Shahnawaz has been working as a Nurse Practitioner in multiple mental health and addictions settings in his career. This includes working in several psychiatry clinics at Niagara Health and within the concurrent disorders program at St. Joseph’s healthcare Hamilton. He has embraced leadership opportunities including chairing the Nurse Practitioner advisory committee and clinical leadership for an interdisciplinary community team. Currently, he is working at the Canadian Mental Health Association in Peel in the RAAM (Rapid access addiction medicine) clinic. Shahnawaz has completed a Master’s degree in Nursing in the Adult Nurse Practitioner field at University of Toronto in 2015, receiving a Schulich Award for academic achievement. He is passionate about mental health and addictions care and an advocate for the Nurse Practitioner role.