Biographies

Barbara Elliot

Chair, Board of Directors

Barbara is currently Director, Public Affairs Global Skin Health with Kenvue, a global leading healthcare company focused on consumer products and over the counter medicines. With over 25 years of leadership experience in the healthcare industry Barbara has proven to be an inspiring business leader developing talent and delivering results across multiple portfolios with Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and now Kenvue. Her accomplishments are directly linked to her ability to identify and assess shared value with both internal and external stakeholders championing strategy development and inspiring teams to deliver against organizational goals.

Early in her career Barbara was a licenced Dental Hygienist and clinical instructor. It was this experience coupled with her deep commitment to patient centred care that inspired her to advance her ambition into the broader healthcare industry leading her to senior leadership roles with global healthcare industry organizations.

Barbara holds an ICD.D (Institute of Corporate Directors Designation) earned through The Rotman School of Management Directors Education Program which serves to advance and strengthen directors' contributions to Canada's boardrooms and beyond.

Barbara was elected to the Joseph Brant Hospital Board in 2018. She has served across all committees to include Vice Chair of the board from 2021-2023 and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors.

Paul Clarke

Vice Chair, Board of Directors

Paul Clarke is currently Vice President, Operational Risk Management, TD Bank Group with over 25 years of corporate leadership experience and a relentless focus on customer and community, data & innovation, creating value through change, and leading diverse and inclusive teams. As a trusted business partner, Paul champions strategy development and operational excellence with an independent lens to influence culture, progress, and sustainability.

Paul holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Industrial Relations from the University of Toronto and a certificate in Cyber-Security from Harvard University. He possesses a unique mix of Business, Technology and Risk Management experience, combined with global organization and industry awareness, and Regulatory involvement. Paul is a purveyor of thought-leadership, the innovation agenda and emerging technology, both internally and as an industry speaker. He is passionate about community and active-living, charitable giving and support, and participates in several health science and cultural education events.

Paul was appointed to the Joseph Brant Hospital Board in January 2021 and was appointed Vice Chair of the Board in June 2023.

Omer Aziz, PENG, CHRL

Omer is an HR Executive with over 3 decades of experience in telecommunications, hi-tech and SaaS industries. He has been the Head of HR at several Canadian companies and he was posted in the UK in 2013 as the International Head of HR for BlackBerry Limited.
Omer currently consults with several companies (including Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Shell, Bosch and the City of London.) and individuals on designing a culture of high-performance. He is also a researcher in the state of peak performance called ‘flow’.

Omer has presented at various conferences (including TEDx, HR_Redefined and DisruptHR) and is a guest lecturer at Carleton University, McMaster University, University of Toronto, and Brock University (on topics including Designing Peak Performance, Succession Planning and Talent Management).

He is currently a retained HR Executive at the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA). He is a member of the Board of Directors at the Joseph Brant Hospital and is also the Chair of the HRPCC Committee and Vice Chair of the Quality Committee of the Board.

His expertise includes HR Systems and Analytics, Succession Planning, Talent Management, Compensation Planning and designing a culture of high-performance.

Omer has a Master and Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Carleton University, Advanced Human Resources Certificate from University of Toronto and attended the Advanced Human Resources Program at University of Michigan Business School. He is a professional engineer (PENG) with the Professional Engineers of Ontario and a Canadian human resources leader with the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario.

Margaret Doma 

Margaret is a recently-retired Risk Management professional having worked with local organizations and the Government of Nunavut, Department of Health.

Margaret has over 20 years of experience in progressive Risk Management and Social Work leadership positions in the healthcare industry.

Margaret began her career as a frontline clinical social worker and has held the position of Director of Risk, Legal, Medical Affairs and Language Access Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton.

Margaret holds various certificates in risk management and social work including a Certified Risk Manager designation from McMaster University and a Master of Law from York University as well as a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University. Margaret also previously held the position of Assistant Clinical Professor/Longitudinal Facilitator in the Undergraduate Medical Education program at the Michael DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University.

Margaret was elected to the Joseph Brant Hospital Board in June 2022 and is currently serving on the Finance and Audit Committee and as Vice Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board.

Margaret and her husband John live in Burlington along with their four children and their respective families.

