Our Team
Deep Experience,
Committed to your success
Tracy Barill
Tracy is SkillStat's Founder, Chairman, and Chief Learning Officer. He has a Bachelors of Science in Nursing and a Masters in Education from the University of Calgary and has been a critical care practitioner and educator for the past 26 years. Tracy's clinical experience spans intensive care, coronary care, emergency nursing, flight nursing and the community-based care of those with multiple disabilities. He has coordinated over 1500 ACLS and PALS courses since 1990, and teaches all of the courses SkillStat offers. Tracy is the author of the Six Second ECG Guidebook, and a co-author of The Management of Cardiovascular Emergencies. He designed and built SkillStat's Six Second ECG Simulator, ACLS STAT and Cardiac Trivia Tools as well as SkillStat's SEPSA, InTime and ECG Programs. Tracy lives in North Vancouver with his wife Janet where they have raised two sons. When he is not designing web-based applications or teaching, you can find him out hiking or long distance riding.
Michael East
Mike is an Advanced Care Paramedic with 25 years experience in prehospital healthcare with the last ten years focused on prehospital education. With his recent move to Vancouver Island, he currently focuses much of his time as a father and husband looking after his two young children. His passion for collaboration, communication and creativity in healthcare education keeps him involved at the national level with prehospital educators and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. When he is not reading up on recent research you can find him kayaking along the shores of Vancouver Island.
Angela Robson
Angie is a seasoned instructor, who enjoys facilitating ACLS, BLS and PALS sessions. Angie has a keen focus on demonstrating practical skills and providing up to-date information concerning ACLS and PALS best practices. Angie is an emergency nurse and a clinical nurse educator in a busy emergency department. In her off time, Angie is a keen on & off road motorcyclist, riding when and wherever able.
Crystal Sutton
Crystal has a passion for education and loves motivating and inspiring learning in others. She has always been drawn to emergency medicine and new and innovative research; and she comes to us with an honours BSc in both Kinesiology and Nursing. Crystal has been an emergency nurse for over 8 years and she's pleased to follow her love for teaching as a clinical nurse educator of a busy and challenging trauma centre. She enjoys teaching advanced courses on the side and is always growing professionally. Networking with amazing individuals in the healthcare industry is an added bonus of her profession! In her spare time you can find her adventuring through this breathtaking West Coast with her beautiful daughter.
Tania Johnston
Tania is a dually qualified ALS paramedic and registered nurse with 22 years of clinical experience. She was educated in her home province of Alberta where she attained her paramedic diploma at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Bachelor’s of Nursing at the University of Alberta, and Masters in Health Studies at Athabasca University. An instructor in ACLS, PALS, and ITLS since 1999, her employment background includes working as a paramedic for Edmonton EMS, teaching paramedicine at NAIT, as well as nursing in both emergency and on cruise ships. Tania also worked as a flight crewmember for STARS Air Ambulance where she was an educator and Medical Base Manager for 5 years. Most recently she spent 6 years living in Australia, teaching undergraduate paramedics at Charles Sturt University, until relocating to Vancouver with her husband in October 2016. Tania is currently employed as an emergency nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital and is looking forward to hiking and camping while exploring the beautiful west coast!
Joe Acker
Joe has been teaching ACLS, PALS, and ITLS courses since 1995 in Canada, Asia and the Middle East. Joe is an Advanced Care Paramedic and the Director of Patient Care Delivery for British Columbia Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) where he is responsible for ambulance operations for metro Vancouver, the Sea to Sky corridor, and the Sunshine Coast. Joe has more than 25 years experience as a paramedic, academic, researcher, and health service executive. He has worked as a paramedic in metro, urban, rural, and indigenous communities in both Canada and Australia, and spent 10 years as a critical care helicopter flight paramedic at STARS in Edmonton. Joe has held academic positions at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton and Charles Sturt University in Australia. Joe is committed to creating an engaging learning environment where best practices of resuscitation science can be applied to real-world situations.
Darin Abbey
Darin is the Director of the Centre for Interprofessional Clinical Simulation Learning at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. Previously, as an Emergency Department, Clinical Nurse Educator, Darin galvanized his career around a passion for excellence in resuscitation, and an ongoing commitment to assuring improved clinician and patient outcomes. Central to this work is the belief that in healthcare, communication is best viewed as a set of skills that can be enhanced through careful consideration and practice. Darin has been teaching emergency care since 1994 and in addition to facilitating courses he is also an instructor trainer.
Jim Bemister
Jim Bemister has almost thirty years of experience in emergency, respiratory and cardiac care. He has diplomas in Respiratory Therapy and Advanced Care Paramedic. His work settings have included pulmonary diagnostic testing and critical care in hospitals as well as EMS in both Alberta and BC during his varied career. As a clinical RT during the Covid-19 pandemic he has been on the sharp end of the battle to treat severe respiratory failure patients. The hard lessons he learned have shaped his focus on improving the agility of multidisciplinary teams. His passion is to teach with clarity and enthusiasm. When not at work Jim enjoys the majestic outdoors in the Fraser Valley.
