Keynote Speakers

Shirlee Sharkey

Shirlee Sharkey is the President and CEO of SE Health, a not-for-profit social enterprise bringing excellence and innovation to home care, seniors' lifestyle and family caregiving to forever impact how people live and age at home. Under Ms. Sharkey’s leadership, the organization has enjoyed exponential growth and expansion, and facilitated transformative solutions in areas such as Indigenous health, end of life care, and caregiver wellness and support. Today, SE Health delivers 20,000 care exchanges daily through its team of 9,000 leaders and professionals.

With a century of experience and powerful vision for the future, SE Health is committed to empowering clients, families and staff; championing compassion; and pursuing high value and quality. As an organization firmly fixed on honouring human experiences in healthcare, SE Health pursues innovative and exemplary practices to make a wider societal impact.

Shirlee’s commitment to community advancement is evident in her leadership and involvement on many boards, ranging from health to education. She is the current Chair of Excellence Canada and a member of the Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation Committee of the Baycrest Board. In January 2014, Shirlee was appointed to chair the Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee, a standing committee for Health Quality Ontario. She also serves on the Ontario Health Innovation Council. She is a past chair of George Brown College in Toronto and a former president of the Canadian Home Care Association. In 2007, the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care appointed Shirlee as an expert advisor on staffing and care standards for long-term care homes in the province.

Academically, Shirlee is cross-appointed to the University of Toronto’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation as an adjunct professor. She has appeared on a number of media panels and is widely published on home and community-based healthcare, health transformation, social innovation and breakthrough leadership. In 2017, she was presented with an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

Her insights and belief in unleashing people’s potential and creativity have generated achievements and accolades from across Canada and beyond. In 2012, Shirlee received the Diamond Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II, and accepted the Order of Excellence from Excellence Canada in organizational innovation, quality and wellness.

Shirlee was honoured with the Innovation Award for Healthcare Leadership from the Canadian College of Health Leaders in 2010. Additionally, she has received the University of Toronto’s 2008 Graduate Leadership Award, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation; Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Women’s Executive Network in 2007; Award of Excellence in Nursing Leadership, Ontario Hospital Association in 2005.

Christine Elliott

As a mother, lawyer, businesswoman, and entrepreneur, Christine Elliott knows how to bring people together. She knows the importance of balancing a family budget and how to manage a successful business.

Christine graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Laws degree. She then built a successful career in business and law, working first as an auditor at one of Canada’s largest banks. Christine later co-founded a law firm with her late husband Jim Flaherty, where she specialized in real estate, corporate law, and estate law. Christine has worked tirelessly to help businesses all across the province expand and thrive.

Christine also used her business and legal expertise to pursue her commitment to public service.  Her pro bono legal work for charitable organizations gained her the recognition as a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow, the highest award with Rotary.

As well, Christine is a co-founder of the Abilities Centre in Whitby, a facility built with the vision of celebrating all people, regardless of ability. The centre has become a hub of its community, hosting various Parapan Am Games events in 2015.

In 2006, Christine was elected MPP. She has won five elections, and for nine years has served the people of Ontario at Queen’s Park, including six years as Deputy Leader of the PC Party.

In 2016, Christine became Ontario’s Patient Ombudsman, where she fought for better access to healthcare for all.

She currently serves as the Deputy Premier of Ontario, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, and is the MPP for Newmarket-Aurora. Christine has triplet sons, John, Galen and Quinn.

John Stackhouse

As Senior Vice President, Office of the CEO at RBC, John is responsible for interpreting trends for the executive leadership team and Board of Directors with insights on how these are affecting RBC, its clients and society at large. Prior to this, John was editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail (2009-14), editor of Report on Business, and from 1992-1999, a foreign correspondent based in New Delhi, India. He has authored three books: Out of Poverty, Timbit Nation, and, most recently, Mass Disruption: Thirty Years on the Front Lines of a Media Revolution. John is a Senior Fellow at the C.D. ‎Howe Institute and the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

Panelists

Jaime Watt

Jaime Watt is the Executive Chairman of Navigator. He specializes in complex public strategy issues, serving both domestic and international clients in the corporate, professional services, not-for-profit, and government sectors.

