Speakers
Ibukun Abejirinde
Scientist, Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners
A trained physician, with a doctorate degree in global health, Dr Abejirinde conducts implementation and evaluation research to understand and address complex problems in healthcare using a learning health system approach. Described as deeply curious, her research specifically focuses on the health and wellbeing of immigrants and refugees, older adults and racialised communities. She is the founder and Scientific lead of the Moonshot Collaborative for Translational Health Equity- a transdisciplinary group that uses participatory methods and theory-driven frameworks to address complex problems in healthcare by operationalising equity within systems of care. An Assistant Professor (Status) at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health and an adjunct Scientist at Women’s College Hospital, Dr Abejirinde has extensive research experience in various regions, including Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and South Asia. Her research ethos is collaborative – working closely with policymakers, patients, community organizations, and researchers from diverse disciplines. She is the founder and program lead of Nurturing Black Excellence (NuBEx) – a bespoke initiative at Trillium Health Partners designed to support early career and emerging Black professionals with skills and exposure that will enrich their academic and professional journeys.
Neil Arya
Family Physician
Dr Neil Arya is a family physician in Kitchener, Ontario. He is the Chair of the PEGASUS Institute and PEGASUS Global Health Conference (www.pegasusconference.ca). He is a Fellow at the Balsillie School for International Affairs and at the International Migration Research Centre. He is Adjunct Professor in Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University, Assistant Clinical Professor in Family Medicine at McMaster University, and Adjunct Professor in Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo. He is a past Vice-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, and of President of Physicians for Global Survival (PGS). He was the president of the Canadian Physicians for Research and Education in Peace (CPREP), which is now IPPNW Canada, and has written and lectured around the world about Peace through Health. He was the founding Director of the Global Health Office at Western University and has conducted research around international experiences as well as the impact of overseas electives on host communities and students. Dr Arya continues as founder Director of the Kitchener/Waterloo Refugee Health Clinic in collaboration with the Waterloo Region Reception House where he provides case-specific care to newcomers and those in need of specialized care and was lead physician developing the Psychiatric Outreach Project, providing mental health for those homeless or at risk in St. John’s Kitchen in Kitchener, tasks which led to him receiving the 2009 College of Family Physicians of Canada Geeta Gupta Award for Equity and Diversity.
Dale Bramley
Chief Executive Officer, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Dr Dale Bramley is a public health medicine specialist and experienced senior leader within the New Zealand health sector. A 2003-04 Harkness Fellow in health care policy and practice, Dr Bramley is currently the Interim Chief Executive for Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora which was established in 2022 to oversee New Zealand’s health system. He previously served as the chief executive officer of New Zealand’s largest health board for 11 years. Dr Bramley previously served as Chair of New Zealand’s Health Quality & Safety Commission Board and as a member of New Zealand’s National Health Committee, National Ethics Committee and the New Zealand Government’s COVID-19 independent review and advice group. He has tribal affiliations to Ngā Puhi.
Adriane Gear
President, BC Nurses’ Union
Adriane Gear leads the BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU), representing over 50,000 nurses across acute care, long-term care, and community health settings. A registered nurse and passionate advocate for safe, high-quality patient care, Adriane has been a driving force in health policy since 2015. Under her leadership, BCNU has been working with BC’s health ministry to lead the planning and implementation of minimum nurse-to-patient ratios across the province’s acute-care sector and address the severe nurse staffing shortage in BC’s health care system. Adriane has spoken to audiences across the country and internationally about her union’s efforts to secure minimum nurse-to-patient ratios and see BC as the first jurisdiction in Canada to adopt this critical policy solution – one she hopes to see expanded to other provinces and other parts of the world.
Hayley Hamilton
Co-Director and Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Dr Hayley Hamilton is a senior scientist and the Co-Director of the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She is also an associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr Hamilton’s research focuses primarily on population health and includes the public health monitoring of mental health and addictive behaviours, and the social determinants of health. She has led large population health surveys, including the CAMH population surveys of youth (Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey) and adults (CAMH Monitor) in Ontario. This research has involved collaborations with federal, provincial, and local institutions including governments, and extensive knowledge translation to diverse audiences including health and education professionals and policy-makers to facilitate prevention, health promotion, program and policy evaluation, and education activities. Dr Hamilton also has a strong interest in the influence of individual, social and other factors on aspects of health and behaviour. She has conducted studies on the mental health needs of diverse populations including recent immigrants, racialized groups, and youth involved in the justice system. Another area of special interest is the study of stigma toward mental illness and addiction.
