Governance

Alan G. Wildeman – Board Chair
Alan was born and raised in rural Saskatchewan and has spent more than 30 years in Southwestern Ontario.  In 2018 he retired after serving ten years as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Windsor.  Prior to that he served as Vice-President of Research at the University of Guelph, and enjoyed many years in academia with roles in teaching and research including a NATO Fellowship allowing him to work in Strasbourg, France.  He holds a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Guelph.  Mr. Wildeman has extensive experience serving on community, provincial and national advisory committees and boards, and understands the importance of public institutions to the health and well-being of communities.  He has been serving on the Board of Directors of CKHA since 2018.

Greg Aarssen
Greg, born and raised in Wallaceburg, is an entrepreneur, investor and farmer. Greg enjoyed over 30 years in the oil and gas industry. He worked corporately with AltaGas Ltd., a TSX 100 corporation, serving in various executive capacities, including Vice President Corporate Affairs and Co-President, Gas. Greg holds a Bachelor Science (Honours) from the University of Western Ontario, and an MBA and Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Windsor. Greg retired from the energy industry in 2012.  He continues to provide consulting and management advice to the energy sector.

Jack Carroll
Jack is a resident of Chatham and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Toronto. He served the Province of Ontario as a Justice of the Peace, was an elected Member of Provincial Parliament and owned and operated a successful General Motors dealership.

Deb Crawford – Vice Chair
Deb was born and raised in Toronto and moved to Chatham-Kent in 2001. She retired as Director of Education for the St. Clair Catholic District School Board in 2021 after serving as a teacher, vice principal, principal, superintendent, and director of the board.  Deb began her career in education in 1983 with the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts from York University, a Bachelor and Master of Education from Brock University and The Ontario Directors of Education Leadership and Strategic Impact Certificate from Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.  Deb served on the Executive and as President of the Ontario Catholic Supervisory Association (OCSOA), and on the Executive Board for the Council of Directors of Education (CODE).  Deb has been active on national, provincial, and local committees and boards and was a member of the board of directors of the former Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).

Stephanie Dries – Vice Chair
Stephanie is a resident of Chatham and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and an Honours Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Stephanie has progressive career experience in a number of diverse roles including consulting, communications and corporate human resources. 

Robert Dye 
Robert is a resident of Ridgetown. Prior to his retirement, he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada. He is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and Chair of the Chatham-Kent Strategic Priority Advisory Committee. He is a past Board member and Treasurer for the Board of Directors of the Erie St. Clair Community Care Access Centre. Robert was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree (LLD) from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1999 for his contribution to management education in Ontario Universities.

Brian Glover – Treasurer
Brian was born and raised in Wallaceburg. He graduated from the University of Waterloo and is currently employed with the National Bank Financial as an Investment Advisor. Previous to this Brian was the CEO for the Chatham-Kent Family YMCA. He has served as a board member for several organizations including YMCAs of Southwestern Ontario where he currently chairs the Audit Committee. He has been a Board member for Entegrus Powerlines, Chatham-Kent Family YMCA and Chatham-Kent Safety Village.

Deborah Hook  
Deborah is the Executive Director for Community Living Wallaceburg. A graduate from Université Laval with a Bachelor of Law degree, she also holds a certificate in Corporate Governance. Deb is fully bilingual in English and French and is a member of the Québec Bar. She has more than a decade of experience in health care and community leadership in Southwestern Ontario and Ottawa. She is currently a Director with the YMCAs of Southwestern Ontario and is Chair of the Governance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee.

Geetu Pathak – Vice Chair
Geetu is an area business owner and executive. She serves as CEO of Milo-FAIS and is Vice-Chair of Ekagrata Inc. She has considerable experience in turnaround management, business building and strategy consulting. Geetu has extensive governance experience and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Toronto International Film Festival, where she Chairs the Audit Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Ryerson University. Recently, Geetu completed her term as a member of the Board of TV Ontario where she was Chair of the Audit Committee. Geetu has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahemadabad and a B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Sharon Pfaff 
Sharon, a resident of Erieau, has held senior roles at Cancer Care Ontario with direct accountability for the Information Programs of Prevention & Screening, Cancer, Chronic Disease Management which included Cardiac Care Network, Ontario Renal Network and Access to Care. Sharon was the Chief Executive Officer for Consolidated Health Information Services (CHIS). Since retiring in 2012, Sharon has fulfilled the community board member role for the Chatham-Kent Board of Health. Sharon was the Chair of the Lester B. Pearson Board of Directors and former Director for the Chatham-Kent Children’s Services’ Board.

