new hobbies, caring for her plants, and spending time with loved ones and pets. Anna looks forward to collaborating with clients and colleagues at the ADHD program to support clients in meeting their personal goals.

Lacy Webster, Administrative Assistant 

Lacy Webster is an administrative assistant at the Provincial ADHD program. She grew up in Kinkora, PEI and now resides in Stratford with her son and partner.

She graduated from Holland College in 2007, where she studied Medical Support Services.  She has spent the last 17 years working as a Unit Coordinator in the Emergency Department, ICU, and Pediatrics, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Her experience in the health care field is a great addition to this program.

When she is not keeping up with her son’s hockey schedule, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, sports and movies.

Lacy looks forward to connecting with others here at the ADHD Program, and furthering her knowledge in this field.

Margaret Ann Hancock, Administrative Assistant 

Margaret Ann Hancock is an Administrative Assistant with the Provincial ADHD Program. She attended UPEI and later received her Medical Office Administration and Health Unit Coordinator diploma; during this time she also received her Life Skills Coach certification. She has worked for several years as a Unit Coordinator in Emergency and Acute care departments. Later she transitioned into Long Term Care where she worked for many years in finance and administration.

Margaret Ann has enjoyed her time spent working in all aspects of health care and looks forward to working with the Provincial ADHD program, both with clients and staff. She enjoys time spent with family, gardening, hiking, yoga, photography, and enjoying the beauty and nature of her lifelong Island home.

Khanh Pham, Administrative Assistant 

Khanh Pham is an Administrative Assistant at the Provincial ADHD program. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree of Business Administration from Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta in 2018 and relocated to beautiful Prince Edward Island in 2022. She has had various experiences in office administration and front-line customer service before she joined our team in September 2023. She looks forward to exploring more about the ADHD program and connecting with people.

She loves spending time with her husband and her dog and enjoys travelling, cooking, movies and boardgames.