Dr. Danya Fox, Endocrinologist

Danya Fox is a pediatric endocrinologist at BC Children’s Hospital where she works in the Gender Clinic as part of a multi-disciplinary team. She completed her pediatrics residency and pediatric endocrinology fellowship at BC Children’s Hospital, as well as a Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. She first began working with transgender and gender diverse youth in 2015 during her fellowship, during which time she trained under Dr. Daniel Metzger.

Robyn Lalani, Social Worker

Robyn Lalani is a social worker at BC Children’s Hospital in the Gender Clinic. After graduating from The University of Western Ontario, with a BA in Sociology, Robyn relocated to the west coast and completed her BSW at the University of Victoria.  She then went on to complete a Master of Social Work from Dalhousie University. In 2007, Robyn began working at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals; for the past two years she has worked in the Gender Clinic, supporting youth who are gender diverse, and their families. Robyn is also a Certified Coach and has a private coaching practice. 

Mabel Tan, Nurse Clinician

Mabel Tan is a nurse clinician at BC Children's Hospital’s Endocrine and Gender clinic. She received her Bachelor of Nursing degree from the University of British Columbia and completed her Master of Nursing degree in advance practice nursing at the University of Victoria. She also is the first nurse to receive the designation of Advance Practice- Pediatric Endocrine Nurse. She has been in her role for 20 years providing teaching and support to families and children/youth that are gender diverse and families and children/youth with endocrine conditions.

Trans Care BC leadership will provide an update on the status of out of province surgical access for B.C. patients and answer questions from providers.

‎Lauren is the Nurse Educator at Trans Care BC, where she helps develop clinical education and resources for care providers. She is particularly interested in updating clinical resources and guidelines to include considerations for gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapy. Lauren is responsible for the Sexual Health Screening Guidelines in Trans Care BC's Primary Care Toolkit, which provide screening recommendations that are based on an individual's anatomy and hormone status, instead of gender.

Andrea Szewchuk is a family physician working on Unceded Coast Salish Territory in Vancouver BC.  Their areas of focus within primary care include transgender health, HIV primary care, and addictions medicine. They are also an organizer with the Catherine White Holman Wellness Centre which is a free, low barrier holistic wellness centre for transgender and gender expansive people.

Dr. Kelly Mattheis (he/him) is a General Practitioner working in Vancouver Coastal Health’s Trans Specialty Care program operating out of Three Bridges Community Health Centre in downtown Vancouver.  Dr. Mattheis has been caring for trans and gender diverse people since 2006 and has been an approved surgical assessor in BC since 2013.  He also holds a medical leadership role within VCH as the Medical Coordinator for Trans Specialty Care since 2016.   Dr. Mattheis is passionate about educating providers to increase the capacity for access to gender affirming care within our health care system. 

J. Matsui De Roo is a third generation Japanese Canadian, mixed race, queer, trans and nonbinary settler, living and working on the unceded ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. Matsui is a registered clinical counsellor and clinical supervisor who offers anti-oppression based education, supervision and guidance for mental health, medical and front line workers with an area of focus in Two-Spirit, trans, non binary and gender diverse wellness. Areas of specialization include resilience and healing from trauma; honouring and centering people with intersectional identities; gender affirming sexual health and wellness; supporting individuals living with chronic pain and disability; and helping health care practitioners navigate living and working in small communities.

Dr. Dan Metzger is a Pediatric Endocrinologist at the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, and a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Metzger and his colleagues at BCCH and in the community have been seeing and treating trans and gender-questioning youth since 1998.

Sharmeen Mazaheri is a family physician with her own practice since 2013 in Courtenay BC on Vancouver Island. As of 2015 she began providing consultations for youth and adults who identify as trans or gender non-conforming. She provides hormone readiness assessments, surgical planning visits and ongoing hormone management including puberty blockers for youth. She is also a consultant for the RACE line. Her mentors include Dr Knudson, Dr Townsend and Dr Metzger.

After completing her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2013 at UBC, Nicole pursued additional training at the University of Ottawa.  She completed a Fellowship in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology in June 2014.  She also added a Health Care Education Scholars Program Diploma from the Academy for Innovation in Medical Education to her list of accomplishments.

She has joined the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology as a Clinical Assistant Professor, and the medical staff at BC Women's Hospital, BC Children's Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital.  Her adult general obstetrics and gynecology referral practice is based at the Diamond Health Care Centre.

‎Dr. Karina Zeidler is a family physician in Vancouver. She started caring for transgender and gender diverse patients in 2012 as a resident volunteering at the Catherine White Holman Wellness Centre. She has been in practice since 2014 and the majority of the patients in her practice are transgender or gender diverse, spanning the ages of 4 to 68. In addition to providing primary care, she is also involved in all aspects of gender affirming care including hormone initiation and management, surgical planning, and pre and post operative care. She is a member of the BC Trans Care Group and regularly attends conferences and educational workshops related to gender health. 

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