About CAMSA
The Canadian Atlantic Medical Student Association (CAMSA)
was founded in September 2021 with the vision of uniting, facilitating collaboration among, and advocating for undergraduate Atlantic medical students, as well as with our peers across the nation.
The CAMSA Board of Directors is comprised of elected student representatives from each Atlantic medical school and is dedicated to representing the unique perspectives, needs, and concerns of Atlantic medical students on a regional and national scale.
The first Board of Directors was elected in 2022 and continue to be elected on an annual basis at the CAMSA Annual General Meeting!
Governance Structure
An overview of CAMSA! Our Governance Structure graphic encompasses our Board of Directors, Board Executive, Committees, Advisory & Liaison Members, CAMSA Ambassadors and General Members. Please see our Terms of Reference (ToR) for a description of each role. When navigating the governance structure, please start at the centre of the graphic and work outward!
The CAMSA Founding Team
The CAMSA was founded by eight medical students from across Atlantic Canada who collaborated to lay the groundwork of the organization.
Stephanie Roberts (she/her)
Class of 2023
Memorial University of Newfoundland
I was elected as the Atlantic Regional Director of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) in the Spring of 2021 which allowed me to learn about and advocate for the needs of Atlantic students.
A recurring theme in many of my conversations with student leaders has been a sense of regional separation and national underrepresentation. As a result of these discussions, I decided to found CAMSA, the Canadian Atlantic Medical Students Association, whose mission is to unite, represent, and advocate for all Atlantic medical students on a national and international scale.
Aaron Rainnie (he/him)
Class of 2022
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Atlantic Canada is a unique region that is often underrepresented at the national stage, and therefore I wanted to be involved in the creation of CAMSA, to help provide a voice for my colleagues. Having worked with various societies, I saw the importance of strong leadership and governance, and with the creation of CAMSA I believe medical students will have ample opportunity to become involved in issues unique to our region.
Madeline Tweel (she/her)
Class of 2024
Dalhousie Medicine Nova Scotia
I’m honoured to have played a part in the development of the CAMSA. Growing up in PEI and pursuing my studies in Nova Scotia, I felt passionate about bringing a uniting perspective to the development of this Association and couldn’t be more excited for its future!
Gizelle Francis (she/her)
Class of 2025
Dalhousie Medicine Nova Scotia
I chose to join the founding team of The CAMSA because I strongly believe in the power of advocacy and communication. My hope for this association is to empower Atlantic medical students to collaborate and strengthen their representation at the National level.
Camille Morais-Savoie (she/her)
Class of 2023
Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick
I joined the team that founded CAMSA to give a unified voice to all Atlantic medical students and to ensure that students on my campus felt included in the project. I wanted to be part of the movement that would bring students from across the Atlantic together around projects that they cared about.
Matthew MacLennan (he/him)
Class of 2024
Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick
I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the design and launch of the CAMSA. I firmly believe in creating a uniting body that can appropriately represent the unique needs experienced by Atlantic medical students. I’m looking forward to seeing this Association grow to enhance our medical school experiences!
Andrew Robart (he/him)
Class of 2023
Memorial University of Newfoundland
I joined the founding team of CAMSA as I felt there was a need to connect Atlantic medical students, provide further supports and advocacy on a regional and national level. Curriculum at each Atlantic Canadian medical school is relatively different with varying focuses, and I believe CAMSA will be a great resource and platform to allow students to learn from each other. I look forward to seeing the work CAMSA accomplishes over the next year, and how it impacts medical student satisfaction and physician retention.
R. Damilola Adekunle (she/her)
Class of 2024
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Originally from Nigeria, I moved to Newfoundland to complete my BSc. in Biology and now currently in the process of completing a masters in Neuroscience. As an immigrant to Canada, I am passionate about health disparities particularly as they relate to marginalized populations. I am also interested in equity, diversity, and inclusion, specifically in increasing admission rate of historically under-represented people in medicine and as result, I was interested in joining the founding CAMSA team.