Keynote speakers and workshop presenters

Ewan Affleck, MD

Medical Director
Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority
Clinical Director of Family Medicine
Stanton Territorial Hospital

A graduate of the McGill School of Medicine and Dalhousie University, where he studied history, Ewan Affleck has worked and lived in northern Canada since 1992. He is the long serving medical director of the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority and clinical director of family medicine at Stanton Territorial Hospital. A digital health information systems expert, he pioneered the implementation of an electronic medical record system in the Northwest Territories. A faculty member of the University of Calgary, he maintains an active clinical practice, teaches, and provides both hospital-based and community services. He is passionate about developing sustainable health services for northern communities and has conceived and led the design of a territorial remote community clinical support network that provides remote services using a digital bridge. He served as medical director for the 2008 Arctic Winter Games and volunteered as a physician at the Vancouver Olympics. Ewan has been running for many years and much prefers to run on snow than on asphalt. He has won two ultra marathons and, based on his commitment to physical fitness, was one of 20 Canadian physicians selected in 2010 by the Canadian Medical Association to carry the Olympic Torch. Ewan is married and has two children.

JN Armstrong, MD, FRCPC

Head, Department of Anesthesia
Calgary Health Zone, Alberta Health Services
Captain
Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS)

Dr. JN Armstrong is a consultant anesthesiologist in the Department of Anesthesia, Calgary Health Zone, an associate professor of anesthesia at the University of Calgary, where he teaches in the Faculty of Medicine, and is currently the regional clinical department head, Department of Anesthesia, Calgary Health Zone, Alberta Health Services and academic head, Department of Anesthesia, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

He received a BSc in physiology from the University of Calgary in 1980, and an MD from the same institution in 1981. He completed an internship at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1981-82 and attained his CCFP (family practice) from the University of Calgary in 1982-1983. Following this, with training in GP anesthesia from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, he practised as a GP anesthetist and family practitioner in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, until 1988. He returned to an anesthesia residency at the University of Calgary. He earned his FRCPC in 1991 and since then has been on staff at the Calgary General Hospital and in the Calgary Health Region. He assumed the role of department head in anesthesia for the Calgary Health Region and the Faculty of Medicine in 2005.

JN also has a strong interest in aviation and has been flying since 1973. He is a licensed commercial helicopter and fixed wing pilot. He currently holds active airline transport licenses for both fixed wing and helicopters. He presently flies as a captain for STARS, the Alberta provincial helicopter medevac program, flying a twin engined BK117 helicopter and also flies his own Cessna T210 privately. He is a past vice-president of medicine and aviation for STARS where he has been active in aviation and medical operations for the organization, including the development of a safety management system for the program.

Don Atkinson, MD

Chief of Staff and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, Orillia

Dr. Don Atkinson joined Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, a general community hospital in Ontario, in 2007 as chief of staff and vice president, medical affairs. He is responsible for physician professional practice, resource planning and recruitment, diagnostic imaging, pharmacy, laboratory services and medical education.

He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Waterloo and the University of Western Ontario. Following residency training in Calgary, he practised comprehensive family medicine for 18 years in both northern and southern Ontario. He has completed the Physician Management Institute courses through the Canadian Medical Association and has completed the master's of medical management program with Tulane University. In 2009, he was awarded the CPE (Certified Physician Executive) designation by the American College of Physician Executives.

Since 1996, Dr. Atkinson has been involved full time in hospital management, initially as VP patient programs with a multi-facility health care corporation in New Brunswick and then as chief of staff with Lakeridge Health, a large multi-site community hospital. He is a past president of the Canadian Society of Physician Executives and a member of the American College of Physician Executives. He has also been actively involved in health care planning at the provincial level serving on both government committees and provincial health care forums.

Marion Balla, MEd, MSW, RSW

President, Adlerian Counselling & Consulting Group, Ottawa

Marion has been a psychotherapist, educator, public speaker and consultant both nationally and internationally for over 35 years. She has addressed health facilities and institutions, social service agencies, businesses, and provincial and federal government departments on such topics as team building, communication skills, conflict resolution and principles of progressive leadership. She has designed and delivered sessions at the CMA Leadership Workshop for Medical Women and the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Physician Executives. Her animated presentation style and effective use of humour create an environment that stimulates learning, the exploration of new ways of looking at issues, and finding meaningful solutions to challenging problems.

Marion is president of the Adlerian Counselling and Consulting Group. She is a recipient of the Ottawa Businesswoman's Achievement Award in recognition of her success in blending business acumen with community interest.

Paula Beard, ACP

Paula is the Executive Director of Patient Safety at Alberta Health Services. Prior to this, she had been with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute for six years. In her former role as Senior Regional Director, Paula's primary responsibility was to support relationships between CPSI and the western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba with a particular focus on Safer Healthcare Now! Additionally, she was responsible for leading pan-Canadian and international efforts related to recognizing, responding to and reducing harm from patient safety incidents including support for Global Patient Safety Alerts, disclosure and incident analysis.

Her clinical background includes 18 years as an Advanced Care Paramedic. She has worked on a variety of patient safety and quality initiatives on a local, provincial, national and international level.

Steven J. Bellemare, MD, FRCPC

Physician Risk Manager, Risk Management Services, Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa

Dr. Steven Bellemare completed his medical training at the University of Ottawa, and his residency in pediatrics at the University of Alberta. Having specialized in child abuse pediatrics, he worked as part of the child protection team at the IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie University in Halifax. During that time, he gained expertise in the preparation of medico-legal reports and learned to communicate in an efficient and prudent manner with police, social workers and lawyers. He was called on to testify as a medical expert a number of times before joining the CMPA in November of 2009.

Lucie Boileau

Manager, Media Relations, Canadian Medical Association

As media relations manager for the Canadian Medical Association, Lucie works proactively to disseminate the CMA's key messages through the media while also responding to daily requests from reporters from across Canada for interviews and information on CMA policies and positions. In addition to developing media strategies and messaging for the CMA, Lucie trains its spokespeople on how to deal with the media to ensure that the Association maintains its reputation as the key voice of medicine in Canada.

Previously, Lucie was the first chief of communications at the French Public School Board of Eastern Ontario, where she established communications protocols and oversaw major publicity campaigns. From 1991 to 2001, she worked as a reporter, host and producer at TFO, Ontario's French-language public television channel. Covering education and Ontario politics, she was part of the inaugural team of journalists to work for the innovative public affairs program Panorama. While there, Lucie produced a documentary on the history of French-language education in Ontario that continues to be in use in high schools and universities throughout the province.

