Meetings of the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors follow an approved agenda subject to the direction of the Chair of the Board at each meeting.

Individuals wishing to bring matters to the attention of the Board should do so by contacting:

Navdeep Kaur

nkaur@bruyere.org

Ella Mar, BSc Computing Science

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Ella Mar joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in March 2023 and has been serving as the Chair of the Board since June 2024.

Mar is an experienced Tech executive with a broad business background which includes engineering, product management, marketing, operations, and talent management. She has led teams and worked with clients in North America, Europe, and Asia. Mar has been part of the executive team of two companies who completed IPOs and has spent the last 10+ years working with Tech company executives to help them scale their businesses.

Over the last fifteen years Mar has participated on both for profit and not-for-profit Boards of Directors (three as the board chair) and in numerous Advisory roles. She is passionate about the organizations that she supports and is committed to good governance, teamwork and impact. Mar brings experience in strategy, operations, and leadership.

Justin Winchiu, CPA (CA)

justin Justin Winchiu joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in March 2024 and serves as the Chair of the Governance Committee.

Winchiu brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience in operations, compliance, risk management, and governance in growth companies and globally-focused organizations. In that time, he has successfully built and led teams of finance, legal, IT and human resource professionals in Canada and internationally through periods of change.

Currently, he is the Chief Financial Officer at Multiview Financial, a software development firm operating across North America, recently recognized as one of the top small and medium employers in Canada and one of the top employers in the National Capital Region. In addition to his executive roles, Winchiu has contributed his time to multiple boards and governance bodies. He most recently served as Treasurer of Cuso International, a global development organization, and previously in board and committee roles with Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa and Youth Ottawa.

He holds an Executive MBA from Queen’s University, an Executive MBA from Cornell University, and is a Bachelor of Commerce Honours graduate from the University of Ottawa. Winchiu is a Chartered Professional Accountant in Ontario.

David Goldsmith, P.Eng., ICD.D

David Goldsmith joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in June 2026. He serves as the Treasurer and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.

His career spans more than three decades in the steel and electricity sectors in Ontario; his experience includes leading organizations through complex operational, regulatory, and strategic change. He has had responsibility for systems design; risk analysis and management; IT and cyber-security; and design of ISO and Imagine Canada systems for safety, environment and quality management. He continues to contribute his expertise through consulting work focused on governance and strategic advisory services.

Goldsmith brings significant board and governance experience in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. His most recent assignments have been as a government appointee to the board of a provincial regulatory body and Board Chair of a municipally owned, private corporation that owns and operates a run-of-river hydropower generating facility in Almonte, Ontario. Some of his earlier postings include board and committee roles with Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, Unitarian House of Ottawa, and Collingwood PowerStream Utility Services Corp.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Kumanan Wilson, MD, MSc

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Dr. Wilson is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Bruyère Health Research Institute. He serves as the Secretary of the Board.

He is also the Vice President of Research and Academic Affairs at Bruyère Health. He had previously served as an innovation advisor for Bruyère Health, supporting the development of an innovation agenda to help implement commercial solutions in healthcare.

Twenty-five years of being a research scientist has provided him with an understanding of the culture of academia and the key factors that can help academics and academic programs succeed. He brings a unique combination of skills and experiences to his role.

He is a physician at The Ottawa Hospital working on the front lines of a busy tertiary care hospital, and a scientist at Bruyère Health and Ottawa Hospital Research Institutes. His research focuses on digital health, health data, immunization, pandemic preparedness, and public health policy and innovation. Dr. Wilson is an entrepreneur who has successfully spun out a technology company specializing in immunization software, CANImmunize.

His core value is a commitment to supporting excellence. He strongly believes that it is the people who make organizations and our country great, not the other way around. He also believes that science and innovation are the keys to a better healthcare system.'

Chris Trivisonno

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Chris Trivisonno joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in June 2026.

Chris is a civil litigation lawyer. He is a partner at Conway Baxter Wilson LLP, an Ottawa-based litigation law firm. He was called to the Ontario bar in 2015. He is also a member of the Law Society of the North West Territories and the New York Bar.

Chris’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including shareholder and corporate governance disputes.

Danielle Flieler

Danielle Flieler joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in June 2025.

Flieler brings over a decade of leadership in health advocacy, policy, and strategic relations to her role as a Board Member. With a deep commitment to advancing Canadian health care, she provides invaluable governance and insight drawn from her extensive experience across the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

In her professional capacity at Santis Health, she leads federal government relations initiatives, advising clients across the health and life sciences sectors. This role gives her a unique vantage point on the national advocacy and policy landscape. Her expertise is profoundly informed by her previous role as Senior Development Manager at Research Canada, where she championed federal support for health research and innovation. Her career also includes management roles with Cystic Fibrosis Canada and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Flieler holds an Honours B.A. from the University of Ottawa and a Mini-MBA from McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management, equipping her with a powerful combination of passion for health advancement and strong strategic acumen.

Julie Pandeya

julie Julie Pandeya joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in May 2024.

Pandeya is a seasoned executive, having held various senior and executive positions with many high tech and industry leading companies. Her focus and strength are helping translate strategy into an actionable execution plan, recognizing the importance of diversity, collaboration, and team building for the best results.

