Sarah Downey is a senior healthcare leader whose career spans 25+ years across a broad range of hospitals including community, academic, and complex multi-institutional organizations. In 2022, Sarah was appointed President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and a world leading research centre in this field.

Sarah has held progressive leadership positions at CAMH, University Health Network, The Ottawa Hospital and Michael Garron Hospital. She has made numerous contributions to health care in Ontario through her leadership of cancer and mental health programs, capital and strategic planning, workplace safety and wellness, and community building.

Dr. Kitts is a distinguished leader in the Ontario hospital sector. He led The Ottawa Hospital as President and CEO for 18 years. Upon his retirement, he was appointed Commissioner of Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission. 

Dr. Kitts is an anesthesiologist, has a Master’s degree in business administration from the University of Ottawa and has been the recipient of several accolades, including the Order of Canada.

Dr. Gary Newton is President and CEO of Sinai Health. Before assuming the CEO role in 2016, Dr. Newton held the position of Physician-in-Chief of Mount Sinai Hospital from 2013 to 2015 and was appointed to the role of Chief Medical Strategy Officer and Physician-in-Chief of the newly formed Sinai Health System in 2015. He served as Chair of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) from 2017-2021, and more recently was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors, Hospital Diagnostic Imaging Repository.

As a practicing cardiologist, Dr. Newton served as the Head of the Division of Cardiology, University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital from 2009 through 2013. He had an active research program in human physiology, focusing on congestive heart failure and nutritional issues in patients with heart failure. He served as Chair of the Scientific Research Committee of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada from 2017-2020.

Dr. Newton is a graduate of the University of Toronto Medical School and has been on faculty at the University of Toronto since 1996. In 2016, he was awarded the Robert Hyland Award for Excellence in Mentorship by the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto. Dr. Newton is known as a mentor to next generation leaders and the potential these leaders bring to the future of the Ontario hospital sector and health system more broadly.

Michelle is a Chartered Professional Accountant who has held leadership positions with KPMG for 35 years. Seasoned in auditing public sector and not-for-profit organizations, she has experience in all aspects of audit planning, control and reporting.

A life-long resident of the Kingston area, Michelle is a passionate community member, volunteering for many not-for-profit organizations and serving on the boards of several health care and philanthropic organizations.  Michelle has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Queen’s University.

Melissa Prokopy is the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy and is responsible for advancing the OHA’s advocacy efforts in support of hospitals and their partners. She also teaches the Law and Ethics Course at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

Melissa has a law degree from the University of Windsor. With more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of health care policy and the law, she has a deep understanding of the complex issues facing hospitals and broader health care system in Ontario.

Mark is an investment executive with deep experience in investment strategy, portfolio management and governance. He has chaired several health care organizations, including Hamilton Health Sciences and not-for-profit boards, including as a member on the Ontario Hospital Association board. He volunteers his time and leadership in capital development campaigns for charitable organizations.

Mark has a Bachelor of Arts and a Chartered Director certification from McMaster University.

Jessica is a leadership advisor with over 20 years of experience in talent assessment and development for top executive succession. Her strength lies in aligning talent development initiatives to business strategy to build bench strength for succession and organizational growth. She combines an acute understanding of business strategy with insights into people’s capability, motivation and potential. 

Jessica has a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from University of Guelph and is a registered psychologist. 

Dr. Wijeysundera is an interventional/structural cardiologist and Chief of the Heart Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. He is a Senior Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute as well as an Adjunct Senior Scientist at ICES. He is Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. In 2022, he was appointed as the Provincial Lead, Cardiac at Ontario Health.

He is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Medical School and has a PHD in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Toronto.

Mari Teitelbaum trained and worked as an electrical engineer in the first half of her career. She found her passion when she shifted her technology expertise from the tech sector to healthcare. Joining the CHEO Executive team in 2014 as CIO was the beginning of a 10-year adventure that saw CHEO reach the top 1% of digital hospitals in Canada.

Mari holds a Masters in Health Administration from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Engineering from Queen’s University.