About Bruyère

Board of Directors 2022-2023

John Hoyles, Chair

Erin Crowe, Vice-Chair

Guy Chartrand, Secretary

Geoff Publow, Treasurer

Deborah Lehmann

Community Representative

Paul Zwicker

John Hoyles

Mr. Hoyles joined the Bruyère Board of Directors in June 2014. He was appointed Chair of the Bruyère Board of Directors in June 2021.

In November 2017, John Hoyles took on the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Community Information Centre of Ottawa/211 East, a non-profit organization which provides information and referral services to individuals in need of community, social and health services across the eastern Ontario region and is part of the 211 Ontario network. John Hoyles continues as Chief Executive Officer of Relationships are Everything, Inc. a company dedicated to informing and educating executives and others about the importance of relationships in achieving success.

John served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Bar Association for 20 years and stepped down in December 2016. Prior to that, he was the Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the National Capital Commission. Before that he was head of the GST Consumer Information Office. John practiced law for a number of years in New Liskeard in northeastern Ontario before moving to Ottawa. He is the past president of the International Institute of Law Association Chief Executives and currently the Honorary Secretary General. John is currently the Honorary Colonel of the Legal Branch of the Department of National Defense (JAG). He is also Past Chair of the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE).

His past charitable volunteer experiences have included chairing the Board of the Temiskaming Hospital, chairing the Red Shield Appeal for the Salvation Army and actively supporting fundraising for the University of Ottawa. For several years John chaired the Association Sector of the United Appeal in Ottawa. John was a member of the board and vice-chair of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation from 2005 to 2011.

In 2016 John received from the CBA Wellness Forum, the annual Wellness Award recognizing his contribution to promoting mental wellness for the legal profession over a number of years. In 2006 John received the Pinnacle Award, which is the highest award given by CSAE to an individual exhibiting exemplary association executive leadership. Originally from Val d'Or, Québec, John Hoyles completed an English degree at the University of Ottawa and attended Osgoode Hall Law School.

David Brook

david brook David is the Chief Strategy Officer for Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), a not-for-profit organization primarily funded by the Government of Canada and a range of other partners that is dedicated to saving and improving the lives of the most vulnerable. David played a significant role in launching, and building the business and strategic plans for this leading global innovation organization and continues to provide strategic advice and leadership as part of the senior management team. Prior to working with Grand Challenges Canada, David founded DBk Consulting Inc., a consulting firm based in Ottawa, Canada with a focus on: Global Health ethics and policy, Innovation and Commercialization Policy with a focus on the domestic and global Philanthropic, Health, Environmental and Biotechnology sectors, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, with a focus on climate policy and transformative energy technologies, The Voluntary Sector, the Social Economy and Citizen Participation, and Domestic and International Policy development and analysis.

Erin Crowe

headshot Erin

Erin Crowe joined the Bruyère Board of Directors in 2019 and was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Board in June 2021. She is a member of the Governance, Mission Effectiveness and Nominating Committee.

She is Chief Financial Officer of Martello. Erin has more than 20 years’ experience in senior finance roles and has a proven record for the financial leadership of growth stage businesses in a range of industries. She is a strategic finance leader and has successfully managed several complex financing and other transactions. Prior to Martello, Erin held various CFO and COO roles, including Executive VP and CFO of Senators Sports & Entertainment, the corporation behind the Ottawa Senators NHL hockey team. A Chartered Professional Accountant with a Fellow designation (FCPA, FCA), Erin has received many accolades: the Ottawa Women’s Business Network named her the 2009 Corporate Businesswoman of the Year and she was included in the Ottawa Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2010.

Erin is passionate about giving back to her profession and community. On the board of the Ottawa Food Bank, Erin previously served as Board Chair and Trustee of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, as well as Board Chair and Director for Roger Neilson House.

Guy Chartrand, Secretary

Mr. Chartrand is the President and CEO of Bruyère. In this capacity, he acts as Secretary of the Board of Directors and is an ex-officio member of all committees of the board. He is also an ex-officio member of the Bruyère Foundation board and a director on the Bruyère Research Institute board.

