Board of Directors

Marilyn Knox was appointed Chair of CCO’s Board of Directors in January 2018, and has been a member of the Board since 2011.

Ms. Knox has over 30 years of executive-level experience in government, private and community health sectors. Most recently, she held executive positions with Trillium Health Partners, as President of the Institute for Better Health and as Executive Lead, Strategic Projects. Previously, she was an Executive in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry and their National Trade Association for over 2 decades.

Ms. Knox has held several senior position with the Ontario government, including that of Deputy Minister of Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. She established Ontario's first Premier's Council on Health Strategy, and is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors for Participation.

Ms. Knox holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick; a Graduate Diploma in Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, from the University of Toronto, and a Dietetic Internship from Vancouver General Hospital. She also completed her Masters Certificate in Marketing Communication Management, York University. She has been awarded professional and business recognition, including a Knight of the Golden Pencil for leadership and outstanding contribution in the Canadian Food Industry.

Appointed to CCO: March 2011

Malcolm Heins is the former Chief Executive Officer of The Law Society of Upper Canada. He has also served as CEO of The Federation of Law Societies of Canada, The Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO) and President and Chief Operating Officer of Simcoe Erie/GAN Canada, a property casualty insurance company. He is a graduate of Dalhousie Law School and former civil litigator specializing in professional liability and insurance matters. Mr. Heins is a member of The Law Society of Upper Canada and The Canadian Bar Association. Mr. Heins is a director of LawPRO, OLAP, ProBono Law Ontario and The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine.

Appointed to CCO: February 2009

Bonnie Adamson retired in 2014 after over forty years in health care leadership. During the last 16 years, she was President and CEO in three distinct Ontario hospital settings. These included a rural community network, urban community teaching setting, and an academic health sciences centre. Mrs. Adamson has demonstrated a leadership style, throughout her career, which facilitates strategic transformational change and bottom-line measurable results. She has successfully led organizations in multiple models of system integration and demonstrates a passion for leadership, quality improvement, patient safety and patient-centred care. Over her career and into her retirement , she has received several academic appointments, held governance leadership roles at local, provincial and national levels, authored numerous publications and served as a local, national and international speaker.

Appointed to CCO: May 2015

Michael Bennett is a social worker at the Hospice of Windsor-Essex County with expertise in hospice palliative care. He has extensive experience in program evaluation and direct practice, and is a regional leader in palliative care education. In 2016, Mr. Bennett was a recipient of the Cancer Care Ontario’s Human Touch Award for exemplary clinical practice in palliative care. He is currently completing his PhD in social work.

Appointed to CCO: January 2018

Dr. Euan Carlisle is a Nephrologist at St Joseph’s Healthcare and an Associate Professor of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton. He obtained his medical degree from Queens University, N Ireland. His postgraduate training was initially in N Ireland and then in Canada (Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton). He has held numerous administrative positions in Nephrology in Hamilton. Provincially, he served as chair of the Ontario Association of Nephrologists from 1999 - 2001. He has an interest in medical education and is currently the chair of the Royal College Nephrology specialty committee. He is a Staff Nephrologist for a not-for-profit hemodialysis unit in Georgetown, Guyana and is part of a team of Nephrologists who visit regularly and provide care for the patients in that unit.

Appointed to CCO: January 2015

Catherine Caule, through her volunteer engagements, advocates for the health of individuals, the health of the community, and for person-centered care. She was Board Chair of Centretown Community Health Centre, a member of the City of Ottawa’s Health and Social Services Advisory Committee, and a member of her neighbourhood community association board, serving as Health and Social Services Chair. She has been very engaged with organizations with the aim to improve care for cancer patients and their loved ones. She previously served on the Champlain Regional Cancer Program Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) for a period of eight years and, during that time, held the position of Vice-Chair. She was the Patient Representative for five years on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre. She has written numerous articles, spoken at many events, and penned the “Ask Catherine” column in Courage magazine. While Principal at KPMG Consulting, she focused on financial management and management practices. She was President of the Financial Management Institute Capital Chapter board. A Certified Management Consultant, she holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and undergraduate degrees from Brown University.

Appointed to CCO: March 2017

Dr. Karen Devon is a Surgeon-Ethicist and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. She practices as an endocrine and general surgeon at Women's College Hospital (WCH) and the University Health Network. Dr. Devon is the medical director of the endocrine surgery program at WCH which recently received an innovation award for development of an ambulatory surgery program. She completed medical training at McGill University followed by residency at the University of Toronto during which she also obtained and MHSc in Clinical Epidemiology. Her subspecialty training was at the University of Chicago where she also completed a fellowship in surgical ethics at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Her academic focus is surgical ethics education for which she recently received the David Fear Fellowship award. Dr. Devon currently leads the newly founded surgical ethics program at WCH.