Lucie is a dedicated professional whose advice and experience in designing and carrying out communications strategies are well respected. Having embraced the trend toward social media, she now prepares spokespeople for a new world of communications in which the deadline is always right now and a message can go viral in the blink of an eye.

Paul-Émile Cloutier

Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa

Paul-Émile Cloutier was appointed secretary general and chief executive officer of the Canadian Medical Association in June 2009. He joined the CMA as assistant secretary general for Advocacy, Communications and Public Affairs in 2002 and helped make the association one of the most successful players in the federal political arena. He also strengthened the CMA's position in the media as the national voice for physicians and their patients.

Paul-Émile holds master's degrees in both administration and political science from the University of Ottawa, where he has also been a lecturer in political science.

He has over 25 years of experience in public administration and policy development. He has worked in several governmental departments, including Intergovernmental Affairs in the Ontario government and the Federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, International Relations and International Development (Foreign Affairs) and the Federal Department of Immigration.

Before joining the CMA, Paul-Émile was director of community and government relations with Via Rail Canada Inc.

Paul-Émile's personal interests include tennis, piano, classical music and gardening. Paul-Émile and his wife Dr. Jocelyne Lalonde have one child, Pierre-Alexandre.

Lynn Davies

Organizational Effectiveness Consultant
L.V. Davies and Associates
Ottawa, Ontario

Lynn Davies has 35 years experience in management and consulting. A member of the faculty in the University of Ottawa's executive MBA program, her teaching specialties are change management and team development.

Her areas of expertise include: change management, executive coaching, managerial/leadership development and organizational development.

For the past 35 years, Lynn has consulted widely to all levels of government, the hospital sector and the private sector. She counts among her clients the Canada School of Public Service,,The Ottawa Hospital, the Department of Justice, the Cities of Ottawa and Kingston, the Pembroke General Hospital, the Centretown Community Health Centre, The Bank of Montreal, Business Simulations International and Queens University. She has been coaching leaders for over 25 years.

Her experience as a manager and her reputation as a dynamic, insightful and people oriented facilitator and team player contribute to her reputation as a seasoned consultant. She has volunteer experience on the board of the Canadian Institute of Research and Education in Human Systems and has published work in the area of women in the workplace.

Her professional mission is to help individuals, teams and organizations organize and manage for dignity, community and meaning.

Graham Dickson, PhD

Graham Dickson is professor emeritus at Royal Roads University and former director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research. He was also formerly director of the School of Leadership Studies, where he provided guidance and support for graduate degree programs, executive development programs, as well as graduate certificate programs.

In addition to authoring numerous articles and leadership development books, Graham presents at conferences across Canada and internationally on leadership, teams, succession planning, learning organizations and systems thinking. Graham has a doctorate in educational administration, with a special focus on program evaluation and organizational performance measurement. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Certification Council for Physician Assistants.

Graham has made a life of analyzing leadership and how it affects positive and negative change in any organization.

Michael Gardam, MSc, MD, CM, MSc, FRCPC

Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, University Health Network and Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario

Infectious Diseases Consultant and Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, University Health Network and Women's College Hospital, Toronto

Michael Gardam is fiercely committed to patient safety. As director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network since 2001, and former director of infectious disease prevention and control at the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (2008-2010), Michael is devoted to discovering and uncovering new ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in health care settings and the community.

He continues to champion the elimination of "superbugs" as physician director of the Community and Hospital Infection Control Association Canada (CHICA); as the national lead of the "New Approach to Controlling Superbugs" initiative for Safer Healthcare Now! and through his pioneering efforts in the use of the behavioural change technique "Positive Deviance" to prevent infections associated with health care.

Michael's other passion is the treatment and epidemiology of tuberculosis. He continues to run the TB clinic at Toronto Western Hospital, which he founded in 2000. He is an expert consultant (internationally) on patient and staff safety issues such as TB, SARS, pandemic influenza, medical device reprocessing and hospital superbugs. Michael is also an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and has published more than 60 scientific papers and book chapters.

Michael is a graduate of McGill University in Montréal and the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in infectious diseases.

Mamta Gautam, MD, FRCPC, CPDC

President, PEAK MD, Ottawa

Mamta is a pioneer, specialist and champion of physician health and well-being. For 20 years, she worked as a psychiatrist treating physicians exclusively in her private practice in Ottawa, and was known as "the doctor's doctor." She was the founding director of the University of Ottawa's faculty of medicine wellness program, which served as the template for the CMA's Centre for Physician Health and Well-being, where she consults as an expert physician advisor.

In addition, Mamta brings her expertise to PEAK MD, Inc., a company that focuses on primary prevention, as it provides physician executive leadership development, and is devoted to helping physician leaders improve professional performance and enhance personal resiliency. She is the ideal coach for physician executives, helping them achieve and sustain success.

Rocco Gerace, MD, FRCPC

Registrar, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Toronto

Dr. Rocco Gerace was appointed registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in May 2002. Dr. Gerace carries out the registrar's statutory duties and directs the administrative and financial operations of the college.

Dr. Gerace graduated in medicine from the University of Western Ontario in 1972, and he is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in emergency medicine.

Prior to his appointment as registrar, Dr. Gerace was an attending staff physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the London Health Sciences Centre. He was also a consulting staff member at the Poison Information Centre at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Brian Golden, PhD

Sandra Rotman Chaired Professor in Health Sector Strategy, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and University Health Network

In 2006, Professor Golden became founding executive director of the Collaborative for Health Sector Strategy, a policy, research and leadership development institute funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health. He is also the Rotman School's national director for health care leadership programs. He has been a faculty member at Insead (France), the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario (Canada), the University of Texas (USA), and Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management (USA).

Professor Golden conducts research in the areas of strategic change and implementation, health system integration and sustainability, hospital boards, organizational strategy and leadership. Among his published work are articles in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Strategic Management Journal, Healthcare Quarterly, Healthcare Papers, the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, Management Science, Clinical Oncology, Health Policy and the Harvard Business Review. He has recently begun a major research project with Professor Michael Porter (Harvard Business School) on "Creating value in Canadian healthcare."

