Education That Serves a Purpose
My education isn't about titles — it's about the tools I've gained to help our community. Each degree and area of study has provided a specific lens through which I view the challenges facing Greater Sudbury, helping me to analyze complex problems, examine evidence, and develop practical solutions for our residents.
BSc — Science & Evidence
Evidence, data, scientific reasoning and environmental/public-health issues.
MSc — Infectious Disease & Health Sciences
Disease prevention, population health, sanitation, research and public-health decision-making.
DC — Health Care & Business
Regulated professional practice, patient care, business ownership, staffing, regulation and operating costs.
B.Ed. — Education & Communication
Understanding complex information and communicating decisions clearly to residents.
Doctoral Research — Research & Critical Analysis
My doctoral research focuses on applying research, critical analysis and evidence-based thinking to complex questions — questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, identifying weaknesses and developing conclusions that can be defended.
Different fields. One approach: measure what is happening, question whether the system makes sense, understand the evidence, fix the underlying problem and make decisions that can be defended.
My education is not simply a list of credentials. Combined with my business, professional and community experience, it gives me a broad set of tools that I believe can help me ask better questions and make better decisions for Greater Sudbury.
About Shawn Rossi
Committed to Ward 8. Dedicated to Greater Sudbury.
Dr. Shawn Rossi has dedicated his career to serving the people of Greater Sudbury through health care, education, research, and community leadership. As a lifelong resident with deep roots in our community, Shawn understands the opportunities and challenges facing Ward 8 and is committed to ensuring it remains a safe, vibrant, and welcoming place to live.
To My Fellow New Sudburians
I wanted to share a little about where I come from, what has shaped me, and why New Sudbury has always been such an important part of my life.
New Sudbury has been part of my life for 48 years. These are the streets I grew up on and the streets I rode my bike on as a kid. I've watched this community grow and change around me. I remember when the Royal Bank property on Lasalle was still a farmhouse and when Lasalle Court Mall was a drive-in theatre. Those aren't things I learned about New Sudbury — they're memories from growing up here.
When I left Sudbury to pursue my education, there was never really a question about where I wanted to come home to. For the past 20 years, I have built my professional life here, serving people in the community through my practice while raising my family and putting down even deeper roots in the city that raised me.
And while my education and professional experience are an important part of who I am, they're not the whole story. I enjoy snowmobiling, dirt biking, working with my hands, and spending more time than I'd probably like to admit in my garage fixing whatever has broken next.
A friend of mine jokes that I measure my workload by “piston count” — the more pistons you own, the more things you have to fix.
That's part of who I am too. I believe there is value in understanding things firsthand — whether that means repairing something in the garage, talking with the people doing the work on our roads, or asking questions at City Hall until we understand why something isn't working.
— Shawn Rossi
Candidate for Ward 8
Education & Professional Experience
Shawn is the owner and president of Absolute Health and Wellness, a multidisciplinary health clinic in New Sudbury. Fluently bilingual in English and French, Shawn attended French-language Catholic school and completed his university degrees in French.
Research & Innovation
Shawn is a researcher, innovator and the developer of PRESSO, an objective pain assessment technology designed to improve clinical decision-making and bring greater consistency and evidence to patient care.
His work with PRESSO has grown beyond research and development. Shawn is currently working on a $1.5-million funding initiative to advance the technology toward commercialization and establish manufacturing in Greater Sudbury, with the goal of developing innovative technology here at home while creating skilled employment and new economic opportunities for the community.
Throughout his career, Shawn's research has focused on healthcare, education, innovation and finding more efficient ways of doing things — improving outcomes while also looking for ways to reduce unnecessary costs and make systems work better.
He has also published peer-reviewed scientific research in pharmacology and antimicrobial therapy and continues to apply research and evidence to real-world problems.
This experience has shaped the way Shawn approaches challenges: understand the problem, examine the evidence, question how the existing system works, identify inefficiencies and develop practical solutions.
Shawn wants to bring that same approach to City Hall — using research, innovation and evidence to improve municipal services, find efficiencies, control costs and deliver better value for taxpayers.
Giving Back Means Getting Involved
Community involvement has always meant more to me than simply writing a cheque.
During one local food drive, my clients and I collected donations throughout the week. On Thursday, I had some time between patients, so I went shopping and purchased approximately $150 worth of food and supplies — $75 for the local food bank and $75 for the SPCA.
I picked everything up, delivered the donations to the Metro collection location, and then headed back to work.
What made the effort especially meaningful was that my clients were part of it too. It was a simple example of people coming together and doing what they could to help.
That is what giving back means to me: when you have an opportunity to help your community, you help.
More Than Writing a Cheque
Over the years, I've been fortunate to support local organizations and initiatives in different ways, including hands-on volunteering, fundraising and behind-the-scenes work. His volunteer work has also included serving on ski patrol.
Why I'm Running
ACCOUNTABILITY
I’m not running because I believe one person has all the answers. I’m running because I believe better decisions start with asking better questions, listening to the people who actually do the work, and being willing to challenge the way things have always been done.
My life has given me the opportunity to see problems from very different perspectives — as a healthcare professional, educator, researcher, business owner, community volunteer, and simply as someone who has called this community home for 48 years.
I want to bring those experiences to Sudbury. Whether we're talking about roads, development, public safety, municipal services or how taxpayers' money is spent, my approach will be the same: understand the problem, look at the evidence, listen to the people affected, and work toward practical solutions that make sense.
But good government also requires accountability and transparency. When we tell residents we're going to do something, I believe we should clearly document what we committed to, what is being done, when it is expected to happen, and what the results are. When plans change or something cannot be accomplished, residents deserve an explanation.
At the end of a four-year term, I believe every councillor should be prepared to give residents a REPORT CARD:
- What did I promise?
What did I accomplish?
What didn’t I accomplish?
What changed — and why?
I don’t expect everyone to agree with every idea I put forward. But you should always be able to see where I stand, what I’m working on, and whether I’m delivering on what I said I would do.
That is the standard I will hold myself to. And that is why I’m running for Ward 8.