Board of Directors

Jo-Anne Poirier, Chair

Jo-Anne Poirier joined VON Canada in 2014 as President and Chief Executive Officer. From 2008 until 2014, Jo-Anne was Chief Executive Officer of the Ottawa Community Housing Corporation. Under her leadership, Ottawa Community Housing received several awards for excellence including the 2011 Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award’s Non-Profit Organization of the Year. Jo-Anne was previously Vice-President, Resource Development and Chief Executive Officer of the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign for United Way Ottawa, First Vice-President, Business Development for MBNA Canada Bank, and Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services with the City of Gloucester. She has worked for more than 35 years in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Jo-Anne is also actively involved in the community and on several Boards of Directors. She was Second Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of CHEO until September 2016 and is continuing on the Board of CHEO, Vice-Chair of the City of Ottawa Board of Health and is a member of the Calian Board of Directors. She was a founding board member of the Board of Directors of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), 2005-2010. Jo-Anne has received several awards for her work in the community, including the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the 2012 Dirigeante de l'année, Secteur Communautaire (2012 CEO of the year, Non-Profit sector) Award from the Regroupement des gens d'affaires de la capitale nationale.

Jim Armour, Vice-Chair

Jim Armour is Managing Partner at Summa Strategies, a public affairs and communications firm located in Ottawa. He brings to this position an extensive knowledge of politics, media relations, communications, advocacy, and advertising.

Prior to joining Summa, Jim served as Director of Communications and Marketing for the Canadian Medical Association where he played a key role in their efforts to improve access, reduce wait times and address Canada’s doctor shortage.

Jim worked on Parliament Hill from 1994 to 2000 and from 2002 to 2005. He was Communications Director for two Leaders of the Official Opposition and helped brand the launch of both the Canadian Alliance and the Conservative Party of Canada. This interest in marketing strategy and tactics was furthered by the two years he spent with one of Atlantic Canada’s top advertising agencies.

Originally from St. John’s Newfoundland, Jim has a BA (Hons) from McGill and a MA in Newfoundland History from Memorial University. He also earned his APR accreditation from the Canadian Public Relations Society and has a CAAP designation from the Institute of Communication Agencies.

Outside of the office, Jim chairs the Ottawa Convention Centre and serves on the boards of GREO Evidence Insights and Eating Disorders Nova Scotia. He also sits on the editorial board of the international Journal of Communication in Health care.

Filipe Dinis, Treasurer

Filipe Dinis is Chief Operating Officer at the Bank of Canada. As COO, he is responsible for overseeing the Bank’s strategic planning, corporate functions and operations including bank note production.

Mr. Dinis has had a distinguished career in public service. Before joining the Bank, Mr. Dinis served in the federal Privy Council Office, where he was Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet and provided strategic advice and analysis to the Clerk of the Privy Council on Business Transformation and Public Service Renewal. He also served as Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Public Service. Prior to that position, he was Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Commissioner at the Canada Revenue Agency. 

Mr. Dinis holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. Mr. Dinis is also a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Debra Armstrong

Debra Armstrong, a lawyer by training, is the Chief Executive Officer of Skate Canada. Armstrong joined the Skate Canada executive team in January 2016 as the Chief Operating Officer and quickly transitioned to the Chief Executive Officer role in November 2016.

Throughout her career, Debra has focused her legal and business acumen on contributing to the growth of leading national and international private sector and not-for-profit institutions. Prior to joining Skate Canada, she served as Chief Executive Officer of MBNA Canada Bank and then Senior Vice President at Toronto Dominion Bank following TD's acquisition of MBNA. Debra has developed considerable experience in business transformations over the course of her career.
A committed community leader, she has strong governance experience. Armstrong is a co-chair of the Winter Sport Caucus and serves on the Audit, Finance and Risk Management Committee of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Armstrong is a past member of the Board of Governors at Carleton University where she also Chaired its Audit and Finance Committee. Other past directorships include the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health, Volleyball Canada, Health Standards Organization, and Rogers Centre Ottawa.

Geneviève Chabot

Geneviève Chabot is a Special Legal Counsel at the Supreme Court of Canada, where she advises the Judges on complex legal questions raised in the appeals process to Canada’s apex court. She joined the Supreme Court of Canada in January 2024 after completing a two-year term as a Justice of the High Court of Belize. Appointed in the context of a Rule of Law project led by the Commonwealth Secretariat, she sat in the civil division where she presided over, and rendered decisions in civil and family law matters. She also chaired Belize’s Child Justice Steering Committee.

A human rights law expert, Geneviève was the Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission from 2017 to 2021. From 2016 to 2017, she was the Deputy Chair of the Yukon Human Rights Commission.

Geneviève began her career practicing civil litigation, both in the private and public sector. From 2011 to 2013, she was an associate in the litigation department of a prominent national law firm. From 2013 to 2017, she worked in the Yukon Regional Office of the Department of Justice Canada, where she notably represented the Government of Canada in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (Yukon hearings) and the Independent Assessment Process for Former Students of Indian Residential Schools.

Very involved in her community, Geneviève has held a number of leadership positions, including President of the Canadian Bar Association (Yukon Branch), member of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Board of Directors, and member of the boards of directors of Mines Action Canada, the Yukon Legal Services Society, the Yukon Public Legal Education Association, and the Yukon Public Library. In 2018-2019, Geneviève was an Action Canada Fellow, co-authoring a report assessing solutions for food security in Canada’s North.

Fluent in French and English, Geneviève holds a B.A. in Psychology from Laval University, a combined LL.L./J.D. degree from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School. She is called to the Law Society of Ontario, the New York Bar, and was a member of the Law Society of Yukon from 2013-2017. In 2023, she became a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Annie Chartrand

Annie Chartrand is Dean of Education, Collège La Cité, overseeing the School of Administration, Hospitality and Tourism and the Emergency and Judicial Services Institute. Annie has an extensive background in the education sector, beginning her career as a teacher. With a Master’s of Science in Education, she has held progressive leadership roles with several post-secondary institutions including the University of Ottawa and Collège La Cité.

Annie also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Collège La Cité and has been an active member in the community, including supporting many CHEO events along with her family. Annie brings a strong patient and family perspective to CHEO’s Board.

Louis Doyle

Louis Doyle served as a Parent Representative on the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre Board from 2015 to 2016, bringing with him 20 years of experience in various fields, including policy and programming. Currently he works as a ministerial liaison with FedNor, an Innovation, Sciences and Economic Development Canada program that is working with community partners to achieve job creation and economic growth in Northern Ontario.

Justin Ferrabee

Justin Ferrabee is an experienced entrepreneur, having co-founded several businesses, including Fieldless Farms (which grows produce indoors in Ontario) and Ollie Quinn (an in-store and online glasses/sunglasses retailer). He is also a transformational leader having driven challenging, large scale change in dynamic, complex, multi-stakeholder environments across geographies and cultures, including his previous role as Chief Operating Officer at Payments Canada.

Justin is a leading expert on large-scale organizational transformation with over 25 years of experience in the field, as both an executive and a consultant. He has worked with complex and sophisticated global companies (e.g. British Telecom, Unilever, Philips) and has been involved in many advanced and challenging public sector transformations, working across the political, executive and operational levels in federal, regional and municipal governments. Previously, Justin was the President and Managing Partner of TotemHill Consulting, an international management consulting firm focused exclusively on large-scale transformation projects. He also held vice-president and senior vice-president positions with CapGemini and Calian Technologies.

Justin’s family, including children Lincoln and Levi, have been strongly supported by CHEO. Lincoln, who was born with cerebral palsy, has been a CHEO patient since birth and was also a student at CHEO’s school.

Karen Green

January 2025: CHEO is deeply saddened by the loss of Karen Green, a cherished member of our Board of Directors since 2020. From Tyendinaga First Nation, Karen championed the rights of Indigenous people, especially women and children, and made an immeasurable impact on our community. With the CHEO board, she chaired our strategy and connected care committee and co-led our strategy renewal launched last spring. Her tireless efforts and leadership also extended to her work as co-chair of CHEO's equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigeneity (EDII) taskforce that paved the way for us to establish our I-IDEAS Framework. Karen was an example of humble leadership as an active member of CHEO’s Indigenous Circle, mentoring Indigenous staff and non-Indigenous allies alike.

Karen's contributions extended beyond her professional achievements. She was a beacon of hope, a source of strength for those who knew her, and she inspired all of us. Her commitment to justice and human rights was evident in all her work and every role she took on. A lawyer by profession, she contributed nationally through numerous leadership positions at the Department of Justice, as CEO at the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and as the main writer and advisor for the women’s chapter of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Report. She made an equally valuable impact at the local level. She served as director on numerous boards and built bridges between many communities through her amazing work as Relationship Coordinator for the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition, a valued partner organization to CHEO.

As we remember Karen, we celebrate her life and the profound impact she had on all of us. She so generously shared her perspectives and wisdom with us for which we are grateful. Her legacy will live on through the countless lives she touched and the positive changes she affected. In her honour, CHEO deepens its commitment to embrace a strength-based approach towards engaging respectfully with, and recognizing the distinct rights of, Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We will work tirelessly, as Karen did, to support their well-being and provide appropriate, culturally aware and excellent health-care services to Indigenous children and youth. Karen will be deeply missed by the entire CHEO family.

