Signy Novak’s dad used MAID in 2018 and this was the most profound experience of her life. During this process she realized there was minimal support available for family and friends supporting someone on the MAID journey and that inspired her to start MAID Family Support Society.
Signy is very proud to be a Registered Nurse for 35 years. She received her diploma at Vancouver General Hospital followed by her degree at UBC. Signy currently teaches Nursing at Vancouver Community College and considers it a privilege to be working with students and having the opportunity to share her MAID experience with them.
Signy is very passionate about providing families with lived-experience peer support, and she brings her own lived experience with MAID to her work on the board, keeping the needs of families at the forefront.

I do not intend to make therapeutic recommendations for medications that have not received regulatory approval (i.e. “off label” use of medications)
I have/had have an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with any for-profit or not-for-profit organizations.

Member of an advisory board or speakers’ bureau: I am a member of the MAID Family Support Society board as executive director

Farimah Shakeri Shemirani, BSW, MSW, RSW
Hospice/Palliative Care Social Worker | Bereavement Counselor.

With an academic foundation from the University of British Columbia and over 25 years of dedicated service, Farimah has been a pillar of compassionate, client-centered care in various healthcare settings, including residential, community, acute, and palliative care. She has held diverse roles, such as frontline, leadership, supervisory, and consultant positions, and contributed to the Ethics Committees at Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health until 2020.

An advocate for dignity and holistic support at the end-of- life, Farimah focuses on fostering trust and resilience in individuals and families during life’s most challenging transitions. Her expertise includes grief counseling, crisis intervention, cross-cultural support, mentoring professionals, and contributing to education, research, and program development.

Farimah joined Vancouver Coastal Health in 2016, after 16 years with Fraser Health, stepping into the role of Adult Protection Lead and later transitioning to the position of Hospice/Palliative Care Social Worker in 2019. Farimah exemplifies the transformative power of social work by identifying areas where gaps in end-of-life practices can evolve into opportunities for quality improvements in end-of-life practices to enhance patient and family care. Notably, she is one of the first social workers to develop and facilitate a MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) Loss Support Group on the North Shore.

Her areas of interest include bereavement standards, grief assessment, and bereavement following assisted death. Farimah's ongoing dedication to advancing the field of social work, particularly in end-of-life care, continues to make a profound impact on individuals and families during their most vulnerable times.

I do not have an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with any for-profit or not-for-profit organizations.
I do not intend to make therapeutic recommendations for medications that have not received regulatory approval (i.e. “off label” use of medications)