Throughout his career, Mr. Chartrand has held a number of senior positions in hospital, long-term care and community care environments, including president and CEO of Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH), and president and CEO of the Mattawa General Hospital and the Mattawa Senior’s Living organization.

He is a strong advocate for local health system integration to ensure positive care transitions. Mr. Chartrand is known for his leadership in the redevelopment of CGMH and for the amalgamation of the Mattawa Hospital and Algonquin Nursing Home. While at Collingwood, he led a sub-region transformation journey of integration through designing a shared accountability and balanced scorecard amongst all service delivery partners.

In addition to obtaining an MBA and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from Laurentian University, Mr. Chartrand taught in the School of Business for 13 years as a part-time MBA and undergrad professor. A life-long learner himself, he is currently pursuing his PhD through Pécs University in Hungary. His thesis, Leading Teams, aligns perfectly with his professional mandate to “infuse life into organizational design”.

Mr. Chartrand is a family man who enjoys a number of outdoor activities such as skiing, boating, hiking and biking.

Dr.Jean Chouinard

Dr. Jean Chouinard joined the Bruyère Board of Directors in 2022. He is currently the President of the Medical Staff Association at Bruyère and a member of the Audit and Resource Management Committee.

Dr. Chouinard is the former Chief of Department, Complex Continuing Care at Bruyère, a position he held for over 30 years. Dr. Chouinard is also a staff physician within the Complex Continuing Care Team and an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Chouinard played a pivotal role in the successful negotiation and implementation of the Academic Alternate Funding Plan for Bruyère as well as developed the Saint Vincent Campus as an academic centre.

Dr. Chouinard completed his medical degree at the University of Ottawa in 1979, and his post-graduate education at the Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa in 1981. Dr. Chouinard has held several administrative positions at Bruyère including Medical Director, Dialysis Program, Chair of the Health Records Committee and the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee to name a few.

Janet Cosier

Janet joined the Bruyère Board in 2021 and is a member on the Board Quality Committee. Janet is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA/FCMA). After a successful 30 year career, Janet retired from the Bank of Canada where she held executive-level positions leading the strategic planning and enterprise risk management portfolios. She also held the positions of the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Internal Auditor. Since retiring, Janet has been actively involved in leading two international central banking training courses in strategic planning and risk management.

Janet has considerable Board governance experience, having served on several not-for-profit Boards of Directors including the Canadian Payments Association, the Queensway Carleton Hospital, and the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center. Presently, Janet is a board member of the Ontario Hospital Association, and the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Rideau Community Health Services. Janet has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and computer science from York University, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Windsor. Janet and her husband Tony are avid naturalists and enjoy hiking and canoeing in the Rideau River system.

Paula Doering

Ms. Paula Doering is Senior Vice-President of Clinical Programs, Chief Nursing Executive and Chief of other Health Professionals. She is a member of the Bruyère Board of Directors and a member of the Board Quality Committee and the Audit and Resource Management Committee.

Ms. Doering received her Diploma in Nursing from Algonquin College in 1982, completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Post RN Program) in 1988 and an Executive MBA from the University of Ottawa in 1995. Ms. Doering has over 35 years of experience as a health care leader. She has worked at The Ottawa Hospital as Vice-President of Clinical Programs and Diagnostics. She was also the Regional Vice-President at Cancer Care Ontario for the Champlain Regional Cancer Program responsible for the quality, standards and advancement of cancer care for the region.

In her current position, she is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and evaluating patient care delivery. Ms. Doering has been involved at the local, regional, provincial, national and international levels in supporting excellence in nursing practice and patient care. She is passionate about ensuring patients receive the highest, safest quality care.

Daniel Fernandes

Daniel Fernandes is Chair of the Bruyère Foundation Board of Directors and represents the Foundation on the Bruyère Board of Directors. He joined the Bruyère Board in November 2017, and is a member of the Audit and Resource Management Committee.

Mr. Fernandes is a lawyer practising with his own firm named Daniel C. Fernandes Law Office with 4 clerks and an articling student, specializing primarily in commercial real estate, leasing, commercial mortgage financing and land development. Prior to becoming a sole practitioner in 2001, he worked for and helped establish a small boutique real estate law firm (Hebert McKinley Ramonat) and started his career at Goldberg, Shinder, Gardner and Kronick.

