PHSA Board of Directors
Wynne Powell, Board Chair
Mr. Powell is a BC business leader with an extensive record of public service.
Mr. Powell started his career over 40 years ago as a part-owner of a chain of camera stores and a photographic lab. Mr. Powell has developed a national reputation for excellence in retailing and has risen to be President and Chief Operating Officer of London Drugs, London Air Services, TLD Computers, and Sonora Resort as well as serving as a Director on the boards of London Drugs, IGA Canada and B.C. Bearing Group. He has served as a Director of the Vancouver Board of Trade and as a member of the Premier's Economic Advisory Council.
For his active role in the community, Mr. Powell received the Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal as well as medals from the Order of St. John and the Order of the Hospital of St. John.
Mr. Powell holds a Fellowship from the Certified General Accountants Association and an Honourary Doctorate of Technology from the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT). His long affiliation with BCIT started with his graduating from the Business Administration program, then serving as Chair of the Board of BCIT for 8 years, Chair of the BCIT Foundation and now as a lifetime Governor for the BCIT Foundation. In 2003, BCIT gave Mr. Powell a distinguished alumni award for lifetime achievement.
Term of appointment: Dec. 12, 2001 - Dec. 9, 2010 Committee Membership: Ex-Officio of the Research Committee, Audit Committee, Finance Committee, Governance & Human Resources Committee and Quality & Access Committee. Jim Armitage recently retired as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Catalyst Paper Corporation. In the media sector, he has served as COO of Southam Metro Newspapers and as President of The London Free Press. He has also worked as a management consultant in the areas of strategic planning and marketing. Mr. Armitage is a director of the Prince Rupert Port Authority, is a past Chairman of the North American Newsprint Producers Association, and has been a director of the Canadian Press, the Canadian Daily Newspapers Association and Victoria Hospital Corporation in London, Ontario. Mr. Armitage has a BA (Economics) from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He lives in Vancouver.
Term of appointment: March 21, 2008 - March 21, 2011
Committee Membership: Chair of the Research Committee, member of the Audit Committee and Finance Committee. Mr. Armitage is Vice Chair of the Board.
Dr. Helen Burt is the Angiotech Professor of Drug Delivery, Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC and Division Head in the Centre for Drug Research and Development. She obtained her B. Pharm.(Hons) from the University of Bath, U.K. and her Ph.D in Pharmaceutics in 1980 from UBC. Her major research efforts involve the development of polymer-based drug delivery systems for controlled release of drugs targeted to sites of disease, including cancer, arthritis, restenosis and bone regeneration. Dr Burt was awarded the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Science, Research and Technology in 2000, the NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation in 2006, the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences Award of Leadership in 2009 and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Term of appointment: July 26, 2005 - September 17, 2011
Committee Membership: Research Committee, Governance & Human Resources Committee and Quality & Access Committee.
Betsy Gibbons has over 20 years of executive search and human capital experience. She is a Senior Client Partner in Korn/Ferry International’s Vancouver office, where she specializes in senior-level executive recruitment in the industrial, financial services, government, development and association sectors. Ms. Gibbons is active in civic organizations. She is a Director and past Chair of BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre Foundation, a member of the Judicial Council of BC, and on the External Advisory Board for the Faculty of Business at SFU. She holds a BA in Economics and an MBA from SFU.
Term of appointment:
Feb 6, 2007 - Feb 6, 2013
Committee Membership: Chair of the Governance & Human Resources Committee, member of the Quality & Access.
Mary McDougall is an experienced health-care leader with specialized knowledge of the Home & Community Care sector and Public-Private Partnerships. She is president of Trellis Seniors Services, a seniors housing and care company providing corporate management, operations support and business advisory services. Previously, she was president and chief operating officer of Retirement Concepts, a multi-site seniors housing company owning campuses of care and residential care facilities throughout BC. Mary was co-founder and owner-operator of Squeeze Juice Company and articled with Ernst & Young for her chartered accountant designation. She is an active member and past President of the BC Care Providers Association and past Treasurer of YWCA Vancouver. Mary is an alumni with the University of Waterloo and a member of the ICABC and CMC-Canada. She lives with her family in North Vancouver.
Term of appointment:
October 2, 2008 - September 17, 2011Committee Membership: member of the Finance Committee .
