Hon. Sylvia Jones
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Government of Ontario
Sylvia Jones serves as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon.
She is currently Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, where her focus is building a stronger health care system for all Ontarians.
Minister Jones previously served as Solicitor General from 2019-2022, where she championed public safety initiatives, including leading the country with a $307 million anti-human trafficking strategy and legislation, and passing Canada’s toughest animal protection legislation.
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Minister Jones has lived in Dufferin-Caledon for over 30 years with her husband, David.
Steph Ouellet
VP Strategic Partnerships, Middlesex Hospital Alliance
Steph Ouellet is the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the Middlesex Hospital Alliance. He is an experienced leader with over 20 years of experience in areas of strategic planning, project/change management, financial/HR operations, communications & social media, and governance. Through increasingly challenging leadership roles in financial services, healthcare, and information technology sectors, he has built a reputation of delivering results and building trust.
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Steph holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Honours in Management Information Systems from the University of Ottawa, and a Masters of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. He also holds the Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation from the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
Steph has also been involved in numerous volunteer/board activities, more recently as board chair of the London Regional Children’s Museum and a regional cabinet member of the Elgin-Middlesex United Way.
Diana Urajnik
Research Director, Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research, Laurentian University
Diana Urajnik received her PhD in Community Health, Health and Behavioural Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She is Director of the Centre for Northern and Rural Health Research (CRaNHR at Laurentian University); and Assistant Professor and Co-Chair of Social and Population Health, Human Sciences Division, at NOSM University.
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As Director of CRaNHR, Diana provides leadership for the Centre’s interdisciplinary health research, including CRaNHR’s Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) portfolio, as the northern partner under the Ontario SPOR Support Unit (OSSU). Diana also provides direction for Social and Population Health in the undergraduate medical education curriculum at NOSM U.
Sean Wachtel
Chief Public Health Officer, Nunavut
Dr. Sean Wachtel is the Chief Public Health Officer for the Territory of Nunavut. Originally from the UK, he trained first in Internal Medicine and Family Practice before serving five years in the Royal Air Force during the global War on Terror, deploying on several continents. After immigrating to Canada in 2009, he worked in rural BC for five years before retraining in Public Health and Preventive Medicine at UBC. Prior to appointment in Nunavut, Sean worked for the First Nations Health Authority and Interior Health in BC.
David Taylor
Senior Advisor, Queen’s – Weeneebayko Area Health Authority Partnership, Queen’s University Medical School
David Taylor is a general internist and clinician educator at Queen’s University. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Dean for the Queen’s Weeneebayko Partnership. In this role he is the Queen’s lead for the co-creation of a new Health Sciences Campus in Moosonee that envisions health professions education as community-based, interprofessional, and part of the broader continuum of education. David is of white, settler origin, and views himself as an ally in advancing education in Indigenous communities.
James Anderson
Family Health Team Manager, Dilico Anishinabek Family Care
James Anderson is currently the Family Health Team Manager at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care. At Dilico, he has been involved in leading the the primary care clinic, Indigenous midwifery program, and in partnership with the Rapid Access Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinic. James also serves as the Chair and one of the founding Board members of the Northwestern Ontario Chapter of the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL). When James isn’t at work, he is either teaching the occasional course at Lakehead University, cooking up for a storm, outside for exercise or playing trivia.
Simeon I. Kanev
Privacy Business Lead, Alliance for Healthier Communities
Simeon is the Privacy Officer and Business Lead at the Alliance for Healthier Communities, providing privacy, cyber security awareness, and risk management support to 107 member organizations including Community Health Centres (CHCs), Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs), Community Family Health Teams (CFHTs) and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics (NPLCs). Prior to joining the Alliance in June 2015, Simeon has held similar privacy-oriented roles in hospitals and CCACs.
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Since February 2022, he has also been supporting the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO) and its member agencies as a Privacy Lead.
Simeon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Archaeology and History from University of Veliko Turnovo (Bulgaria), Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Digital Enterprise Management from University of Toronto Mississauga, as well as a Master of Information degree from University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, with a specialization in Identity, Privacy and Security. He also holds a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Canada (CIPP/C), a Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) and a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP) designations. In late 2022, Simeon also acquired the IT-specific CompTIA A+ certification.