Scott Mackiegan
Scott has been teaching ACLS since 2007, as well as working full-time in critical care and emergency nursing. His interest in teaching stems from a desire to remain current and informed of the developments in resuscitation science and to share that information in order to facilitate the best possible outcomes of arrest situations.
Jeff Kain
Jeff is an experienced instructor and instructor-trainer with 20 years experience in facilitating emergency healthcare education. As a Clinical Nurse Educator in the Cardiac Program at a Lower Mainland hospital, Jeff draws on his experience in Emergency, Cardiac and Critical Care to provide mentorship and support for staff. Jeff has worked with a variety of public and private clients providing training in First Aid, Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and a variety of custom, emergency healthcare courses. Whether it's coaching ER doctors through PALS or training the whole team at a private surgical center, Jeff's teaching style is the same; supportive, simple and most of all, fun.
Dr. Ross Berringer
Ross has over 35 years of experience working as an emergency physician in British Columbia and Ontario. He holds a Certificate of Special Competency in emergency medicine from the College of Family Practice and is a current diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Ross has served with the Heart and Stroke Foundation as a representative in the international development of emergency cardiovascular care guidelines via ILCOR (International Liaison Council on Resuscitation), particularly the guidelines that form the framework behind the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support course (ACLS). Ross has a long history devoted to quality emergency care in British Columbia. He is currently working as an emergency physician at St. Paul’s Hospital.
Michael Heinrich
Michael Heinrich is a Critical Care Paramedic and works primarily in this capacity with ACCESS Air Ambulance in the North West Territories. He currently resides in Squamish, British Columbia and has over 18 years of experience both as an Advanced and Primary Care Paramedic throughout Canada, in both rural and urban settings. Michael is a recipient of the Tema Conter Memorial Trust Award for his research and investigation towards Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among emergency service employees. He recently completed a Bachelor Degree in Allied Health Sciences (Hons.) at the University of Ontario and Institute of Technology, specializing in research, development, and interdisciplinary collaboration among health care workers. In 2015 Michael started teaching Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and CPR, focusing on providing a supportive and collaborative learning environment that facilitates skill development through understanding and hands-on experience. When he is not working or teaching, Michael spends much of his time enjoying kite-boarding, mountain biking and snowboarding.
Will Riordon
Will Riordon is an Advanced Care Paramedic having spent 20 years working in the City of Calgary and with the BCEHS ground ambulance services. He has been an instructor of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada courses for 15 years, namely ACLS, ACLS-EP and PALS. Will has focused his Paramedic practice primarily on direct patient care. He's taken on secondary roles as an instructor for BCEHS, and in Clinical Field Staff education, including mentoring and coaching new Advanced Care Paramedics into the Team Leadership role. "Working as an Advanced Care Paramedic in Vancouver provides us with an opportunity to be Team Leader in all patient engagements. This enables me to deliver a strong practical basis to complement the theory of the courses we deliver at SkillStat. I very much enjoy informing learners about the role of Paramedics in out-of-hospital care by presenting stories of patient care inspired by reality. As an instructor, I am keen to increase a learners enthusiasm and comfort for getting involved in resuscitation situations." Will is often out of cellular range paddling whitewater or ski touring when not inspiring his family members to excel in the nursing profession.
Tanya Hill
Tanya is an Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) from Alberta and has worked in the field since 1995. Originating in Edmonton where she graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology EMT-Paramedic (ACP) Program in 1999, she began her career with Edmonton EMS and surrounding rural areas. She then moved to Calgary where she worked as an ACP for 13 years, and eventually as a Field Trainer and Quality Assurance Officer, for Calgary EMS/Alberta Health Services. Prior to relocating to Victoria, she taught in the Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic program for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. She has been teaching ACLS and PALS for the past 6 years. When she is not working, Tanya loves to spend time in the outdoors hiking, mountain biking and sea kayaking. She also likes to head out of the country and travel to far off places as much as possible.
Michael Dare
Michael is a very experienced instructor, regularly facilitating ACLS, PALS, BLS, ECG and Procedural Sedation courses. Michael has also served often as an instructor trainer for ACLS and PALS. Michael is the author of the book Safe and Effective Procedural Sedation and Analgesia (SEPSA) and a co-creator of the SEPSA course. Michael did his bachelors of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary along with completing his advanced life support paramedic diploma. He has worked as a paramedic in Calgary, Kananaskis Country, and in Jasper National Park. He has extensive rotary and fixed wing air-medical transport experience. On returning to BC he became a registered nurse and has worked extensively in Level 1 trauma centres in ER, CCU, CSICU, and ICU. He has a long history in pursuing adrenalin oriented outdoor sports such as rock climbing, high altitude mountaineering, telemark skiing, sailing, kayaking, and mountain biking. He also has a love of flying.