Heather Francis

Heather is currently Vice President of Enterprise Operations at Hoffman-La Roche Ltd (Roche), which is the world’s largest biotech company and a leading provider of in vitro diagnostics.

Heather has worked in the Healthcare industry for almost 20 years, starting out at a Central Laboratory before moving into the Pharmaceutical industry in 2011. During her time in the industry, she has had various diverse roles in Corporate Development, People & Culture, Healthcare Innovation, Patient Programs, Biosimilar Strategy as well as Analytics, Insights, Operations & Digital.

She is passionate about leadership, organizational transformation and effectiveness, coaching and talent development with the end goal of advancing the healthcare system to improve patient access and care.

Heather holds an HBSc. in Biology from the University of Western Ontario, a Project Management Professional (P.M.P.) designation and is a Certified Scrum Master, Product Owner and Agile Coach.

Heather was appointed to the Digital Health Strategy Committee in 2022 and is now serving as a full Board member.

Lisa Garland, CPA, CA

Lisa is a retired accountant that specialized in personal tax with an emphasis on estate and trust planning, owner managers, executive compensation and international personal and trust taxation. Prior to retiring in 2018, she worked for an international CPA firm, a national trust company, two local CPA firms as well as being a sole proprietor for seven years.

Lisa graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1987 with an Honours of Bachelor of Business Administration and received her CA designation in 1990. She has been a volunteer for a number of organizations in both Burlington and Oakville over the years including being a Board Member and Treasurer of Home Suite Hope, a Halton charity. Lisa has lived in Burlington for over 30 years with her husband and two children and her interests include golfing, skiing, curling and biking.

Lisa was appointed to the board in January 2021 and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee and the Human Resources Policy & Compensation Committee.

Wayne Hong

Wayne is a seasoned technology executive with over 25 years of proven experience in the areas of strategic planning, digital transformational strategy and delivery execution, executive consulting, and operations management, with expertise in the fields of wealth management, banking, health care, insurance, and the public sector.

Wayne is currently the Chief Information Officer of Fundserv, the regulated clearing agent that services the Canadian investment fund industry. Wayne has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto. Wayne is a 30 year Toronto resident, where he lives with his wife and two children. They enjoy summer sports such as golf, softball and biking, and curling and skiing in the winter.

Wayne is a seasoned technology executive with over 25 years of proven experience

Wayne was appointed to the Digital Health Strategy Committee in 2022 and is now serving as a full Board member.

Anna Iacobelli  

As TD Bank Group's Senior Vice President (SVP) of Metro West Region, Anna

 oversees 170 branches and their banking operations - including their strategic

 direction and positioning for future growth. Prior to this, Anna established her leadership brand in increasingly senior roles throughout her 30+ years of experience in financial services such as Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Human Resources, Operations & Technology, and North American Phone Channel.

Anna holds a BCom degree from McMaster University and management program certificates from both Queens and Ivey Business School. She continued her education and received her Institute of Canadian Directors Designation as she has proudly sat on the board for multiple not-for-profit organizations, such as Chair for TD's Friends of the Environment Foundation, the United Way 2021 Campaign Cabinet, and Vice Chair of the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation Board. Anna currently serves as a director on the boards of the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation and YMCA Oakville. She has a passion for supporting not-for-profit organizations and is actively involved with TD's Women in Leadership initiatives, where she takes pride in mentoring colleagues within TD.

Outside of work Anna enjoys an active lifestyle having completed both Rome and the Greece marathons, and enjoys travelling with her family.

Anna was elected to the JBH Board in June 2022.

Dr. Gurpreet Jaswal, MD, President, Professional Staff Association

Dr. Jaswal is a specialist in General Internal Medicine and Stroke Prevention at Joseph Brant Hospital. She joined Joseph Brant Hospital in 2019 and has helped to start many initiatives at the medicine department and hospital levels. She led the launch of the first hospital-based stroke prevention clinic and integrated stroke inpatient unit in Burlington. In her role as the physician stroke lead at JBH, she has collaborated with regional hospitals to help create pathways of care for stroke patients requiring urgent treatments such as carotid stenting or endarterectomy. For her contributions in medicine and stroke, she was awarded the JBH Medical Staff Association Quality Improvement Award in 2021.