For the past 12 years, Simeon has specialized in healthcare privacy, advising a variety of stakeholders on all-things-privacy including privacy consultations, training, policy development and review, data sharing agreements, privacy-oriented research, etc. He has been recognized as a subject matter expert in the field and has presented at a number of conferences (e.g. IAPP Canadian Privacy Symposium, PHIPA Summit, Data Privacy Week, Cyber Security in Healthcare, Digital Health Canada, HIROC workshops, etc.) and has been a Board member for both IAPP Canada’ and PHIPA Summit’s Advisory Boards. Simeon has also been featured in Kate Dewhirst’s Trust Builders’ series in relation to his extensive work in healthcare privacy and how to do this on a tight budget.
Germaine Elliott
Executive Director, Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin
Germaine Trudeau-Elliott is Anishinaabe Kwe, of the fish clan from Serpent River First Nation. She is currently working for the Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle as the Executive Director of the Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin Indigenous Interprofessional Primary Care Team where she applies trauma informed practice in the delivery of culturally safe Indigenous primary health care. She has held this position since 2018. Prior to this, she worked for Enaahtig Healing Lodge as the manager for the Enaahtig Aboriginal Community Mental Health Program. She held that position for twelve years.
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She is a former member of the Joint Management Committee of the provincial Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy (1997-2002 and 2004-2006). From 2005 to 2007 she served as a member of the Hate Crimes Community Working Group, appointed by the Attorney General of Ontario.
Germaine chairs the Indigenous Health Circle of the Simcoe Muskoka region which is a responsibility she has undertaken since 2010. The Indigenous Health Circle is a collaborative body which drives health system change for Indigenous communities in the region. She is a current member of the Ontario Health (OH), Central Region, Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Group; the OH Central Region Health System Recovery and Transformation Table and the OH Central Region Structured Psychotherapy Implementation Table.
In 2018, Germaine graduated from the University of Toronto’s Master of Social Work Program with a specialization in Indigenous Trauma and Resiliency, where she is now interning as an instructor. Germaine is a mother of four and grandmother of nine
Leah Lalonde
Social Worker Psychotherapist, Addictions and Trauma Recovery Program Lead, Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin
Leah Lalonde, MSW-ITR, is a graduate of the Masters of Social Work in Indigenous Trauma and Resilience program at the University of Toronto and is a registered Social Worker / Psychotherapist, specializing in Indigenous Trauma Recovery. Additionally, Leah is a qualifying registrant of the Equusoma® Horse Human Trauma Recovery Certification program.
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As a member of the Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin Indigenous Interdisciplinary Primary Health Care Team, Leah has developed the agency’s land-based horse supported wellness program, an essential service to the Mamaway wholistic integrated care model. In addition to the horse supported wellness work, Leah is the lead clinician for the Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin Addictions Recovery Treatment program including community treatment, cultural connections, and inpatient addictions treatment.
Kassondra Stockman
MFS, CBCP, Emergency Preparedness Advisor, Halton Healthcare
Kassondra Stockman is the Emergency Preparedness Advisor at Halton Healthcare – an organization comprised of three community hospitals and numerous community-based services located in the growing communities of Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakville.
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She has worked in the field of Emergency Management since first beginning her career at the Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Upon her return to Canada in 2008, she held progressive roles in organizations of higher education and regional government. As she continued to develop her skills and knowledge in Emergency Management her focus changed to the area of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness
In 2013, Kassondra joined Halton Healthcare, during an exciting time of change for the organization. She was directly involved in Emergency Management planning related to the completion of three major capital redevelopment projects, including the construction of a 1.6 million square foot hospital in Oakville and a significant expansion at Milton District Hospital that effectively tripled the size of the hospital.
Kassondra is passionate about fire safety and a dedicated advocate of both personal and work preparedness. She has a Masters of Forensic Science from The George Washington University and is a DRI International Certified Business Continuity Professional.
Dr. Jonathan Fitzsimon
Medical Lead, Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre, Medical Lead, Renfrew County Integrated Virtual Care, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa Department of Family Medicine, Clinician Researcher, Institut du Savoir Montfort
Dr. Jonathan Fitzsimon graduated from Sheffield University Medical School (U.K.) in 2007. From 2009–2010 he worked as a volunteer physician in Oruro, Bolivia, before returning to the U.K. to complete the General Practice Specialty Training Program. He moved to Ontario in 2014 and started a family practice in Renfrew County.
