Honouring Service

and Welcoming New Leadership

Board of Directors updates and the release of our

2025–2026 Annual Impact Report

The Canadian Lymphedema Framework is pleased to share several important Board leadership updates as we continue building on a year of growth, collaboration, and national impact.

After many years of dedicated service and steady leadership, Dr. David Keast is stepping down from his role as Board Chair. David’s contributions to the CLF are difficult to overstate. As a founding member, long-serving Board leader, clinician, educator, researcher, and national advocate, he has helped shape the organization from its earliest days and has played a central role in advancing lymphedema awareness, education, research, and care across Canada.

We are deeply grateful for Dr. Keast’s vision, commitment, and generosity of time and expertise. We are also very pleased that David will continue to support the CLF as Past Chair, providing important continuity and guidance through this next stage of growth.

The Board is pleased to welcome Dr. Siba Haykal as the new Board Chair. Dr. Haykal brings exceptional clinical, academic, research, and leadership experience, along with a deep commitment to the CLF’s mission. We look forward to her leadership as the organization enters its next chapter.

We are also pleased to announce that Dr. Spencer Gibson has been appointed Vice-Chair. Spencer’s research leadership and longstanding commitment to advancing lymphedema knowledge and care will further strengthen the Board’s leadership team and support the CLF’s strategic priorities.

Welcoming New Board Members

The Canadian Lymphedema Framework is delighted to welcome Shirin Shallwani and Shanzey Ali

to its Board of Directors.

Shirin Shallwani, PhD, PT, CLT

Dr. Shirin Shallwani is a licensed physiotherapist and postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on understanding the rehabilitation needs of people living with advanced-stage cancers and developing tailored, evidence-based exercise rehabilitation strategies to better support patients in cancer care. She brings valuable clinical, research, and patient-centred rehabilitation expertise to the CLF Board.

Shanzey Ali, BSc

Shanzey is a medical student at Queen’s University and a passionate advocate for people living with lymphedema. Diagnosed with primary lymphedema as a child, she brings an important combination of lived experience, compassion, and a future clinician’s perspective to the CLF Board. Her experience navigating the health care system has shaped her commitment to patient-centred care, greater awareness, and better support for individuals and families affected by lymphedema.

To learn more about the CLF Board

of Directors, please visit our website:

As we mark the close of our 17th year of operation, which ended on March 31, 2026, the Canadian Lymphedema Framework is pleased to share our

2025–2026 Annual Impact Report.

This year marked another important chapter in our work to advance lymphedema awareness, education, research, advocacy, and equitable access to care across Canada. From hosting the largest International Lymphoedema Framework Conference to date, to expanding educational resources, strengthening partnerships, and continuing to raise awareness of the needs of Canadians living with lymphedema, the progress highlighted in this report reflects the power of shared commitment.

We are deeply grateful to our Board, staff, volunteers, sponsors, partners, health care professionals, researchers, patients, advocates, donors, and community members who make this work possible.

Thank you for continuing to support the CLF and our vision of better lymphedema care for all Canadians.

We could not do this work without you.

A different kind of gathering is coming to Halifax.

Save the date: May 13–15, 2027

Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Canadian Lymphedema Framework Assembly 2027: Canada Connects will mark a new chapter for the CLF and for the lymphedema community in Canada—one built around conversation, shared leadership, and the ideas that emerge when people with different experiences come together.

Unlike a traditional conference with a pre-set agenda and scheduled presentations, CLFA2027 will be designed as an Open Space Technology meeting: a participant-driven gathering where the people in the room help shape the conversations, priorities, and next steps in real time.

This means your voice matters from the very beginning.

• What conversations do we need to have?
• What challenges are ready to be tackled together?
• What possibilities can we imagine for the future of lymphedema care, research, education, advocacy, and support in Canada?

We invite you to share your ideas and register your interest in attending CLFA2027. Your feedback will help shape the planning ahead, and by registering your interest, you will receive updates as this new national gathering continues to take form.

More information about registration, travel and accommodations, sponsorship, and exhibition opportunities will be shared in late summer 2026.

Save the date — and help shape what comes next.

Your Support Makes This Work Possible

Everything we accomplish is made possible through the generosity of our community.

As we begin our 18th year, your donation helps the Canadian Lymphedema Framework continue advancing education, awareness, research, advocacy, and improved access to lymphedema care across Canada.

Every gift, large or small, helps build momentum toward better care and support for everyone affected by lymphedema.

Thank you for helping carry this work forward.

The Canadian Lymphedema Framework gratefully acknowledges the support of our industry sponsors. Their contributions help make our work possible and support education, awareness, and connection across the lymphedema community. We invite you to visit them online to learn more about their lymphedema products and services. Click any logo below to go directly to their website.

©2026 Canadian Lymphedema Framework | Website