Board of Directors

Learn about the OMA Board of Directors

The board of directors is responsible for the governance of the OMA and is the highest decision-making authority within the organization. 

The board’s mandate includes oversight of management of the corporation and development of the OMA’s approach to governance. The board oversees all affairs of the OMA and exercises, as appropriate, its powers according to OMA bylaws, governance policies and applicable laws and regulations. Read more about the board charter and position descriptions.

There is a clear delineation between the board and executive management. Management is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the OMA, while the board provides strategic oversight of and direction to the organization. 


Board size and composition

The board is comprised of 11 directors: eight physician directors and three non-physician directors. All directors are elected directly by the OMA membership. Directors are elected for a two-year term and may stand for re-election up to three times (six years maximum). All directors assume office immediately following the Annual General Meeting (AGM), typically held in May.

Observer positions are held by the president-elect, the immediate past president and the chair of the general assembly.

The board is broadly diverse with a good mix across clinical specialties, career stage and gender distribution, as well as governance, business and finance and industry expertise among the public members.


Board highlights

We are proud to report a year where we have made significant gains on governance processes and procedures. We remain committed to leading the organization with integrity and transparency which has been underscored by our intentional shifts toward a culture characterized by equity, diversity, inclusion and civility. ln 2023, we developed our new OMA strategy that will allow the organization to assess a dynamic and evolving health care landscape, identify key external trends and help shape its future by refining our priorities. We believe the strategy will strengthen the OMA’s ability to provide value to members and facilitate us to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario’s health care system. Our President Dr. Andrew Park along with new CEO Kimberly Moran have been instrumental in moving our strategy forward and meeting our organizational goals.

As we push ahead with the modernization of the OMA, we are committed to improve decision-making, accountability and transparency of the board. This report centres on these priorities by highlighting the 2023 activities and achievements of the board, OMA committees, the General Assembly and subsidiaries. The governance report also outlines the organization’s governance structure, which underwent review in 2020 and continues to evolve to become a more efficient and responsive organization for all members. 

Throughout the year, the board has listened to the membership and heard the following priorities including but not limited to: 

  • Fair remuneration for physicians with an inflationary increase, modernization of the OHIP schedule of benefits and maintenance of physician benefits including CMPA and physician health benefits  
  • Address gender equity and relativity in a meaningful and more expedited fashion
  • Reduce physician administrative burden
  • Prepare physicians for leadership both inside and outside the OMA   
  • Develop solutions with physicians working in crisis situations in primary care, emergency rooms and beyond to sustain practice and prevent closures
  • Secure locum coverage and modernized contracts to sustain practice for physicians working in rural and remote locations 
  • Develop tangible short- and longer-term interventions for physician health human resource issues that align with current and future market analyses   
  • Advocate for team-based care for family physicians and physician extenders/teams for specialist groups  

As the board does this strategic work, we ensure that any change management does not increase physician burnout or cause financial strain. Physician wellness is critical, and a review of the Physician Health Program strategic plan is underway to align with the new OMA strategic plan.

In response to membership key priorities, we have executed on the following:  

  • Developed a 2024-28 Negotiations Mandate in tandem with recommendations from the General Assembly Compensation Panel
  • Developed a Mandate for Arbitration of Year 1 (2024-28 PSA)
  • Provided oversight for the implementation of the 2021-24 PSA
  • The board has committed to the Rotman Leadership program and has oversight of a process to onboard physician leaders within the organization. The internal program will be launched in 2024
  • The board has requested the CEO to prioritize collaboration with system partners. The CEO and board have begun a relationship with the deans of our medical schools and department heads of family medicine to work on provincial issues such as modernization of AFP remuneration, physician human resource issues and the primary care crisis
  • Working with other provincial medical organizations and the CMA has resulted in joint advocacy on items such as a requested pause on a proposed third year for family medicine, reduction of administrative burden with both federal and provincial forms, advocacy for federal healthcare funding with accountability dashboards, elevation of the issues in primary care to a crisis level making it an election voter priority and a Canadian approach to health human resource allocation with attention to the rural crisis  
  • Our attention to the culture of the board and the OMA operations sets up physicians to lead a change of culture for our health care system

