Dr. Maureen O’Donnell is responsible for provincial clinical policy, innovation and research. Her portfolio leads collaborative work to create and execute on system-wide strategies. These apply clinical excellence, data and analytics, discovery and technology to solve challenging and complex issues, act on opportunities for innovation and, with input from patients, care providers and researchers, seek to enact evidence-based improvement in health and health-care across B.C.
In addition to her role with PHSA, Maureen is supporting the Ministry of Health during a two-year appointment as Associate Deputy Minister, Health System Innovation, working collaboratively to provide a stronger focus, for both the ministry and the broader health sector, on driving innovation and effective strategy management.
Maureen is an experienced health care leader, clinician and academic. She is a subspecialist pediatrician with a Master of Science in clinical epidemiology and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia. She has served as chair for a number of national and international boards and national executive committees.
She supports her clinical sub-specialty area of pediatrics through her participation with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada on the examination committee. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Children’s Healthcare Canada where she is the immediate past chair and on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
Shannon is a highly skilled health informatics leader, passionate about transforming health care through patient engagement and experience in strategic planning, portfolio/program management, and systems implementation. In this executive role, she supports our local and provincial systems and partners with the Ministry of Health to deliver digital strategies, including the latest work delivering the IMMS BC solution, vaccine passport and Health Gateway.
Shannon returned to PHSA in 2019 from TELUS, where she was principal for patient engagement leading strategy and development of TELUS Health’s patient-facing applications, including Personal Health Record, Home Health Monitoring, and EMR Portals. Previous to TELUS Health, Shannon was director, clinical solution delivery for PHSA. She led the delivery of major clinical IM/IT projects across PHSA, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Healthcare. She also led the teams responsible for the Project Portfolio Management Office, Budget Planning and Management, and Performance Management and Benefits Evaluation.
Shannon is currently president of the Board of Digital Health Canada. In November 2021, she was awarded a Top Forty under 40 award from Business in Vancouver.
Scott MacNair is responsible for leading business operations within PHSA, with a focus on enhancing value across the provincial health-care system. His portfolio includes Supply Chain, Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services, Health Emergency Management BC, Facilities Management and Capital Projects as well as Lower Mainland accountability for Diagnostic Imaging Services, Pharmacy Services, Biomedical Engineering and Integrated Protection Services.
Scott has diverse experience in the private sector. Starting in 2008, Scott worked with Stryker Canada, a leading medical technology company. He assumed increasingly senior leadership roles in commercial sales, marketing, contracting, tendering and pricing, operational and commercial performance and financial performance, and in 2016 he took on the role as president.
Earlier in his career, Scott spent 13 years leading teams in the areas of business development, sales and marketing with Boston Scientific and Xerox. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology and has completed the executive leadership program at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
Susan Wannamaker leads clinical delivery programs that support direct patient and client care, including BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services, BC Cancer, BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre.
Susan has held diverse executive roles in her 40-year career in health care, including clinical background as a nurse, operational experience in running hospitals, leading significant transformation initiatives and 20 years in leadership roles at Vancouver Coastal Health. Susan has been "hands-on" at virtually every level of the B.C. health-care system; as a result, she has a deep understanding of how different roles and professions work together and appreciates how important relationships within and across health authorities are to achieving lasting, positive outcomes.
Most recently, she was president of BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. Prior to that, she was senior vice president at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, Ontario, responsible for all hospital operations and ensuring operational readiness for a new hospital expansion.
In her role as Vice President, Pandemic Response, Lexie Flatt oversees PHSA’s ongoing organizational pandemic response to COVID-19 and liaises with the Pandemic Response Department at the Ministry of Health, while collaborating with colleagues in similar roles with B.C.’s other health authorities. Lexie ensures PHSA maintains a timely, focused response to pandemic planning needs while maintaining capacity for business continuity across all other health care programs and services.
Lexie also holds the position of Chief Data Governance & Analytics Officer, supporting PHSA in making “data-informed” decisions that support the needs of both patients and care providers.
With 25 years of experience leading complex projects related to analytics, decision support, performance evaluation, funding and reporting in B.C. and Ontario, Lexie will is well-versed in leading organizations through strategy, operations and policy development. Her hands-on experience is supplemented with a strong academic background, including an MBA and advanced statistical and research, business, and finance training.
As PHSA’s vice president of People & Culture, Susan is focused on the health and well-being of PHSA’s workforce and strengthening our organizational culture.
Susan is a senior organization development practitioner and respected health-care leader. She joined PHSA in 2018 as executive director of Practice and Patient Experience with BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. In 2021, she took on the role of executive director, People Experience, followed by interim vice president, People & Culture, before taking on the vice president role permanently in March 2022.
Before coming to PHSA, Susan worked with Fraser Health, serving for two decades in progressive leadership roles. Prior to that, Susan led her own consulting practice in management and organizational development, serving a variety of public and private sector industries.
Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English and a Master of Arts in Organizational Development and Change. She also represents the health-care industry as a member of the advisory council for the School of Leadership Studies with Royal Roads University and is an active volunteer, serving as a trustee on the board and executive committee of the Global Organizational Development Network.
In this new executive role, Joe Gallagher will guide the further development and evolution of PHSA’s Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety strategy, lead the delivery of cultural safety and humility education, and support PHSA’s Indigenous Health and Human Resources Plan.
Joe is Coast Salish from the Tla'amin First Nation and has already made extraordinary contributions to B.C.’s health-care system over the course of his career. Joe was the founding chief executive officer of the First Nations Health Authority, the first and only health authority of its kind in Canada, and served as CEO from 2009-2019. Prior to this role, Joe held senior leadership roles at a number of governmental and First Nations organizations, working in areas including health care, community development, economic development and intergovernmental affairs.
In the last year, Joe has provided executive-level consulting support to B.C. health regulatory colleges and other institutions as they work to address Indigenous-specific racism and achieve cultural safety and humility in health-care settings.
Kendra McPherson leads clinical improvement and transformation, which includes the Health Improvement Networks and PHSA’s coordinating role in primary care. Through the Transformation Leadership Office, Kendra is focused on where PHSA is going from a system perspective, driving our executive leaders to meet milestones and deliver outcomes critical to the transformation of PHSA and the B.C. health-care system overall.
Kendra has led and managed a number of large, system-wide transformation initiatives provincially, across Canada, and in the United States. Through these experiences, she has developed a deep understanding of issues impacting the continuum of care and insights into what it takes to achieve and sustain strong gains in efficiency, patient care, and clinical outcomes. Kendra holds a Bachelor of Arts in Family and Nutritional Sciences from the University of British Columbia, a Master of Healthcare Administration from Seton Hall University and numerous professional certifications.
Laurie Dawkins is responsible for internal and external communications across all PHSA portfolios; including media relations, social media, brand, content services and web strategy.
Laurie has more than 25 years’ experience in the communications industry, and holds the international professional designations of Accredited Business Communicator and Strategic Communications Management Professional. In 2017, she was named a Master Communicator of Canada by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)– Canada. Laurie is an active member of IABC locally, nationally and internationally, a frequent mentor to new communicators, and she holds more than 26 industry awards and honours for her professional work and volunteerism.
Prior to joining PHSA in November 2018, Laurie served for 17 years with Vancouver Coastal Health in increasingly senior roles, including interim vice president, communications, public affairs & community engagement. Before that, she was privileged to work with organizations like the University of British Columbia, Industry Canada and Placer Dome Mining, among others.