Widely regarded as Canada’s leading high stakes communications strategist, he is a trusted advisor to boards of directors, business and professional leaders as well as political leaders at all three levels of government across Canada. Jaime has led ground-breaking election campaigns that have transformed politics because of their boldness and creativity.

Jaime has been involved in governance education and thought leadership throughout his career. He is a guest lecturer at a variety of Rotman School programmes at the University of Toronto and is a Lecturer at the Ivey School of Business at Western University. He regularly provides expert opinion in challenging governance situations.

Currently, Jaime chairs the board of OCAD University and the Literary Review of Canada. He serves on the boards of many organizations including the Canada Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation in Toronto, the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake, as well as Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre and Crimson Asset Management.

He is a past president of the Canadian Club of Toronto and the Albany Club.

Deeply involved with efforts to promote equality and human rights issues, he was the inaugural recipient of Egale’s Lifetime Achievement Award and has been awarded the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals for service to the community. He recently received Out on Bay Street’s Leader to be Proud of Award. Jaime has been elected to the College of Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, is a Toronto Heritage Companion, and was recently named one of Toronto’s most influential citizens.

A highly regarded speaker, Jaime appears often as a public affairs commentator in the media. He is a regular contributor to the CBC, including: The Weekly with Wendy Mesley, The House with Chris Hall, and its flagship news program The National. He also writes a weekly column for The Toronto Star and is a Policy Magazine contributing writer.

Helen Angus

Helen Angus was appointed Deputy Minister of Health and Long-Term Care in June 2018. Most recently, Helen served as the Deputy Minister of Treasury Board Secretariat and the Secretary of Treasury Board and Management Board of Cabinet. Previously, she was Deputy Minister of International Trade and Deputy Responsible for Women’s Issues, and Deputy Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade. Helen has also served as an associate deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) with responsibility for Policy and Transformation.

Prior to her return to the Ontario Public Service in 2012, Helen served as the Vice President responsible for the Ontario Renal Network at Cancer Care Ontario (CCO). She was also CCO’s Vice President of Planning and Strategic Implementation and Vice President of Research and Analysis at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. 

Helen was educated at the University of Toronto and holds a Master of Science degree in planning.

Andrew Bond

Dr. Andrew Bond is the Medical Director at Inner City Health Associates (ICHA), Canada's largest homeless healthcare organization with 100 physicians working in collaboration with over 50 community organization and shelter system partners across Toronto.  He is a Staff Physician and Health Justice Program Faculty Member at St. Michael's Hospital and a Lecturer in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Bond's clinical practice with ICHA includes the mobile STOP (St. Jamestown Outreach Program), Dan Harrison, George St. and Dundas/Sherbourne neighbourhood homeless outreach services.

Prior to joining ICHA in 2017 Dr. Bond provided comprehensive care for 10 years in Indigenous Nations including Moose Cree, Attawapiskat, and Kashechewan First Nations as well as Sioux Lookout, ON; Iqaluit, NU; and Haida Gwaii, BC. His core commitments are to improving the health of oppressed peoples living under threat by developing novel and adaptive health systems responses that deepen equity while improving efficiency.

Michelle DiManuele

Michelle E. DiEmanuele is President and CEO of Trillium Health Partners. She has built a successful career in both public and private sectors in senior executive and Deputy Minister roles. Michelle is a dynamic leader known for her ability to lead large, complex organizations through periods of significant change and cultural transformation, most recently leading Trillium Health Partners. Under her leadership, Trillium Health Partners recently received “Exemplary Standing” with Accreditation Canada.

She has expertise in human change management, information technology, business process reengineering, stakeholder management, strategy development, government relations and operations. Her breadth of public sector experience has provided an excellent foundation for understanding regulatory environments and how the private sector can work effectively with government to achieve better outcomes.

She dedicates her personal time to various boards and councils over the past 20 years including the Premier’s Community Hub Framework Advisory Group and the Toronto Police Service Transformation Task Force. Michelle is in the Hall of Fame of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, Top 40 under 40 and in 2012 was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Recently, she was awarded the President’s Award by Heritage Mississauga for her outstanding contributions to the community.

