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 ,MSc, SM, FRCSC, FAAP
Plastic Surgeon and Board Chair

Lori Tymchyk
Treasurer

Christine Nakamura
Director

Jim Siti
Director

Vivek Panchapakesan, MD
Director

Darcy Huda
Secretary
Meet The Team

Diana Church
VP, Talent & Culture

Kristy Rousseau, MBA, CFRE
VP, Philanthropy

Annabelle Rocha
VP, Finance & Program Compliance

Sharon MacPherson
VP, Marketing & Operations

Susan Soto
Director, Program Compliance and Reporting

Tamar Shostakovsky
Director, Direct Response Marketing

Melanie Dekker
Director, Philanthropy

Tenley Soares, CFRE, MFA-P™
Director, Philanthropy

Nathalie Punkkinen, CFRE
Director, Brand & Communications – Directrice, marque et communications

Rita D’Amico
Giving Officer

Leslie McCourt
Executive Assistant & Office Manager

Ahmad Nataj
Finance Officer

Michael Gross
Smile Partner Program Specialist

Jake Chong
Database Integrity & IT Coordinator

Marta Serdoncillo
Database Integrity Specialist

Tanisha Jain
Talent & Culture Associate

Kaitlin Waters
Talent & Culture Specialist

Julia Navarro
Brand & Communications Specialist

Joseph Pires
Direct Marketing Coordinator

Candy Keillor
Community Engagement Specialist

Michael Williams
Community Engagement Specialist

Mary Pereira
Community Engagement Coordinator

Paige Melvin
Philanthropy Officer

Tenzin Dolker
Donor Care Associate

Valeria Contreras
Donor Care Associate

Maha Saeed
Donor Care Associate

Phoebe Cheng
Philanthropy Associate

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.
