Appointee Biographies

EDWARD THEN

The Honourable Edward Then served as a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice for 30 years from 1989 to 2019. He has tried over 40 homicide cases and served as Team Leader of the Divisional Court for many years. From 2007 to 2013 he was the Regional Senior Justice for Toronto with supervisory authority over 90 judges. He obtained an Honours B.A. (1966), M.A. (1967) and a Bachelor of Laws (1970) all from the University of Toronto. He served as counsel in the Ministry of the Attorney General as a member of the Crown Office (Criminal) which is responsible for appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada and also for Special Prosecutions involving white collar crime and police misconduct. In 1982 he was appointed Queen’s Counsel. From 1985 until his appointment to the Superior Court of Ontario he was the Director of the Crown Law Office. He is also the author of numerous articles on civil and criminal law and a frequent speaker in continued legal education programs for both lawyers and judges.

JACK GROSSMAN

Justice Jack Grossman graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School with Bachelor of Laws degree. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1971 and practiced law from 1971-1999 in general practice with emphasis on criminal law. He was appointed Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice in 1999 and served until 2019. He is author of a memoir entitled Decisions: My memories as a lawyer and a judge. He served as President of Beth Tzedec Congregation 1995-1997, and as Vice-President of Eastern Canadian Region United Synagogue of America. For two years, he served as Chair of Advisory Council, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was on the board of the Association of Judges for 8 years and was Conference Co-ordinator and on Judicial Secretariat from 2002-2004. He co-organized global judicial educational programs and is a Director of a Florida condominium. He has been married to Sandi for 53 years and is the proud father of Alisha and Naomi and proud grandfather of five wonderful grandchildren.

BARB COLLINS

Barbara Collins is a Registered Nurse with an MBA from Queens University, and over 40 years of progressive leadership experience in all clinical and support service areas in acute care. Barbara was appointed the President and CEO of Humber River Hospital (HRH) in July 2016. In her previous role as COO, she served as the Senior Executive for HRH’s redevelopment project, leading the design, construction and activation of HRH’s Wilson Site, North America’s first fully digital hospital. Previous Board experience includes member and Vice-Chair of the Health Services Appeal and Review Board, and a member and then Chair of Booth Centennial Linen Services. She currently sits as a member of the Board of the Meadows Long Term Care Home.

MICHAEL POLLANEN

Michael S. Pollanen BSc PhD MD FRCPath DMJ (Path) FRCPC FFFLM (hon) Founder, Forensic Pathology is a Canadian forensic and anatomical pathologist with over 20 years of experience. He is the founding Chief Forensic Pathologist of the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, and Professor and Vice-Chair (Global Health) of the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto. Dr Pollanen is the founding Program Director for the accredited residency program in forensic pathology (the first in Canada) and the Founding Program Director of the Raymond Chang fellowship at the University of Toronto, in partnership with the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. Dr. Pollanen led the reform of forensic pathology in Ontario after a public inquiry (Goudge Inquiry) by introducing professional oversight and systemic quality improvements for autopsies. He also contributed to quashing many wrongful convictions, mostly in alleged cases of fatal child abuse with flawed medical evidence. His main educational interest is forensic capacity development in resource-limited settings. His main interests in capacity development include strengthening medicolegal systems, teaching autopsy techniques, and teaching practical forensic histopathology. He has worked for the United Nations, International Criminal Court, and the International Committee for the Red Cross. He has been involved in international work (casework and training missions, and external examiner duties) in: Algeria, Bermuda, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chile, East Timor, Egypt, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iraq, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Peru, and the West Bank. Dr. Pollanen was also instrumental in a collaboration with the Department of National Defense to conduct autopsies on Canadian soldiers killed in the international coalition war Afghanistan to help improve protective equipment for Canadian soldiers. His current main professional interest is the application of the autopsy to the investigation of torture, extrajudicial execution, and death in custody. He is also a Principal Investigator at the Tanz Centre in Neurodegenerative Disease where he studies a post-conflict African brain disease. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles. Dr Pollanen has trained or contributed to the training of over 50 residents/fellows in forensic pathology at the University of Toronto. He is a long-term examiner for the specialist certification in anatomical pathology (now diagnostic and molecular pathology) for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is a past president of the International Association of Forensic Sciences.

DIRK HUYER

In March 2014, Dr. Dirk Huyer was appointed Chief Coroner for Ontario. Dr. Huyer received his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1986. He has served as a coroner in Ontario since 1992 and most recently served as Regional Supervising Coroner for the Regions of Peel and Halton as well as the Counties of Simcoe and Wellington. He has been involved in over 5,000 coroner's investigations. Dr. Huyer has specific expertise in the medical evaluation of child maltreatment and has worked with the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Program at the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Huyer is the Chair of both the Deaths Under Five and Paediatric Death Review committees of the Office of the Chief Coroner. He is also an Assistant Professor with the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto.

