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.
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 60 countries. We’ve provided more than 326,000 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.
60+ COUNTRIES
326,000+ SURGICAL AND DENTAL PROCEDURES
Canadian Leadership
Mark Climie-Elliott, CFRE
Chief Executive Officer
Ken Wilson, MD, FRCSC
Past Chair
Michael Bezuhly, MD
Chair of the Board
Lori Tymchyk
Treasurer
Christine Nakamura
Director
Jim Siti
Director
Vivek Panchepekesan, MD
Director
Darcy Huda
Secretary
Meet The Team
Patricia Vidov, CFRE
AVP, Community Engagement & Fundraising
Ginelle Alvaro
Communications Specialist
Diana Church
VP, Talent & Culture
Jake Chong
Database Coordinator
Rita D’Amico
Giving Officer
Leslie McCourt
Executive Assistant & Office Manager
Ahmad Nataj
Accountant
Marta Serdoncillo
Database Integrity Specialist
Kristy Rousseau, MBA, CFRE
VP, Philanthropy
Sharon MacPherson
AVP, Operations
Susan Soto
Senior Manager, Program Compliance and Reporting
Michael Gross
Smile Partner Program Specialist
Tamar Shostakovsky
Senior Manager, Direct Response
Kaitlin Waters
Talent & Culture Specialist
Julia Navarro
Donor Care Specialist
Paul Evered
Smile Concierge
Michael Williams
Community Engagement Specialist
Nathalie Punkkinen, CFRE
Senior Giving Officer
Paige Melvin
Philanthropy Associate
Candy Keillor
Community Engagement Specialist
Tenzin Dolker
Donor Care Associate
Tenley Soares, CFRE
Senior Giving Officer
Maria Martinez
Manager, Gratitude & Stewardship
Mary Pereira
Community Engagement Coordinator
New Team Member
Coming Soon
New Team Member
Coming Soon
New Team Member
Coming Soon
New Team Member
Coming Soon
Financial Overview
Program Investments FY22
- Surgical Programs 31%
- Comprehensive Care Centres 26%
- Local Medical Programs
including nutrition and other pre- and post-operative care programs 22% - Training & Education 21%
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
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.
