Board of Directors
Lynn Stevenson - Board Chair
Ciro Panessa - Northern Health Representative
Ciro Panessa was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Health in early September, 2023. Prior this, Ciro served as Chief Operating Officer for the Northwest Health Service Delivery of Northern Health. Ciro was born in Prince Rupert and raised in Vancouver and started his career in health care as a Nurse. He holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of British Columbia and a Family Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Graduate Diploma from Athabasca University.
Dr. David W. Byres - Provincial Health Services Authority Representative
David Byres is currently the President and CEO of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). PHSA provides a provincial network of specialized hospitals and services across BC such as BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital, the BC Cancer Agency, the BC Centre for Disease Control, BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services and BC Emergency Health Services. David has over 25 years of experience in the health sector, most recently as the Associate Deputy Minister, Clinical Leadership for the B.C. Ministry of Health where he held responsibility for a number of clinical areas including the Office of Indigenous Health.
Previously, David has served as the Executive Vice President for Providence Health Care and as the Chief Nurse Executive for the Ministry of Health. His health career began in community mental health and as a registered nurse in medicine, mental health, community, and emergency settings.
David is actively involved in research and is currently a co-principal investigator examining a health equity intervention framework to promote the provision of equity oriented care for Indigenous people in B.C.’s emergency departments.
David holds a Doctorate in Nursing Practice, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Bachelor and Masters of Science degree in Nursing. He is an Adjunct Professor with the School of Nursing at UBC and Adjunct Assistant Professor with the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria. He is a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders, recipient of the Deans Medal of Distinction from the UBC Faculty of Applied Science and was recently inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing.
Erroll Hastings - Denominational Care Provider Representative
Erroll Hastings is Executive Director at Zion Park Manor. A former nurse, Erroll has over 10 years’ experience in residential care management. He is chair of the Fraser Affiliate Network (Administrators and Owners Group) and serves on the Board of SafeCare BC and the Denominational Health Association of BC.
Erroll started his career in Edmonton, AB and served as president of the Alberta Directors of Continuing Care Association before moving to the Lower Mainland in 2010. Erroll has a Master of Arts in Leadership Degree with a Specialization in Health from Royal Roads University.
John Davison - Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat
John Davison was appointed President & CEO of the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat (PSEC Secretariat) on November 26, 2020. The PSEC Secretariat is responsible for the strategic coordination of labour relations across the provincial public sector, managing and implementing excluded employee compensation policy, and jointly governing the four major BC public sector pension plans on behalf of the provincial government.
Prior to coming to the PSEC Secretariat, John was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Employee Relations at the BC Public Service Agency. He has extensive experience leading collective bargaining and served as a Public Service Pension Plan trustee for over a decade.
John holds a Master of Public Administration degree and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Victoria.
Aly Devji - Affiliated Care Provider Representative
Aly Devji is the CEO of the Langley Care Society, which operates Langley Lodge. Leading the senior leadership team for Langley Care Society, Aly is responsible for strategic planning, capital expansion, operations management, program development, and service coordination while maintaining the highest quality of services and life for British Columbians.
Prior to this role, Aly worked for the Good Samaritan Society as the Director of Stakeholder Relations in B.C. and previous to that at Delta View Campus of Care for 16 years, he was one of the former owners, operators and visionaries, as the organization was founded in 1976 by his family. Aly has also served as Past President of BC Care Providers Association from 2018-2021.
Aly brings experience collaborating with all levels of government and business leaders to create seniors living and wellness services for British Columbians.
Kathy MacNeil - Island Health Representative
Kathy MacNeil has been named Island Health’s President and CEO effective February 19, 2018. Kathy provides strategic leadership to enhance patient experience, advance clinical quality, and promote employee and physician engagement in order to achieve excellence in health and care.
Kathy served Island Health as Interim President and CEO from July 2017. She joined Island health in 2015 as Executive Vice President, Quality Safety and Experience from 2015 to July 2017. In this role Kathy engaged patients and families as partners in health and care alongside volunteers, employees and physicians to achieve superior clinical quality, service excellence; and fostered a patient and family centred culture that promoted learning and collaboration, and rewarded courageous innovation.
As an experienced healthcare executive with 30 years of progressive leadership experience, Kathy came to Island Health from the Capital Health Region in Halifax where she has served as the Vice- President of People since 2008. She holds a Masters of Arts in Leadership (Health Specialization) from Royal Roads University, and a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS. She is also a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
Kathy Nduwayo - Proprietary Care Provider representative
Kathy Nduwayo has many years of progressive management experience in residential care, palliative care, and ten years nursing experience in acute care. She has been with Park Place Seniors Living for five years and is currently the Executive Director at Cerwydden Care Centre and a Quality Consultant/Informatics Nurse. She successfully led the implementation of an Electronic Health Care Record across 21 sites, and two provinces in one year. Prior to that she was in senior management as a Program Coordinator/Senior Nurse Educator for the Licensed Practical Nurse program.
