Dr. Anna Ziomek is the current President (2016-2018) of the Federation

of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada and Chair of FMRAC's

2018 educational conference and its Program Planning Committee. She

is the Registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of

Manitoba.

Dr. Anna Ziomek is an international medical graduate. She obtained her

medical degree from the Medical Academy of Gdansk, Poland. She has

worked as a physician in Winnipeg, Manitoba for over thirty years. She

previously worked in emergency medicine and continues to work in clinical practice. She has

served as a medical administrator for over twenty years, including her role as Chief Medical

Officer of the Concordia Hospital; ten years as the Assistant Registrar of the College of Physicians

and Surgeons of Manitoba and in January 2015 became Registrar of the College. She lives in

Winnipeg with her husband and three children.

Ms. Judie Leach-Bennett., LL.B., LL.M. is the Vice-President,

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at the Canadian Blood

Services and its subsidiaries. Previously, Judie held both business and

legal roles with Canadian Blood Services, advancing initiatives in

innovation, risk management, ethics, compliance, process

improvement, and international collaboration.

Judie began her career as a lawyer with a Toronto law firm, acting in

product liability litigation and class action proceedings. Having

received her law degree from the University of Western Ontario and Master of Laws from the

University of Ottawa, Judie is accredited by the Law Society as a Certified Specialist in Health

Law and holds certifications in risk management and in healthcare ethics.

Judie volunteers as a member of the board of directors of Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

SESSION I – Integrated Risk Management System

Mr. Dave Rubel is the Chair of session one on Integrated Risk

Management. He was a member of FMRAC’s Program Planning

Committee for this year’s conference, is a member of FMRAC’s

FIRMS Users Group and has been the Chief Operating Officer with

the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba since 2017.

Dave is also a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 30 years

of progressive leadership experience in the public sector – the past 15

years of which have been in the health care sector.

Dave’s passion for risk management has provided him with the opportunity to work in many

operational areas of the business supporting the strategic goals and objectives of the organization.

Dave has delivered numerous presentations and lectures on the successes and lessons learned from

his integrated risk management experiences. These have included the Conference Board of

Canada, Canadian Forces Healthcare Services, Professional Risk Managers International

Association and numerous boards of health regions & networks across Canada.

Ms. Polly Stevens, MHSc is the Vice President of Risk Management

at the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC), which is

a non-profit organization and Canada’s largest medical-malpractice

liability insurer.

She has over 30 years of healthcare experience including leadership

roles in clinical program delivery, quality improvement, patient safety and risk management. She

is a faculty member in the University of Toronto’s MSc (Quality Improvement/Patient Safety)

program.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Mr. David J. Collie, FCPA, FCMA, MBA, C. Dir., is the President

and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority of Ontario. He is a graduate

of, and occasional guest speaker at, the Strategic Management of

Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies program, at the Harvard

Kennedy School of Government.

He is also a graduate and Faculty Member of the Directors College of

Canada. He has written a number of articles and cases on governance

best practices. He is the Chair of Plug N’ Drive, Vice Chair of the

Energy Council of Canada and a Board Member of Hamilton Health Sciences. He is a much

sought-after speaker on the topic of regulatory excellence.

Ms. Victoria Rees, BA, LLB, CAE is a Halifax lawyer and the

Director of Professional Responsibility with the Nova Scotia Barristers’

Society. Victoria is responsible for the resolution, investigation and

prosecution of complaints against lawyers; regulatory risk identification

and management; ethics education for law students and members; and

manages the Fitness to Practice Program, a consensual diversionary

program for lawyers suffering from incapacity impacting their practice

of law.

Victoria has conducted research and spoken extensively on topics including risk regulation,

transforming regulation of the legal profession, lawyers’ ethics, and adopting a proactive,

principled and restorative approach to regulation.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Mr. Brian Blankenship is the Deputy General Counsel for the North

Carolina Medical Board. As Deputy General Counsel, he manages the

prosecution and defense of all cases handled by Board attorneys. Brian

regularly prosecutes disciplinary cases and represents the Board in state

courts in appeals from disciplinary and licensing cases.

Brian has been with the North Carolina Medical Board since 2002.

Before coming to the North Carolina Medical Board, Brian served as an

Assistant Attorney General with the North Carolina Department of Justice. Brian received his

undergraduate degree from High Point University and his Juris Doctor from Campbell University.