He was called to the Ontario bar in 1994. He holds both a B.S.Sc. in Economics and Political Science and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa. He is the founding member of ELCRO (Luso-Canadian Entrepreneurs of Ottawa) since 1997 and a member of the Canadian Bar Association, County of Carleton Law Association (“CCLA”). He was a board member of the JDRF Ride Campaign for eight years. He is a board member of the CCLA Real Estate Lawyers Committee and has been for the last nine years. He has given numerous seminars to financial institutions, lawyers and to groups of entrepreneurs and trades in the areas of commercial real estate and corporate law.

Daniel enjoys skiing, golf and traveling. He was born, raised and educated in Ottawa and loves the city. He is a first generation Portuguese with his father being one of the first Portuguese to settle in the city in 1956.

Catherine Frederick

Catherine Frederick joined the Board in 2018 and was appointed the Chair of the Governance, Mission Effectiveness and Nominating Committee in 2020.

Cathy is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) with extensive experience providing senior corporate leadership in complex multi-union organizations undergoing business transformation with a focus on the employee and client experience. She has expertise in the design and implementation of integrated talent management and employee engagement strategies and programs, organizational development, business transformation, strategic workforce planning, risk management, governance, and performance measurement.

She has worked in both the public and private sector in multiple areas including nuclear engineering, policing, management consulting, municipalities, health care and postsecondary education. She was Vice-President Human Resources at Algonquin College and held senior management positions at City of Ottawa, Deloitte Consulting, Ottawa Police and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

Most recently, Cathy was Vice-Chair and Member of the Board of Directors at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. She is a graduate of Carleton University.

Dr. Paul Hendry

paul hendry Dr. Hendry was first appointed to the Bruyère Board of Directors as representative of the University of Ottawa in June 2018.

Dr. Hendry earned his MD from the University of Ottawa in 1981, where he completed his Residency Training in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and is a certified Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC).
His areas of focus in adult cardiac surgery included arrhythmias, pacemakers, heart failure surgery, cardiac transplantation and left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). His research interests have been in right heart function during LVAD support, the development of an implantable LVAD, clinical outcomes and more recently education research. He has been involved at all levels of medical education since he joined the University of Ottawa: helping with the development of the first cardiovascular block as part of the new undergraduate curriculum; as a Tutor for PBL and lecturer; as the cardiac surgery coordinator for the Undergraduate Surgical Education Committee; and with resident education.

His area of focus now is Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and has been active nationally in developing courses for his specialty and working on various CPD committees both for national specialty committees and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He became the Assistant Dean for CPD at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine in 2009 and has worked to broaden the scope of the Office of CPD in providing education programs to physicians and scientists in his region and now oversees it as Vice Dean for CPD.

Dr. Shaun McGuire

Dr. McGuire is Chief of Staff at Bruyère and Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Executive Committee, and the Board Quality Committee.

Dr. McGuire is the former medical director of medical affairs at The Ottawa Hospital, a staff physician with the Riverside Family Health Team and an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Prior to becoming medical director, Dr. McGuire was head of the Department of Family Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital for 10 years. Over the past three years, Dr. McGuire has played a pivotal role in the development of The Ottawa Hospital physician engagement strategy.

Dr. McGuire holds a master of business administration degree and a bachelor of science degree. He completed his medical degree at the University of Ottawa, and a post-graduate residency at the Bruyère Family Medicine Centre. Dr. McGuire has practiced in the University of Ottawa’s Department of Family Medicine for over 20 years and has held a number of administrative positions at the Ottawa Hospital including acting vice-president, medical affairs; vice-chair, medical advisory committee; and chair of continuing medical education to name a few.

Dr. McGuire brings a strong background and personal commitment to patient quality and safety initiatives, which is so critical in the care of Bruyère’s population.

Dylan McGuinty, Jr.

Dylan McGuinty, Jr., joined the Bruyère board of directors in June 2018, and is a member on the Governance, Mission Effectiveness and Nominating Committee.