In addition, the following governance processes and procedures have been put in place:  

  • Recruitment and hiring of our new CEO, Kimberly Moran 
  • Ongoing constituency review that included the approval of new section and district charters to clarify their function and responsibility 
  • Streamlined existing processes and policies regarding OMA committee appointments and the selection of the board chair and vice chair 
  • Established a comprehensive evaluation system, guided by key performance indicators (KPIs), in response to an internal governance audit conducted by Meyers Norris Penny (MNP), one of Canada’s leading professional accounting firms. This system includes individual self-assessments for board and committee members to measure effectiveness and identify areas for enhancement. An annual board, as a whole, evaluation will prioritize impact and the development of strategies, procedures and personnel to achieve desired outcomes
  • Approved our 2024 OMA operating plan, capital budget and strategic plan 
  • Developed an Ethical Decision-Making Framework to enable the OMA to make strong and ethical decisions. Development of the board risk appetite will follow this work
  • Developed a Member Code of Conduct and Civility and change in process to include all physician leaders in providing a civil working environment as stipulated in the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Occupational Health and Safety Act

Finally, your board and the Governance and Nominating Committee (GNC) extend thanks to you, our members, for your commitment to Ontario’s patients and to improving our health care system. We look forward to your voice and involvement in your organization to shape our impact and deliver higher value to you as a member.

Board operating principles

The OMA Board provides high-level oversight and strategic direction. The CEO is the board’s only employee, and the board empowers and trusts them to manage the operations of the association.

The work of the association cannot be done by a single group, the OMA Board selects the strongest candidates to serve on its committees, working groups, and task forces and create space for them to do their work. The board also creates linkages between groups and ensures they have the support needed to fulfil their mandate.

The OMA Board will always respectively ask the hard questions; this is not an indication of the quality of work but rather to ensure the board has sufficient information to make decisions on behalf of the association.

The OMA Board vigorously debates and encourages diverse opinions on the board. Once a decision has been made, the board speaks with one voice.

The OMA Board’s fiduciary responsibility is to the organization. There will be times when the board makes a decision that may disadvantage a segment of the membership. In doing work as directors, the board is committed to understanding the impacts of decisions on the membership before making decisions.

As a member organization, the OMA Board is committed to sharing information with the membership including how the directors govern as a board.

The OMA Board looks to the future and engages in forward-looking activities.

The board works to build an environment where all members, staff, and partners can fully participate and feel valued and heard.

Board chair and vice-chair
A headshot of Dr. Cathy Faulds is seen here.
Cathy Faulds, MD
London, board chair
A headshot of Dr. Cathy Faulds is seen here.
Cathy Faulds, MD
London, board chair

A graduate of Western University in 1986, Dr. Cathy Faulds received certification in family medicine from the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 1989, and she became a fellow in 2004. She completed her certificate of added competence in palliative care from the CFPC in 2016 and her American Board of Palliative and Hospice Medicine in 2010.

After practising in rural southwestern Ontario, Dr. Faulds continued her comprehensive family medicine practice within the city of London and formed the London Family Health Team, which she served as the clinical lead from 2010-15. She previously served as lead physician for the Shared Care Pilot Initiative, London Lambeth Family Health Organization and the Parkwood Palliative Care Unit at the Parkwood Hospital in London. Currently, Dr. Faulds serves as a palliative care physician with St. Joseph’s Health Centre and is a staff family physician at London Health Sciences Centre. Since 1996, she has served as a clinical professor and mentor to undergraduate and graduate medical students at Western University.