Nancy Lefebre

Nancy Lefebre is advancing SE Health’s shared value strategy, positioning the organization as a leader in social innovation and impact. Her special interests include end of life care, knowledge mobilization and community partnerships

Nancy’s passion and commitment to leadership, the use of evidence, and breakthrough clinical practices is reflected in the awards SE has received – including being named a Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO), a Healthy Workplace BPSO, and the winner of the CHSRF Chair Achievement Award in Nursing/Health Human Resources. In 2007, Nancy was awarded the RNAO Award of Merit for her outstanding contributions to the nursing profession, and the Canadian College of Health Services Executives Nursing Leadership award in recognition of her nursing leadership.

Nancy has established a collaborative research centre and a network of health career colleges. She is one of the first nursing leaders in Canada to complete the Executive Training for Research Application (EXTRA) Fellowship program.

Nancy bring more than 25 years of experience in the North American healthcare sector, with a focus on community care. From front-line practice to management, as well as business development and clinical leadership, Nancy has brought her energy, enthusiasm and commitment to community to the variety of roles she has held throughout her career.

Fiona Hughes

Fiona is the health futurist and resident MD with the strategic foresight and integrated healthcare practice at Idea Couture, a global innovation firm in Toronto. At IC she helps clients develop visionary mindsets to explore and develop healthier futures. Fiona also lectures on topics at the intersection of education and health and coaches families on prevention and health promotion. 

Fiona co-authored Futures of Health: Spaces + Places of Care, an IC publication that explores futures where we have better systems to care for the sick, and where integrated and personalized care models inspire individuals and communities to take steps to improve their health and wellbeing. She is currently working on The Future of Aging, a collaboration between SE Health and Idea Couture Inc. to design a healthier and more meaningful future for older adults.

Christine Zhu

Christine Zhu is a Senior Product Manager at Elizz, the consumer markets group at SE Health. Her focus is to champion the consumer experience in the build and go-to-market of new products and services, including Elizzbot (AI Chatbot) and Elizz caregiver employee program. Christine was a pharmacist in a past life, specialized in developing blister pack programs for complex patient groups. She holds both BscPharm and MBA from University of Toronto. She loves to make latte art and blog about her travels.

Zayna Khayat

Zayna is the Future Strategist with SE Health. She is Faculty of Singularity University’ Exponential Medicine stream since 2016 and in 2017 was seconded from MaRS Discovery District, an innovation hub in Toronto, Canada to the REshape Health Innovation Centre at Radboud university medical centre in Nijmegan, Netherlands. At MaRS in Toronto, Zayna lead the Health System Innovation platform from 2014 to 2017.

She is also an adjunct faculty with the Rotman School of Management in the Health Sector Strategy stream. Zayna completed her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Toronto (2001), followed by a long career in strategy consulting, including as a Principal in the healthcare practice of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Rosalie Wyonch

Rosalie has a Master of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Honours Mathematical Economics from the University of Waterloo. Prior to joining the C.D. Howe Institute as a Policy Analyst in 2016, she was a Research Analyst at the Ontario Ministry of Finance in the Office of Economic Policy. Beginning in 2018, she became the leader of the Health Policy Research Program and the C.D. Howe Institute Health Policy Council.

Rosalie’s research focuses on policy issues affecting healthcare in Canada with the goal of identifying policy gaps and misaligned incentive mechanisms to assess potential causes and propose solutions that drive efficiency and value. Rosalie also researches the implications of technology and innovation on all parts of the economy and has written on the topic from an international, human capital, fiscal and tax perspective.

Brad Wong

Brad is a Toronto native and long-suffering Maple Leafs fan. In between leaping off gorges in Zambia, swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos or backcountry camping, Brad has transformed himself over the years from an electronics technologist, to a health and wellness advocate in his 20 year career in the YMCA movement, to life as a entrepreneur opening Flow! Yoga Wellness Studio with his partner Heather.   

When not teaching yoga, Brad hangs out at the Center for Social Innovation, where he coaches and facilitates people through transition by utilizing authentic leadership principles of self-awareness and values integration. 

A life long learner, Brad holds a BA from York University, Toronto in Political Science and  earned his MA Environmental Leadership from Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado. He has also received continuing education Certificates in Authentic Leadership from Naropa University, Community-Based Development from CSU, Fort Collins, Colorado, and is a Yoga instructor.