From 2005 to 2010, Professor Golden chaired the board of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. His advising and executive education clients in the health sector include the office of Ontario's Premier, Ontario's Ministry of Health, Britain's National Health Service and provinces across Canada as part of CIHR's "Best Brains" advisory program. Other clients include several U.S. and Canadian hospitals including the University Health Network, the Ontario Hospital Association, Mount Sinai Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children, the Trillium Health System, the Mount Sinai Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, BC Mental Health and Addiction Services, Baylor Medical Center, London Health Science Centre, Sunnybrook College Health Sciences Centre, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Credit Valley Hospital and the Trillium Health Centre. Private sector clients include Tieto (Finland), General Electric and Baxter.

His article "Transforming healthcare organizations" in Healthcare Quarterly is that journal's most downloaded article of the past 12 years. He is one of two faculty leading the Canadian Medical Association's PMI's Leading Change and Innovation program and, in 2004, he was awarded Canada's Ted Freedman Innovation in Healthcare Education Award.

John Haggie, MB ChB, MD(VUManc), FRCS

President, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa

Dr. John Haggie, a general surgeon from Gander, NL, is the chief of surgery of the James Paton Memorial Hospital (JPMH) where much of his time is spent on managing colorectal cancer.

Born in England, John completed his medical studies in Manchester in General Surgery. He held several positions as physician, surgeon, tutor and registrar in the North West region of England.

In 1993, John arrived in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, where he became consulting surgeon for the Grenfell Region Health Services. In 1997, he moved to Appleton, Newfoundland, where he was appointed attending surgeon, general and vascular surgery at the JPMH, and served in this capacity until 2008.

John Haggie is currently president of the Canadian Medical Association. He also served as president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association in 2002.

Mike Kaufmann, BSc, MD, CCFP, FCFP, ASAM and CSAM certified

Mike practised general family medicine in the small rural community of Campbellford, Ontario, from 1982 to 1995. There, he combined his family practice with an interest in mental health and addiction medicine. He later became the founding director of the Ontario Medical Association physician health program. This service is designed to assist physicians with substance abuse, psychiatric disorders and other health problems.

He writes, teaches and lectures widely on physician health, vulnerability, distress and impairment, presenting to audiences at medical schools, community hospitals and conferences throughout Ontario and internationally. In 2003, Mike was awarded a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for his work in physician health.

Barbara Kellerman, PhD

James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge

Barbara Kellerman is the James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She was the founding executive director of the Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership, from 2000 to 2003; and from 2003 to 2006 she served as the centre's research director. Kellerman has held professorships at Fordham, Tufts, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Washington and Uppsala Universities. In fall 2010, she was visiting professor of leadership at Dartmouth College and Tuck School of Business. She also served as dean of graduate studies and research at Fairleigh Dickinson, and as director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Leadership at the Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland.

Kellerman received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College, and her MA, MPhil, and PhD (1975, in Political Science) degrees from Yale University. She was awarded a Danforth Fellowship and three Fulbright fellowships. At Uppsala (1996-97), she held the Fulbright Chair in American Studies. Kellerman was cofounder of the International Leadership Association and is author and editor of many books including Leadership: Multidisciplinary Perspectives; The Political Presidency: Practice of Leadership; and Reinventing Leadership: Making the Connection Between Politics and Business. She has appeared often on media outlets such as CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, NPR, Reuters and BBC, and has contributed articles and reviews to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and the Harvard Business Review.

Some of her recent books are Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters (2004); a co-edited (with Deborah Rhode) volume, Women & Leadership: State of Play and Strategies for Change (2007); and Followership: How Followers are Creating Change and Changing Leaders (2008). She is on the advisory board of the Leadership Research Network, the advisory panel of the White House Leadership Project Report, the editorial board of Leadership Quarterly and the publications committee of the International Leadership Association. She is ranked by Forbes.com as among the "Top 50 Business Thinkers" (2009) and by Leadership Excellence in the top 15 of 100 "best minds on leadership" (2008-09). In 2010 she was given the Wilbur M. McFeeley award by the National Management Association for her pioneering work in leadership and followership. Her most recent book, Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence, was published in 2010 by McGraw-Hill. Her forthcoming book is The End of Leadership. It will be published in January 2012, by HarperCollins.

Gillian Kernaghan, MD, CCFP, FCFP

President and CEO, St. Joseph's Health Care, London

Gillian Kernaghan is the president and CEO, St. Joseph's Health Care, London, Ontario, and a practising family physician. She has had operational accountability for numerous hospital departments including imaging, health records and pharmacy.

As a certified trainer in crucial conversations and crucial confrontations, she trains physicians and hospital leaders. She chairs the Regional Chiefs of Staff group and is co-chair of the Physician and Hospital Relationships Working Group for the Provincial Physician Hospital Care Committee. Gillian is president of the Canadian Society of Physician Executives and a past executive board member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

Paul Komenda, MD, FRCPC, MHA, CHE

Medical Director, Home Hemodialysis, Manitoba Renal Program, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority

Dr. Paul Komenda is assistant professor of medicine in the section of nephrology at the University of Manitoba. He has completed a master's degree in health administration at the Sauder School of Business in addition to a research fellowship at the University of British Columbia.

Since 2008, Dr. Komenda has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in health services research and clinical nephrology. He currently holds provincial and national grant funding in excess of $500,000 and is partway through the EXTRA (Executive Training for Research Applications) program funded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.

He currently serves as medical director of the Home Hemodialysis Program and director of research at Seven Oaks General Hospital.

Francine Lemire, MD, CCFP, FCFP, CAE

Associate Executive Director, Professional Affairs, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Mississauga

Dr. Lemire is associate executive director and director of professional affairs at the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). The scope of this work includes member communications, provincial chapter relations, CFPC's honours and awards program, relations with other professional organizations and senior staff responsibilities on the following program committees related to patient care: Mental Health, Palliative Care, Care of Children and Youth, Sports & Exercise Medicine, Developmental Disabilities, Non-Cancer Pain Management, Prison Medicine and Environmental Health. Dr. Lemire is also the senior staff support for CFPC's Global Health Committee and is on the Core Executive of the World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca) as honorary treasurer. She is a past president of the CFPC (1998-1999).

Dr. Lemire has over 30 years of clinical experience as a family physician committed to continuing comprehensive care, first in Corner Brook Newfoundland and now in the Toronto Western Family Health Team at Toronto Western Hospital. She has been involved in both education and research and holds an academic appointment in family medicine, both at the University of Toronto and Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Dr. Lemire is a Certified Association Executive from the Canadian Society of Association Executives and is currently pursuing a master's degree in clinical sciences (family medicine) at the University of Western Ontario.