Dylan graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School with a Juris Doctor in Law in 2014 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2015. His main areas of practice are Wills and Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Trust Law, and assisting Executors and Legal Attorneys. He has developed and trademarked Tax Saving Wills for Physicians, Business Owners, and retirees.

Dylan has also represented clients at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Landlord Tenant Board and the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Dylan currently sits on the Bruyère Continuing Care Board of Directors to advance the care of patients in need of sub-acute, geriatric and palliative care.

In 2013, he was elected President of the Legal and Literary Society of Osgoode Hall Law School, Osgoode’s student government since 1876. In 2011, he founded and presided over the Distinguished Speakers’ Series of Osgoode Hall Law School Committee (“DSSOC”), which hosted a wide array of judges, lawyers, writers and academics.

Before entering Law, Dylan obtained an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Ottawa. Prior to his M.A. studies, he earned his B.A. (Honours) with a double-Major in Philosophy and Public Administration from the University of Ottawa.

During his time as an undergraduate student, Dylan was the Editor-in-Chief of Hermes, an undergraduate Canadian bilingual Philosophy Journal, and served as a Vice-President on the University of Ottawa Faculty of Arts student government. Dylan was also an internationally ranked competitive rower from 2003-2006, earning a gold medal at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in 2003, and placing second in 2004, and was ranked nationally in Canada in 2005.

Geoff Publow

Geoff Publow joined the Bruyère Board of Directors in 2020. He is Treasurer and Chair of the organization’s Audit and Resource Management Committee. He is the CFO and VP of Real Estate Development of the Myers Automotive Group, overseeing the strategic finance and real estate portfolio with a specific focus on new development and investment initiatives. Myers is Eastern Ontario’s largest vehicle dealer group with 14 Dealerships and 3 CARSTAR Collision Centres representing 7 OEM’s and 14 brands. Prior to joining Myers, Geoff held various senior executive positions with Senators Sports & Entertainment over 19 years, including six years as Vice President of Strategic Development. While with the Senators, Geoff led the organization’s real estate development initiatives including the downtown arena project, development of the Sensplex community arenas through private-public partnerships with the City of Ottawa, the management, operation and major renovations to the Canadian Tire Centre. Geoff has extensive experience in development, capital financing, reporting, treasury and risk management.

Community involvement is a passion for Geoff, including 15 years of coaching minor hockey. Geoff is the past chair of a number of community boards, including Ottawa Tourism, the Tourism Development Council and Ottawa Community Ice Partners.

Philippe Renaud

Mr. Renaud joined Bruyère’s Board of Directors in September 2016. He is Vice Chair of the Audit and Resource Management Committee.

Mr. Renaud is a CPA, CA with approximately 20 years of experience in providing assurance and advisory services to a wide range of organizations. Since 2008, Mr. Renaud is a partner with the firm of Marcil Lavallée, a leading independent firm of Chartered Professional Accountants in the National Capital Region. He offers his clients a wide range of services, from risk assessment and assurance services to tax and financial consultations. In his role as external auditor, he has also been involved with numerous boards of directors and committees of various organizations.

Mr. Renaud is president of the firm’s Board of Partners since 2011 and is in charge of the firm’s professional practice since 2009. In this capacity, he presides over the Professional Practice Committee and is responsible for overseeing the firm’s compliance with the CPA professional standards. Mr. Renaud has also been involved as a board member of an early childhood centre.

Jenn Thornhill Verma

Jenn Thornhill Verma joined the Board as a Community Representative in 2019 and was appointed as a voting director in June 2021. She is the CHSO designate and a member of the Governance, Mission Effectiveness and Nominating Committee.

Jenn has worked in the non-profit healthcare sector for over a decade. She is the Senior Director, Corporate Strategy and Development with the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, a non-profit working with healthcare leaders to make best practices more common. Jenn serves on a number of national health committees including the Advisory Council on Population Health (Canadian Institute for Health Information); the Policy Legal and Regulatory Affairs Advisory (Canadian Patient Safety Institute); the Quality Mental Health Care Network (Mental Health Commission of Canada and HealthCareCAN); and the Collaborative Healthcare Improvement Partnerships theme group (Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research).