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In 2020, Dr. Fitzsimon was appointed as Medical L ead of the Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre, Medical Lead of the Petawawa Integrated Virtual Care program and Assistant P rofessor at the University of Ottawa, Department of Family Medicine. He was previously Chief of Medicine at Arnprior Regional Health. Dr. Fitzsimon was the recipient of the OMA’s 2021 Glenn Sawyer Service Award.
Paul Heinrich
President & CEO, North Bay Regional Health Centre
Paul Heinrich has been proudly serving the North Bay Regional Health Centre as President and Chief Executive Officer for over ten years. Prior to this, he was President and CEO at Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland and Penetanguishene. He was formerly Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine while also serving as Advisor to the Chief Clinical Officer of the Calgary Health Region.
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He has also held management positions at the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Board, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Huntsville Hospital and, Muskoka-East Parry Sound Community Care Access Centre. He previously served as a director on the Canadian College of Health Leaders Board and has served on numerous corporate boards.
Mr. Heinrich holds his Master of Education (MEd) from Nipissing University, as well as, a Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation though the Canadian College of Health Leaders, a Master of Laws degree (LLM) from OsGoode Hall Law School of York University, a Chartered Director designation (C.Dir.) from McMaster University, a Chartered Professional Accountant, Certified Management Accountant designation (CPA, CMA), and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) (honours) from Nipissing University.
Kim Giroux
Patient/Partner Advisor, Alberta Health Services
After leaving a career in Oil and Gas, Kim has nurtured a passion for continuous improvement in health care. Kim is a recent graduate of the Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) program at the University of Calgary and currently works in the student support team for this program. She sits on two Strategic Clinical Networks for Alberta Health Services and engages in various committees and initiatives with both.
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Additionally, she sits on committees for the Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit (AbSPORU), including the Implementation Science Collaborative and the Re-Purposing the Ordering of ‘Routine’ Laboratory Testing in health care systems (RePORT) team. Kim has recently accepted a position on the Artificial Intelligence for Public Health (AI4PH) Community Advisory Board.
JackLynn Trifaux
Workplace Wellness Advisor, Inveniam Leadership Inc.
Passionate about human well being, JackLynn brings a diverse background of work/life experience to her focus on patient centred health care. A recent graduate of the Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) program at the University of Calgary, JackLynn currently volunteers as a Patient Advisor, North Zone, at Alberta Health Services and sits on 3 committees addressing various issues with patient experience. She brings a unique perspective to the patient experience within health care drawing on insights from early days in public mental health services, lived experience as patient herself, and a successful human systems career in Oil & Gas.
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JackLynn has benefited from continuous professional development including Masters in Education, workplace counsellor certification, change management certification and a CPHR designation. JackLynn works as a Workplace Wellness Advisor through Inveniam Leadership Inc.
Alethea Kewayosh
Director, Indigenous Cancer Care Unit, Clinical Institutes and Quality Programs, Director, Indigenous Health Equity and Coordination, Ontario Health
Alethea Kewayosh is the Director, Indigenous Cancer Control Unit and Indigenous Health Equity and Coordination at Ontario Health. Alethea has long been an advocate for the improved health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Ontario. She believes the best approach to working with Indigenous people is to be respectful of the diversity of the First Nation, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous peoples and their communities, knowledgeable of their governance and political protocols and considerate of the need to develop regular engagement and dialogue with each of the groups that lead to relationships based on trust and mutual respect.
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Alethea is Odawa and also has close family ties to the Pottawatomi and Chippewa Nations. She maintains a close affiliation with her home community of Walpole Island First Nation to visit family, relatives and to participate in community events.
Maria Mathews
Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Theme Leader, Canadian Health Force Network
Dr. Maria Mathews is an applied health services and policy researcher in the Department of Family Medicine at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. Dr. Mathews holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Primary Health Care and Health Equity. She leads a program of research on primary health care with interconnecting themes of the health workforce; the organization, integration, and delivery of care; and health care in rural communities.
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She is the President of The Justice Emmett Hall Memorial Foundation, a national charitable organization which works to advance the ideals of Justice Hall: equity, fairness, justice, and efficiency in Canada’s health care system.
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