Executive Team

headshot of Heather McPherson

HEATHER MCPHERSON (SHE/HER)

Heather McPherson is the President & CEO of Women’s College Hospital (WCH). Heather is a highly recognized healthcare executive with extensive experience in clinical, academic and health system leadership. Prior to her role as President & CEO, she served as the hospital’s Executive Vice President of Patient Care and Ambulatory Innovation; where she was at the forefront of shaping and executing hospital strategy and operations.

Heather is an innovative leader who has been instrumental in establishing clinical programs and services that close the health gaps for patients – not only at Women’s College hospital but throughout the province. With her unparalleled ability to partner across the healthcare system, build high-performance teams and foster a culture of excellence, she has created transformative solutions including the operationalization of WCH’s new building, the implementation of an electronic health record and the evolution of the hospital’s ambulatory model of care. Throughout her career Heather has focused on the evaluation and improvement of the systems of clinical care delivery and redefining what it means to be a patient: engaged, empowered, and understood.

Heather is a passionate advocate for a multifaceted and comprehensive approach to health. She is a registered Occupational Therapist and holds a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Toronto. She is also an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Heather started her career as an Occupational Therapist at Queensway General Hospital (now Trillium Health Partners) and St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. She joined Women’s College as Supervisor of Occupational Therapy and Manager of the Multidisciplinary Osteoporosis Program then took on the role of Chief of Health Disciplines at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre. She has gone on to fulfil numerous innovative roles for the organization, including, Director of Interprofessional Education and the Administrative Director of Women & Chronic Diseases.

Outside of her work at WCH, Heather lends her expertise volunteering with several community organizations and has been a key member of several academic committees at the University of Toronto, working towards greater collaboration between disciplines. She is currently the Chair, TAHSN and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Mohawk Medbuy Corporation.

Bio coming soon.

Dr. Cindy MaxwellDr. Cindy Maxwell is Vice President, Medical Affairs & System Transformation and Lead Medical Executive at Women’s College Hospital. In her role as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, Dr. Maxwell guides the hospital’s team of medical leaders as they continue to deliver exceptional patient care as well as provide oversight of the hospital’s health system transformation strategies.

She is an accomplished physician, researcher and educator who has been recognized as a transformative health system leader. She is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital and Women’s College Hospital, and Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Toronto. Her clinical and research interests are focused on disorders of pregnancy with an emphasis on pregnancies affected by obesity, malignancy, and gastrointestinal disorders.

Dr. Maxwell co-leads N-ABL, the provincial network to support Black medical learners and is a past-President of the Black Physicians Association of Ontario. Dr. Maxwell leads the Obesity Stream of the FIGO Committee on Impact of Pregnancy and Long-term Health. She is a Member of the Governing Council of the Provincial Council on Maternal and Child Health for Ontario.

headshot of Dr. Rulan Parekh

DR. RULAN S. PAREKH (SHE/HER)

Dr. Rulan S. Parekh is the Vice President, Academics, Women’s College Hospital. In her role, Dr. Parekh leads the advancement of the hospital’s goal to build sustainable, world-class research, innovation and education. This includes leveraging the collective strengths of the Women’s College Research Institute (WCRI), Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV), and the hospital’s interprofessional teaching and education scholarship to create a new portfolio integrating research, innovation and education and advancing Women’s College Hospital as a Learning Health System.

Dr. Rulan Parekh is a clinician-scientist, and an international leader in clinical epidemiology and translational research in kidney disease. Her work has revealed novel genetic risk factors leading to kidney disease and increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality for children and adults with kidney disease. Dr. Parekh previously held a Canada Research Chair in Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology and now holds the F.M. Hill Chair of Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology.

Dr. Parekh is also a staff nephrologist at Women’s College Hospital and Hospital for Sick Children, as well as a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine in the Departments of Medicine, Paediatrics, Epidemiology and Health Policy and Management Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

 

Jennifer Price headshotJENNIFER PRICE (SHE/HER)

Jennifer is the Vice President, Clinical Programs and Corporate Nurse & Professional Practice Executive. Dr. Price holds a PhD and an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the University of Toronto and she is a Certified Cardiovascular Nurse with the Canadian Nurses Association. Dr. Price is an Adjunct Professor in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto where she is involved in graduate faculty education.

