Elected Directors:
Daphne Fedoruk, Chair |
Prior to joining the Commission, Daphne was a lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, practising in all areas of employment, labour law and human rights law. She frequently advised not-for-profit and health care organizations and acted as a trusted advisor to employers, providing strategic advice on complex workforce issues. Daphne has particular expertise in disability and mental health accommodation and a passion for creating healthy and respectful workplaces. Daphne served as a board member and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre from 2009 to 2014 and is certified in Not-for-Profit Governance by the Institute of Corporate Directors and Rotman School of Management. Daphne is proud to bring her perspective as a parent to her governance role. |
Jo-Anne Poirier, Vice chair |
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. |
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. |
Jim Roche |
Over his career, Jim has sat on over forty boards and committees. He is currently a corporate director on the boards of Ballard Power Systems, Aonix and ThinkRF. As a community builder, Jim also sits on the boards of CHEO and Invest Ottawa, and champions innovation on the boards of Ocean Networks Canada, NRC-IRAP and the Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards. Previous board assignments include Wi-LAN, DNA Genotek, Youth Services Bureau and Queensway Carleton Hospital. |
Jim Armour |
Prior to joining Summa, Jim served as Director of Communications and Marketing at 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 B.A. (Hons) from McGill and a M.A. 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 serves on the boards of CHEO, the Canadian Pharmacists Association, the Forum for Young Canadians and the North Grenville Public Library. He also sits on the editorial board of the international Journal of Communication in Health care. |
Sacha Baharmand |
Sacha is a recognized resource on access to justice. In his current role, he helps craft access to justice policy, drawing upon his particular expertise relating to official language minority communities. He is a member of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages, as well as the Justice Canada National Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba and a Juris Doctor from the Université de Moncton. He is a former Associate Editor of both the Revue de la common law en français as well as the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). Sacha has considerable experience in health policy and systems governance. Prior to joining the CHEO Board, he was most recently a board member of the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre and chaired its Quality and Safety Committee. He is a former Board Chair of Carlington Community Health Centre, having played a leading role in securing funds for its current capital project aimed at creating a primary care, wellness and affordable housing service hub. He currently serves on the board of Centretown Community Health Centre. For his commitment to legal excellence and community service, Sacha was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. He is the proud father of two daughters, both of whom are CHEO kids. |
Alexa Brewer |
Alexa Brewer brings extensive knowledge related to health systems and health policy to the CHEO Board. Alexa has significant governance experience within the healthcare sector, and has most recently completed two 3-year terms as a director on the Board of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network. A nurse by background, her career also includes senior roles in the federal government, and she has significant expertise in the areas of health systems integration, governance and health policy as well as information management and technology. Alexa has a Bachelor of Nursing from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Ottawa. |
Cathy Curry |
Recently Cathy helped to run and plan the National Roundtable for Teachers of the Arts. She is a member of the College of Teachers and still teaches occasionally. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature and a Masters of Science in Education. Cathy has traveled extensively, is raising four teenagers and plays French Horn in the Concert Band of Kanata. She is beginning her first term on the Caldwell Family Centre Board. |
Louis Doyle |
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Annie Chartrand |
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. |
Karen Green |
Karen has an extensive history with the voluntary sector. Currently, she is the President of the Makonsag Aboriginal Head Start Program, a director on the board of Andrew Fleck Children’s Services; and a member of the University of Ottawa Indigenous Education Council. She is a past director of the following boards:
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Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng |
In September 2019, Dr. Kyeremanteng launched his ever-growing podcast Solving Healthcare with Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, featuring interviews and discussions on the topic of improving health-care delivery in Canada. Underpinned by the values of cost-effectiveness, dignity, and justice, his podcasts challenge the status quo, leaving no stone unturned as he and his guests explore gaps, assumptions, and different perspectives in the pursuit of finding solutions to problems in Canada’s health-care system. |
Ex-officio, Voting Directors:
Benoit LabergeChair of the Board of the OCTC 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 Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre (OCTC) 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. |
Dr. Melissa ForgieUniversity of Ottawa |