Dr. Jaswal completed her Honours BSc undergraduate degree in Psychology at University of Toronto. She completed medical school and her internal medicine residency at Queen’s University in Kingston. She then completed her fellowship in General Internal Medicine at University of Toronto including additional training in hyperacute stroke management at Trillium Health Partners Mississauga Hospital. She also holds a Masters degree in Translational Research from University of Toronto with completion of her capstone project in primary stroke prevention and public education in vascular disease.

In addition to her clinical experience at JBH, Dr. Jaswal has over six years of work experience as an acute care hospitalist at Trillium Health Partners (Mississauga Hospital and Credit Valley Hospital).

She has always been passionate about getting involved in important leadership roles and committee memberships at local and national levels. She is currently a member of the Health Promotion Committee at the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine and member of the Health and Public Policy Committee at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She was elected President of the JBH Professional Staff Association in 2023. She is strongly motivated to utilize her collective clinical and leadership experiences to represent the Professional Staff Association members whilst helping to deliver collaborative and quality patient care at JBH.

In her capacity as President of the Medical Staff Association, Dr. Jaswal was appointed to the Board as an Ex-Officio member in 2023.

Corrine Kennedy

Corrine Kennedy was called to the Ontario Bar in 2007 and is currently Associate Vice-President, Legal at the Co-operators Group Limited. Prior to her time in-house, she was a Partner at Aird & Berlis LLP where she advised private companies, including board of directors and executive teams, on a wide variety of corporate commercial, contractual and governance matters. Corrine was also Aird & Berlis' Diversity and Inclusion Partner, accountable for all diversity and inclusion related matters, including the development and implementation of a firm diversity and inclusion strategy and implementation of Law Society of Ontario equity and diversity requirements. Corrine earned her Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP) from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion in January, 2019 and was chosen as a finalist for the 2022 for Chambers Inclusion Award (In-House Category).
Corrine’s past board experience includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Girls Guides of Canada- Guides du Canada (GGC), as well as serving on GGC's Governance Committee.
Corrine has also used her background in diversity and inclusion to present on various diversity and inclusion topics, including “Workplace Harassment and Diversity and Inclusion in the era of #MeToo”, “Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace” and other discussions on the intersection between inclusion and legal risk.
Corrine joined the Joseph Brant Hospital Board in January 2020 after serving as a Community Representative on the Quality Committee since 2018. She is currently serving on the Quality Committee and the Human Resources Policy & Compensation Committee. Corrine has served as the Board representative on the JBH Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Action Table since its inception in 2020.

Dr. Ajay Manjoo, MD

Dr. Manjoo is an Orthopedic surgeon at Joseph Brant Hospital.

He joined Joseph Brant in 2011. His practice focuses on Foot and Ankle surgery and on complex reconstruction of Orthopedic Trauma. He completed his Orthopedic residency training at the University of Western Ontario in 2009. He completed a fellowship in Orthopedic Trauma and Foot and Ankle surgery in 2010 at the University of Western Ontario. He also completed a fellowship in Adult Lower Limb Reconstructive surgery at the University of Toronto in 2011. In addition, he also defended his Masters in Medical Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario in 2011. His thesis focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of ischemia/reperfusion injuries following lower limb trauma.

He is an assistant clinical professor at McMaster University. He is also an examiner for the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada for the qualifying examinations for Orthopedic surgery. He has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of Bone of Joint Surgery, the Journal of Orthopedic Trauma and the British Medical Journal as well as a number of Open-source journals, on topics related to both orthopedic trauma and osteoarthritis.

Prior to joining the Professional Staff Association (PSA) this year, he was also a member of the Medical Staff Association executive from 2017-2019. He was most recently elected as the vice president of the PSA in June 2023. In his capacity as Vice President of the PSA, Dr. Manjoo was appointed to the Board as an Ex-Officio member in 2023.

Outside of his clinical work, he enjoys cycling, and squash. Above all he and his wife love spending time with their two young girls and their 12 year old golden retriever. He also knows all the lyrics to the Frozen and Encanto soundtracks.