Isra G. Levy, MD

Medical Officer of Health, Ottawa Public Health

Isra Levy is a physician who graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. After working in South Africa and England, Dr. Levy immigrated to Canada, where he obtained an MSc (epidemiology) from the University of Ottawa and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and of the American College of Preventive Medicine. He has also attended the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Dr. Levy has practiced clinical and public health medicine in government, the non-governmental sector and academia, and in both urban and rural communities. He is a member of a number of national and international committees and boards, and his work has been published in several Canadian and international scientific journals. He is an adjunct professor of epidemiology and community medicine at the University of Ottawa and continues to practise family medicine in Ottawa.

Prior to joining Ottawa Public Health (OPH) as an associate medical officer of health in 2006, Isra was instrumental in the creation of an Office for Public Health at the Canadian Medical Association, where he was that office's first director and the CMA's chief medical officer. He was appointed Ottawa's medical officer of health in 2008.

Under the leadership of Dr. Isra Levy, OPH protects the health of over 900,000 people. Restaurant inspections, prenatal health, beach water sampling, well baby drop ins, smoking prevention, HIV testing and safer sex counseling, tracking of reportable diseases - this just some of the work done by OPH to keep our communities healthy and safe.

Dr. Levy lives in Ottawa with his wife and three teenaged children.

Susan J. Lieff, MD, MEd, MMan, FRCPC

Director, Academic Leadership Development, Centre for Faculty Development, St. Michael's Hospital

Susan is a professor and the vice-chair, education in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She is the director of academic leadership development for the Centre for Faculty Development, Faculty of Medicine at St Michael's Hospital and the associate director of the Research, Innovation and Scholarship in Education (RISE) program of the Department of Psychiatry. Susan has been practising geriatric psychiatry at Baycrest since 1985. She has a master's degree in education and an international master's in health leadership.

Susan's scholarship focuses on the design and evaluation of leadership development programs for health professional educators, academics and practitioners. She has been widely recognized for her excellence in teaching and innovative program development. She has been a faculty member for numerous leadership programs, including those of the Canadian Leadership Institute in Medical Education. She also co-chaired the development of the 2009 Royal College of Physician and Surgeons "train the trainer" program for the CanMEDs manager role.

Tracy Lindsay

Manager, RWS Advisory, Toronto

Tracy Lindsay is a health care consultant with expertise in understanding health care organizational performance, operations and outcomes. Working closely with hospitals and community care agencies, Tracy has a passion for using data to drive quality and health system performance.

Sample engagements

• Reviewed and assessed information requirements and reporting products for the information management department of a newly established provincial screening program.
• Assisted a hospital in correcting a precarious financial situation by identifying efficiencies and removing costs while maintaining volumes and quality.
• Conducted an Information Management Strategic and Tactical Plan Review for a regional hospital to ensure future IM/IT requirements align with the hospital's overall strategic direction.

David Lynch, CA, PhD

David has a broad base of expertise in public policy analysis, management consulting, and financial management. He uses this versatile expertise to understand clients' challenges from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective to develop solutions that make sense for everyone involved. At client sites, David is often found consulting stakeholders to understand their needs, translating technical analyses into terms everyone can understand, and working with management to make sure everything fits together.

David's recent consulting work has focused on improving health care organizations by ensuring that senior management, line management and staff have the operational and financial information they need to sustain their organizations and drive performance.

David is a chartered accountant and has a PhD in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Ann Max

President, Productive to the Max

Ann Max is known for her lively, engaging and performance-driven approach to productivity and performance enhancement. Her information-packed presentations are grounded on solid experience in organizational development, human resources and administration and they deliver skills, techniques and concrete actions that can be put to use directly.

As an effective coach, skillful facilitator, inspirational trainer, empowering mentor or motivational speaker, she addresses current challenges with a strong commitment and deep understanding of her subject. Personal and professional lives benefit from her wise counsel, ability to instill confidence, realistic approach, lively sense of humour and engaging style that immediately creates trust and rapport.

Ann has done extensive work with Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Ottawa Hospital, the University of Ottawa Medical Education program and Bruyère Continuing Care.

Fiona McDougall

CEO of RWS Advisory

Fiona McDougall is the CEO of RWS Advisory, a boutique consulting firm that provides strategy and operations advisory services to health care, life sciences and non-profit organizations. Fiona is a creative leader and facilitator with more than 12 years’ experience in strategic planning, business operations, project management and financial reviews in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Fiona is regularly called upon to lead projects and facilitate executive-level planning sessions at health care organizations. She has assisted a number of health care clients including hospitals, community care access centres, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations to analyze business processes and operational and clinical data to develop corporate strategies, identify opportunities to address funding pressures and improve operational efficiency.

Sherissa Microys, BMed Sci, MD, FRCPC

Major, Canadian Forces; Intensivist and Anesthesiologist and Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa

Dr. Sherissa Microys is an assistant professor in the Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Ottawa and an attending physician at the Ottawa Hospital. She is also a major in the Canadian Forces and has completed three tours in Afghanistan. Dr. Microys has focused on patient safety and quality improvement for the past nine years and completed the internationally renowned Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship with the American Medical Association in 2009. She is a master facilitator with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute - Patient Safety Education Program, assisting with the development of a national education program for all levels of health care. She is a frequent lecturer on various topics in patient safety. She was co-chair (2009-2011) of the Canadian ICU Collaborative (CIC), founded in 2003, a national group of interdisciplinary critical care and improvement professionals focused on improving patient care and safety for critically ill patients. CIC also provides dedicated support to all Safer Healthcare Now! teams enrolled in the ICU-related interventions: deployment of rapid response teams, prevention of central line infections, and prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Dr Microys is a Lifetime Member of the American Society of Professionals in Patient Safety.

Paul Mohapel, PhD

Mohapel Consulting Ltd.

Paul wears many hats: consultant, lecturer, educator, researcher, facilitator. After receiving his doctorate in psychology from the University of Victoria, BC, he worked as a neuroscience researcher for several years at Lund University Hospital in Sweden before returning to Canada to pursue a master's in leadership and training at Royal Roads University, Victoria.

Today, Paul uses his extensive knowledge of the brain, psychology and leadership to design and facilitate workshops in organizational development and to lecture at several universities in leadership, business and psychology programs. He consults with organizations on individual and organizational emotional intelligence enhancement, leadership development, talent management and team effectiveness.

Malcolm Moore, MD

Head, Division of Medical Oncology/Hematology, University Health Network/Mount Sinai Hospital Chief of Medical Services, Princess Margaret Hospital

Malcolm Moore has been head of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Department of Medicine, University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital since 2006 and an academic medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) since 1988. He is also a full professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, codirector of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Initiative at the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research, and a scientist in the Division of Experimental Therapeutics at the Ontario Cancer Institute.

