Our Team

The Office of Faculty Development is part of the UBC Faculty of Medicine Dean’s Office. We support faculty through programs and curriculum in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. The distributed medical program sites and the Department of Family Practice have their own faculty development teams.

Leadership & Management:

Dr. Heather Buckley, MD, CCFP, FCFP, MHPE

Dr. Heather Buckley, MD, CCFP, FCFP, MHPE

Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine

Dr. Heather Buckley is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and a scholar at the Center for Health Education Scholarship (CHES). She graduated with her medical degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and completed her residency in Family Medicine at Western University. Her history of involvement in the Faculty of Medicine includes 20 years as a teacher and 10 years in a leadership position on the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program (VFMP) Faculty Development team.  In 2019, Dr. Buckley completed the Clinical Educator Fellowship Program at the UBC Center for Health Education Scholarship; during that time she also completed a Masters of Health Professions Education from Maastricht University. Her research interests are always expanding but she has a special interest in the area of relationships and social networks in faculty development.

As Associate Dean, Faculty Development, Dr. Buckley provides strategic leadership to ensure linkages exist to support an integrated province-wide faculty development program. She believes deeply in the importance of fostering positive and safe working and learning environments where support and recognition is provided for faculty and staff. She truly enjoys her work and attributes much of that to her own network of supportive, intelligent, kind, and inspiring colleagues.

heather.buckley@ubc.ca

Dr. Clarissa Wallace

Dr. Clarissa Wallace

Project Lead

Dr. Wallace received her MD from Queens’ University in 1983 and is currently a Clinical Associate Professor for the Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine as well as a Staff Physician / Endocrinologist for the Royal Columbian Hospital. She did her residency training in Internal Medicine in Saskatoon and an Endocrinology Fellowship and Diabetes Research in Edmonton.

Besides her Faculty Development role, she is the MEDD 412 course Co-Lead Undergraduate Medicine Year 1, Term 2, and student academic advisor year 3 -4. Her hobbies include learning and dog walking with amateur bird-watching.

clarissa.wallace@ubc.ca

Katherine Wisener

Katherine Wisener

Associate Director

Katherine earned her MA degree in the Human Development, Learning and Culture program from UBC’s Faculty of Education and has a background in health education, applied research, and community engagement. Her interests focus on how to best support adult and community learning in a variety of health contexts.

  katherine.w@ubc.ca

Marwan Taliani

Marwan Taliani

Program Manager

Marwan joined the Office of Faculty development in early 2023 bringing with him with ten years of leadership experience in medical education and advocacy. His work has spanned the corporate, academic, and non-profit sectors.

He is passionate about creating inclusive and accessible learning environments that empower both learners and educators to achieve their full potential. He accomplishes this by leveraging program management frameworks to develop and implement resources and programs for both learners and educators. He is a skilled communicator, creative problem-solver, and strategic thinker, with a talent for building and leading high-performing teams through a synergistic approach.

In his free time, Marwan enjoys the outdoors, photography, yoga, cooking, learning new languages, and keeping abreast of new technological advances. He is dedicated to giving back to his community so he actively volunteers his time to support missions that align with his values.

marwan.taliani@ubc.ca

Teacher Assessment:

Dajana Labas

Dajana Labas

Teacher Assessment Support Manager

Dajana completed her Bachelor of Arts in History from Simon Fraser University and has worked in private and public post-secondary education ever since. She has been with UBC FOM for almost a decade, half of which was spent coordinating the 3rd Year of the Undergraduate Medical Education Program. Dajana really enjoys supporting both teachers and learners while improving processes for the program.

 dajana.labas@ubc.ca

Kathryn Bedard

Kathryn Bedard

Teacher Assessment Support Analyst

Kathryn completed her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and English Literature from the University of British Columbia. Before starting her career at UBC, she worked in sales, administration, customer service, and non-profit. Kathryn believes in the importance of fostering relationships and communication in her role at the FOM.

  kathryn.bedard@ubc.ca

Diana Bedolla

Diana Bedolla

Teacher Assessment Coordinator

Diana is a dynamic science communicator with extensive knowledge of models and approaches to communicate science to diverse audiences. Over the course of five years, she has gained progressive experience in learning, planning, and training assessment to help scientists improve their ability to communicate with the public and decision-makers.

Diana holds a Bachelor of Earth Science from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, with a specialization in environmental science. She also holds a Master’s degree in Resources, Environment, and Sustainability from the University of British Columbia, where she studied science communication training effectiveness. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a strong interest in environmental law and policy, climate change governance, and philosophy of science. As a teaching assistant for the philosophy and ethics of science course, she gained valuable experience in the field. Her research interests include the social dimension of scientific knowledge, science communication, and science education.

 diana.bedolla@ubc.ca

Instructional Design:

Sharon Doucet

Sharon Doucet

Senior Instructional Designer

Sharon completed a B.A. in English Literature from the University of British Columbia and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Science and Technology studies at UBC. She has extensive experience designing and supporting online learning ecosystems.

 sharon.doucet@ubc.ca

Jennifer McKay

Jennifer McKay

Instructional Designer

Jennifer has been a member of the Office of Faculty Development since 2015. She is currently working on a Masters Degree in Educational Technology (MET) at the University of British Columbia, and previously completed a B.A in Socio-Cultural Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Toronto. She is a member of Nisga’a Nation, with mixed Chinese and settler ancestry. With a background in social sciences, visual arts and design, and project management, her diverse skills and interest in technology-enhanced environments support problem-solving in a variety of environments. She is passionate about creating pedagogically sound, well-designed learning resources for those teaching in medical education through inclusive instructional design.  

 jennifer.mckay@ubc.ca

David Sanders

David Sanders

Instructional Designer

Dave completed his BA at the University of British Columbia before going back later in life to do his MA in Learning and Technology at Royal Roads. An ESL teacher for 18 years, Dave has extensive experience not only in the classroom but also in developing and implementing curriculum. He has a long-standing love of technology and is interested in using and leveraging new developments and emerging research to enhance learning.

 david.sanders@ubc.ca

Administration:

Tejal Sharma

Tejal Sharma

Senior Administrative Coordinator to the Assistant Dean

Tejal has a Degree in Business Studies and Applied Computing. She has extensive experience in the fields of administration, secretarial and customer service. Tejal also provides support to the Office of Faculty Development.

 tejal.sharma@ubc.ca

Cristina Low

Cristina Low

Administrative Coordinator

Cristina completed her BBA with a Major in Marketing from Simon Fraser University. She is fluent in Cantonese, Spanish and Conversational Mandarin. Prior to starting her career at UBC, she has worked in the financial sector and has experience in sales, customer service and business administration.

 cristina.low@ubc.ca