Jenn is a University of King’s College alumnus, holding a Bachelor of Journalism Honours (2002) and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction (2019). She also holds a Master of Science (2007) in Applied Health Services Research from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Jenn’s background is in broadcast journalism and she recently returned to her reporting roots as a freelance reporter. In 2019, Jenn was a finalist for a National Magazine Award (category: Best New Magazine Writer) and an Atlantic Journalism Award (Best Profile). Her first book, “Cod Collapse: The Fall and Rise of Newfoundland’s Saltwater Cowboys” will be published in fall 2019 by Nimbus Publishing. Jenn is also a landscape painter, painting scenes of outport and coastal communities like the ones she remembers growing up.

Carmen Vierula

Carmen Vierula Carmen joined the Bruyère Board of Directors in 2021 and is a member of the Board Quality Committee.

Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Carmen received a Bachelor of Commerce honours degree from Laurentian University in 1981. She is a Fellow of Chartered Professional Accountants Ontario and certified internal auditor.

Carmen has considerable leadership experience in financial management and reporting, strategic planning and financial, operational and information technology assurance and advisory services in the public and private sectors in Canada and internationally.

In 2020, Carmen retired from the Bank of Canada where she held the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accountant and Managing Director of the Financial Services department from 2014 to 2020 and prior to that, Chief Internal Auditor. She had internal audit senior strategic leadership roles at the United Nations and the University of Ottawa. She worked as a public accountant in Ottawa, Guelph and Calgary, and taught French in Helsinki. She is currently engaged by International Monetary Fund to provide expert technical assistance to selected central banks.

Carmen is actively involved in her community and has served on several boards, mostly recently, Financial Executives International (National Capital Region Chapter 2015-2021) and United Way Centraide Canada (2017-2020). Other board contributions include University of Ottawa (2004-2012) and the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (2002-2007).

Lee Wagner

Lee Wagner joined the Bruyère Board of Directors in 2017 and is a member of the Audit and Resource Management Committee.

Lee has been a CPA, CMA for over 20 years in a broad range of industries and has vast experience in operations, finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, labour relations and risk management.

Lee is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Real Strategy Commercial Real Estate Solutions where he oversees the financial strategies of the commercial brokerage, the property management portfolio, and all real estate acquisition and development opportunities.

Lee started his career in hospitality. After graduating from Georgian College, he spent 5 years at the Banff Springs Hotel where he became a Sommelier and worked in a number of restaurants, including the CAA 5 Diamond-awarded Rob Roy. Lee moved back to Ottawa to work as Outlets Manager at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, then helping to open Restaurant Eighteen, winning awards for service and wine lists at both places.

In 2001, Lee decided to go back to school to complete a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Ottawa. After receiving his Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, Lee became the Controller at Newcap Radio, responsible for accounting teams in Ottawa, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. With Newcap, he was also fortunate to lead a successful $7 million Ottawa band initiative called the LiVE 88.5 Big Money Shot.

After Newcap Radio, Lee went back into hospitality as the owner of Steak & Sushi in the ByWard Market, then moving over to the Sheraton Hotel as the Food & Beverage Director where he oversaw the rejuvenation of the hotel’s food and beverage offering through major renovations to Banquets as well as a new Restaurant/Bar project.

In addition to his fulfilling work with Bruyère, Lee has also volunteered his time as the Marketing Chair for the ByWard Market BIA, the Entertainment Chair for HOPE Volleyball Summerfest and the Pension Committee Chair for Newcap Radio.

Community Representatives

Paul Zwicker

Paul

Paul joined the Board as a community representative in 2022 and is a member of the Board Quality Committee. Paul is a seasoned bilingual professional executive with over 40 years’ experience as a leader, executive administrator, trainer, professor, and coach. He is recognized across the Canadian HealthCare industry as a Subject Matter Expert and Operational Advisor on retirement community management, health care environmental services (EVS), hygiene, and other non-clinical support services. Paul derives genuine pleasure from transforming high-potential staff into outstanding leaders demonstrating the creativity critical to financial and operational success. He is focused on creating cultures of high performance and excellence.