About Us
Yukon Nurses Alliance
The YRNA founded the Yukon Nurses Alliance in August 2024, and the current board took over on October 21, 2024, to continue the work independently of the regulatory body. To ensure representation and advocacy for nurses by nurses across the territory.
Meet The Team
Sarah Harrison, BScN, RN, CCSNE
Chair
Sarah Harrison is a Registered Nurse, educator, and northern health leader with 17 years of experience across British Columbia, New Zealand, and the Yukon. She began her Yukon journey in 2016 on what was meant to be a two-month contract, and has been proudly rooted in the territory ever since. Sarah has built her career in pediatrics, critical care, nursing informatics, simulation, and clinical education, and currently serves as the Clinical Coordinator for the Practical Nursing program at Yukon University. She is a candidate for the Master of Health Leadership and Policy in Clinical Education at the University of British Columbia, deepening her expertise in nursing leadership, education, and system-level improvement. Sarah has served for six years on the Yukon Registered Nurses Association (YRNA) Complaints Committee, three years as President of the Copper Ridge Neighbourhood Association, and has contributed to multiple committees and boards in both British Columbia and New Zealand. She has a longstanding commitment to accountability, public protection, community development, and advancing the profession through strong leadership. When she’s not working or studying, she can be found exploring the outdoors with Khione, her spirited four-year-old Old Crow rescue dog, who accompanies her on runs, road trips, and loves a little forest parkour.
Vacant
Vice Chair
Bio
Tia Albers, BN, RN
Secretary
Tia is a Registered Nurse who graduated from the University of Lethbridge in December 2021, and started her career in rural Emergency departments across Alberta and BC. In 2023, she made the transition to the Yukon, initially working as a Primary Health Care Nurse across the Yukon and now working as a Critical Care Flight Nurse with Yukon EMS. She has also been a sessional instructor at YukonU. She holds a specialty certificate in Emergency Nursing from BCIT and a graduate certificate in Rural and Remote Nursing from the University of Calgary. She has partially finished her education certificates in Pediatric Emergency Nursing and Nursing Education. She is currently pursuing a Master of Nursing - Thesis from the University of Calgary with an interest in the accessibility of continuing education for rural and remote healthcare practitioners. She joined the YNA as a way to make direct change in the nursing landscape in the Yukon, recognizing the importance of nursing in the overall health of Yukoners. In her limited free time, she is also a member at large for the Canadian Association of Rural and Remote Nursing (CARRN), a lover of plants, the owner of two dogs (a 5-year-old northern Alberta mutt, Bailey, and a 1-year-old, deaf blue heeler, Tommy), a cat named Wallace, and a below average participator in many Yukon activities.
Dawn Lammer, BSc, BScN, RN
Treasurer
Dawn is a Registered Nurse who graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 2003. She has resided in the Yukon since 1991 and previously worked in the environmental field. Her nursing experience has been solely in the Yukon. She initally worked as a new nursing graduate in Carcross Health Centre, has over 20 years at Whitehorse General Hospital in the pediatrics, medical and surgical units. She was a contract investigator for YRNA's Discipline Committee. Dawn also taught at Yukon College/Yukon University for 6 years. She is currently working on the Rapid Response Team at Whitehorse Home Care and will begin course work to earn her nursing specialization in wounds, ostomy and continence (NSWOCC) in the new year. Dawn joined YNA to develop an organization for all nurses working in the Yukon, across different designations and work places, to strengthen nursing and healthcare in the territory.
Jessie Rushant, LPN
LPN Representative
Jessie, a born and raised Yukoner, came to nursing mid life and mid way through raising her two now adult children. She graduated as a Licensed Practical Nurse from Yukon College’s LPN program in 2012 and has spent the majority of her nursing career caring for Yukoners throughout Whitehorse General Hospital ever since. She is currently permanently employed in the surgical services clinics, assisting the territory’s surgeons with their minor procedures, including casting and splinting which utilizes her most recent achievement, an Advanced Specialty in Orthopedics. Over the years Jessie has also worked at Whitehorse Correctional Centre, sat on numerous boards and committees and advocated for the territory’s LPNs as secretary for the now defunct Yukon LPN Association. Jessie sees the Yukon Nurses Alliance’s unification of all of the territory’s nurse designations as an inspiring step in creating a stronger voice for the nursing profession and the territory’s patients
April Goulin, BScN, RN
RN Representative
April Goulin is a Registered Nurse who graduated from the University of Windsor in 2019 and started her nursing career in a rural Ontario emergency department. She then went on to work as a Primary Healthcare Nurse in Yukon communities, and an Immunization Practice Consultant and manager with the Yukon Immunization Program. April more recently worked as the National Immunization Program Manager for the Department of National Defence. April is a Master of Nursing candidate with Athabasca University and is completing her thesis research, which is focused on nursing practice in rural, remote and isolated areas of Yukon and BC. April is committed to health research, as she is engaged with the Understanding Yukoners’ Attitudes Towards Vaccines research project and rural nursing education research with Athabasca University. April joined YNA to advance the interests of the nursing profession within the territory and to support its long-term development.
