First non-physicians in 140 years to serve on smaller, skills-based OMA Board of Directors

TORONTO, May 30, 2021 /CNW/ - The Ontario Medical Association has announced a smaller, skills-based Board of Directors that includes non-physicians for the first time since the organization was founded in 1880.

The new board is made up of 11 directors, reduced from 26, who were elected by the OMA membership based on their skills and expertise. The new board structure and direct elections format is part of sweeping governance changes aimed at modernizing the OMA and making it more nimble and focused.

"The governance changes that enabled this new board will further strengthen the OMA as a world-class organization to better serve our members and the people of Ontario," said OMA CEO Allan O'Dette. "I am proud to serve the new board, our new General Assembly and all 43,000 OMA members. Together we will continue to build on the success that the outgoing board has brought to the OMA."

The eight physician directors have held leadership roles at the OMA and in the broader community, while the three non-physician directors hold prominent roles in the private sector and bring a unique perspective to governing the OMA. The new board will elect a chair at its first meeting in June.

Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman is a pediatric clinical immunologist and allergist at McMaster Children's Hospital and an assistant clinical professor at McMaster University. Dr. Abdurrahman is past chair of the OMA's Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. She is a new board director and will serve a two-year term.

Dr. Sanjay Acharya is an addictions physician and anesthesiologist based in Ottawa. He is a board director for OMA Insurance and before joining the OMA board served as chair of the OMA Governing Council. He will serve a one-year term.

Denise Carpenter is a board director for Cashco Financial Inc. and Ronald McDonald House Charities. She is chair of Oshawa Power and Utilities and EnerFORGE Renewable Energy boards, and chair of the Audit and Finance Committee of Acquisitions Committee of Synergy North. Carpenter is a new board director and will serve a two-year term.

David Collie is a CPA and president and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority. He is a founding member of the Energy Transformation Network of Ontario and a member of governance and nominating for the National Association of Pharmacy Regulators of Canada. Collie is a new board director and will serve a two-year term.

Dr. Paul Conte is a primary care physician who has been the chair of the OMA's Governance and Nominating Committee and a member of the OMA's Governance Transformation Implementation Steering Committee. Dr. Conte has been a board director for four years and will serve a one-year term.

Dr. Cathy Faulds is a palliative care physician, a member of the Provincial Primary Care Advisory Committee with the Ministry of Health and an investigations and resolutions assessor with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. She is also an adjunct scientist and professor in Western University's Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Faulds is a new board director and will serve a two-year term.

Dr. Audrey Karlinsky is a family physician and assistant professor who was vice-chair of the OMA Finance and Audit Committee and a member of the Strategy and Transformation Committee of the OMA Board of Directors. Dr. Karlinsky has been a board director for four years and will serve a one-year term.

Dr. Adam Kassam is the 2021-2022 OMA President. Dr. Kassam is a physiatrist and clinical associate at Runnymede Healthcare Center and Athlete's Care in Toronto and a faculty lecturer at the University of Toronto's Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

Carmen Rossiter is a member of the Audit and Conference Advisory Committees for CPA Canada and the Senior Advisory Panel to the Auditor General of Ontario. She serves as director at the Centre for Governance, Risk Management and Control Excellence with the Schulich Executive Education Centre in Toronto and was on the Board of North York General Hospital for 10 years. Rossiter is a new board director and will serve a one-year term.

Dr. Cynthia Walshis a radiologist and head of the Ultrasound in the Department of Medical Imaging at The Ottawa Hospital. She is a member of the Ontario Health Provincial Diagnostic Imaging Expert Panel Quality Working Group. Dr. Walsh continues as an OMA board director and will serve a two-year term.

Dr. Hirotaka Yamashiro is a pediatrician and an assistant professor and clinical adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto, an adjunct professor at Queen's University and a pediatrics peer reviewer for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. He is past chair of the OMA's Pediatrics Section and is a new board director. He will serve a two-year term.

OMA President-Elect Dr. Rose Zacharias and Past-President Dr. Samantha Hill support the work of the board, in a non-voting capacity, as officers of the association.

About the OMA

The Ontario Medical Association represents Ontario's 43,000-plus physicians, medical students and retired physicians, advocating for and supporting doctors while strengthening the leadership role of doctors in caring for patients. Our vision is to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario's health-care system. 

SOURCE Ontario Medical Association