Dr. Moore's major research interest is in new drug development for gastrointestinal cancers. He is codirector of the Robert and Maggie Bras and Family New Drug Development Program at PMH and has been principal investigator for many phase I, II and III studies. He has also been instrumental in the development of a number of agents that have been approved for clinical use, such as gemcitabine in pancreatic and urothelial cancer and erlotinib in pancreatic cancer. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts, review articles and book chapters and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He has been invited to present his work at national and international venues in over 150 lectures.

Dr. Moore was the principle investigator of the original N01 phase II contract awarded to PMH and its consortium from 2001 to 2005 and was a co-investigator on the subsequent award from 2006 to 2016 with Amit Oza. He is currently the local principle investigator of PMH's participation in the Merck Onconet and his research focus is on novel therapeutics development in pancreatic cancer where he is working with the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research on a large project to sequence 500 cases of pancreatic cancer. As physician-in-chief at PMH, he is well placed to ensure that the hospital is fully supportive of new drug development which is one of the four pillars of its strategic plan.

Azin Moradhassel

In her role as senior advisor for government relations at the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), Azin provides strategic government relations advice, contributes to the development and management of the CMA government relations programs, and manages the CMA's Advocacy Training Program. Azin joined the CMA in fall 2011. With over 10 years' experience in public affairs, including communications and marketing positions with health-related organizations in the not-for-profit sector, Azin has specialized in government relations in the association environment in Ottawa for the past six years. Her educational background includes a master's of public administration.

Mila Naimark

With more than 20 years of experience in global leadership communication, Clockwork Talk president Mila Naimark has worked with executives, mid-level managers and entrepreneurs, across a wide range of industries, from financial services to performing arts; entertainment and media to health care.

Her communication expertise is built on leadership positions in marketing and communications at Sony in Tokyo and New York and, in Toronto, at Warner Lambert, at Ernst & Young Corporate Management Consulting and at a boutique communications firm. Mila holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and a BA in psychology and linguistics from the University of Manitoba. She is a certified professional coach with two premier US institutes, The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara and New Ventures West.

James R. Nininger, PhD

Jim Nininger is a native of Ottawa. He received a bachelor of commerce from the University of Ottawa, a master of business administration from the University of Western Ontario, and a PhD in industrial relations from the University of Michigan.

Currently, Dr. Nininger serves on the board of directors of Power Corporation of Canada, where he chairs the audit committee and is a member of the compensation committee. He also serves on the Board of Management of the Canada Revenue Agency. His other recent board involvement has included Canadian Pacific Railway Company

He is currently chair of the board of the Community for Excellence in Health Governance, which is a web-based initiative aimed at excellence in the governance of health organizations in Canada. He also serves on the Leadership Development Advisory Board of the Banff Centre.

From 1978 to 2001, Dr. Nininger was president and chief executive officer of the Conference Board of Canada. The Conference Board is Canada's premier independent research organization in the areas of economics, management and public policy. In 2001, the Board had a staff of 215 and an operating budget of $30 million. From 2001 until 2003 he was a visiting fellow at the Canadian Centre for Management Development.

Prior to joining the Conference Board, Dr. Nininger was on the faculty of the School of Business at Queen's University. In addition to teaching, he was actively involved in research and consulting.

Dr. Nininger is actively involved in community activities, serving on the boards of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, where he served as chair of the board, as well as the Ottawa Hospital, where he was vice-chair and chair of the management resources and compensation, governance and nominating committees. From 2004 to 2009 he served on the board of directors of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. In all of his board involvements he has taken an active interest in corporate governance.

D. Gregory Powell, OC, MD FRCPC

CEO, Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS)

Dr. Greg Powell is the founder and the Chief Executive Officer of STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) and the STARS Foundation (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service Foundation). STARS is a well-recognized leader in critical patient care, air medical transportation, and emergency medical training and education.

His career spans 33 years of clinical emergency and aviation medicine, teaching, research and administration both in Montreal, and for the greater part of his career, in Calgary. Since 1999, Dr. Powell has been a Full Professor at the University of Calgary. He attained his initial medical training at the University of British Columbia, post-graduate training at University of Calgary and subsequently, emergency medicine training at McGill University through the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Dr. Powell completed his Certificate of Executive Leadership Excellence at the Banff Centre for Management (now The Banff Centre) in 2001. He has published in multiple scientific journals on subjects related to emergency transport medicine.

Dr. Powell was the Medical Director for the Internationally Protected Persons at the G8 Summit held in the Kananaskis, Alberta in June 2002, with the responsibility to coordinate medical services and medevac for the G8 world leaders. He has held leadership positions in clinical medicine, including Director, Emergency Medicine, Foothills Hospital & Alberta Children's Hospital (Foothills Hospital: 1979 - 1992, and jointly, Alberta Children's: 1982 - 1987) and Clinical Director, Emergency Medicine, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal (1976-77).

Dr. Powell has served in a number of volunteer, community positions, both in the medical professional community and the community-at-large:

• The Banff Centre - Advisory Board (current)
• Sheep River Health Trust, Advisory Board (current)
• Association of Air Medical Services - President (2003-2005)
• 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games - Chairman, Emergency Services
• MedEvac Foundation International, a foundation dedicated to research and education in air medical transport (formerly FARE) - founding Director
• Aspen Family and Community Network Society - Board member
• Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians - President (1981)

In 2006, Dr. Powell was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General Michaëlle Jean, notably for his service to the community and Canada in the area of emergency medicine and medical transport for the critically ill and injured and the establishment of STARS.

In addition to receiving the Order of Canada, Dr. Powell has received many awards and recognition over his career, including the following:

• 2006 - recipient of Medal for Distinguished Service by the Alberta Medical Association
• 2006 - named one of Alberta's "Hundred Physicians of the Century" by the Alberta Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
• 2005 - recipient of the Alberta Centennial Medal presented by Premier Ralph Klein and Dr. Colleen Klein
• 2004 - Distinguished Physician of the Year by the Air Medical Physicians Association (AMPA) for significant contribution to the air medicine profession
• 1998 - Recipient of the "Entrepreneur of the Year, Special Recognition Award - Prairie Region", acknowledging STARS' entrepreneurial way of fundraising, operational capabilities, management and control systems
• 1996 - Recipient of the Great Albertan designation by Alberta Government Telephones and the Alberta Treasury Branch
• 1996 - Conferred with Honorary Life Membership in the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP)
• 1995 - Dr. Powell and Linda Powell - Recipients of The Distinguished Service Award, Petroleum Services Association of Canada, in recognition of dedication and determination in establishing STARS for the benefit of all Albertans

Dr. Powell resides in the Calgary area with his wife Linda and they have three grown children. Personal hobbies include golfing and an avid interest in aviation, being an active fixed wing pilot with a multi-engine IFR rating.