Laura Gray-Ellis, MN-PHCNP, BScN, NP
NP Representative
Laura is a Nurse Practitioner at Constellation Health Center, working in Primary Care. Her nursing background is rooted in remote community practice, beginning in Churchill, MB, in 2009, where she spent five years serving the community. She then continued her work in northern nursing for the next decade in Cambridge Bay, NU. She completed her Master's in nursing, Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner in 2021 at Western University. She relocated to Whitehorse in 2022 and began working with the team at Constellation HC. She joined the Yukon Nurses Alliance, recognizing the growing need for strong nursing advocacy in the territory. She looks forward to supporting YNA’s growth and collaborating with nurses across Yukon.
Neysa Laskiewicz, MN-PHCNP, BScN, NP
NP Representative
Neysa is a Nurse Practitioner working in primary care at Constellation Health Centre. She began her nursing career in 2011 as a new graduate Community Health Nurse in northern Ontario, serving several fly-in communities until 2017. She then returned to the University of Toronto to complete her Master of Nursing and Nurse Practitioner certification. As a new graduate NP, Neysa relocated to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, where she practiced for three years before moving to Whitehorse in 2023 to continue her commitment to northern nursing. In addition to her primary care work, she has a strong interest in regenerative aesthetic medicine and is the owner of Alpine Glow Wellness. Neysa joined the Yukon Nurses Alliance to help advocate for progress within the territory and to support the advancement of nursing practice in the North.
Ellen Trainor, MN-FNP, BScN, ADN, MS, BSc, NP
NP Representative
Ellen is a Nurse Practitioner working in primary care at Constellation Health Center, here in Whitehorse. Her background is in acute care nursing, specifically in ICU and emergency nursing. She spent a number of years working as a nurse in Alaska before returning to Canada to work in the Maritime provinces and to do some locum stints in Yellowknife, NWT. Ellen completed her Master's in Nursing, Family-All Ages Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Prince Edward Island. Ellen relocated to Whitehorse in 2024 and joined the multidisciplinary team at Constellation. She joined the Yukon Nurses Alliance to help strengthen awareness and advocacy for all nursing roles in our territory-especially the vital contributions of nurse practitioners. She hopes our work will support the recognition, collaboration, and meaningful growth/change needed for the future of nursing in the Yukon. Outside of work, you’ll find Ellen on the mountain bike & ski trails or hitting a mountain summit.
Vacant
RPN Representative
Bio
Vacant
Director
Bio
Vacant
Director
Bio
Nominations Committee:
Developing the process for applications, identifying, assessing, and recommending qualified candidates for board membership and key leadership positions. Responsible for oversight of Board succession planning. Responsible for the orientation of new Board members.
Policy caucus committees (3: one for NP, one for RN, and one for LPN):
As thought leaders and the place where member input is received, these committees support discussion and develop policy recommendations to the Board for consideration in advocacy.
Membership and communications committee:
Recruitment, retention, engagement.
Education and events committee:
Educational offerings developed by YNA or referenced, conference, and development of a list of desired offerings.
*Additional committees to be formed on an ad hoc basis, committees will be formed in order of priority and resources available.
Our goal is to build a 12-person board that reflects the breadth of nursing across the Yukon. We are prioritizing representation from LPNs, RNs, NPs, and RPNs, while also ensuring voices from a wide range of practice areas and communities are included. This means intentionally seeking board members with Indigenous heritage and varied experience in acute care, community nursing, public health, education, and continuing care, as well as from outside Whitehorse (Watson Lake, Dawson City, and all Yukon communities).
We recognize that nurses often wear many hats and bring experience from multiple areas. When applying to join the board, please highlight all of your backgrounds, roles, and perspectives. Every piece helps us build a stronger, more representative Alliance.
Our
Logo
Created by Lianne Charlie
The logo symbolizes connection, care, and the dynamic context in which nurses work. The central imagery of two hands reflects the idea shared in conversation about the meaningful space created between hands, representing care, understanding, and the transfer of knowledge. The yellow sleeved hands represent the nurse, while the fish behind them symbolize the strength, expertise, and community that support the nurse, such as the alliance itself. The single hand with the purple sleeve represents the patient, family, or individual receiving care.
Coloured lines flowing through the hands and arms evoke movement, connection, and the exchange of understanding between people. In contrast, the black lines illustrate systemic and sociocultural barriers that influence both the patient experience and the broader healthcare environment. The red circle represents the larger systemic context in which nurses practice.
The white separated background sections reflect the diversity of peoples, communities, and experiences nurses encounter across the Yukon and beyond. The surrounding dots symbolize growth, transformation, and the alliance’s ongoing effort to understand nursing at individual, community, and systemic levels. Overall, the logo is meant to feel alive, capturing the fluid and evolving nature of the YNA’s work and the relationships at its centre.