Our Team
The Bowen Island Community Health Centre features a multi-disciplinary team-based environment where family physicians and nurse practitioners work alongside registered nurses, community support coordinators, social workers and other health professionals to support the physical health, mental health and wellbeing of patients.
DIRECTORS
SUE McIntyre
executive director
As a long-time Bowen Island resident and former board member of the Bowen Island Health Centre Foundation, Sue McIntyre is honoured to serve as Executive Director of the Bowen Island Community Health Centre. This role represents a meaningful convergence of her personal and professional passions—supporting community well-being through accessible, integrated health services.
Sue is an experienced leader with more than 18 years working in management consulting in both the public and private sectors to help them improve how they work and deliver services. She has led many large, complex projects and is known for bringing people together, solving problems and creating practical solutions that make a real difference. Sue has worked closely with executive teams to improve day-to-day operations, support staff and design systems that help organizations run more smoothly and effectively.
Outside of work, Sue enjoys dancing at the local Kelly Konno Studio, playing pickleball at the BICS gym, hiking the island trails (and beyond), learning Spanish and spending time with family and friends.
Sue is deeply inspired by the collaborative spirit that brought the Health Centre to life and is excited to build on this strong foundation. She looks forward to working closely with staff, partners and community members to strengthen care on the island—ensuring it remains people-centred, inclusive and reflective of the values we hold as a community.
Dr. Lindsay Downey (she/her)
Family physician
medical director
Dr. Downey is typically available Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
Dr. Lindsay Downey is a family physician with over 15 years of experience providing comprehensive, patient-centred care in collaborative, team-based primary care settings. She holds an MD and Certification in Family Medicine (CCFP) and is committed to delivering high-quality care across the lifespan.
Dr. Downey’s clinical experience includes chronic disease management, preventive care, urgent and complex care, inpatient hospital medicine, and obstetrical care including labour and delivery. She has also been actively involved in medical education, teaching Family Medicine residents at McMaster University.
She brings a strong collaborative approach to health care delivery and is dedicated to supporting patients and families in achieving their health and wellness goals through personalized care.
FAMILY PHYSICIANS AND NURSE PRACTITONERS
Laura Fitzgerald (she/her)
Family Nurse Practitioner
NP Laura is typically available Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
Laura graduated with her Master’s in Nursing from UBC’s family nurse practitioner program in 2016. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Laura practiced as a registered nurse for eight years, working in acute medicine at Lions Gate Hospital and following that working at BC Children’s Hospital. She has worked in both rural and urban Indigenous primary care settings as a family nurse practitioner prior to starting her role at the Bowen Island Community Health Centre in 2023.
Within her role as a nurse practitioner Laura functions as an autonomous primary care provider managing both episodic and chronic health challenges. She is able to order and interpret bloodwork and imaging, write prescriptions, and send referrals to specialists as needed. She has a keen interest in preventative care with an aim to minimize the burden of chronic disease and optimize wellness. She believes strongly in a collaborative, patient-centered approach, utilizing evidence-based practice to guide clinical care. She is grateful to call Bowen Island home and lives here with her husband, two children and chocolate lab, Bruno. In her free time she enjoys hiking, skiing, and watching for whales.
Dr. Lydia Gibson-Boyce (she/her)
Family physician
Dr. Gibson-Boyce is typically available Wednesday to Friday
Lydia is originally from the UK, where she graduated from Kings College London in 2016. She completed her Rural General Practice residency in the Scottish Highlands, during which she gained a diploma from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and undertook additional training in psychiatry. Now living on Bowen Island with her family, she enjoys sewing, music, and exploring this beautiful island that she gets to call home.
Dr. Mike Norbury (he/him)
Family physician
Dr. Norbury is typically available Monday and Thursday
Mike completed his Family Medicine training in Scotland in 2008, followed by roles as a GP Academic Fellow and a GP Health Inequality Fellow, during which he also earned a Master’s in Public Health Policy and Health Inequalities. He practiced in large urban primary care clinics in Glasgow and Edinburgh, serving socio-economically disadvantaged populations, and later held medical leadership roles, including supporting after-hours primary care for nearly a million residents.