SESSION II – FMRAC’s Integrated Risk Management System (FIRMS)

Mr. Michael Epp is the Chair of session two on FMRAC’s Integrated

Risk Management System (FIRMS). He was a member of FMRAC’s

Program Planning Committee for this year’s conference, is a member

of FMRAC’s Risk Management Committee and has been the Chief

Operating Officer at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, in

Vancouver, since October 2007. Effective May 2018,

Mr. Epp was seconded part-time to serve as the Executive Director of

MINC (Medical Information Number of Canada). Previously, Mike

spent 15 years at the BC Medical Association (now the Doctors of BC), the last 5 years as Director

of Policy and Planning.

Mr. Epp also participates on the Alberta/BC/Ontario eHealth Committee. He is a member of the

Mackay CEO Forum in Vancouver and President of the Offices at Hotel Georgia Commercial

Strata Council. Mr. Epp is a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders and the American

College of Healthcare Executives.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Ms. Fleur-Ange Lefebvre has a PhD in physiology and was a member

of Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa from 1987 to 2005.

After holding various positions at the Canadian Medical Association

from 1993 to 2003, she became the CEO of the Federation of Medical

Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC).

Her governance and committee experience include, among others, the

Medical Identification Number of Canada, the Canadian Resident

Matching Service, Canadians for Health Research, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of

Canada CanMEDS 2015 National Advisory Committee, the IMG Symposium Steering

Committee, the National Physician Summit on Physician Under-employment Steering Committee

and several Future of Medical Education in Canada implementation groups. From 2010 to 2012,

she was the Chair of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities.

Dr. Heidi M. Oetter joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons of

BC as a deputy registrar in May 2004 and was responsible for many

portfolios including ethics, quality assurance and peer review, and the

prescription review and methadone programs. In 2008, she was

appointed to the position of registrar and CEO where she is accountable

for ensuring compliance with statutory obligations, implementing and

monitoring the policies and strategic direction set forth by the Board,

and managing the daily operations and administration.

In 2009, she transitioned the College to the Health Professions Act. Dr. Oetter has been

recognized for her accomplishments as a medical leader provincially and nationally. In addition

to past leadership positions on the Board of the British Columbia Medical Association (now

Doctors of BC) and the Canadian Medical Protective Association Council, she currently sits as a

member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada,

member of the Executive Board of the Medical Council of Canada, and member of the Executive

Committee of the BC Health Regulators Society.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Ms. Kellie Skelhorn is Chief Operating Officer at the College of

Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia. She is a Chartered

Professional Accountant (CPA), and holds a Master’s in Business

Administration (MBA) and a master’s Certificate in Project

Management, both from Saint Mary’s University.

Before joining CPSNS, Kellie held executive and operational

positions in the hotel industry for more than 20 years. Kellie lives in

Halifax and enjoys boating and spending time with her family.

SESSION III – Physician Factors

Mr. Daniel Faulkner is the Chair of session three on Physician

Factors. He was a member of FMRAC’s Program Planning Committee

for this year’s conference. Dan has been with the College of Physicians

and Surgeons of Ontario since 1994 and has held numerous positions,

including Deputy Registrar, Director & Associate Registrar of the

Quality Management Division and, most recently, Interim Registrar.

Dan has actively developed the CPSO’s ability to understand its

regulatory effectiveness / outcomes and has contributed to numerous

provincial and pan-Canadian initiatives including the medical regulatory authorities’ pan-

Canadian Physician Factors initiative for which he has been co-Chair of the Steering Committee.

Dan graduated with an HBSc in Pharmacology and Toxicology (Western University, London),

and a Master of Business Administration in Health Services Management (McMaster University,

Hamilton).

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Ms. Wendy Yen is a Senior Researcher at the College of Physicians

and Surgeons of Ontario. She obtained her M.A. from the University

of Toronto in Measurement and Evaluation and has been leading

research studies and program evaluations for the past ten years in

health and educational settings.

She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Adult Education at the

University of Toronto and holds a research fellowship in medical

education at the Wilson Centre. She plays a key role in developing and evaluating assessment

programs for physicians in practice.

Mr. Wade Hillier is responsible for three operational units at the

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Practice Assessment

& Enhancement, Applications & Credentials, and Membership

Services, Corporations & Physician Register) plus one project unit

(Quality Management Partnership), a joint initiative with Cancer

Care Ontario.