Heidi Hauver

Heidi is a strategic people-oriented leader who partners with companies as a Chief People Officer. She offers executive guidance, consultation, and mentorship to Executive Teams and HR professionals throughout their career trajectories.

With over two decades of experience across diverse industries, such as technology and non-profit sectors, Heidi is committed to revolutionizing the Human Resources (HR) function and showcasing its strategic business significance. Since 2007, she has established an HR consultancy, created HR departments from the ground up for three companies, and served as the inaugural HR Executive for three companies. Heidi's dynamic leadership and unwavering dedication to innovation have earned her numerous awards, including: the 2022 WBN Businesswomen of the Year Award for Community Impact, the 2020 Alumni of the Year Award (Business) from Algonquin College, the inaugural 2018 Leadership Agency Award for Woman of Distinction, a 2017 Top 25 HR Professional recognition, the 2012 Ottawa Business Journal/Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Forty Under 40 Award, and the 2012 CATA Information Technology Strategic HR Leadership Award.

Heidi is a Certified Human Resources Executive, a Chartered Professional in Human Resources, a Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional, and a Certified Coach Practitioner. As a devoted volunteer and community advocate, she supports various organizations, including Algonquin College, Code Youth, Hire Immigrants Ottawa, Women in Communications & Technology, Women's Business Network, Women In Leadership Foundation, and CHEO.

Seema Nagpal

Seema Nagpal (Ph.D.) is an applied epidemiologist with broad experience as an executive leader of scientific operations. She has expertise in population health, epidemiology, and pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis on interpretation of science into policy and practice.

Dr. Nagpal joined the Canadian Cardiovascular Society in 2022 as the Chief Science Officer. She leads the team in working towards their mission to advance heart health for all. Previously she was the Vice President, Science and Policy at Diabetes Canada. Seema has worked closely with researchers and clinicians, promoted evidence-based public policy, programs and information development, identified and leveraged partnerships and worked closely with the collaborating teams. She has built her reputation as a strong and effective leader by collaborating with governments, health care professionals, partnering organizations and patients to drive impactful change within the health system.

Seema practiced as a hospital pharmacist, and then earned a M.Sc. Community Health and Epidemiology (Dalhousie University) and a Ph.D. in population health (University of Ottawa). Prior to her work at Diabetes Canada, Seema worked at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology and Health (CADTH) and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).

Dr. Nagpal has served on the board of a local youth sports club, volunteer committees for the Canadian Public Health Association and the Canadian Pharmacists Association, and CHEO’s Quality and Safety Committee.

Nancy Naylor

Nancy has held several leadership roles in the Ontario public service, including Deputy Minister, and led major projects in funding, labour relations, infrastructure, information technology and public policy.

Ms. Naylor holds degrees from McMaster University and Carleton University and has served on a number of other boards, including the Public Policy Forum.

Cliff Youdale

As the Chief Development Officer at Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), Cliff Youdale P. Eng., and his staff are responsible for the well-being of OCH’s $4 Billion + in building assets as well as the development of over 2,000 additional homes. As a professional engineer with over 30 years of experience in both the public and private sector construction industry, Cliff brings a pragmatic and action-oriented approach to this position.

He has forged a strategic approach to asset management through creation of innovative strategies and partnerships for new development, in addition to the maintenance and repair of OCH’s ageing stock. These efforts have established Ottawa Community Housing as a recognized leader in Canada in the creation and preservation of affordable housing.

Benoit Laberge

Chair of the Board of the CHEO School Authority

As a member of the CHEO Board of Directors, Benoit Laberge brings years of experience in education and administration. He has been in the field of education for 43 years, as both a special education teacher as well as Director of student services in both Quebec and Ontario. He is presently teaching special education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa.

Benoit has been a board member of the CHEO School Authority since 2014. In this role, he is responsible, along with fellow board members, for supervising the operation of the School Program.

Benoit has worked on provincial programs related to children with special needs, including Programme AVIS, provincial Individual Education Plan (IEP), and a program related to social abilities. He is presently a consultant in the field of education, administration, and special education. Benoit has also developed and coordinated the Community services program for a French School Board.