Pandeya is currently Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Mercury Filmworks, an animation company that has been creating children’s television animation for over 25 years. Prior to this role Pandeya has filled senior roles in SHOEBOX Audiometry, IBM Global Business Services and Cognos. She started her career with EY Ottawa. Over the years Pandeya has brought expertise surrounding transformation and operational excellence across business, finance and dales operations function among various industries including software, service and production. Pandeya attained her Bachelor of Commerce from Carleton University and her accounting designation in 1996.

Pandeya has spent most of her years in Ottawa and has a strong belief in supporting the community and care for others. From her early years as a teen, she has been engaged in community building organizations that promote social wellness, togetherness and growth. She is currently on the board of Canadian Career Apprenticeship Initiative, a non-profit organization that supports career growth for arts graduates in small and mid-sized communities. She has previously been on the board of VoiceFound and McKellar Park association.

Thomas G. Conway

thomas Thomas G. Conway joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in October 2018.

Conway is a trial and appellate lawyer. He is a founding partner of Conway Baxter Wilson LLP, an Ottawa-based litigation law firm. He was called to the bar of Ontario in 1989. He is also an honorary member of the Law Societies of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

He is ranked by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in Canada in the specialty of corporate and commercial litigation. He is included in the Lexpert-ranked directory of Canada’s leading litigation lawyers. He has been recognized by Canadian Lawyer Magazine as one of Canada’s 25 most influential lawyers, and one of five recognized in the category of “change makers.”

Conway is an experienced corporate director and leader, having served as the Treasurer of the Law Society of Ontario, President of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, founding Chair of the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents and President of the County of Carleton Law Association.

Guy Chartrand, Hon. BComm., MBA

guy Guy Chartrand joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in June 2017. He is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Bruyère Health.

Chartrand's value proposition can be summed up in a few words: breathe life into organizational design.

Chartrand has enjoyed a progressive career path that has given him more than 29 years of executive experience and a solid foundation on which he has built himself to exceptional professional success. Chartrand has held senior management positions in three acute care hospitals and one sub-acute care hospital, as well as the Ministry of Community Support Services, Long-Term Care and Community Services.

He holds an MBA and an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from Laurentian University where he taught the MBA program for eighteen years.

Proficient in French and English, Chartrand has established a solid professional network with various stakeholder groups across the province and across the country. His work with internal and external stakeholders has taught him that every voice has the potential to make an important contribution to any business.

Janet Cosier, FCPA/FCMA

Janet Cosier joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in December 2024.

Cosier is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA/FCMA). After a successful 30-year career, Cosier retired from the Bank of Canada where she held executive-level positions leading the strategic planning and enterprise risk management portfolios. She also held the positions of the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Internal Auditor. Since retiring, Cosier chaired two international central banking training courses in strategic planning and risk management for ten years. Cosier is a Board member of the Bruyère Health Board of Directors. She is the Board Chair of The Hospice Hub, a new startup not-for-profit organization, providing hospice palliative care services to individuals at end-of-life, and their families and caregivers in a rural community southwest of Ottawa.

Cosier has considerable Board governance experience, having served on several not-for-profit Boards of Directors including the Canadian Payments Association, the Ontario Hospital Association, and the Queensway Carleton Hospital. Cosier served as the Board Chair of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center, and the Rideau Community Health Services. Cosier has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and computer science from York University, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Windsor.

Dar Dowlatshahi, MD, PhD

dar Dr. Dowlatshahi joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in June 2023.

He obtained his MD and PhD from McMaster University, completed a residency in Neurology at the University of Ottawa, followed by a Stroke Fellowship at the University of Calgary. He is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, a Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the Vice Chair Research of the Department of Medicine, and a Stroke Neurologist at The Ottawa Hospital.

Dr. Dowlatshahi has over 300 peer-review publications on the topic of stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage and holds a Tier 1 Clinical Research Chair at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on early hematoma expansion.

Lucie Thibault, PhD

lucie Lucie Thibault joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in October 2018.

Thibault is professor and dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She has previously worked at Brock University, at The University of British Columbia, and as a visiting scholar at the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (2010) and at the RheinAhr Campus of Koblenz University of Applied Sciences (2017).

With over 30 years of teaching experience, Thibault has lectured on organizational theory, sports ethics, sport globalization, governance and policy, and social issues in sport. She is a member of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) and was named a NASSM research fellow in 2001. In 2008, Thibault was awarded the Earle F. Zeigler Award from NASSM for her scholarly and leadership contributions to the field.

Her research interests lie in the formation, management, and evaluation of cross-sectoral partnerships in sport organizations. She also investigates the role of the Canadian government in sport excellence and sport participation and government involvement in developing sport policy. Her research has been published in numerous scholarly journals. She is the co-editor of Contemporary Sport Management (2021, Human Kinetics) and Sport Policy in Canada (2013, University of Ottawa Press).

In her capacity as dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Thibault also serves on the board of directors of both the Hôpital Montfort and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute.

Martine Lagacé, PhD

martine Martine Lagacé joined the Bruyère Health Research Institute Board of Directors in June 2024.

She is the Associate Vice-President, Research Promotion & Development within the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation at the University of Ottawa. She is a full professor in the Department of Communication and is affiliated with the School of Psychology. She has also served as Vice-Dean, Governance of the Faculty of Arts from 2014 to 2018, and Director of the Department of Communication from 2011 to 2012. In addition to her administrative experience, she has extensive expertise in journalism, having worked at Radio-Canada for more than 10 years.

Lagacé also contributes to several organizations, including the National Seniors Council, the Institut du savoir Montfort, the LIFE Research Institute and the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal. She has also forged several international research collaborations, particularly in France and Italy.