![]() Dr. Forgie was previously Residency Program Director for the University of Ottawa's Hematology Training Program. Her clinical practice specializes in thromboembolic diseases, haemoglobinopathies and transfusional iron overload. Dr. Forgie is now Vice-dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. Prior to this, she was Assistant Dean, Student Affairs as well as the Association of Faculties of Medicine National Co-Chair for Student Affairs. Dr. Forgie has received several teaching awards and teaches in both the Anglophone and Francophone streams of the undergraduate medical education program. She has received Faculty awards for her teaching in both languages. She has also received numerous patient care awards and is a 2009 recipient of the Ottawa Hospital Physician Recognition Award. She is currently one of the most highly awarded physicians at The Ottawa Hospital and is a site chief. In her capacity as Vice Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, she has received recognition for her advocacy for and assessment of the learning environment. She has recently developed a program for social accountability for the MD program, which encompasses humanities, community service learning, global health, leadership and social determinants of health subprograms. She sits on a number of AFMC working groups. She is an invited member of the International Women’s Forum, which features women world leaders who have broken through barriers and achieved recognition for their leadership. She served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario since January 2015. In November 2015, Dr. Forgie was awarded the Jeff Turnbull Health Advocacy Award. |
Ex-officio, Non-Voting Directors:
Alex MunterChief Executive Officer |
![]() Alex is leading the hospital into the future as it faces new challenges and takes advantage of new opportunities to build an exceptional patient experience and better connect care for the patients and families we serve. Under Alex’s leadership, the hospital completed the most comprehensive strategic review in its 40-year history, setting for itself a new vision for the future of healthcare in this community, and an action plan to get there. The hospital has prioritized a number of backbone initiatives that will underpin this work, including the deployment of an integrated electronic health record, the roll out of Lean processes to drive continuous improvement and a refresh of its talent management strategy. Patient satisfaction surveys have several times identified CHEO as the best place for pediatric care in Ontario and Forbes Magazine has twice named the organization as the best place to work in Canadian healthcare. In 2012, Alex served as co-chair of Ontario’s Health Kids Panel along with Kelly Murumets, President and Chief Executive Officer of ParticipACTION. The final report recommended starting kids on the right path from conception to birth, changing the food environment, and creating healthier communities. Prior to joining CHEO Alex was Chief Executive Officer of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) -- the provincial government agency responsible for planning, integrating and funding health services in the region. He strengthened the region’s health system by making strategic investments at hospitals and community-based agencies in both urban and rural areas of our region. In particular, he made great strides in improving care for the elderly by putting in place programs that help vulnerable seniors stay independent and healthy for as long as possible in their own homes. Prior to joining the LHIN, Alex was Executive Director of the Youth Services Bureau (YSB), one of Ontario’s largest accredited children's mental health agencies. During his tenure, the organization grew by one-third, adding services and expanding its reach. It won recognition for a ground-breaking new health clinic for street-involved youth, the establishment of a youth mental health hub and launch of innovative new clinical mental health programs, closer co-ordination between hospitals and community mental health providers, new programs to help at-risk youth find and keep jobs and new measures to improve the agency’s governance, efficiency and service quality. Alex was a City and Regional Councillor in Ottawa from 1991 to 2003. From 1997 onward, he headed council committees responsible for health and social services with oversight of the city’s $550 million human services budget. In that role, he led Council to unanimously adopt pioneering smoke-free regulations in 2001; helped open new child care centers, expand the number of child care spaces, and expand public health programs for children and youth; worked with provincial government to oversee the transfer of ambulance services and social housing to the municipal level; initiated Canada's first comprehensive public access defibrillator program; expanded long-term care for seniors; funded hospital expansions and worked with the Community Care Access Centre and community support agencies to improve at-home support services for seniors and people with disabilities. Alex holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSocSc) degree from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Behavioural Science from the London School of Economics and a professional designation as a Certified Health Executive (CHE) from the Canadian College of Health Leaders. After leaving city government, he was a Visiting Professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, teaching there and at Montreal’s Concordia University. Alex was very involved in the restructuring of hospital and other health services as a member of the former Ottawa-Carleton District Health Council in the 1990’s. Other health-planning leadership roles included his assignment as Co-Chair of the Regional Task Force on Health Care (1998-1999), member of the board for the Ottawa-Carleton Children's Aid Society (1997-2000), Co-Chair of the National Network on Ethnocultural Communities and AIDS (1990-91), member of the Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism (1992-94), Board Member of the Community Foundation of Ottawa (2004-2006), and appointment to the Ontario Public Health Capacity Review Committee and chair of its governance panel (2005-2006). Alex has won numerous awards from a wide range of organizations for his contributions to the community, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Canadian Institute for Child Health, United Way/Centraide Ottawa, the Federal Business Development Bank, l’Association Canadienne-Française de l’Ontario d’Ottawa, Leadership Ottawa and the Ontario Association of Social Workers.Alex has also been awarded the Ontario Volunteer Service Award in the 1990's and most recently in 2012, he was awarded the Ontario Francophonie Award and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. |