Shane Barill
Shane is a Basic Life Support (BLS) Instructor with SkillStat. Having recently completed his Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at UBC Okanagan, Shane is passionate about learning and teaching in ways that make knowledge stick, particularly when it comes to emergency medicine. With that keen interest, Shane strives to transfer his passion for the Basic Life Support curriculum to each student. When Shane is not teaching he enjoys playing varsity rugby and hiking.
Sunny Johal
Sunny is an Emergency Physician practicing in the Metro-Vancouver area. He has experience working internationally at: London, UK's, level one trauma centre, London Air Ambulance, and as an IOC athlete medical doctor for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. He also teaches as an ACLS Instructor at Mt. Sinai Hospital's SimSinai Centre in Toronto. He has previously led the creation of a simulation education program at the University of Toronto's Family Medicine program at Mississauga Hospital. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, long distance running, and kayaking.
Tamara Young
Tamara is a critical care registered nurse who has a passion for teaching. This passion has led to roles working as a staff nurse in a variety of critical care departments, flight nursing in the Northwest Territories, and in the Centre for Interprofessional Clinical Simulation Learning in Victoria. Currently, Tamara works in Victoria at the Royal Jubilee Hospital ICU, CCU, and PACU. When she is not teaching or at the hospital, you can find Tamara out hiking or cycling and enjoying the beauty of Vancouver Island.
Ben McIntyre
Ben has been an Advanced Care Paramedic for the past 8 years and counting. He began his EMS career in 2009 working in Saskatoon. Ben works closely in the EMS community and with all levels of health care providers from first responders to physicians here in BC and back home in Saskatchewan. In his spare time he enjoys snowboarding, hockey and golf.
Kavi Singh
With over 25 years of experience, Kavi’s first resuscitations were in N. Quebec’s Nunavik & Eeyou Istchee James Bay regions. After over a decade of practice he returned to residency for his CCFP-EM to bridge rural-urban & First Nations emergency medical education. He works clinically and is also the Director of Emergency Medicine Preparedness & Risk Management in his health region. Kavi is passionate about optimizing acute care learning in a fun, safe, & systematic learning space. He has found an amazing team at SkillStat that shares these values! He incorporates performance under pressure (PUP) strategies using Human & Cognitive Factors analysis from other disciplines he participates in (whitewater kayaking, combat sports) as well as tactical medicine. Leisure time is outside in the mountains, on the water or the snow with his young family. He is currently working with colleagues on a system of Foundational Resusc to make acute care training more efficient.
Farah Warsi
Farah is a highly experienced Registered Nurse specializing in Emergency Medicine with over a decade of frontline experience. Her current role as a Clinical Nurse Educator in the Emergency Department and Level One Trauma Centre at St. Michael’s Hospital in Downtown, Toronto enables her passion for teaching and education using diverse modalities, including classroom theory, simulation, and hand-on clinical skills on the unit. Her academic journey includes earning a Master of Nursing degree with a specialization in Resuscitation Sciences from the University of Toronto in 2020. Farah is an accomplished instructor with the Heart & Stroke Foundation and the National Emergency Nurses Association (NENA) and teaches Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). Farah also holds an appointment as an Adjunct Lecturer with the University of Toronto. Beyond her professional endeavours, she enjoys travelling and exploring new destinations, dining out in new restaurants in the city (especially rooftops!), and cuddles with her beloved cat, Binky.
Judy Yang
Judy is an emergency and critical care RN who works in urban ED's in BC and remote Arctic communities. She earned her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree at McGill University and carries her research experience forward as a member of the National Emergency Nurses Association with a special interest in resuscitation science and youth mental health. In addition to teaching ACLS and PALS, she also holds an advanced provider certificate in International Trauma Life Support. On her days off, Judy enjoys scuba diving in tropical places, travelling around the world trying new food, doing hot yoga, and skiing in beautiful BC.
Michael Kazyss
Michael has had a long tenure in the service industry. While studying philosophy and economics at the University of Victoria. He has since worked for a high-end winery, an international college and a retreat centre, bringing his customer service and project management skills to program development. As a member of Toastmasters International since 2008 Michael enjoys mentoring and training others in the art of presentation mastery. Throughout his career, Michael has continued to expand and develop his keen interest and natural skills working with IT systems. As a super-user, he’s always eager to learn about new software and systems. Michael is committed to a high standard of service, authenticity, and development. When not working with SkillStat, Michael is spending time with his wife and son playing Dungeons and Dragons and exploring Vancouver Island.
Anthony Wallace
Anthony is an illustrator, graphic designer, animator and branding specialist with over 8 year’s experience. He is thrilled to be working with SkillStat to redefine medical healthcare learning. He has worked with a wide range of clients from all over the world, from the Jim Henson Co, to the Toronto Botanical Gardens, Otterbox to NFL Players. He has worked on picture books, boardgames, branding for YouTube channels and podcasts. Anthony has lived around the world and snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef, crossed the Tongariro in New Zealand and got married on a mountain. When not in the studio he is spending time with his wife and daughter or getting muddy as a rugby player.