Dr. Faulds has filled roles as the vice-president of clinical and the quality lead in the SWLHIN, SW Nonhospital Pandemic committee lead and sat on the Provincial Primary Care Pandemic Advisory table, as well as, providing primary care leadership for the London Middlesex Alliance to the Ontario Health Team in London Middlesex. She was a founding physician leader in the London Middlesex OHT.

Dr. Faulds is a current faculty member of CPEP teaching the PROBE program of ethical remediation to regulated health professionals. She does consulting work on ethical frameworks for the governance of boards and organizations.

Dr. Faulds has participated on the board of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, serving from 2011 to 16. She was president of the OCFP from 2014 to 15. She has served as a director of the College of Family Physicians of Canada from 2013 to 17. Dr. Faulds has also participated as a reviewer for Canadian Family Physician, Health Quality Ontario, Cancer Care Ontario and the Canadian Diabetes Association. She was an investigator for the IRPC of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and for 10 years she served as a disability assessor for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. 

In addition to her experience with the CFPC and OCFP, Dr. Faulds has served on numerous committees at Health Quality Ontario on quality improvement plans and primary care metrics. She has served as co-chair of the Family Medicine Alliance in Ontario and director of the Thames Valley Family Practice Research Team Board in London. Dr. Faulds continues to do primary care research in palliative care, chronic disease management and quality improvement.

Dr. Faulds previously served on the OMA’s Negotiation’s Task Force and the Primary Care Advisory Committee. She is currently the board chair of ARGI.Inc, a not-for-profit organization providing primary care research and chronic disease programs. 

Dr. Faulds is a member of the Technical Committee for the development of primary care standards with the Health Standards Organization and Accreditation Canada. 

Dr. Faulds is elected for a second two-year term as chair.

Dr. Sharon Bal headshot
Sharon Bal, MD
Cambridge, board vice-chair
Dr. Sharon Bal headshot
Sharon Bal, MD
Cambridge, board vice-chair

Dr. Sharon Bal, based in Cambridge, Ont., is the lead physician of the Delta Coronation FHO and staff physician at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, providing on-call coverage to area long-term care homes. Dr. Bal is an assistant clinical professor with the Department of Family Medicine, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University and is the preclerkship coordinator at the Waterloo Regional Campus. Dr. Bal is a recognized physician advocate and champion of health equity for marginalized populations and has held multiple leadership roles. Dr. Bal currently serves as a member of the steering and joint board committees of the Cambridge North Dumfries OHT and is a clinical lead with Ontario Health. Dr. Bal was co-chair of OMA Women from 2018-2022. 

Dr. Bal is re-elected for a two-year term as director and is elected for a two-year term as vice-chair. 

Board directors
Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman headshot
Zainab Abdurrahman, MD
Mississauga, president-elect and officer of the board
Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman headshot
Zainab Abdurrahman, MD
Mississauga, president-elect and officer of the board

Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman (she/her) is an allergist and clinical immunologist practicing in the Greater Toronto Area mainly in Mississauga and at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton. Dr. Abdurrahman is an assistant clinical professor adj. of pediatrics and a staff member on the Clinical Immunology and Allergy Subspecialty Residency Training Committee at McMaster University.

This is Dr. Abdurrahman’s second year on the board of directors, and she is also the chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee (GNC). She comes with a strong background in governance with experience being on the OMA Joint Governance Transformation Task Force (GT20), the OMA Council Governance and Steering Committee and serving as the chair and delegate for the OMA Allergy and Clinical Immunology Section. She is also a strong advocate for equity and diversity with various leadership roles in this realm including, but not limited to, being a member of the Black Scientists Taskforce on COVID-19 Vaccination Equity and previously on the OMA Civility, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She is also a board director of OntarioMD where she was previously a physician peer leader and a member of the OntarioMD Educational Taskforce. Dr. Abdurrahman is completing her second year of a two-year term as director. In February she was acclaimed president-elect for the 2024-2025 term.

