Board of Directors and Senior Management Team

Board of Directors

Debra Berlet (Calgary, AB)
Debra Berlet has been involved with Cystic Fibrosis Canada for over 25 years and is the Chair of the Board of Directors. Debra has held various senior volunteer positions at Cystic Fibrosis Canada including as Regional Director for Alberta and as President of the Central Alberta and Edmonton/Northern Alberta Chapters. Debra has a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. She has attended the Institute of Corporate Directors governance education program for non-profits.

Ron Anderson (Richmond Hill, ON)
A seasoned business leader with a talent for management, Ron Anderson is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Nexus Systems Group Inc., a specialized business and information technology consulting company. Prior to that, Ron served as Partner and Vice-President with Genex Systems Group Inc., and as a Director with Knowsys Group Ltd. A steadfast supporter of the cystic fibrosis community, Ron brought his skills to the position of President and Board Chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Canada Toronto & District Chapter in 2005. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Guelph.

Ross Drake (Dartmouth, NS)
A Chartered Accountant, Ross Drake is a Vice President at Sigma Real Estate Advisors. Prior to that, Ross was Senior Vice President, Research and Analysis at ING Real Estate Canada. Ross began his career as an auditor with Price Waterhouse and has also held various accounting positions before joining ING Real Estate Canada. An active volunteer with Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Ross has served on the Board of Directors, as Regional Director for the Atlantic Provinces and as a stakeholder member on the Medical/Science Advisory Committee. He has an MBA from Dalhousie University.

Douglas Ingersoll (Edmonton, AB)
Doug Ingersoll has over 35 years of legal experience and is a Senior Manager/Staff Lawyer with Legal Aid Alberta. Doug has also served as a Justice of the Peace in the Province of Alberta and as a prosecutor for the federal Department of Justice. An active volunteer with Kin Canada since 1977, Doug has held various senior volunteer positions at the club, district and national levels. Doug currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Kin Canada Foundation and as Secretary of the Board of Directors at Cystic Fibrosis Canada. He has a Bachelor of Science from Mount Allison University and a Bachelor of Law from the University of New Brunswick.

Carol Ann Kairns (Montreal, QC)
Carol Ann Kairns is an accomplished executive and is an Executive Vice President with BCP, a Montreal-based advertising agency where she has been for 23 years. She was also an instructor with the Association of Canadian Advertisers. An active volunteer within her community and profession, Carol Ann has been involved with Fibrose kystique Québec’s Montreal Chapter since 2008 and is also on the boards of the Broadcast Bureau of Measurement and the Print Measurement Bureau. She has a Bachelor of Education from McGill University.

Mitch Lepage (Whitby, ON)
Mitch Lepage has over 20 years of senior management experience with the Durham Catholic District School Board where he is a Superintendent of Education. An active volunteer with Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Mitch serves on the Board of Directors, and as Chair of the Ontario Provincial Association, Regional Director for Central Ontario and President of the Durham Region Chapter. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Community Living Ajax, Pickering and Whitby. Mitch has a Master of Education from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Education from Brock University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Western Ontario.

James Mountain (Toronto, ON)
Jim Mountain is co-founder and President of Mountain Fowler Asset Management Inc. and has extensive investment, business management and capital markets experience. Prior to that, he held senior positions at Scotia Capital including as Managing Director. Jim has owned and managed several private companies, and currently serves on several private and foundation boards. A long-time supporter of Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Jim chaired the Breathe Campaign Committee for Ontario in 2004. He has an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.

Miles Nagamatsu (Toronto, ON)
Miles Nagamatsu is a Chartered Accountant and has significant experience as a CFO and corporate director in the mining and investment management sectors. Miles has held various senior volunteer positions at Cystic Fibrosis Canada since 1982 including as Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee and as Chair of the Investment Committee. Miles has a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and has attended the Institute of Corporate Directors governance program for board effectiveness. He is the recipient of the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal (1992) and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) for his contributions to the community.

Leona Pinsky (Vancouver, BC)
Leona Pinsky is a trained lawyer and has been an active volunteer leader in her community for over 20 years. She is the President of Cystic Fibrosis Canada’s Vancouver and Lower Mainland Chapter, and a co-founder of the 65_RedRoses Gala and GearUp4CF. Leona has also served on the board of the BC Centre for Children’s Hearing and Speech and on advisory committees at BC Children’s Hospital, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and the Canadian Bar Association. She has a Bachelor of Law from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University.

Senior Management Team

Maureen Adamson
President and CEO

Maureen Adamson joined Cystic Fibrosis Canada in January 2011, with extensive knowledge and noteworthy senior executive experience in government and the broader public sector. A seasoned executive with the Ontario Public Service, Maureen has held the positions of Chief Administrative Officer, Assistant Deputy Minister for Health System Investment and Funding, and Assistant Deputy Minister for Corporate Services and Organizational Development at the Ontario Ministry of Health; and as a Director with the Management Board Secretariat. As an Assistant Deputy Minister of Health in Ontario, Maureen was the CFO for a government department with an annual operating and capital budget of $35 Billion and led the multi-billion dollar infrastructure planning process for Ontario’s public health care system. Within the broader public sector, Maureen has held senior executive positions at an Ontario post-secondary institution and at one of the country’s leading teaching hospital specializing in women’s health. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at Research Canada, a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health and prosperity of Canadians by championing Canada’s global leadership in health research. Maureen holds an MBA from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business and BBA from Lakehead University. She has completed the Director’s Education Program at the Rotman School of Management and the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ken Chan
Vice President, Advocacy, Research and Healthcare

Ken Chan joined Cystic Fibrosis Canada in December 2011. Ken has served as Chief of Staff to Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources, as Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs to Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and as a Police Officer with the Peel Regional Police. His experience also spans internationally. In England, Ken was an Assistant Director with the British Government’s Better Regulation Executive where he helped improve the regulatory environment for business, public sector frontline and non-profits, and the Senior Advisor for policing and community safety in the office of London Mayor Boris Johnson. Ken is a Director of Alterna Savings, a full-service financial services firm with $2 billion in assets under management, and an adjudicator with the City of Toronto’s Licensing Tribunal. Previously he served on a number of public sector and non-profit boards in Canada and the UK. Ken has a BA in Political Science from Simon Fraser University, an MBA from the City University of Seattle and a Diploma in Investigative and Forensic Accounting from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

David Gilmer, CFRE
Vice President, Funds Development and Marketing

David Gilmer joined Cystic Fibrosis Canada in April 2012. He brings extensive experience in fundraising, sales and marketing communications, and has a proven track record of developing major gifts and stewarding donor relationships. With over a decade of fundraising experience in the health care sector, David was most recently the Chief Development Officer at Casey House Foundation. Casey House is an HIV/AIDS specialty hospital in Toronto with community programming including home care and outreach programs. Prior to that, David was the Campaign Director at The Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Foundation and the Director of Major Gifts at St. Michael's Hospital Foundation in Toronto, a position he assumed following a successful career in sales and marketing. David is a graduate of the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario where he holds an Honors Business Administration degree 

 

Reviewed/updated: 2013-05-21