Kathy has completed work as a clinical consultant for a non-profit senior’s home to improve quality of care and streamline work load that reflected resident and family centered care and has managed both private pay and funded beds for complex care and assisted living. She has been a part of two accreditation teams, both successfully meeting Accreditation Canada Standards.
Kathy served as a Board Member and as Vice Chair for the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC. Kathy also served as the chair of the Quality Assurance Committee for the CLPNBC. In addition to her professional experience, she holds a Provincial Instructor Diploma for adult education (PIDP) and is looking forward to beginning her Master of Arts in Leadership specializing in health in September 2020.
Mark Armitage - Associate Deputy Minister
A social work graduate from the University of Victoria, Mark Armitage is the Associate Deputy Minister, Health Sector Workforce and Beneficiary Services Division at the Ministry of Health. Prior to his current role, Mark was Executive Director of Integrated Primary and Community Care in the Health Services Policy and Quality Assurance Division, Ministry of Health where his main areas of focus were collaboration with provincial health authorities related to physician care and services, the transformational work within primary care, mental health and substance use programs, the stewardship of provincial policy on home and community care, and the implementation of recommendations from the ombudsperson’s report on seniors.
Before coming to the Ministry of Health, Mark spent a decade as a Probation Officer with the Community Corrections Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General, during which time he was awarded a Solicitor General’s Corrections Exemplary Service Medal. Subsequently, he spent 15 years with the Ministry of Children and Family Development in various management and executive roles, and as acting Assistant Deputy Minister for regional operations on Vancouver Island and in the Interior.
Susan Brown - Interior Health Representative
Susan Brown was appointed President and CEO of Interior Health on October 29, 2018 following seven years of service on the Senior Executive Team and most recently as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hospitals and Communities.
Susan’s career in health spans over 30 years and reflects her deep commitment to improving the care experience for patients, families and communities. Her responsibilities have included allied health and patient transport programs, Assisted Living, Cardiac Program, Surgical Network, and the Ethics Council. She has also been Interior Health’s operations liaison for the University of British Columbia’s Southern Medical Program, and is recognized as a health system leader at several provincial tables.
Prior to joining IH, Susan worked with Fraser Health Authority as the Executive Director, Medicine Program for Fraser Health’s 12 hospitals. Susan is a Certified Health Executive and holds a Master of Health Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Dr. Victoria Lee - Fraser Health Representative
Victoria joined Fraser Health in 2010 as a medical health officer. She held progressive leadership positions including her most recent role as the vice president for population health and chief medical health officer. Prior to joining Fraser Health, she worked in collaboration with national and international organizations including the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank in the areas of comparative health systems, health policy, health financing and ecohealth.
Victoria also worked as a travel physician in rural communities in Chile and Brazil. Her research activities include health equity, community-based primary health system, health performance and clinical prevention.
She serves on the board of Canada Health Infoway and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.
Victoria obtained her medical degree from the University of Western Ontario, her Royal College fellowship in Community Medicine from the University of Toronto and postgraduate degrees in Public Health, Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.
Vivian Eliopoulos - Vancouver Coastal Health Representative
Vivian has a long history providing care and leadership at VCH. Currently, she is the interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), leading the largest academic and tertiary health authority in the province. With an annual budget of $3.6 billion, VCH serves a population of 1.25 million people in Vancouver, Richmond, the North Shore and Coast Garibaldi, Sea-to-Sky, Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Bella Bella and Bella Coola. Vivian was also the executive lead for the VCH COVID-19 emergency operations response during the first several months of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Vivian has stepped away from her role as Vice President of Vancouver-Richmond Acute Services, where she provided leadership to a diverse portfolio of secondary, tertiary and quaternary acute care and ambulatory services in VCH Vancouver and Richmond. This included Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital, G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre and Richmond Hospital. In addition, Vivian served as the Executive Sponsor of Lower Mainland Medical Imaging, providing senior oversight and administration for improved patient access.
Recognized for her patient-centred focus and collaborative leadership, Vivian has nurtured staff and physician innovation for the delivery of more responsive, exceptional care. Her record of achievements includes significant improvements in emergency department wait times, and the successful implementation of an award-winning integrated care model.
A registered nurse, Vivian has worked almost exclusively with Vancouver Coastal Health for more than 35 years. Earlier leadership roles spanned clinical and corporate portfolios, including critical care, emergency and trauma services, as well as clinical information systems.
Vivian holds a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing and a Master of Arts Degree in Leadership. In 2012, she was honoured with the Excellence in Nursing Administration Award by the then Canadian Association of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC), and she is the recipient of the Royal Roads University Founders' Award, presented in recognition of exemplary work in the areas of leadership, sustainability and personal development.