Denise Carpenter headshot
Denise Carpenter, ICD.D, GCB.D
Toronto
Denise Carpenter headshot
Denise Carpenter, ICD.D, GCB.D
Toronto

Denise Carpenter is an experienced board chair, director, C-suite executive, and executive coach with broad experience in several business sectors. She has spent her career advocating for companies and governments on issues that matter most to Canadians and acting as a trusted confidant to senior executives and governments.

Denise has worked within various complicated business and governance structures and has led numerous efforts to create critical alignment with executives, board directors, management, and other stakeholders. She has a strong track record in building shareholder value, and relationships that deliver value to multiple stakeholders in complex business, government, and not-for-profit environments. She is an early thought leader and advocate of ESG, social impact and corporation's purposetion.

She works to help individuals and organizations deliver measurable outcomes. Denise’s most recent work focuses on renewable energy enterprises, utilities, (regulated and non-regulated) energy security, climate change, artificial intelligence, serving the underbanked, health insurance and health care. In addition to being a director at the Ontario Medical Association, she is also the Independent Chair of Blue Cross Canada, Board director of Cashco Financial Inc, Chair of the Board at Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto, Chair of the board at EnerFORGE, Chair of the board at Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation, board director Synergy North.

She has served as a guest lecturer and executive in residence at the University of Alberta’s MBA program and guest lecturer at the Fellows Program, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard. She has written and lectured widely on diversity of thought, governance as a business enabler and stakeholder relationships. In 2022 she was selected as a BMO Honouree at the BMO Celebrating Women on Boards event. In 2018 Denise was appointed to the Diversity 50 Cohort, recognizing Canada’s most diverse and eligible board candidates. She is an active and accredited member of the WGOB, Institute of Corporate Directors, The International Coach

Federation and the International Women’s Forum. She has been honoured by Global TV as a Woman of Vision; by the YWCA with a Woman of Distinction Award; and has twice been named one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People by Alberta Venture magazine. Her passion is exploring the world, its people, and its cultures. She lives in Toronto and continues to travel widely. Denise is in her second two-year term.

David Collie headshot
David Collie, C. Dir., FCPA
Glen Williams
David Collie headshot
David Collie, C. Dir., FCPA
Glen Williams

David Collie is the past president and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority of Ontario. During his tenure, the ESA has been recognized as a leader in harm reduction outcomes, stakeholder and government collaboration and regulatory excellence. David holds an MBA, is a chartered professional accountant (an awarded “fellow”) and chartered director. He is a faculty member and the Energy Executive in Residence at the Directors College of Canada. He has written several articles and published two books on good governance and regulatory practices as well as presented at numerous conferences. He is also guest faculty at the Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies executive program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. David has chaired the CPA’s National Certification Committee, the Electricity Distributors Association of Ontario, the United Way of Burlington-Hamilton and Plug ‘N Drive. He is currently the chair of the Governance Committee at Hamilton Health Sciences and a public member of the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities of Canada. He has served on Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care working groups, conducted workshops for boards of health-care authorities and presented at numerous national and international conferences focused on health-care oversight. David and his wife live in Glen Williams and have two daughters who are both Ontario-based physicians. Mr. Collie is in his second two-year term.

 

Dr. Paul Conte
Paul Conte, MD
Kitchener
Dr. Paul Conte
Paul Conte, MD
Kitchener

Dr. Paul Conte is a family physician practicing at urgent care and walk-in clinics in Kitchener.

Paul Hacker, MD
Nepean
Paul Hacker, MD
Nepean

Dr. Paul Hacker is a general practitioner with a focused practice in palliative medicine. Dr. Hacker is the lead physician of the Community Palliative Medicine Associates and a clinician teacher with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

Dominik Nowak, MD
Toronto, president and officer of the board
Dominik Nowak, MD
Toronto, president and officer of the board

Dr. Dominik Nowak is the Ontario Medical Association’s president and a family doctor at Women's College Hospital.