Leslie Motz - Executive Vice President, Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive

Leslie Motz joined Joseph Brant Hospital in September 2020. She has spent the past 10 years at Lakeridge Health, most recently as the Vice President Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Executive. Leslie has extensive experience leading and fostering high-performing interdisciplinary clinical teams, driving a culture of continuous quality improvement and safety and elevating patient-centered care. Leslie is a passionate advocate for patients and families and proud member of the nursing profession.

Leslie has held a variety of progressive leadership roles in large, multi-site hospital organizations in Ontario, earning the reputation as a respected, trusted and valuable leader. A strong collaborator and strategic thinker, she has forged partnerships with other health care providers in support of an integrated regional health system.

Most recently, Leslie played a significant and instrumental role in the healthcare response to COVID-19, in addition to offering systems leadership between hospital, long term care, LHIN and public health, temporarily overseeing the management of a long-term care home, in partnership with the home’s management team and, at one point, the Canadian Armed Forces.

Leslie is a passionate advocate for patients and families and proud member of the nursing profession. She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Graduate Management Diploma from Athabasca University, a Certificate from Dorothy Wylie Nursing Leadership Institute and a Nursing Diploma from Georgian College. She is a Certified Health Care Executive and completed the Advanced Health Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Business.

Young Park

Young Park is a corporate board member, strategic advisor, and lecturer. She is also an accomplished C-level executive with an extensive experience in Strategic Planning, Business and Technology Transformations, Corporate Governance, Go-to-Market Strategy, M&A, Digitalization, and Enterprise Risk Management. She has more than 30 years of experience in FinTech, Finance, Insurance, Telecommunications, and public sectors. Prior to her semi-retirement in 2016, she was CIO at D+H, and Sector Vice President at CGI.

Young has earned the ICD.D designation. Currently, Young serves on 4 corporate boards: Calian Group Ltd., PC Financial, Fundserv Inc. and 407ETR. Young is also a long-time member of not-for-profit boards that include a focus on skilled immigrant employment, healthcare, and community well-being. She served on the boards of TRIEC, Markham Stouffville Hospital, United Way York Region, and United Way Peel Region.

Young has been a member of the Board since 2017, served as Chair and Vice Chair of Governance Committee and the Human Resources Policy & Compensation Committee. Young is currently the Chair of the Digital Health Strategy Committee.

Anjlee Patel

Anjlee Patel serves as Chair of the Governance & Nominating Committee and since joining the Board in 2018 has previously been a member of the Quality Committee and Human Resources Policy & Compensation Committee. Anjlee is a seasoned legal professional within the public sector. She is the Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary at Public Health Ontario, where she provides strategic solutions to complex legal challenges. Previously Anjlee held a number of progressive leadership positions at Infrastructure Ontario.

Anjlee is a graduate of McMaster University, the University of Ottawa’s law school, and also holds an ICD.D designation in board governance from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Anjlee is an experienced board member having demonstrated governance expertise and a commitment to public and community service.

Ian Preyra, M.D., M.B.A., FRCPC (EM), 
Chief of Staff,
Joseph Brant Hospital

Dr. Preyra was appointed to the position of Chief of Staff in July 2018. He is a graduate of Queen’s University where he received his M.D. in 1999, followed by his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Schulich School of Business in 2003 and advanced leadership training at the DeGroote School of Business and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Preyra has worked as an emergency physician at William Osler Health System and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton where he was also Deputy Chief of Staff. He was a trauma team leader at Hamilton Health Sciences and is also an investigative coroner. Dr. Preyra was part of the team at St. Joe’s that implemented DoveTale, a new electronic health record system for St. Joe’s; this work brought the organization from HIMSS Level 2 to HIMSS Level 6.   

Dr. Preyra has built a strong reputation as a superb clinician and physician leader. His outstanding work ethic, great energy and passion to improve the patient care experience have allowed him to consistently enhance the delivery of high quality care in every role that he has taken on, while maintaining strong advocacy for the advancement of teaching, research and building relationships at all levels.

During Dr. Preyra’s career he has been acknowledged many times for his work as an educator, clinician and physician leader, including receiving the Governor General of Canada Medal, the William Osler Award of Excellence in Education, the Royal College of Physicians of Canada Residency Program Director of the year and the Sister Joan O’Sullivan Award.   

Dr. Preyra has also worked for many years with the Hamilton Catholic Children’s Aid Society supporting their work with children in the community and currently serves on their Board of Directors.

