Appointee Biographies

LIBEN GEBREMIKAEL

As the first executive director of TAIBU Community Health Centre, Liben Gebremikael has led the organization for the past 17 years. Today TAIBU has strong community roots and has become a recognizable agency that is committed to addressing the impact of anti-Black racism on the health and wellbeing of Black communities. Liben Gebremikael has over 30 years of experience in primary healthcare, social services, mental health, and community capacity building, governance and leadership. He holds an MA in Migration, Mental Health & Social Care from the University of Kent (UK), a Masters Certificate in Healthcare Management from Schulich School of Business. He has completed Community Health Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Management. In 2021, he completed the Strategic Perspectives for Non-Profit Organization program at the Harvard Business School. In 2022 a private street ‘Liben Way’ was named after him in the Malvern neighborhood for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CINDY FEDELL

Cindy Fedell is the healthcare Regional Chief Information Officer in Northwestern Ontario, residing in Thunder Bay. Previously she held a joint appointment as the Executive Chief Digital and Information Officer at Bradford Teaching Hospitals and Airedale Hospital in the UK with Bradford becoming one of the most advanced digital health organizations in England. Cindy was also the CIO for the West Yorkshire (UK) integrated care system. During her time in the UK she also created The Yorkshire Imaging Collaborative, transforming radiology services. In Canada Cindy worked as the Director of Informatics at Mount Sinai Hospital among other Toronto area hospitals and in management consulting. Cindy has advanced leadership training from Yale University, University of Toronto and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and degrees from Toronto Metropolitan and Lakehead Universities.

COLLEEN NEIL

Colleen Neil is the Executive Director of the Sunset Country Family Health Team. She serves as Executive Lead of the All Nations Health Partners Ontario Health Team, one of Ontario’s 12 accelerated OHTs. She resides in Northwestern Ontario and brings over 25 years of leadership experience in healthcare and community services. Colleen has played a pivotal role in advancing healthcare transformation, particularly in the areas of primary care and integrated care delivery and is committed to fostering partnerships across Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. In addition to her professional leadership, Colleen contributes to various community health initiatives.

TERESA SCASSA

Dr. Teresa Scassa is the Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. She is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society, as well as the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of Ottawa. She serves in a volunteer capacity on numerous advisory bodies, including the Canadian Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence and the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner’s Strategic Advisory Council. She is also the is the Chair of Ontario’s AI Expert Working Group. Dr Scassa’s has written widely in the areas of privacy law, the regulation of artificial intelligence, data governance and intellectual property law. In 2024 she was awarded the Piccasso Award in the category of Privacy Leader Academia/Thought Leader. Many of her published papers can be found on SSRN.com.

EVERTON GOODEN

Everton Gooden, of Toronto, is the President and Chief Executive Officer at North York General Hospital and a self-employed Surgeon . Everton’s community involvement includes serving as Director for the Face the Future Foundation.

DEVIN SINGH

Dr. Devin Singh is one of Canada's first physicians to specialize in clinical artificial intelligence. He is an emergency physician at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and holds a Masters in Computer Science degree from the University of Toronto. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in both the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Division of Computer Science and is an emerging scholar helping to innovate the regulatory, privacy, and ethical landscape for AI in Canada and beyond. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Hero AI, a healthcare technology company dedicated to empowering patients and providers with AI.

ANTHONY GAFFNEY

Anthony Gaffney, of Toronto, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Lambay Group and the Chief Executive Officer at Vector Institute. Anthony’s community involvement has included serving as Vice-Chair of the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

KEITH JANSA

Keith Jansa is the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Governance Council. He works with senior leaders from across Canada to address digital governance opportunities and challenges to safeguard Canadians in an increasingly digital world. His unparalleled acumen in devising strategies for responsible data and digital governance has earned the Digital Governance Council the distinction as preeminent technology leadership council globally. Keith is a specialist in the strategic application of standards. Keith was named one of the 10 most influential business leaders in 2023 by The Inc Magazine. Keith graduated with honors from the University of Ottawa with a degree in health sciences. He is married to Kayla and is the loving father of his three small children.

MARK DALEY

Mark is the Chief AI Officer at Western University and a Professor in the Department of Computer Science with cross-appointments in five other departments, The Rotman Institute of Philosophy, and The Western Institute for Neuroscience. He is also a faculty affiliate of Toronto's Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Mark was named in the Maclean's magazine "Power List 2024" of the top 100 Canadians shaping the country and in Constellation Research's AI150, a list of top 150 top global executives leading AI transformation efforts. Mark has previously served as the Vice-President (Research) at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research(CIFAR), and Chief Digital Information Officer, Special Advisor to the President, and Associate Vice-President (Research) at Western. Mark is the past chair of Compute Ontario and serves on a number of other boards.

GILLIAN STRUDWICK

Gillian Strudwick is a Registered Nurse, holding the positions of Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, Scientific Director (int.), Digital Innovation Hub, and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She is also an Associate Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Strudwick serves as a board member for AMS Healthcare and the Village Family Health Team. She is a Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing.