Erica Burton, RN, MPH, CGNC
Senior Policy Advisor, Nursing and Health Policy, International Council of Nurses (ICN)
Erica is a Registered Nurse and Certified Global Nurse Consultant with over 15 years of experience in public health, global health and nursing policy and is dedicated to developing and promoting evidence-based, ethical, people-centred global health policy, strategies and care.
Erica has served as the Senior Policy Advisor on ICN’s Nursing and Health Policy team since 2015. In this role, she has led and contributed to numerous critical pieces of work and initiatives spanning a wide range of issues including health workforce, climate and health, gender equality, NCDs, communicable disease, and education and worked closely with a variety of stakeholders to provide guidance on nursing and global health challenges. Erica has led ICN’s activities and delegation to the WHO’s World Health Assembly since 2016 and served as the lead in establishing ICN’s inaugural student and early career nurse body - The ICN Alliance of Student and Early Career Nurses.
Erica also works in a clinical capacity, providing primary patient-centred care to people living with and at risk of HIV at a specialty hospital in Toronto, Canada, with a strong focus on social justice, advocacy and harm reduction.
Her past work includes occupational health and as a Public Health Nurse in sexual and reproductive health and harm reduction. Erica holds a master’s in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Ankur Patel, BScN, RN
CNA Representative for the ICN Alliance of Student and Early Career Nurses (ICN SECN Alliance)
Communications Officer, ICN SECN Alliance
Ankur Patel resides on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Haisla Peoples, colonially known as Kitimat, British Columbia. As a newly graduated registered nurse, Ankur has led projects to advance the nursing profession from locally to globally, spanning professional practice, education, unionism, and planetary health. He previously held the role of board member of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) and served as the national student representative on the CNA Board of Directors. He was appointed as CNA’s representative to the International Council of Nurses, Alliance of Student and Early Career Nurses (ICN SECN Alliance) for the inaugural 2025-2027 term. On behalf of the CNA, he presented two interventions at the ICN Congress and has recently taken on the voluntary role of Communications Officer for the ICN SECN Alliance, where he supports work to increase SECN participation and influence in global health and nursing policy dialogue and inspire the future leaders of the nursing profession to address global health challenges and health for all.
Scarlett Montserrat Sanabria-Ramos, BHSc, BScN(c)
President, Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA)
Scarlett Montserrat Sanabria-Ramos, BHSc, BScN(c), is the President of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) and a nursing student in the University of Ottawa–Algonquin College Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. She previously completed an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences in French Immersion at the University of Ottawa.
Scarlett has been actively engaged in national nursing leadership and student advocacy. She previously served as the student representative on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and currently serves as the Student Representative with the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU). Through these roles, she works to ensure nursing students have a voice in national discussions on workforce sustainability, nursing education, and the future of health care in Canada.
Scarlett is passionate about advancing nursing student advocacy, promoting leadership development and mentorship, and strengthening the future of the nursing workforce. Through her work with CNSA, she advocates for sustainable access to nursing education, safe clinical placements, and stronger supports for the next generation of nurses as they transition into practice.
Ryan Criztoff Tandiama
BSN student at the University of the Fraser Valley
Director of Communications, Canadian Nursing Students Association
Student Representative on CNA Board of Directors
Ryan Criztoff Tandiama is a third-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing student at the University of the Fraser Valley in Chilliwack, British Columbia, residing on the traditional territories of the Stó:lō peoples, particularly the Sumas and Matsqui First Nations. Ryan is dedicated to strengthening Canada's health care system and ensuring nursing students' voices are heard at every level.
Ryan currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association as the Director of Communications, where he amplifies student voices, promotes engagement across nursing schools nationwide, and works to ensure support remains accessible to nursing students across Canada.
Locally, Ryan serves on the Board of Directors of the Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation, supporting hospitals and health care programs in the eastern Fraser Health region. He sits on the Equipment Committee and chairs the Youth Advisory Committee, where he mentors students into the world of health care fundraising and volunteerism. Ryan also serves as 2nd Vice-President of the Abbotsford Regional Hospital Auxiliary, fostering intergenerational collaboration and serving as a bridge between youth and longtime community members to strengthen health care advocacy and volunteerism.
He remains committed to advocating for a more accessible Canadian health care system and inspiring the next generation of health care professionals.