COMITTEE MEMBERS
Dr. Bob Bell
Former President and CEO, UHN
Bell is an internationally recognized Orthopedic Surgeon, Clinician-Scientist and Educator. He has chaired expert panels that provided advice to the MOHLTC on ER overcrowding, Critical Care capacity, Vision Care and Eye Surgery, and Neurosurgical Care in the province. Dr. Bell brought more than 40 years of health care experience to his role as Deputy Minister of Health in Canada’s largest province and resigned from this role in June 2018.
Yolanda Billinkoff
Head of Sales, ALAViDA
An accomplished, result driven executive with 20 years of sales growth experience. Proven success with increasing revenue through hard-charged drive and through challenging others to be magical. A dynamic leader that continues to learn, collaborate and ask why not. Above all, a customer advocate that motivates a sales and account management team to hit objectives by uncovering customer needs and finding solutions.
Dean Connor
Retired President and CEO, Sun Life Financial
Dean A. Connor is a Canadian businessman currently serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sun Life Financial, an international financial services organization. Sun Life is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and has operations in 26 markets.
Nick Eaves
Chief Venues and Operations Officer, MLSE
Nick Eaves is the Chief Venues & Operations Officer at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Eaves joined MLSE in September 2016 and is responsible for overseeing the Operations, Capital Projects and Development function at all MLSE venues. Eaves also has oversight of MLSE’s LIVE division that brings hundreds of world-class music and entertainment events to its venues each year.
John Mozas
CEO, Akira Health
Co-founder. Right Health
John co-founded Right Health in 2016 with the vision of enhancing the way medicine is delivered to millions of Canadians. Fully funded with TELUS Health as its strategic partner, Right Health acquired Akira Medical in 2017, accelerating its go-to-market timing.
Mark Saunders
Retired Chief, Toronto Police Services
Mark Saunders retired from the Toronto Police Service on July 31, 2020, with nearly 38 years of exemplary service. He was appointed as the 10th Chief of Police, which at the time was the largest municipal police service in Canada and 4th-largest in North America. Mark has firsthand experience of how changing social landscapes affect policing and community safety. He spearheaded the modernization of the Toronto Police Service—a long-term vision that demonstrates public service excellence and increased public safety through embracing community partnerships, utilizing new technology and focusing on the increasingly complex needs and issues facing society today.
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
Dr. Kevin Smith
President and CEO, UHN
Dr. Kevin Smith is President & CEO of UHN, Canada’s largest academic health sciences centre and named one of the 10 best hospitals in the world by Newsweek. Dr. Smith has spent his career at the interface of the university and research hospital and is passionately committed to the mission of education, research and exemplary clinical care. Dr. Smith is a Professor, Institute for Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Rotman School of Management and at the De Groote School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, McMaster University. He has served in many past roles including Past Chair, Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario; Chair, The Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Hospital Association and as a frequent advisor to governments and the private sector. Dr. Smith has been the grateful recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals and was honoured to be made a Knight of St. Gregory by the Pope for his long-term contributions to health care.
Darlene Dasent
Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, UHN
Darlene Dasent is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at UHN. She plays a critical role as a key business enabler through aligning strategic and financial initiatives with patient and TeamUHN priorities. With over 20 years of leadership experience, Darlene is heading UHN’s Finance Transformation by equipping and inspiring her team to anticipate, plan for and execute a model of financial governance that empowers our scientists, educators and care providers. Darlene is championing creativity and has been instrumental in developing financial governance models because she believes the health of any organization is intricately linked to the strength of its financial underpinning. Darlene leads by example by valuing hard work and is committed to developing leaders. Recently named to the Women’s Executive Network list of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Darlene graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Commerce, Carleton University with a Psychology degree and is a Chartered Accountant CPA, CA.
Rebecca Repa
Executive Vice President of Clinical Support and Performance, UHN
Rebecca Repa is the Executive Vice President of Clinical Support and Performance, University Health Network (UHN). Her portfolio includes responsibility for Arthritis, Commercial Development (including Altum Health), Facilities and Redevelopment, Joint Department of Medical Imaging, Laboratory Medicine Program, Performance, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Multi-Organ Transplant and Surgical Services programs.
Rebecca has an Honours Degree in Psychology and a Masters of Business Administration from the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. She also holds a Part-time Associate Professor appointment within the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. Her academic interests include Strategy Development in Complex Systems and Executive Coaching for high performance. Rebecca is a Board Member with International Outreach Program at St. Joseph’s System and is past Chair of the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford and former Board Member for Albright Long Term Care.
Dr. Rajiv Gandhi
Medical Director, Altum Health
Since its inception in 2009, Dr. Gandhi has provided leadership as the medical lead to Altum Health’s Outcomes Measurement and Research (OMR) Department. As an accomplished orthopaedic surgeon with extensive hip and knee specialty experience, Dr. Gandhi also serves as a medical lead to the WSIB Hip and Knee Specialty Clinic and WSIB Surgical Program. Dr. Gandhi obtained his MD degree from McMaster University in 2001. He then completed his residency training in orthopedic surgery at McMaster University and Arthroplasty fellowship training at the University of Toronto. Dr. Gandhi next completed his Masters of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the prestigious Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Gandhi’s clinical practice focuses on joint replacement surgery and also on the treatment of hip diseases in the young adult. Dr. Gandhi has also published research in many leading orthopedic journals and presented papers on an international forum. He is working as part of a team that has established a recognized Osteoarthritis tissue Biobank to explore the genomics, proteomics and to develop novel therapeutics in the treatment of Osteoarthritis. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and also the Canadian Orthopedic Association.