In 2015, Mike relocated to Vancouver, joining Raven Song Community Health Centre as a Family Physician, caring for medically and socially complex patients. Alongside his clinical practice, he took on leadership positions with Vancouver Coastal Health, and since 2021 has served as Senior Medical Director for Vancouver Community Health Services. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in UBC’s Department of Family Practice.
Mike recently moved to Bowen Island with his husband, Ryan, and their Aussie-Doodle, Murphy, and is delighted to call the island home.
Dr. Stephanie Shorter (she/her)
family physician
Dr. Shorter is typically available Tuesday to Friday
Stephanie is a graduate of the University of Ottawa’s Medical School and did her Family Medicine residency at Queen’s University before beginning her practice as a Family Physician at Docs on the Bay in Horseshoe Bay at the end of 2018. A Bowen Island resident, she has always dreamed of ultimately becoming a part of the health care team on Bowen Island.
REGISTERED NURSES
Cynthia (she/her)
Registered Nurse
Cynthia graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and originally from Algonquin College with Basic Nursing and Critical Care Nursing Diplomas in Ottawa Ontario.
She has worked in intensive care in Ottawa, Victoria and then St Paul’s Hospital CSICU, cath lab and outpatient clinics, with a cardiology focus for the majority of her career. The past 12 years have been with the Interventional Cardiology Research group through UBC and the Transcather Heart Valve Clinic at St Paul’s Hospital. Research has brought chronic disease management and palliative care focus to nursing into perspective after a long career in critical care nursing.
As a Bowen resident of 11 years she is thrilled to be joining the Bowen Island Community Health Centre and ending the commute to downtown Vancouver. Cynthia enjoys sailing, skiing and travelling, and loves living on Bowen with her partner Mike and mini golden doodle Cilantro.
Hailey (she/her)
Registered Nurse, Certified Diabetes Educator
Hailey graduated from BCIT with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She has worked in both acute care, in Vancouver General Hospital’s Acute Spinal Unit, and the community, in a Diabetes Centre. Hailey has her designation as a Certified Diabetes Educator. Hailey is thrilled to be joining the Bowen Island Community Health Centre, having recently moved over from Vancouver with her two young children and husband, Mat. Together as a family, they enjoy beach combing, paddle boarding, and hiking the many trails on island.
kailyn (she/her)
Registered Nurse
Kailyn graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a Bachelor’s in Nursing. She has spent the last twelve years working all over British Columbia. She has worked in emergency medicine, remote northern nursing stations and most recently, primary care.
Kailyn is familiar with island living, growing up on an island in Nova Scotia. Bowen feels familiar, like a home away from home.
Outside of finishing her Master’s program studies, she loves watching women’s sports with her partner and baking delicious treats.
REGISTERED CLINICAL COUNSELLORS
Christina (she/her)
Registered clinical counsellor
Christina is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (BCACC) who supports youth (12+), parents, families, and adults navigating a range of life challenges. With a background in community-based mental health, Christina has supported individuals and families through anxiety, depression, grief and loss, life transitions, chronic stress, and family conflict. She works from the belief that while we can’t always change our life circumstances, we can learn to meet our experiences with compassion and curiosity, reconnecting with our strengths and capacity for healing.
Christina draws on Emotion Focused Family Therapy, which helps encourage emotional exploration and expression to facilitate relational change. She also draws on mindfulness, somatic strategies and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, to support clients in deepening awareness of their emotions and experience, fostering greater flexibility, self-understanding, and self-compassion. Therapy with Christina is always collaborative, creating an honest space where clients can reconnect with their voice, strength, and capacity to keep going.
Her work is grounded in a trauma-informed and social justice lens. She recognizes that mental health does not exist in a vacuum, and social context shapes how we cope, survive, and connect. At the heart of her approach is the understanding that we are relational beings, and that meaningful change happens through connection. Outside the therapy room, she can be found hiking in the Bowen forests and attending various community gatherings. She also is a mother of three and brings a lived understanding of the joy, complexity, and vulnerability of family life on Bowen Island, which continues to shape how she shows up in her work.
isabel (she/her)
Registered clinical counsellor
Isabel is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (BCACC) who works with youth (12+) and adult clients for in-person sessions. Isabel believe that counselling is a collaborative process between therapist and client with the goal of learning new thinking and behaviour patterns to cope with life’s challenges. Her approach is grounded in the belief that mental and physical health are deeply connected, and she is committed to supporting whole person well-being as part of the Bowen Island Community Health Centre team.