Dr. Nowak trained at McMaster University, where he specialized in family medicine and served as chief resident. He went on to the University of Toronto to finish a master of health administration at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation as well as the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program at the Rotman School of Management. 

Dr. Nowak is a faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is a recipient of the College of Family Physicians of Canada Award of Excellence for his leadership in Canadian health care.

Jennifer Quaglietta
Jennifer Quaglietta, P.Eng, MBA, ICD.D, CHE, PMP, LSSGB
Toronto
Jennifer Quaglietta
Jennifer Quaglietta, P.Eng, MBA, ICD.D, CHE, PMP, LSSGB
Toronto

Jennifer Quaglietta currently serves Professional Engineers Ontario as their CEO & registrar, where she is leading the organization through a historic enterprise-wide transformation towards becoming a modern regulator that serves and protects the public interest. She has worked across several sectors including pharmaceutical, health care, banking, insurance and government.

A transformational leader, Jennifer combines an empathic and authentic style with expertise in strategy development, governance, enterprise risk and change management to steer private and public sector organizations through complex change while enabling sustainable operations.

Her achievements have been recognized provincially and nationally. She is a recipient of the 2023 Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100, 2022 Robert Zed Young Health Leader Award, 2021 Not-for-Profit CIO of the Year Award among others.

Jennifer holds a bachelor of applied science and engineering, a master of business administration and an institute of corporate directors designation from the University of Toronto and is an industry affiliate with the Centre for Healthcare Engineering. She is on the board of directors at Holland Bloorview Rehabilitation Hospital and has served on many advisory boards. Jennifer is a passionate advocate for women in engineering, gender equality, diversity, and mental health.

Dr. Cynthia Walsh headshot
Cynthia Walsh, MD
Ottawa
Dr. Cynthia Walsh headshot
Cynthia Walsh, MD
Ottawa

Dr. Cynthia Walsh is a radiologist working at The Ottawa Hospital. She attended medical school at the University of Western Ontario, followed by a residency in medical imaging at the University of Ottawa and a fellowship in abdominal imaging at Stanford Hospital. She has been on staff at the Ottawa Hospital as an abdominal radiologist since 2006. Her experience in the OMA includes two years as a board director, chair of the Diagnostic Assembly, and a D8 delegate. She is honoured to be re-elected for another term as a board director and pledges to work tirelessly to advocate for all Ontario physicians. Dr. Walsh is serving in her second two-year term. 

Dr. Hirotaka Yamshiro headshot
Hirotaka Yamashiro, MD
Toronto
Dr. Hirotaka Yamshiro headshot
Hirotaka Yamashiro, MD
Toronto

Dr. Hirotaka Yamashiro, based in Toronto, Ont., is a community pediatrician with a special interest in pediatric respiratory medicine. He is medical director of the Yamashiro Pediatric Clinic and is assistant professor and clinical adjunct lecturer with the department of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, as well as adjunct professor with the division of family medicine at Queen’s University. Dr. Yamashiro has served previously in many OMA leadership positions, including Pediatrics Section chair from 2004-2014 and 2020-21, executive member of the Academic Medicine Forum, and a member of the Education and Prevention Committee. He is also a pediatrics peer reviewer for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Yamashiro is serving his second two-year term. 

Officers of the board

The officers of the board are the board chair, president, president-elect and immediate past president. Here are other officers of the board not pictured above.

Andrew Park, MD
London, immediate past president
Andrew Park, MD
London, immediate past president

OMA past president Dr. Andrew Park is an emergency physician practicing at London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Healthcare in London, and St. Thomas and Elgin General Hospital in St. Thomas. Dr. Park is an assistant professor of medicine at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine, where he has developed a novel course for resident physicians in emotional intelligence and leadership. In his spare time, Dr. Park enjoys being active, playing sports and travelling.

Published: Nov. 24, 2020  |  Last updated: May 3, 2024