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Board of Directors

We are governed by a volunteer board of directors that ensures that our activities fulfill our mission and mandate. Our board reflects the diversity of Ontario’s population and Health Nexus’s areas of expertise. Following are the profiles of our Board of Directors.

Profiles

David I Hay - Chair
Maryse Bélanger
Juana Berinstein
Marie Boutilier-Dean
Eugenia Christakis
Sharon H. Lee
Diane Quintas
Mardi Taylor
Megan Williams

David I Hay - Chair
(board member since 2006)

David Hay is a Principal of Information Partnership, a research, policy and information management consulting business in Victoria, British Columbia. He is also the president of Health Nexus and chair of its Board of Directors. Prior to his work for Information Partnership, David was senior director for the Social Research and Analysis group at the Policy Research Initiative with the Government of Canada. David has many years of experience in directing, managing and conducting all types of research – policy, community, applied, academic, quantitative and qualitative. Examples of areas of work include measurement, evaluation, organizational performance management and accountability, social indicators, health, well-being and social development, social policy, and child and family poverty and inequality. David’s education (BA, MSc, PhD) is in psychology, sociology, philosophy, and community health. His main work experience has been for organizations in the areas of population health, well-being and social development, poverty and inequality, and social policy.

Maryse Bélanger
(Board member since 2009)

Maryse is a Mental Health Advocate, who is working at improving the Canadian Mental Health System in establishing better ways for service providers to reach out to people dealing with mental illnesses. Maryse is a News Producer and Television Journalist by trade, with 13 years experience in the television broadcasting industry. She worked on the assignment desk for CTV National News, as the Daily News Service’s Assignment Editor for 8 years. Before joining CTV, she was a Producer and TV Journalist on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for CPAC. She also worked in communications before entering the news industry, where she managed and implemented various promotional campaigns and developed communications tools and materials. Maryse is thrilled to have joined Health Nexus’ Board of Directors since she believes that this organization contributes directly to the well-being of Canadians. Maryse is fluent in French and English and has a degree in Communications with specialization in Medias.

Juana Berinstein
(board member since 2010)

Juana Berinstein is the Director of Policy and Communications for the Association of Ontario Midwives. She has been involved in policy initiatives, systemic advocacy and research in the areas of women’s health and poverty. She has a Master’s degree in Communication and Culture with a focus on public policy. She is fluent in Spanish and has been involved with the Latin American and LGBTTQ communities as a volunteer and activist.  She lives in Toronto with her partner and two daughters.

Marie Boutilier-Dean
(Board member since 2009)

Marie Boutilier-Dean is a health sociologist, who holds a status appointment as Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health; she is also a principal in Mapleview Consulting.  She conducts qualitative and participatory/action research on a range of health issues. She is a frequent reviewer of scholarly journals and funding proposals, has experience on non-profit boards, and holds a Ph.D. in Community Health, University of Toronto, specializing in Health Promotion.  She hails from southwest Ontario (Brantford) and now lives, with her family, in west Toronto.  Her most recent projects have been with the Health Promotion program at U of T, and the Kenyan government.

Eugenia Christakis
(Board member since 2009)
Eugenia Christakisis a Senior Manager, External Legal Services for TD Bank Financial Group.  Eugenia’s role at TDBFG is to work with TD’s internal lawyers, business units and Preferred Legal Firms to identify opportunities to manage costs and maximize value through improving TD’s use of external counsel.  From 2003 to 2008, Eugenia was a member of the leadership team of one of the UK’s Magic Circle firm’s Banking and Tax practices as the Senior Finance and Operations manager for these practices.  In that role she was responsible for maximizing the profitability of the practices.  Eugenia has an MBA from London Business School and her CMA designation. 

Sharon H. Lee
(Board member since 2010)
Sharon H. Lee has been working in the fundraising profession for over 15 years. Sharon is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and has a Masters in Philanthropy & Development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. She has been a member of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) since 2002, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) since 2000. Sharon is a Rotarian with the Rotary Club of Etobicoke and is a national Board Member of Katimavik, a committee member of AFP International and AFP Toronto, and national Board member of AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada.

Diane Quintas
(board member since June 2009)

Diane Quintas is a Franco-Ontarian who resides in Thunder Bay with her husband and their daughter.  She is fluent in French, English and Spanish and has a Master’s degree in Psychology.   She presently works as the Assistant Director of the Réseau francophone de santé du Nord de l’Ontario.  The Réseau is an organization that works towards improving access to primary health care for Francophones living in minority situations in Northern Ontario.  In this position she has been instrumental in the organization of various different health promotion and prevention information days and forums for the Francophone community across Northern Ontario.

Diane has also worked as a mental health practitioner for approximately ten years in various capacities.  She presently runs a private practice in counselling with a focus on serving the Francophone community in Thunder Bay.  

Mardi Taylor
(board member since 2010)
Mardi Taylor has a BA (honours) in Disability Studies with a minor in Family and Community Supports.  She has spent the past 12 years working in the non-profit sector in community development, fundraising and outreach.  Mardi recently returned to the GTA after working in Sudbury for 18 months as the Executive Director of an agency which offered programs and services for homeless and marginalized youth, and operated the Needle Exchange program and drug outreach program for the City of Greater Sudbury.  She is currently the Executive Director of a small Chamber of Commerce north of Toronto. 

Megan Williams
(board member since 2006)

Megan is a Health Promotion Specialist at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, working out of the Barrie office. She brings experience in program planning and implementation, policy, community/partnership development, teaching and group facilitation. Megan also has an extensive background in journalism, communications and social marketing. Megan has a Master of Public Health from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia, and resides in Barrie.