Julie St-Pierre
University of Ottawa Representative

Julie St-Pierre received her PhD from the University of Cambridge (UK) and she pursued postdoctoral work at the University of Cambridge, Harvard Medical School (USA), and Université de Montréal. From 2008-2017, she was Assistant and Associate Professor at McGill University. Currently, she is a Full Professor and Associate Vice-President (Research Support and Infrastructure) at the University of Ottawa. Her research program focuses on understanding the connections between metabolism and cancer. During the last decade, her team contributed to uncover the role of the metabolic regulators in cancer, with a particular focus on poor outcome breast cancers. Her professional achievements have been recognized through research scholar awards from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé–Québec and the Canada Research Chair program. In terms of service contribution to research, Dr. St-Pierre has served as panel member for the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), Cancer Research Society (CRS), as well as the European Research Council (ERC).

Dr. Vera Etches

President and Chief Executive Officer

Vera Etches assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer at CHEO on March 3, 2025. With over two decades of leadership in public health, Vera brings a steadfast commitment to enhancing community well-being and improving access to health services for populations facing barriers.

Before joining CHEO, Vera served as Ottawa's Medical Officer of Health since 2018, where she led Ottawa Public Health's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under her guidance, Ottawa Public Health was recognized for its innovative approaches and community engagement, particularly in communications across multiple channels in diverse languages. Growing clinical services in neighbourhood health and well-being hubs, and collaborating with organizations providing culturally appropriate settings, help to support populations who have experienced racism in the healthcare system.

Vera holds a Bachelor of Science from Simon Fraser University, a Medical Doctorate from the University of British Columbia, and a Master of Health Science from the University of Toronto, where she also completed a Fellowship in Community Medicine. She began her career at the Sudbury & District Health Unit in 2005, holding various leadership roles, including Associate Medical Officer of Health, Acting Medical Officer of Health, and Director of Clinical Services. In 2009, she joined Ottawa Public Health as Associate Medical Officer of Health, later becoming Deputy Medical Officer of Health in 2014, and Medical Officer of Health in 2018.

An advocate for integrating research into clinical practice, Vera has been published in peer-reviewed journals and has presented at numerous provincial and national conferences. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa, where she supervises medical residents in Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine.

Vera's leadership has been acknowledged through various accolades, including the Key to the City of Ottawa in June 2022 for her exceptional service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As CHEO’s President and CEO, Vera is poised to lead the organization into a new era of pediatric health care, reinforcing its vision of providing the best life for every child and youth.

Dr. Lindy Samson

Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Officer

Since 1998 Lindy has been a staff physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases and a Clinical Investigator at the CHEO Research Institute. She also holds an academic appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine.

Lindy obtained her Medical Degree from McMaster University School of Medicine in Hamilton in 1990. She completed her Pediatrics and Pediatrics Infectious Diseases residencies at CHEO, with further training in Pediatric HIV and Clinical Epidemiology at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Toronto. Moving back to CHEO in 1998, she was the Chief of the Division of infectious Diseases for over 10 years. From April 2016-October 2024, Lindy Samson held the role of CHEO’s Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Officer. As CHEO’s senior physician leader, she was responsible for organizing the activities of the medical staff and for ensuring the quality of clinical care and patient safety She co-chaired an interdisciplinary initiative regarding the future health needs of children and youth in our region, co-chaired the regional hospital’s COVID response and focuses on ways to optimize the dyad leadership model in healthcare. In this role, she worked closely with the CEO and the Executive Team and reported directly to the Board of Trustees.

Her academic and research work focuses on pediatric HIV, the impact of social determinants on the health of children and youth and teaching/evaluating the Health Advocate and Leadership Roles across the continuum of learners.

Tammy DeGiovanni
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nurse Executive

Tammy started at CHEO in 1995 as a Registered Nurse working on the Inpatient Surgical Unit as well as in the Emergency Department. She has since served in leadership roles across the organization from Inpatient Medicine to Health Records and e-health. For many years, Tammy led the Ambulatory Care portfolio and was a leader of our Electronic Health Record implementation as Chief Nurse Information Officer.

Tammy joined the Executive Team in 2021 in the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive. Her portfolio includes Critical Care and Surgical Services, Inpatient Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Ambulatory Care, Pharmacy and the Emergency Department. She also supports the Champlain Maternal Newborn Regional Program as well as the National Newcomer Navigation Network. As Chief Nurse she is proud to be working with our dynamic and professional nursing team throughout CHEO.

As a graduate of the University of Ottawa School of Nursing and Telfer School of Management, Tammy holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her Master’s of Health Administration. She also earned her CHE designation through the Canadian College of Health Leaders. She was also appointed to the Ottawa Board of Health in 2019 and currently serves as their Vice-Chair.

Dr. Marcos Bettolli
President, Medical Staff

More information coming soon.