Isabel is a certified CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) therapist and use evidence-based tools to manage diagnosed mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. Isabel also works with clients navigating life transitions and stressors such as health changes, career shifts, relationship changes, workplace stress and other significant life events.
In her work together with clients, Isabel aims to create a safe, respectful, and empowering space where one can explore patterns that may feel “stuck”, develop practical coping tools, and build greater confidence and clarity. Isabel’s goal is to help people move toward a life that feels more balanced, meaningful, and aligned with their own values.
After a long career as a first responder and many years commuting off-island, Isabel is happy to be spending more time on Bowen to savour its endless hiking trails and beaches, and talking with members of our community!
Isabel’s main modalities are:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, CACBT Certified
Exposure and Response Prevention
Inference Based CBT for OCD (I-CBT)
CBT for Insomnia (CBT-i)
Katie (she/her)
Registered clinical counsellor
Katie is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who works with adults experiencing concerns such as anxiety, depression, OCD, phobias, PTSD, addictions, and BPD. She helps clients understand their emotions, navigate life transitions, and break out of patterns that feel overwhelming. Katie completed her pre-doctoral residency at the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where she received specialized training in PTSD, gambling disorder, and cancer and end-of-life care. She has worked in both hospital and private practice settings with clients facing a wide range of mental health challenges. Katie uses evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and tailors therapy to each person’s goals and lived experience.
Katie holds an MA in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia and is in the final year of her PhD. Her research focuses on men’s mental health, with an emphasis on masculinity, identity, and anger. She aims to create a warm and collaborative space where clients can build insight, strengthen coping skills, and feel more connected to themselves and others. Outside of work, Katie enjoys quilting, sailing, birding, singing, and walking her chihuahuas, Stew and Lou.
REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER
vARSHA (she/her)
REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER
Varsha Gill is a Registered Social Worker who recently completed her Master of Social Work. She brings a background in community-based practice, supporting individuals and families across the lifespan in a range of settings. Varsha has a particular interest in preventative approaches that build resilience and support well-being early, and is committed to working within a collaborative, team-based care environment to address both health needs and the social factors that influence them.
Her practice is relational, compassionate, and grounded in meeting people where they are. Varsha draws on trauma-informed, culturally safe, and equity-focused approaches, and integrates creative and nature-based elements into her work. She has experience supporting clients through mental health challenges, grief, life transitions, and social isolation, both through one-on-one support and group programming.
Outside of her work, Varsha enjoys tending her natural dye garden, spending time outdoors on a bike or canoe, and working on textile projects such as knitting, sewing, and natural dyeing.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT COORDINATORS
Colleen (SHE/HER)
Community support coordinator
Colleen O’Neil is a long-time Bowen Island resident and tireless community volunteer and organizer. Most recently she worked as a health navigator at the Caring Circle Resource Centre, a society she co-founded in 2014. She was trained and worked for many years as a Registered Nurse.
Matt (He/him)
Community support coordinator
Matt spent many years working in Vancouver with at-risk, street-involved, and homeless youth. He also worked in Galway, Ireland, delivering community youth programming, and with Vancouver Coastal Health working with clients to better access addiction services. He enjoys walking the trails on-island and playing soccer with BIFC. He lives with his wife and two cats.
Megan (SHe/her)
Community support coordinator
Prior to her role with the Health Centre, Megan worked in participatory action health research in Vancouver, community development in Kitimat and most recently as a coordinator for the Bowen Island Literacy Task Group. She has a Masters in Public Health from SFU with a concentration in the social inequities of health and access to care. Megan loves living on Bowen Island with her husband and three children.
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Margit
Office Manager
Gail, MOA
Heather, MOA
Janice, MOA
Lily, MOA
Sara, Bookeeper
Susan, Bookkeeper
Leila, Financial Controller