Linda S Petch is principle of Linda S. Petch Governance Services, a consulting firm that provides a range of services to Boards of Directors in the public and not‐for‐profit sectors across Canada, including the development of governance structures, strategic leadership and accountability frameworks. Linda is a member of the Board of Governors of RBC Funds and RBC Private Pools, the Board of Directors of the Fortis Group in BC (Fortis BC, Terasen Inc. and Terasen Gas Inc.). She is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the Faculty of Business at the University of Victoria. She holds a MA (Speech Communication) from California State University and a BA (English and Speech) from the University of Nebraska.
Term of appointment: May 31, 2010 – May 31, 2011
Committee Membership: Finance Committee and Research Committee
Allan Ritchie is currently Vice-President of Western Canada Operations for Duke Energy Gas Transmission. He has held numerous other positions within the company including Vice-President of Field Services, Vice-President, Pipeline and Field Services, as well as Vice-President of Field Operations. He previously served as Vice-President of Operations of Westcoast Energy Inc., Pipeline and Field Services Divisions in Calgary and Vice-President of Process Operations of Westcoast Energy Inc. in British Columbia. He is the current Chair of the Canadian Pipeline Energy Association, Technical Steering Committee. Mr. Ritchie has his Bachelor of Science from the University of Lethbridge. He currently resides in Fort St. John.
Term of appointment: July 26, 2005 - July 31, 2011
Committee Membership: Chair of the Quality & Access Committee and member of the Governance & Human Resources Committee.
J.D. (Don) Rowlatt is an economist and, effective July 1, 2009, a retired professor of finance and assistant dean in the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Business. He had previously served as a University Vice-President in both Saskatchewan and Victoria. He now lives in North Vancouver. Don has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Provincial Health Services Authority since the Authority was established. He is currently the Chair of the Finance Committee of the Authority and a member of the Audit Committee. Don is also appointed as an Independent Commissioner of the British Columbia Securities Commission. He is Chair of the Commission’s Human Resources Committee and a member of the Governance Committee.
Term of appointment: April 10, 2002 - March 21, 2011
Committee Membership: Chair of Finance Committee, member of Audit Committee.
W. Murray Sadler is a founding partner of Heather Sadler Jenkins LLP, a Prince George law firm. A Queen's Counsel since 1987, Mr. Sadler practices in several areas of corporate and commercial law including forestry. He has been elected as a director of the Canadian Bar Association and was a founding director of the Continuing Legal Education Society. He has also served on a number of community organizations supporting the arts and other charitable causes. He was appointed by the province as Chair of the Interim Governing Council of the University of Northern BC. Mr. Sadler occupied that position during its initial construction and start up. UNBC later named him a "Friend of UNBC" and granted him an honorary doctorate of laws. Mr. Sadler was also recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Prince George and received a Community Service Award from the Canadian Bar Association.
Term of appointment: October 11, 2007 to October 11, 2010
Committee membership: Member of Research Committee and Finance Committee.
Charanjeet (CJ) Sidhu has held several positions within the Financial Advisors Association of Canada (Advocis), including President and Director of Professional Development for the Greater Vancouver Chapter, and President of the New Westminster Chapter. CJ completed a Bachelor and Masters degree in Commerce in India as well as a Bachelor's degree in Business from DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona. He holds professional designations of Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (CH.F.C.) and Registered Health Underwriter (RHU). Since 1990, CJ has been with Sun Life Financial. He is currently a member of the Surrey Board of Trade.
Term of appointment: December 1, 2009 - December 1, 2010
Committee Membership: Quality & Access, Research and Audit Committee.
Shelley Tratch recently retired from a 23-year career as a leading corporate and commercial lawyer in order to devote more time to board and advisory activities. As a senior partner of Borden Ladner Gervais in Vancouver, the focus of Tratch's practice was corporate and commercial law, strategic business alliances and joint ventures, reorganizations, acquisitions and divestitures, and credit union regulation. She is Director and Vice-Chair of British Columbia Film, recipient in 2003 of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of her service to the community and leadership in the legal profession, and recipient in 2005 of the PEAK Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Women in Finance. She lives in West Vancouver.
Term of appointment: April 10, 2002 - March 21, 2011
Committee Membership: Chair of Audit Committee, Ex-Officio of Finance Committee, member of Governance & Human Resources Committees.