Eric Vandewall,
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Joseph Brant Hospital

Eric Vandewall is President and Chief Executive Officer of Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH) in Burlington, a position he assumed in 2009.

Under Eric’s leadership several major accomplishments have been realized at JBH. An ongoing focus to continue to improve quality care, safe care, and service excellence is evident throughout the hospital. In April 2014, and in 2018, Joseph Brant Hospital received Accreditation with Exemplary Standing from Accreditation Canada.  In addition, JBH recently completed the largest redevelopment and capital expansion project in the history of the hospital. Phase 1, the Halton McMaster Family Health Centre and new parking structure was completed in the Fall of 2014. Phase 2, the redevelopment and expansion of the hospital was completed in the fall of 2018.

Prior to joining JBH, Eric served as the Senior Vice President, Trillium Health Centre, and Vice President of Planning and Corporate Services at Trillium Health Centre. Eric has held a number of other senior management positions including Director, Health Outcomes at Glaxo Welcome; Director, Health Reform Implementation Team, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; and, Director, Health Promotion Branch, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. He has held several other senior positions at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care over an 11 year period.

Eric is a graduate of Queen’s University and holds a master’s degree in Public Administration, Health Policy. He also has an undergraduate degree from Ryerson University in Architecture and he holds a Chartered Director designation from the Directors College, McMaster University.    

David Wagstaff (CPA, ACC)

David is a seasoned financial executive with a broad range of experience in operational and financial restructuring, mergers & acquisitions and investment evaluation & analysis. Most recently, David was Vice President and CFO for a major Canadian family office reporting directly to the principal, a position he held for over 12 years. He was also a trustee of the associated Family Foundation and participated in disbursement of over $120 million gifts of educational, medical and cultural recipients throughout Canada.

Over the past 25 years, David has actively participated on a number of public, private and not for profit boards specializing in governance, compensation and audit committee roles. These include roles as a member of the Board of Just Energy Group, NRX Worldwide, Vista Broadcasting, and Reach Out Centre for Kids. David graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Commerce, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and holds his Audit Committee Certified designation (ACC) obtained through the Directors’ College.

David was elected to the Board in June 2019 and is currently the Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee and a member of the Digital Health Strategy Committee.

Deanna L. Williams, BScPhm, R.Ph, CAE, C. Dir

Deanna Williams is a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. She practiced in both hospital and community practice settings and held several positions within Ontario’s Ministry of Health before joining the Ontario College of Pharmacists, (OCP) in 1994. Since retiring as Registrar of OCP, Deanna has provided consulting services relating to professional and occupational regulation in Canada, the US and abroad through Dundee Consulting Group Ltd.

In 2012, Deanna served as the Minister-appointed Supervisor to the College of Denturists of Ontario, (CDO) a post she held for just under two years when CDO’s self-regulatory privileges were restored. From 2014-2018 she served as Risk Officer for the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA), with a mandate to identify areas of risk and annually assess the regulator’s effectiveness in administration of the Retirement Homes Act. Deanna is recognized among Canada’s regulatory community for her interest in good governance and performance and has conducted regulatory performance reviews that have given rise to recommendations aligned with identified good regulatory governance practices internationally.

In 2017-2018, Deanna served as Expert Technical Advisor to Ontario’s Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, providing advice respecting identified best regulatory governance practices in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Deanna has been recognized by the international regulatory community in receiving the CLEAR International Award for Regulatory Excellence in 2010, and CLEAR’s Service Award for Lifetime Achievement, in 2019.

Deanna has been active in the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) since 1995, serving on its Board (1999-2005), and as its first Canadian President (2003-2004). She is a graduate of the Directors College, at the McMaster DeGroote School of Business and the Strategic Management for Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies (SMREA) program at the Kennedy School of Business, Harvard University. Deanna served on the Board of Directors, Haldimand War Memorial Hospital in Dunnville, Ontario from 2011-19, and as Board Chair from 2014-17. She currently serves as Vice-President of the Vistana Spas Corporation Board of Directors in Orlando, Florida and was appointed to the Joseph Brant Hospital Board in June 2021. Deanna currently serves as Chair of the Quality Committee and is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Deanna is a Burlington resident.