Linda J. Powell, BScPT, ICD.D

Vice President, Governance, External Affairs and Communications, STARS

Linda Powell has been involved for 20 years in the establishment and development of STARS, a volunteer supported, non-profit charitable organization providing aeromedical transport for the critically ill and injured, with the supporting pillars of specialized pre-hospital medical education, research and advanced emergency communications. A member of the STARS executive team, Ms. Powell is vice-president, governance, external affairs and communications, providing strategic leadership in the areas of external affairs and government relations, communications, strategic planning and holds the role of corporate secretary of the organization.

In 2005, Ms. Powell received her certification with the Institute of Corporate Directors and in 2001 received the Certificate of Excellence in Management and Leadership from the Banff Centre. With a firm commitment to supporting and guiding governance practices, Linda has been actively involved in the community: former director and vice-chair, Board of Directors, Heritage Park Foundation; former chair, Health Committee, Calgary Chamber of Commerce; a board director and vice-chair of the MedEvac Foundation International based in Washington, DC, and a member of the Government Relations Committee of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations. Special interests include study in leadership, governance and strategic planning. She has participated in a number of task forces related to governance review and is currently the Chair, Joint Governance Committee for AAMS (Association of Air Medical Services) and MedEvac Foundation International.

In 2005, Ms. Powell received an Alberta Centennial Medal presented by Premier Ralph Klein and Dr. Colleen Klein and in 1995 received the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) Distinguished Community Service Award - "In Recognition of Dedication and Determination in Establishing STARS for the Benefit of all Albertans."

Prior to involvement with STARS, Linda practised physical therapy in Montreal, Quebec upon graduation from McGill University, and then subsequently practised in Alberta in both rural and urban settings.

Linda and husband Greg live in Millarville, one of the many beautiful rural communities in Alberta, Canada and are very proud of their three adult children. Golf has become a serious passion!

Pat Rich

Director and Editor-in-Chief, Online Content, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa

Pat Rich is director and editor-in-chief of online content at the Canadian Medical Association. He was involved in developing social media guidelines for Canadian Medical Association members and monitors social media developments for the association as well as maintaining an active Twitter presence as @cmaer. A writer and editor, Pat has previously served as Canadian editor of WebMD and editor-in-chief of The Medical Post.

Peter G. Rossos, MD, MBA, FRCPC, FACP

Chief Medical Information Officer, Shared Information Management Services Partnership, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto

As chief medical information officer and staff gastroenterologist, Dr. Rossos' priorities include strategic alignment of clinical systems with workflow and productivity to improve outcomes related to patient safety, quality improvement, education and research. In addition to working closely with local academic leaders and researchers, he contributes to provincial and national efforts to advance the use of information and communication technologies.

Dr. Rossos received his MD from the University of Toronto in 1986, where he subsequently completed his internal medicine, gastroenterology training and therapeutic endoscopy fellowship. He studied leadership development for physicians in academic health centres at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2004 and graduated from the executive MBA program at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management as a Bregman Scholar in June, 2008.

He has achieved international recognition for his innovation and leadership in informatics and telehealth, while chairing and serving on a number of local and national committees. Dr. Rossos holds executive positions within the Centers for Global eHealth and Innovation in Complex Care and co-leads the Health Information and Communication Technologies Core for the Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology.

Suzanne Schell

ROI Institute Canada, Ottawa

Suzanne's career spanned over 25 years in the chartered accounting field. Throughout this period, she worked one-on-one with many small to medium-sized businesses, organizations and professional services firms. All this exposure gave her a wealth of experience helping clients achieve their goals, grow their businesses and just be better at what they do.

Her specialized training in business development skills and tools allows her to successfully implement improvements in organizations and businesses, to build excellent business environments.

Suzanne started her consulting practice "Business Excellence" in 2003 and partnered with the ROI Institute to form ROI Institute Canada. The ROI Institute Canada, offers a variety of consulting services, impact studies, learning opportunities and publications. In addition, it conducts internal research activities for the organization, other enterprises, public sector entities, industries and interest groups.

Suzanne is certified with the ROI Institute, a professional speaker, member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and NSA, a certified member of Recognition Professionals International and a human behaviour consultant.

Her presentations are full of energy, fun and surprises; real life case stories and humour ensure participants keep learning.

Dan Skwarchuk, BComm(Hons), CGA, CHE

Executive Director, Health Services Integration, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority

Dan Skwarchuk is the executive director, Health Services Integration and Innovation, with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. In this role, he is responsible for planning, coordination and integration of the many components of the health care system and broad-scale health care improvement. He is also responsible for fostering, coordinating and achieving innovation in the Winnipeg Health Region in the interests of delivering higher quality, improved outcomes and a more sustainable health system. Dan has worked in health care for 23 years and has volunteered on the Board of Directors of the Nor'West Community Health Centre for the past 14 years.

In 1994, he received an undergraduate degree in commerce from the University of Manitoba, which was followed by a Certified General Accountant designation in 1997. He also attained the Certified Health Executive designation in 2007 with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. Dan also completed a two-year fellowship with the Canada Health Services Research Foundation's EXTRA Program with studies on improving home-based dialysis utilization through the use of evidence. Most recently, in 2011, he completed the Leadership Winnipeg Program offered by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

Basia Solarz

Conflict Transformation Specialist, Certified Transformative Mediator, Capital Health, Halifax

Basia Solarz is the conflict transformation specialist at Capital Health in Halifax, NS. She is a Certified Transformative Mediator T and conflict coach. Her mediation career began while she was a high school teacher and became a peer mediation trainer. As the education director of a crime victims services centre, she studied victim offender conferencing as well as community dispute resolution processes. She is currently completing a master's degree in adult education from St. FX with a research focus on conflict coaching. In addition to her work at Capital Health, Basia provides pro bono mediation services to non-profit organizations and religious congregations.

