About Us

Operation Smile was founded in 1982 by Dr. William (Bill) P. Magee, Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife Kathleen (Kathy), a nurse and clinical social worker, after travelling to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children’s cleft lips and cleft palates.

Bill and Kathy Magee, Co-Founders, at the airport in Naga, Philippines

What they found was overwhelming. In Naga City, approximately 300 families arrived hoping their children would receive surgery, but the team could only treat 40 children. As they prepared to leave, the Magees made a promise they would return to help more children. They returned and helped approximately 100 more patients. Again, hundreds more still waited.

Today, Operation Smile is a global medical charity helping to improve the health and lives of children in more than 35 countries. We’ve provided more than 350,000 children and young adults born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial differences with free life-changing surgical procedures and dental care. We train doctors and local medical professionals, donate medical equipment and supplies and provide year-round medical treatments through a network of comprehensive care centres. Operation Smile Canada was established in 2011 and became a registered charity in 2012.

35+ COUNTRIES

350,000+ SURGICAL AND DENTAL PROCEDURES

Canadian Leadership

This is a picture of Doctor Michael Bezuhly

Michael Bezuhly,
MD, MSc, SM, FRCSC, FAAP

Plastic Surgeon and Board Chair

Ken Wilson

Ken Wilson, MD, FRCSC

Past Chair

Byron Gilchrist

Treasurer

Darcy Huda

Darcy Huda

Secretary

This is a photo of Christine Nakamura

Christine Nakamura

Director

Dr. Vivek Panchapakesan

Vivek Panchapakesan
BSc, MD, FRCSC, Plastic Surgeon

Director

Rick Mangat

Rick Mangat, PhD

Director

Jim Siti

Jim Siti

Director

Dr. Bill Magee

Dr. Bill Magee

Co-Founder

Mark Climie-Elliott

Mark Climie-Elliott

Chief Executive Officer

Meet The Team

Diana Church

Diana Church

VP, Talent & Culture

Kristy Rousseau, MBA, CFRE

VP, Philanthropy

Annabelle Rocha

Annabelle Rocha

VP, Finance & Program Compliance

this is a photo of Sharon MacPherson

Sharon MacPherson

VP, Marketing & Operations

Susan Soto

Susan Soto

Director, Program Compliance and Reporting

Tamar Shostakovsky

Tamar Shostakovsky

Director, Direct Response Marketing

Melanie Dekker

Melanie Dekker

Director, Philanthropy

Operation Smile Globe

Tenley Soares, CFRE, MFA-P™

Director, Philanthropy

this is a picture of Nathalie Punkkinen

Nathalie Punkkinen, CFRE

Director, Brand & Communications – Directrice, marque et communications

John Branton

Director, Corporate Philanthropy & Partnerships

Alex Morosovkiy

Alex Morosovskiy

Director, Database Management, Finance & Analytics

Leslie McCourt

Leslie McCourt

Executive Assistant & Office Manager

Ahmad Nataj

Ahmad Nataj

Finance Officer

Michael Gross

Michael Gross

Smile Partner Program Specialist

Jake Chong

Jake Chong

Database Integrity & IT Specialist

Marta Serdoncillo

Marta Serdoncillo

Database Integrity Specialist

Kaitlin Waters

Kaitlin Waters

Talent & Culture Specialist

Julia Navarro

Julia Navarro

Brand & Communications Specialist

Joseph Pires

Joseph Pires

Direct Marketing Coordinator

Michael Williams

Michael Williams

Community Engagement Specialist

headshot picture of Candy Keillor

Candy Keillor

Community Engagement Specialist

Phoebe Cheng

Phoebe Cheng

Corporate Philanthropy Specialist

this is a picture of Paige Melvin

Paige Melvin

Philanthropy Officer

Karley Staskus

Philanthropy Officer

Woman smiling at camera

Kayla LeBlanc

Philanthropy Officer

Tenzin Dolker

Tenzin Dolker

Donor Care Specialist

Valeria Contreras

Valeria Contreras

Donor Care Associate

Maha Saeed

Maha Saeed

Donor Care Associate

Toni Maggio

Administrative Specialist

Financial Overview

Program Investments Fiscal Year 2024

  • Surgical Programs 45%
  • Comprehensive Care Centres
    including nutrition, speech, dentistry and other pre- and post-operative care programs
    39%
  • Training & Education/Research 16%

Operation Smile Canada Foundation (OSCF) is a registered Canadian charity (Registration Number 84064 3605 RR0001).  Our first fiscal year ended June 30, 2013.  We comply with all of Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) annual reporting requirements for charities.

Audited Financial statements can be requested by email to [email protected]. All of our audited financial statements since we became a registered charity are available for viewing or downloading.

Our Impact

Impact Reports

We’re proud of our work and know you’re proud to support us. Being transparent and accountable to our donors, supporters and partners is important to us. Thank you for helping make this work possible.

Viewour online Impact Report
Downloadour most recent Impact Report

Smile Reports

Current, insightful, and filled with stories about the smiles you bring to the faces of patients and their families, our Smile Report partner newsletters are your window into the life-changing and life-saving work of Operation Smile.

Downloadour most recent Smile Report