DAVID SHANNON

David Shannon is a lawyer, and author who practices health law in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He received a Master of Law degree at the London School of Economics, and Political Science and has continued in his law practice and non-government organization leadership since then. He is also a member of the Order of Canada and Order of Ontario.

ARISTOTLE VOINESKOS

Dr. Aristotle Voineskos is the Vice President of Research and Director of the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH, and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. The CAMH research enterprise consists of over 1,000 scientists, research staff, and trainees committed to making discoveries to improve the quality of life for people with mental illness and addictions. Dr. Voineskos earned his MD and PhD at the University of Toronto, and completed a research fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Voineskos founded the Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Laboratory at CAMH. He was also the inaugural Director of the Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition at CAMH, and served as the Chief of the Schizophrenia Division. He has won numerous awards for research and academic excellence nationally and internationally.

KIM HOBBS

Kim Hobbs is Director of Infection Control at Woodstock Hospital. Her community involvement has included serving as Education Co-Chair Executive for Infection Control Southwestern Public Health Education Committee.

RABIAH USMAN

Rabiah Usman is the Medical Director of The Farm in Stouffville which is an addiction & mental health treatment centre, where she manages the day-to-day operations and provides oversight and guidance to the medical team. She is also the co-owner of Nurse Next Door in Newmarket, a private home care company. Her community involvement includes being on the organizational board for the Canadians of Pakistani Origin.

JASON CLOUSTON

Jason Clouston is a lawyer called to the Bar in the Provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. He has practiced with both the Provincial and Federal Crown offices. He currently is the Crown Attorney in the District of Kenora. A father of six children, he has always maintained involvement in the community by volunteering for many non-profit organizations and boards with an emphasis in education which include schools, libraries and childcare centres. He identifies as Anglo-Metis.

RHONDA CROCKER ELLACOTT

Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, of Thunder Bay, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre/Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. She is former Chief Executive Officer of Northwest/Northeast Local Health Integration Network, and former Chief Executive Officer of the Northwest Local Health Integration Network. Her community involvement includes serving as Co-Chair of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario.

SEAN COURT

Sean is currently the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Long-Term Care Policy Division. He has been an Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) since 2019. Prior to his ADM roles, Sean held a series of management and staff positions in different Ontario ministries including Cabinet Office, Treasury Board, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Labour, Health and Education. Sean began his career in the Ontario Public Services in 2003 following the completion of his Master’s Degree in International Relations at McMaster University.

KAREN PAPADOPOULOS

Karen Papadopoulos is Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office – Criminal, Ministry of the Attorney General. She is a senior trial and appellate litigator, with a specialization in homicide and large-scale appeals before the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Ms. Papadopoulos is the Ministry’s Lead Counsel on Miscarriage of Justice Reviews and a Director of its Appellate Advocacy course. She is also adjunct faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she taught Trial Advocacy for nearly a decade and now teaches Evidence Law. Ms. Papadopoulos received her LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School and MBA from the Schulich School of Business. She is a member of the bar in both Ontario and New York.

HEATHER ARTHUR

Heather Arthur is retired from her role as Vice-President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Executive at the Cornwall Community Hospital (2004-2019). She has more than 30 years of administrative and clinical experience in healthcare. She participated on various regional committees and led regional initiatives related to clinical services in the acute healthcare system in various roles of nursing, laboratory and pathology services, diagnostic services, patient experience, and quality and risk. Heather previously had experience with pre-hospital emergency care as the Chief of the Cornwall Emergency Medical Services. Throughout her expansive career, Heather was committed to instilling quality in the many innovative and transformative projects within the organizations where she worked. She was a Board member of the Nursing Leadership Network and was the Chair of the St. Lawrence College/Laurentian University Health Sciences Advisory Committee.

CHRISTINE TERSTEEGE

Christine terSteege is a retired Public Safety Professor and Investigations Program Coordinator from Sheridan College. She formerly served as Vice-Chair of the Ontario Parole Board and was a Police Constable with Peel Regional Police. She holds a BA in Criminal Justice and Public Policy from University of Guelph, and a Master’s degree from Penn State University in Homeland Security.

KATIE BODENSTEIN

Katie Bodenstein is a mental health researcher and healthcare operations leader with a strong background in end-of-life care. She is currently completing her Funeral Preplanning Certificate at Humber College, building on years of personal and professional exposure to funeral processes. Katie holds a Master of Science in Psychiatry from McGill University and serves as a specialist consultant with MoCA Cognition, where she supports research on dementia and early detection. She is also the Director of Operations at The Farm, a private addiction treatment centre in Stouffville, overseeing daily operations, budgeting, and staff management.