Susan Ruth
Susan is a retired pharmacist with extensive experience as a health care executive and volunteer governor.  She has over 30 years of successful experience in clinical and business management, operational and strategic development. Ms. Ruth has received recognition consistently for performance excellence and her contributions to health care.  Her strengths are strategic planning, risk management and quality control.  Previously, Ms. Ruth was a member and Chair for the Board of Directors of a not-for-profit Board managing McCormick Home and Wellspring London.

Ex-officio Members

Lori Marshall – President and CEO

As President and Chief Executive Officer, Lori brings to the organization over 15 years of progressive leadership experience in Ontario’s acute and community care sectors, and a reputation as a patient-centred strategist with a track record of addressing complex issues through a shared vision and knowledge of the community and region. This is Lori’s third appointment as CEO, the first being in 2005 for Nipigon District Memorial Hospital and in 2014 for the Erie St. Clair Community Care Access Centre. She has served as Vice President at two hospitals including Oshawa General Hospital and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, where she held the positions of VP Patient Care before being promoted to Executive Vice President, Strategy, Performance and Aboriginal Health.

Lori is a Registered Pharmacist with the Ontario College of Pharmacists and a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. She holds a Health Leadership Certificate from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Ottawa. Lori has a rich history of community service and has been active on many boards and committees at the provincial and local levels.

Meredith Whitehead – Vice President, Transformation and Chief Nursing Executive

As Vice President, Transformation and Chief Nursing Executive (CNE), Meredith is responsible for Nursing and Allied Health, Professional Practice, Quality, Human Resources, Organization Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Under this portfolio Meredith fosters and builds connections that benefit our staff with respect to practice, quality and evolving standards. As the CNE, Meredith sits at the Board of Directors and provides strategic direction on the organization’s practice environment. The new strategic elements of this role include a major focus on developing CKHA’s Diversity & Equity framework. In addition, the VP, Transformation and CNE will be providing professional practice support to the Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team and its pursuit of a Best Practice Spotlight Organization Designation with the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.

Meredith is a dynamic health care professional with over 15 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and over 10 of those years in progressive leadership roles in professional practice, operations and informatics.   Most recently, as the Chief Nursing Information Officer with the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie, she led a collaborative clinical systems strategy for four hospital partners.  A graduate from Nipissing University and Canadore College Collaborative Program in North Bay in 2006, Meredith completed her Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing and then her Masters of Science in Nursing from York University in 2010.  Her international certifications in both change and project management will be invaluable to CKHA and the delivery of local health care. 

Meredith is also a former Executive Board Member of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) and a current member of the Board of Directors of the Nursing Leadership Network of Ontario.

Dr. Pervez Faruqi – Chief of Medical Staff

As Chief of Staff, Dr. Faruqi’s top priorities are to improve the quality of medical care and patient experience at CKHA. He brings to the role significant leadership and professional experience and a strong desire to support quality of care, improved patient experiences and works with the administration to strengthen the organization.

Dr. Faruqi has been a consultant Paediatrician at CKHA since 2010 and previously held the role of Chief of Paediatrics. Prior to that he practiced medicine in Nova Scotia for five years at the Guysborough, Antigonish and Strait Health Authority (GASHA), where he chaired the Quality Review Committee. Before moving to Canada, Dr. Faruqi practiced medicine in the United States for seven years where in addition to several recognitions for teaching he won America’s Top Pediatrician, 2004-2005.

Since 2010, Dr. Faruqi has also been an Adjunct Professor of Paediatrics at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to learning and education, including having been a lead preceptor and supervisor for both medical and nursing students. 

Dr. Prema Samy – President, Medical Staff Organization

As the President of the Medical Staff Organization (MSO), Dr. Samy represents the best interests of the medical professional staff to the hospital administration. She also works to maintain a positive professional environment for physicians and to enhance their professional quality of life, in turn improving the quality of care provided to patients. 

Dr. Samy is an Otolaryngologist, Head and Neck Surgeon.  She has served the citizens of Chatham-Kent in this area of specialty since 2008.  Dr. Samy was a practicing Otolaryngologist in Malaysia before she immigrated to Canada and received her recertification at the University of Toronto.  She passed her Canadian boards in 2008.

Chatham-Kent was part of her return of service but soon the area became her home.  She and her husband, Dr. Murugappan, have raised their two children in the community who are now young adults attending university.