Co-Chairs
Shiran Isaacksz
Vice President of Altum Health and Connected Care, UHN
Shiran is the Vice President of Altum Health and Connected Care at University Health Network. In this role, Shiran is helping to drive a better experience for patients and providers through his leadership of the Altum Health, Connected Care and International Program teams. With more than 20 years of healthcare experience, Shiran’s expertise lies in leading complex and large-scale transformational programs. Through these experiences, Shiran possesses a comprehensive view of the complex health care system. He uses these experiences to focus on improving patient care and patient outcomes. Shiran finds great satisfaction in tackling challenging and previously unsolvable industry issues. His collaborative approach also extends to the development of unique partnerships. In doing so, he assembles strong, inter-disciplinary teams with a broad range of skills, and applies a holistic approach to problem solving, that result in new innovative programs to support care delivery and patient experience.
Mike O’Keefe
Executive in Residence, UHN
Mike O’Keefe is a former Executive VP/COO of The Toronto Hospital and currently Executive in Residence at UHN. Mike brings more than 40 years of experienced leadership in national and international Health Care. Most recently he served as Chief Executive Officer of the South Australia Local Health Network, which included the Flinders Medical Centre and served as a Professor at Flinders College of Medicine and Public Health. Other positions he has held include: President/CEO of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB); Executive VP/CEO of the Ottawa Civic Hospital; President/CEO of Toronto’s York Finch General Hospital. Mike has extensive international experience and was the first CEO of the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Center in Abu Dhabi and responsible for leading the opening of the Center in 2000. While living in Abu Dhabi he was Chair of the Canada/ Abu Dhabi Business Council. Mike also worked with UHN as a Senior Advisor to UHN on its Kuwait Project. Mike was Board Chair of Eastern Regional Health Authority in Newfoundland from 2010-2016. Eastern Health is the largest Health Authority in Newfoundland with an annual budget of $1.3B and a staff of 13,000.
Committee Guests
Sylvia Boddener
Senior Director, Business Development, Altum Health
Sylvia Boddener is currently the Senior Director, Business Development at UHN Altum Health. Sylvia obtained a Honors Bachelor of Science degree in biology and psychology and a Bachelor of Health Science in Occupational Therapy from McMaster University, and her Graduate Diploma in Management and a Master’s of Business Administration in 2011 from Athabasca University. Sylvia is passionate about working with teams and partners to innovate, collaborate and implement new models of care, solve customer and client problems and deliver excellent high quality services. In her 22 years at UHN Altum Health, Sylvia has gained breadth and depth of experience in the third party rehabilitation and disability management health care sector, leading, advising and consulting (international), developing and responding to business opportunities and new service lines, implementing value driven health care programs and services, and managing operations and quality, and developing referral source and partner relationships. Her contributions have resulted enabling Altum Health to grow and most importantly make a difference in the lives of the people by providing The Right Care Always!
Meghan Van Zanden
Senior Director, Operations, Altum Health
Meghan joins the Altum Health team as our Senior Director, Operations, and brings with her a unique mix of clinical and business experience. As a Registered Nurse with a Master’s of Health Administration from the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Meghan is equipped with a skillset that spans operations, business development, marketing, and strategy, with a consistent focus on providing exceptional clinical care and quality service to patients. Before joining Altum Health, Meghan was Head of Clinical Operations for Akira by TELUS Health, one of the leading virtual care solutions in Canada. Meghan joined the Akira team in the company’s early stages, helping to grow its clinical team and breadth of operations significantly, and helping secure important partnerships in both the private and public sectors. In her role at Akira and in her previous leadership roles at the Medisys Health Group and Medcan Clinic, Meghan has always followed her passion for innovation in the healthcare industry. That passion, along with Meghan’s optimism and curiosity, have translated into successfully leading diverse clinical teams throughout her career.
Jodie Kirkpatrick
Director, Quality and Outcomes, Altum Health
Jodie Kirkpatrick is the Director of Program Quality and Outcomes. Following completion of an Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, Jodie went on to complete a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Western Ontario. During her 15 years at Altum Health, Jodie has held numerous roles in clinical service delivery, in operations and supporting program development and quality. Jodie is strong believer in the power of rehabilitation to changes lives. She passionate about delivering the highest quality of care and enabling teams to perform and their personal and collective best. While serving as the lead for CARF accreditation within Altum Health, she also acts as a Surveyor for CARF International where through onsite (and now virtual) accreditation surveys she works with organizations internationally reviewing the quality of services against internationally recognized standards, sharing best practices with those organizations and bringing examples of exemplary practice back to Altum.
Mikhail Zaitsev
Senior Director, Finance, UHN
As the previous Director of Finance at Toronto Western and Toronto Rehab, Mikhail has played an essential leadership role in funding model changes, care expansions, financial modelling and business cases that supported our clinical enterprise.