Terrence Sullivan, PhD

Co-Professor, Department of Health Policy Management and Evaluation and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Terrence Sullivan is the independent chair of the board of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) and the chair of the board of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion. In 2001, he joined Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) and occupied successively responsible positions with the seven years as president and CEO. In this capacity, he restructured CCO's entire approach to the organization, financing and delivery of cancer services.

From 1993 to 2001, he was the founding president of the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), a private not-for-profit organization affiliated with several universities. He helped develop IWH into North America's leading research centre on work-related injury. Terry has played senior roles in the Ontario ministries of health and intergovernmental affairs and the Cabinet Office. He served as assistant deputy minister, Constitutional Affairs and Federal-Provincial Relations during the Charlottetown negotiations, and he served two successive First Ministers of Ontario as executive director of the Premier's Council on Health Strategy, including a period as deputy minister (1991).

A behavioural scientist, Terry is the author/editor of seven books and more than 100 papers on occupational health, health policy and cancer control. He is associate professor in the Department of Health Policy Management and Evaluation and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is academic leader for the EXTRA/FORCES national fellowship program in health care leadership for the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. He is currently associate scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and he chairs the Research Advisory Committee for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ontario.

Susan Swiggum, MD, FRCPC

Senior physician risk manager, Risk Management Services Education Department, CMPA

Dr. Swiggum has been a physician risk manager with the CMPA since 2001. In consultation with lawyers, medical analysts and statisticians, she develops, publishes and presents education programs aimed at improving patient safety and decreasing adverse events.

Dr. Swiggum spent more than 30 years in medical practice. Her career began in family practice in rural Ontario. She subsequently studied internal medicine at the University of Toronto and completed a fellowship in dermatology at the University of Ottawa. She has spent more than 20 years as an academic clinician at the University of Ottawa, achieving the rank of professor of medicine.

Dr. Swiggum has received international recognition for her research and presentations on patient safety, risk management, women’s health, physician leadership and the education of health professionals.

Gaétan Tardif, MD, FRCPC, CHE

Gaétan is an academic physiatrist and health care executive with leadership experience in hospital and professional organizations. He is vice-president patient care and chief medical officer at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, a fully affiliated hospital of the University of Toronto. He is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director, Division of Physiatry, at the University of Toronto.

Gaétan is keenly interested in research ethics and has chaired a research ethics board for over 10 years. He continues to be clinically active in electromyography and sports medicine and was the Canadian team's chief medical officer for the Salt Lake City and Torino Paralympic Games. He was also assistant chef de mission for the 2008 Beijing games and continued in this role for the Vancouver 2010 paralympics. Gaétan was elected president of the Canadian Society of Physician Executives in 2009.

Mark Taylor, MD

VP Medical Affairs, Bluewater Health, Sarnia

Mark Taylor graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1980. After three years as a military physician, he did a residency in general surgery at Dalhousie University. From 1988-93 he was the assistant chief of surgery at the Canadian Forces Hospital in Halifax, during which he served as a surgeon in support of the Canadian Navy in the first Persian Gulf War. After retiring from the forces in 1993, he returned to Toronto for a fellowship in hepatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation. This was followed by a master's of science degree in clinical epidemiology at the University of Toronto.

He subsequently moved to Winnipeg, where he ran the Department of Surgery at St. Boniface General Hospital from 1998 to 2007, and was an associate professor in surgery at the University of Manitoba. In 2007, Mark returned to Ontario to become VP medical and academic affairs at Lakeridge Health, a four-hospital group based in Oshawa. He held that position until 2010, and went on to complete a master's in health care management at the Harvard School of Public Health. In early 2011, he joined Bluewater Health in Sarnia as the VP medical affairs and chief of quality, patient safety and risk management.

Mark has volunteered with the Red Cross in Haiti, served as an examiner with the RCPSC, and for ten years was the president of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. He has over 80 publications in the scientific literature, and presented at many national and international meetings.

Martin Vogel, MD

Vice President, Community Building, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa

Martin Vogel was born in South Africa. He received his bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degrees from the University of Cape Town in 1985 and completed his internship in Wynberg, Cape Town, in 1986.

After 2 years of compulsory military service in the Medical Corp of the South African Defense Force, he returned to Cape Town to work as a surgical registrar in general surgery, surgical specialties and orthopedics as well as in trauma and trauma surgery.

In Saskatchewan since 1991, he has worked in general practice in Climax, Shaunavon and La Loche. He also served as the senior physician executive of the Cypress Health Region. Martin has maintained active clinical practice and currently works part-time hours at the MacArthur Family Medicine Centre in Ottawa.

Martin has been an active physician advocate serving on several committees both locally and nationally. He has held a number of positions in the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA), including president, and has been a member of the boards of both the SMA and the CMA.

In June 2004, he was hired as the CEO of the SMA. In this role, he provided strategic advice on a number of initiatives of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health and the Heath Quality Council. He served on the board of the Physician Recruitment Agency of Saskatchewan, is currently a board member of the Canadian Society of Physician Executives, and has achieved the designation of Canadian Certified Physician Executive. In April 2011, he became vice president of community building at the CMA.

Rob Wedel, BTh, BSc, MD, CCFP, FCFP

Family Physician, Co-Chair, Alberta AIM (Access, Improvement, Measurement)

Dr. Wedel has been a family physician in Taber, Alberta, for over 30 years. He has been the medical director for the Chinook Palliative Care Program, and the physician lead of the Chinook Primary Care Network. He is a co-chair of Alberta AIM, an Alberta Quality Improvement provincial initiative.

He is an associate clinical professor of the Departments of Family Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta.

He is a past president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and a fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He chairs the Advisory Committee on Family Practice and the History and Narrative Committee.

Dr. Wedel recently received the U of C Faculty of Medicine Award of Excellence in Clinical Research, and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Award for Organizational Vision and Leadership. He is the recipient of the 2010 Alberta Rural Physician Award of Distinction, and the 2010 W. Victor Johnson Award of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Steve Wharry

Director, Communications, Canadian Medical Association

Steve Wharry is director of communications at the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). Trained in journalism, Steve began his career as a reporter and editor before switching his focus to work as a communications specialist for several non-profit advocacy organizations. Steve has been with the CMA since 1995 and in his current role since 2010. Throughout that time, he cites the opportunity to work with physicians to help them relay their extraordinary stories - stories that people truly do want to hear - as by far the most rewarding of his responsibilities.

Diana Whitney, PhD

President, Corporation for Positive Change

Diana Whitney is an inspirational speaker, provocative educator and pioneering thought leader in the growing field of appreciative inquiry and positive change. Through her work, her teaching and her writing, she has positively influenced the lives of millions of people around the world.