Dr. Price’s clinical practice is in the area of women and heart disease in Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative, Canada’s first and only cardiac rehabilitation program designed and delivered specifically for woman.

Dr. Price’s research interests explore cardiac rehabilitation, women and heart disease. She is interested in interventions which assist women to make healthy lifestyle choices. From a health services perspective her interest is in developing methods of care delivery that improve referral and access for women to cardiac rehabilitation programs and which help women stay engaged in rehabilitation.

She is presently co-investigator on the ADAPT – Avoiding Diabetes after Pregnancy Trial – which is funded by the Lawson Foundation, the Canadian Diabetes Association and CIHR and Development and Usability Testing of HEARTPA♀N: An Integrated Smartphone and Web-Based Intervention for Women with Cardiac Pain also funded by CIHR

Dr. Lisa RichardsonDr. Lisa Richardson is a mixed blood Anishinaabe physician and clinician-educator in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She practices General Internal Medicine at the University Health Network and is a Centre Researcher at the Wilson Centre with a scholarly focus on the integration of Indigenous and critical perspectives from the social sciences into medical education.  Dr. Richardson is the Associate Dean, Inclusion and Diversity at Temerty Medicine and is the Strategic Lead in Indigenous Health for Women’s College Hospital where she founded the Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health. Dr. Richardson is a powerful advocate for Indigenous health equity at both the local and the national level and her contributions have been recognized through numerous local, national, and international awards.

headshot of Sandra Smith

SANDRA SMITH (SHE/HER)

As the Vice President People, Culture, and Equity & CHRO Sandra provides senior leadership to our People Team, leading the development of our People Strategy for the organization as well as an expanded responsibility for equity across the organization.

Sandra is a healthcare executive with over 25 years’ experience in the Ontario health system. Sandra holds a Master of Arts in Leadership. She is a Certified Human Resources Executive (CHRE) who also brings a nursing background to her practice. Sandra is known as a values based leader with a focus on culture, leadership and engagement. Sandra has had the opportunity to be involved in a number of provincial committees and supports partnering to develop systems solutions. Prior to joining Women’s College Hospital, Sandra has worked at Southlake Regional Health Centre, North York General Hospital and Trillium Health Centre.

She is a member of the College of Canadian Health Care Executives (CCHSE) and holds the CHE designation, and is also a member of Human Resource Professionals (HRPA) and the College of Nurses Ontario (CNO).

headshot of Drew Wesley

DREW WESLEY (HE/HIM)

As Vice President, Business, Technology and Corporate Information Officer Drew provides leadership to several strategic initiatives and key projects including the development of our IM/IT strategy, the creation of our IM/IT governance structure and the enhancement and expansion of our clinical systems like EPIC. He leads the creation of business intelligence tools to help support clinical and administrative decision-making and will establish our new Business Development office. He also oversees our Health Information department.

Drew previously worked at VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) where he served as the CIO and Head of Operations. He was responsible for all aspects of VHA’s operations, information technology and health records departments – supporting over 2,700 employees providing over 5 million homecare visits across Ontario each year. At VHA, he led the development of a robust cyber security program, led the transformation of their back office operational processes and steered the organization’s transition to their new electronic medical record.

Prior to joining VHA, Drew held senior roles across the public and private sectors and acted as a consultant to international organizations including the United Nations and the Canadian International Development Agency.

headshot of Jack Woodman

JACK WOODMAN (THEY/THEM)

Jack Woodman is the Vice President Strategy, Quality, Risk and Privacy at Women’s College Hospital. Jack has a passion for improving health and the care experience at individual, population and system levels. Since joining WCH in 2012, Jack has played an instrumental role in delivering on the Healthcare Revolutionized strategy and innovative solutions to meet unmet health care needs in communities facing barriers and inequities. Jack is accountable for corporate strategy and planning, quality, safety, patient experience, risk and privacy. They also oversee strategic communications and government relations.

Prior to joining WCH, Jack worked in health care consulting at the Ontario Hospital Association where they led projects across 150 hospitals in areas of organizational health management, patient and provider experience and long-term sustainability of the health care system in Ontario. They previously served in patient care roles at Bridgepoint Active Health and as president of the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Jack holds Masters of Health Science in Health Administration, a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, and Bachelor of Science in kinesiology. They have completed the Executive Quality Officer program at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and are a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders.