Irene is a retired Registered Nurse with 40 years of experience in healthcare, including 13 years in leadership roles within the Waterloo region. Her connection to PCMH began 15 years ago when her teenage daughter was facing significant mental health challenges. When her daughter became a parent at 19, Irene and her husband stepped in to care for their granddaughter after a difficult and traumatic apprehension. Their granddaughter has since been at the heart of Irene’s journey into kinship caregiving—a path that revealed a lack of support for grandparents raising grandchildren. . Since retiring, Irene has focused on creating safe, supportive spaces for these “forgotten kin parents.” , while supporting her daughter's mental health journey as an adult. Her leadership experience in maternal, child, and paediatric care at Grand River Hospital and Cambridge Memorial Hospital has given her deep insight into both healthcare and family systems, which she now channels into advocacy and peer support.