Stuart Kinner
Professor, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Australia
Stuart Kinner is Founding Head of the Justice Health Group spanning Curtin University and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Melbourne, and a Technical Advisor to the WHO Health in Prisons Programme. In 2019 he was a Peter Wall International Visiting Scholar and visiting Professor at UBC. Stuart has produced >350 publications (252 peer-reviewed) and attracted >$37 million in research funding. According to ExpertScape, he is the #1 expert globally on the topic of ‘prisoners’. Stuart serves on the WHO Health in Prisons Programme Steering Group, the Worldwide Prison Health Research and Engagement Network (WEPHREN) Steering Committee, Australia’s National Prisoner Health Information Committee, and Australia’s National Youth Justice Health Advisory Group. His work is highly cited and used in policy development in Australia and internationally.
Jean-Frédéric Levesque
Chief Executive, New South Wales Agency for Clinical Innovation, Australia
Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque is the Chief Executive of the New South Wales Agency for Clinical Innovation, and the Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research at the New South Wales Ministry of Health. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at the University of New South Wales. He has a Medical Degree, a Masters in Community Health and a Doctorate in Public Health from the Université de Montréal, Canada. Jean-Frédéric brings extensive senior leadership in healthcare systems analysis and improvement, combining experience in clinical practice in refugee health and tropical medicine, in clinical governance and in academic research. As part of his research portfolio, Jean-Frédéric has published more than 160 peer reviewed publications and his seminal research producing a conceptual framework on healthcare access and inequity has been cited more than 4,000 times. Originally from Canada, Jean-Frédéric has worked in diverse medical, research and public health roles in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Dan Levitt
BC Seniors Advocate
Dan Levitt has tirelessly championed the rights of seniors for 30 years at the local, provincial, national and international levels. Prior to his appointment as BC’s Seniors Advocate, Dan held leadership positions in senior-living and long-term care homes in the Lower Mainland for more than 10 years where he helped shape a dementia-friendly future for seniors and their loved ones. He was an adjunct professor of gerontology at Simon Fraser University and an instructor at the BC Institute of Technology. He has also been a surveyor with Accreditation Canada, reviewing quality improvement and person-centred care at long-term care homes and community-based service providers across Canada. He is a certified health executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders and achieved Fellowship status in the college in July 2024. He also received the Young Executive Award presented by the BC Lower Mainland Chapter Executive of the Canadian College of Health Leaders. On the global stage, Levitt recently served as a member of the board of directors of the Global Ageing Network and the International Federation on Ageing.
Steven Lewis
Health Policy Consultant
Steven Lewis is a health policy and health services research consultant, and Adjunct Professor of Health Policy at Simon Fraser University. He has worked with governments, health care organizations, pan-Canadian agencies, regulators, professional organizations, and quality improvement agencies. He led a health research granting agency, and created the first evidence-based system improvement organization in Saskatchewan. He served on the National Forum on Health, Romanow Commission, Health Council of Canada, Health Quality Council of Saskatchewan, and the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He has published widely in peer-reviewed and other journals, newsletters, and public media He is a board member and treasurer of a community health centre in Vancouver, and writes a monthly health policy column for the Saskatoon and Regina newspapers.
Amanda Slaunwhite
Assistant Professor, UBC School of Population and Public Health
Dr Amanda Slaunwhite is Assistant Professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health and Scientific Director for Correctional Health Services at BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. She has expertise in substance use, mental health, and the health of incarcerated people. She has over a decade of experience working with linked administrative health data in BC. Dr Slaunwhite holds a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award (2022-2027) and was the 2025 recipient of the INHSU Early-Mid Career Leadership Award. She holds a PhD in human geography from the University of Victoria and master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Queen’s University. Dr Slaunwhite completed post-doctoral training in the Department of Psychology at the University of New Brunswick. She has worked in applied health research and policy roles at the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, and Parliamentary Information and Research Service (Parliament of Canada).
Walter Wodchis
Professor, University of Toronto
Walter Wodchis is a Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and the Trillium Health Partners Research Chair in Implementation and Evaluation Science and Senior Scientist at the Institute for Better Health. He is also a Research Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. His main research interests are health economics and financing, health care policy evaluation, and long-term care. He is also the principal investigator for the Health System Performance Research Network. In this program, he leads a team focused on research projects that identify complex populations with chronic conditions who transition through multiple health care sectors and develop health system performance measurement for these populations.
Paul Woods
President & CEO, Southlake Regional Health Centre
Dr Paul Woods is the President and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario. An internationally-recognized expert in integrated care, Dr Woods is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of experience focused on clinical excellence, frontline staff and physician engagement, organizational culture, and team wellness. A primary care physician, he’s practiced in rural and urban locations in Canada, and as a flight surgeon with the Canadian Armed Forces. He has held numerous leadership roles in various healthcare settings across North America, including at London Health Sciences Centre, Alberta Health Services, the University of Calgary’s Department of Family Medicine, as well as Trinity Health (a large not-for-profit health system in the Midwestern United States).