Appointed to CCO: September 2017

Dr. Thomas Keane is a retired radiation oncologist based in Toronto. Some of his previous positions have included: Consultant Radiation Oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital, Professor in Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto; Provincial Radiation Therapy Program Head, British Columbia Cancer Agency; and Professor, Head, Division of Radiation Oncology and Developmental Radiotherapeutics at University of British Columbia. He is the founding Director of The National Cancer Control Programme in Ireland and a member of the Irish Health Service Senior Executive Leadership Team.

Appointed to CCO: January 2018

Patrick Madahbee is currently serving his third consecutive term as Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation. He also served one term as Grand Council Chief in 1980, the youngest Grand Council Chief ever at 27 years of age. He is also the President of the Union of Ontario Indians and the Anishinabek Nation 7th Generation Charity. He is currently the Health portfolio holder for the Chiefs of Ontario, member of the Assembly of First Nations Chiefs Committee of Health, and Co-chair of the joint Non-insured health benefits review. He also serves as co-chair of the Trilateral First Nations Health Senior Officials Committee (TFNSSOC). Patrick has more than 40 years’ experience in Band politics, including 17 years as Chief of Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation. Mr. Madahbee has served as Manager of Aboriginal Financial Services for TD and as a Regional Sales Manager for the First Nations Bank of Canada. His prior roles on a regional level include Lake Huron Regional Grand Chief, Lake Huron representative on the Anishinabek Nation Leadership Council, Ontario Regional Chief, and the Tribal Chair of the United Chiefs and Council of Mnidoo Mnising. His business experience includes President of Castle Building Supply. His dedication to the Anishinabek Nation has included active leadership positions such as chairperson for the Robinson-Huron Treaty Claim Legal Strategy Team and the Anishinabek/Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre. He is the past Vice President of the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto and has held numerous other board positions. Grand Council Chief Madahbee has been involved in business development, management, finance, Band management, program supervision, community infrastructure and development, federal and provincial programs and resources, and is an active participant in the political arena with the Anishinabek Nation, Chiefs of Ontario, and the Assembly of First Nations.

Appointed to CCO: March 2017

Carol Poulsen is currently the EVP & CIO of The Cooperators Group Limited and is known for leading successful transformational initiatives.  Ms. Poulsen has a diverse background including experience in Insurance and Banking, Technology and Business, as well as vendor experience including IT Delivery, Consulting, Large Account Management and Sales.  Ms. Poulsen was Senior Vice-President Group Architecture, Applied Innovation and Solution Delivery Services for RBC globally.  Prior to that she spent eight years at TD Bank Financial Group providing the Application Development, Architecture and Large Program Management supporting the Retail, Commercial, Wealth and  Insurance business areas.  She is a graduate of the Rotman/ICD Director Education Program.  She sits on a number of Corporate Boards including – COSECO Insurance Company,  HB Group Insurance Management,  Echelon General Insurance and AZGA Service Canada Inc.  Ms. Poulsen believes in supporting community and has a passion for diversity in the workplace. She has been active in many aspects, from ensuring accessibility for persons with disabilities, to speaking with young women about leadership.  She has also been very involved with Sheena’s Place, as well as the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO).

Appointed to CCO:  December 2014

David Ross FCA, BSc. is a retired partner of Deloitte & Touche, Canada. He has a broad range of commercial experience, across several industries and the not-for-profit sector, in accounting, auditing, acquisitions, regulation, litigation support including forensic investigations, and in management consulting . Mr Ross's board governance experience includes consulting to boards and serving on boards and board committees including those of Deloitte & Touche, Canada, The World Wildlife Fund and the Baycrest Centre.

Appointed to CCO: May 2013

Harvey Thomson holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He has served on the board of the Ontario Branch of the Kidney Foundation since 2007 and as President of the Ontario Board since 2010. He serves on the National Board of Directors of the Kidney Foundation and as Chair of its National Governance Committee. Mr. Thomson served on the Faculty of Management, McGill University from 1969 to 1973 and as President of Robert H. Schaffer & Associates, a management consulting firm, from 1975 to 2006.

Appointed to CCO: April 2012

David Wexler is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors; heads up a Human Capital consulting practice that provides coaching and strategic HR counsel to Executives and organizations, and is past Chief Human Resources Officer for organizations such as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Alias|Wavefront. David has served on multiple government and community task forces and volunteer boards at a municipal, provincial, and federal level, and is currently a member of the Vaughan Community Health Care Corporation Board, as well as a member of Cancercare Ontario’s Audit & Finance and Human Resources & Compensation committees of the Board.

Appointed to CCO: February 2016

David Williams has been a member of the board of directors of the Ontario Division of the Canadian Cancer Society since 2004, a member of the board’s executive committee since 2006, and was the president of the Society’s Central West Region from 2004 to 2006. He has served on the Canadian Cancer Society’s National Board of Directors since 2008 and was on the national governance committee in 2008 and 2009. Over the past 25 years, Mr Williams has served in executive and ownership roles in manufacturing for North American and global construction markets.

Appointed to CCO: April 2011