Dr. Whitney is an award-winning author. Recognized in 2004 by the international Organization Development Network for her contribution to the field through writing, she is the author or editor of 15 books, as well as dozens of articles and chapters.

Diana is president of Corporation for Positive Change, an international consulting firm specializing in the application of appreciative inquiry - the revolutionary process she helped develop and spread - to resolve the most pressing challenges of our time. In fields ranging from health care to education, from peace-building to business, from community development to government, Diana coaches executives and their teams in support of organization culture transformation, strategic development and leadership capacity building. With over 30 years of experience, her clients include Merck, British Airways, Verizon, J&J, Calgary Health Region, University of Virginia Health System, Idaho Department of Education and Sisters of Good Shepherd. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) recognized her appreciative inquiry work at GTE (Verizon) with their Best Culture Change of the year award.

Diana is a founder of the Taos Institute, a centre for dialogue among family therapists, educators and organization consultants. She is a fellow of the World Business Academy and an ongoing advisor to the United Religions Initiative, a global interfaith organization dedicated to peace. She is a distinguished consulting faculty at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center where she teaches and advises PhD students. She is an expert faculty for the NCR Picker Patient Centered Care Institute.

Dr. Whitney received her PhD from Temple University (1980) in the field of organizational communication. Her early research into the dissemination of educational innovations funded by the National Institute of Education created an agenda for the ongoing development of educational R&D laboratories throughout the United States.

Rita Wuebbeler

President, Interglobe Cross-Cultural Business Services, Inc., Decatur

Rita Wuebbeler is president and founder of INTERGLOBE Cross-Cultural Business Services, Inc., a management training and consulting firm based in Toronto, Canada, and Atlanta, US. Rita conducts cultural awareness programs for health care providers at all levels helping them build cultural competence in their organizations. She also offers team development and team optimization programs for multicultural teams in a variety of settings. Additionally, she conducts workshops on Personal Leadership for groups and individuals interested in leading the self before leading others.

Rita serves clients in both the for-profit and the non-profit sectors. She has conducted cultural awareness programs for the Health Association Nova Scotia and for the Cumberland Health Authority in Amherst, Nova Scotia. She has also worked with leaders of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association as well as the Department of Anesthesiology at Dalhousie University delivering programs on Personal Leadership.

A native German with a master's degree in applied linguistics from Mainz University, Germany, Rita spent the first two and a half decades of her life in Europe before moving to North America. After living in the Southern US for over 20 years, she now resides in Toronto, Canada.

Rita has completed numerous courses at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon, including Building Diverse Teams, Interactive Learning Strategies for Multicultural Teams, Intercultural Conflict Resolution, Appreciative Interventions in Multicultural Organizations and Humor and Play as Intercultural Tools. She is the co-author of Cultural Detective: Germany and Cultural Detective: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (www.culturaldetective.com). She is a senior facilitator with Personal Leadership Seminars (www.plseminars.com), a aualified administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory and a Certified Integral Coach.

Rita regularly gives presentations at international professional conferences both in her field of intercultural communication and organizational development as well as in industry-specific areas. She plays an active role in her professional association, the Society of Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR USA) as an advisory board member and mentor.

Mary Yates, MEd

Mary has spent more than 25 years in the business of helping individuals and organizations through the change process. She is director of the Physician Workplace Support Program, a unique service offered through the Physician Health Program of the Ontario Medical Association. Her expertise is in the area of leadership development, team effectiveness, performance management, meeting and retreat facilitation, human resources management, curriculum design and quality improvement. Before joining the OMA, Mary was director of organization development/quality workLife at York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill, Ontario, where she provided leadership for initiatives related to learning, organizational transformation and improving quality of work life for staff.

Jennifer Zelmer, PhD

Senior Vice President, Clinical Adoption and Innovation

Dr. Zelmer has held a series of progressively responsible leadership positions in Canada and abroad. Prior to joining Canada Health Infoway, she served as chief executive officer of the International Health Terminology Standards Organization (IHTSDO) in Copenhagen. Prior to the IHTSDO appointment, Dr. Zelmer was vice president, research and analysis at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Her expertise as a senior strategist in health and health system improvement will be instrumental in leading Infoway's current and new initiatives in innovation and clinical adoption.

Dr. Zelmer received her PhD and her MA in economics from McMaster University and her BSc in health information science from the University of Victoria. In addition to her role at Canada Health Infoway, she is the editor-in-chief of Healthcare Policy and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Victoria, School of Health Information Science. Dr. Zelmer also serves on a wide range of health-related advisory committees and boards.

David Zinger, MEd

David Zinger Associates, Winnipeg

Read keynote speaker, David Zinger's reflections on strength-based leadership

David is an employee engagement expert who believes in the power of strengths to foster fuller engagement. David fuses a prairie presence with a global reach. He has worked from Winnipeg to Warsaw and Wales, from British Columbia to Barcelona and from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to San Antonio, Texas.

He is devoted to employee engagement and his work ranges from presentations and workshops to writing over 1,300 blog posts on the topic. David developed the results-focused, colourful and connected 14-element model: employee engagement for results. He is enthralled by community and he founded and hosts the 4,100-member Employee Engagement Network. David firmly believes this community will play a major role in a 20% increase in global employee engagement by the year 2020.

David is an educator. He has a master's of education degree specializing in counseling psychology and his thesis was on humour in counseling. David has taught educational psychology and counselling psychology at the University of Manitoba for 25 years. He has created and designed a number of university courses on adult learning and engaged leadership. While working at the counselling centre in the university, David provided counselling assistance for over 300 procrastinators and learned about the personal, social and structural challenges of engaging in work. David is also certified to teach three powerful Vital Smarts courses for Shared Visions, namely, Crucial Conversations, The Influencer and Crucial Confrontations.

Books
David has written Assorted Zingers: Poems and Cartoons to Take a Bite Out of Work and Zengage: How to Get More Into Your Work to Get More Out of Your Work. He has also created, in conjunction with members of his employee engagement network, 7 inspirational and informative e-books on employee engagement ranging from Engaging Questions to the ABCs of Employee Engagement.

Bees
David is working with Aganetha Dyck, a Canadian Governor General's Award Winner in Visual and Media Arts, making connections between engagement, honey bees, work and community. He is planning to conduct a social media and hive project in 2012 on thinking differently inside the hive - a fusion of honeybee and social media engagement that will involve making connections inside the hive between networked computers and bees.

To learn more about David Zinger