Dr. Lindy SamsonChief of Staff |
![]() Dr. Samson 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. Dr. Samson then completed further training in Pediatric HIV and Clinical Epidemiology at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Toronto. Moving back to CHEO, she worked for some time before serving as the Chief of the Division of infectious Diseases for over 10 years. Her academic and research work is focused 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. Dr. Samson was appointed Chief of Staff in April 2016. As CHEO’s senior physician leader, she is responsible for organizing the activities of the medical staff and for ensuring the quality of clinical care and patient safety. In this role, she works closely with the CEO and the Executive Team, and reports directly to the Board of Trustees. |
Ann LynchChief Nurse Executive and Vice President Acute Care |
![]() Ann was most recently Associate Director General, Clinical Operations and Nursing Affairs at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) which includes the Montreal Children’s Hospital. In this capacity, she was responsible for clinical operations at the multisite 1,000 bed heath care facility. She brings over 30 years of experience in spearheading multiple organization wide quality and research initiatives as well as leading the integration of many health care teams associated with the formation of the MUHC twenty years ago. Ann was the senior clinical leader involved in the planning of the new 500 bed facility at the Glen Campus (MUHC) which opened in 2015. Her team was responsible for organizing the move of over 200 patients into this new facility. Ann completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her Masters of Science(Applied) at the McGill University Ingram School of Nursing where she held the position of assistant professor. She has published numerous articles and has sat on several hospital and foundation Boards. She was honored in 2016 at the MUHC with the Katherine Rolph Award of Merit for outstanding leadership to the department of surgery and the Award of Merit from the Cedars Cancer Foundation for outstanding contributions to Cancer care. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Hector L Bertrand award from the Association des Cadres Superieurs for career accomplishment. |
Dr. Ahmed Nasr |
Dr. Nasr completed his medical studies, general surgery training, and a PhD in Egypt. Upon moving to Canada, he completed his Canadian medical training at the University of Toronto along with his Pediatric Surgical Fellowship and his NICU Fellowship. Additionally, he earned his master’s in Clinical Epidemiology at this time. He holds an academic appointment as an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and is a Clinical Investigator with the CHEO Research Institute. Dr. Nasr is the principal investigator and founder of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons Evidence-Based Resource, a knowledge base that provides and promotes evidence-based practice amongst pediatric surgeons on a global level, thereby ensuring children and youth receive the best surgical care globally. As the Chair of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons Research Committee, Dr. Nasr is proactive with research and has over 100 peer reviewed publications. His clinical interests and subspecialties include pediatric surgery, minimally invasive surgery, pediatric trauma, and pediatric laparoscopic simulations. He is actively involved with the national Choosing Wisely campaign, Ontario Trauma Association, and Ontario Congenital Anomalies Committee. He is a member of the General Surgery Resident Training Committee with the University of Ottawa as well as with the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons Education Committee. |
Board Meetings
Regular meetings of the Board of Directors are open to the public. To ensure adequate seating due to space and safety restrictions, individuals wishing to attend Board meetings are asked to notify CHEO’s Governance Coordinator at least 48 hours prior to the meeting:
Phone: 613-737-737-7600 extension 2388
Email: swatson@cheo.on.ca
Agendas will be made available at that time or may be obtained prior to the meeting from the Governance Coordinator. In the event that the attending public has questions arising from the Board meeting, the Board Chair and the Chief Executive Officer will be available, upon adjournment of the meeting, to discuss the items.
Addressing the Board
Board meetings are conducted according to a predetermined agenda, with limited discussion time for each item. Individuals or parties wishing to address the Board must request of the Chair, at least 10 days prior to the meeting, that they be included on the agenda. The request must be in writing and indicate the reason for the request. Granting of this request is at the discretion of the Chair, who will also allot a specified time period for presentation and discussion, usually not more than 15 minutes in total.
Notification should be sent to:
Chair of the Board
CHEO
401 Smyth Road
Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1
Email: swatson@cheo.on.ca
Media Attendance
Members of the media are welcomed to attend Board meetings, however, please note that recording devices, videotaping and photography is not permitted during the meeting. The Chair of the Board and the President & CEO, or their designate, will be available for media interviews after the meeting.
Schedule of Meetings
The 2020-21 meeting schedule of the CHEO Board of Directors is posted below. Please contact the Governance Coordinator by email at swatson@cheo.on.ca for the meeting time and location.
- September 15, 2020
October 13, 2020
December 8, 2020
January 30, 2021
March 30, 2021
May 11, 2021
June 8, 2021
Minutes of Board Meetings are available upon request by contacting CHEO’s Governance Coordinator by email at swatson@cheo.on.ca