Since joining the College, in 2001 Wade has supported and led a

variety of initiatives with the ultimate goal of improving patient and

public safety by ensuring the development of clinical practice standards and guidelines, inspection

of out of hospital facilities, improving access to quality physicians through implementation of

pathways and processes for physician registration and by providing transparent information to the

public through the oversight of the physician register. Prior to joining the College, Wade worked

in a variety of capacities at the City of Toronto where he led a large initiative on HIV and drug use

in Central and Eastern Europe (working with CIDA, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and

UNAIDS), and developed and implemented Canada’s First Drug Treatment Court.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Dr. Nigel Ashworth MSc., MB. ChB., FRCPC, received his medical

degree from the University of Leicester, UK in 1989. He completed

his residency training in 1997 at the University of Saskatchewan in

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and received a Specialist

Certificate in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation that same year from

the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. In 2001, Dr. Ashworth

completed a master’s degree in Community Health & Epidemiology at

the University of Saskatchewan.

Currently, he is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of

Alberta and Senior Medical Advisor in the Research & Evaluation team at the College of

Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta.

Dr Ernest Prégent CCFP(em) CSPQ FCCFP certified emergency

medicine specialist, clinical practice at Hôpital Sacré-Cœur de Montréal

(university affiliated teaching center) since 1980.

Associate professor, Faculty of medicine - Université de Montréal since

1983 with teaching responsabilities in pre- and postgraduate programs.

Invited professor, faculty of nursing of Université de Montréal, nurse

practitioner program. Lecturer (Chargé de formation clinique) at the

medicine faculty of Université Laval since 2014.

Current responsibility at the Collège des médecins du Québec: Director of Practice Enhancement

(Professional Inspection and Professional development) since 2013.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Dr. Douglas Bell FRCSC is the Associate Executive Director of the

Canadian Medical Protective Association and the Managing Director,

Office of the CEO. His role is to provide leadership, management and

strategic direction as well as oversee the departments of Communications,

Executive Services and Governance, and Regional Affairs. In the fall of

1993, Dr. Bell started full-time employment as a physician advisor at the

CMPA.

He obtained his MD in 1980 from Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario.

Dr. Bell did his residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at McGill University.

Dr. Jeff Blackmer MHSC, FRCPC completed his medical training at

Western University and his residency program in Physical Medicine and

Rehabilitation at the University of Saskatchewan. He also holds a

master’s degree in medical ethics from the University of Toronto’s Joint

Centre for Bioethics as well as Certificates in Executive Leadership from

McGill University and Financial Management for Queen’s University.

Dr. Blackmer currently serves as the Vice President, Medical

Professionalism at the Canadian Medical Association. Prior to this, he

served as the Executive Director of the CMA’s Office of Ethics, Professionalism and International

Affairs and as the Director of Ethics for the World Medical Association in Geneva. At the CMA,

Dr. Blackmer has led the work of the association on issues such as end of life care and assisted

dying, opioid prescribing and legalization of marijuana.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Dr. Claire Touchie MHPE, FRCPC completed her MD and her

internal medicine training at McGill University. Following further

training in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, she accepted

a position at Dalhousie University (1996-2000) where her interest in

medical education began. In June of 2000, she moved to the University

of Ottawa where she is now an Associate Professor of Medicine. Her

focus is on medical education and the care of patients with HIV

infection.

Since January 2012, Dr. Touchie has been the Chief Medical Education Officer at the Medical

Council of Canada, since January 2012. She was also the physician lead for the MCC’s Blueprint

project which is transforming both the MCC Qualifying Examination Part I and Part II. She has

recently co-led the AFMC EPA working group helping medical schools implement entrustable

professional activities for the transition between medical school and residency. She is presently

chair of the Assessment Continuum for Canada. This consortium is considering a coordinated

assessment framework for Canada.

Ms. Elizabeth Wenghofer, PHD is the Director and a Professor in the

School of Rural and Northern Health at Laurentian University. She

holds cross appointments at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,

and in the faculties of medicine at Texas A&M and UC San Diego. Prior

to joining Laurentian in 2007, she worked at the College of Physicians

and Surgeons of Ontario conducting research for 11 years.

Elizabeth completed her PhD in Medical Science-Health Services

Research in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto in 2005.

Elizabeth's research interests lie in the areas of physician performance and regulation, particularly

focusing on the relationships between performance and the practice environment.

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies

Ms. Kate Wood is the current President / Chair of Council of the

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. She is a recently

retired lawyer. Kate was appointed as a public member to the CPSA

Council 6 years ago. This is her 2nd year as President. Her prior

experience includes serving on various humanitarian boards. She is a

Past President and Chair of the National Board of Governors of the

Canadian Red Cross.

In addition to her current role with CPSA, Kate enjoys serving as a member of the University of

Calgary Senate. She has an active family life and perhaps most notably, 3 wonderful grandkids!

2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies